August, lU, 1905 



HORTICULTU RE 



Wyoming, Juniata, by Conard & Jones 

 Company. 



October 13, 1904— Aster Vick's Mika- 

 do, by James Vick's Sons. 



November 10, 1904— Chrysanthemum, 

 Mrs. Eglinton, by W. J. Lawrence. 



November 23, 1904 — Chrysanthemum, 

 Mrs. A. Klokner, by Alexander Klolt- 

 ner. 



December 29, 1904— Carnation, Mrs. 

 W. L. Lewis, by W. L. Lewi.s. 

 • December 31, 1904 — Cannas, Hon. W. 

 R. Hearst, Senator Hanna, Mrs. John 

 A. Logan, by H. D. Seele. 



January 14, 1905— Carnations, Mika- 

 do and Pink Patten, by Patten & Co. 



January 14, 1905— Pillar rose. Gar- 

 den's Glory, by Conard & Jones Co. 



February 25, 1905 — Nephrolepis Bos- 

 ioniensis Mauffii, by A. E. Mauff. 



June 12, 1905 — Roses, American Pil- 

 lar and Birdie Blye, by Conard & Jones 

 Co. 



July 10, 1905— Zonal geranium, Mrs. 

 Richard F. Gloede, by Richard F. 

 Gloede. 



July 14, 1905 — Nephrolepis Amer- 

 pohlii, by Edward Amerpohl. 



July 25, 1905— Zonal geranium, Ken- 

 ilworth and Illinois, by R. F. Gloede. 



August 11, 1905 — Zonal geranium. 

 Tiffin, by Lewis Ullrich, Tiffin, O. 



Medals have been distributed as fol- 

 lows; 



February '17, 1905 — Through the 

 American Carnation Society, a silver 

 medal to J. D. Thompson Carnation 

 Company, for carnation Robert Craig, 

 a bronze medal to H. Weber & Son for 

 carnation My Maryland. 



March 11, 1905— Through the Cincin- 

 nati Florists' Society, a silver medal 

 to R. Witterstaetter, for carnation 

 Aristocrat; a certificate of award of 

 bronze medal to H. Weber & Son, for 

 carnation My Maryland. 



The problem of how to increase our 

 numerical strength has wisely been 

 given prominence of late. Even at the 

 risk of appearing to overlook funda- 

 mental requisites, your secretary has 

 long since become disciplined to the 

 idea that the best evidence of health 

 and prosperity for the society is found 

 in the length of the membership list 

 and the size of the treasurer's balance, 

 and that whatever contributes to the 

 attainment of this condition is an as- 

 set that -must not be despised. In con- 

 sidering this vital question of member- 

 ship a recapitulation of some of the 

 secretary's records may prove both in- 

 teresting and enlightening. 



At the convention of 1889 at Buffalo, 

 the first year in which the $3 annual 

 assessment went into operation, we 

 find that the number of members who 

 paid for that year was 827. For 1890, 

 the year of the Boston meeting, the 

 number was 926. In 1891, Toronto, the 

 figure dropped to 827; in 1892, Wash- 

 ington, it was 829; in 1893. St. Louis, 

 085; in 1894, Atlantic City, G17; in 1895, 

 Pittsburg, 547; in 1896, Cleveland, 551; 

 in 1897, Providence, 524; in 1898, Oma- 

 ha, 436; in 1899, Detroit, 535; in 1900, 

 New York, 719; in 1901, Buffalo, 739; 

 in 1902. Asheville, 639; in 19' i3, Mil- 

 waukee, 745; in 1904, St. Louis, 711. 

 These figures are inclusive of life 

 membership. 



■The printed list published each fall 

 should not be taken as an index of the 

 number of members in good standing 

 for the year the list is is.siu d. It is 

 true that the by-laws stipulate dues 

 shall be paid in advance, 'vit It has 

 been customary to carry on the roll 

 until the end of the year. t!ie names 



of all members in good standing up to 

 January first of that year, and truss- 

 ing off on December 31 the names of 

 all those who have failed to qualify 

 during the year. The percentage o't 

 lapse in recent years is about 15 ptr 

 cent, from each annual list. Not all 

 these members are permanently lost. 

 however, for there are many who 

 choose a fluctuating allegiance, paying 

 the $5 initiation fee in those years 

 when they find it convenient to attend 

 the convention. Broadly it may be 

 said that our membership swells when 

 we hold meetings in the populous cen- 

 tres, shrinks when we select locations 

 smaller or more remote from these 

 centres, and fluctuates as to its sec- 

 tional preponderance in accordance 

 with our movements, a series of meet- 

 ings in one section building up the 

 list locally at the expense of the sec- 

 tion neglected; and this will always 

 be true regardless of what we may say 

 or do. 



Of the 783 annual members whose 

 names appeared on the printed list of 

 1904, 155 failed to meet obligations as 

 to dues for that year, consequently, on 

 January 1 their names were stricken 

 from the roll. It may be of assistance 

 in the consideration of ways and 

 means for enlarging our permanent 

 membership to know the localities in 

 which these lapses occurred. The loss 

 is divided among the states as follows: 

 Alabama, Calitornia, District of Col- 

 umbia. Florida. Georgia. Indiana, 

 Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode 

 Island, Texas, one each; North Caro- 

 lina, Connecticut, Maryland, two each; 

 Kentucky, Missouri, three each; Mas- 

 sachusetts, four; New Jersey, five; 

 Iowa, seven; Minnesota, eight; Wis- 

 consin, Pennsylvania, fifteen each; 

 Michigan, sixteen; Ohio, nineteen; 

 Illinois, New York, twenty-two each; 

 Offset against the additions in these 

 respective states we find the net re- 

 sult for the year 1904 to be as follows: 

 Net gain— .Alabama, California, Ten- 

 nessee, West Virginia, Oklahoma, one 

 each; South Carolina, Texas, Mani- 

 toba, two each; Colorado, Kansas, Il- 

 linois, three each; Indiana, four; Dis- 

 trict of Columbia, six; Connecticut, 

 eight; Missouri, twenty. Net loss — 

 Georgia, Kentucky, Nebraska, New 

 Hampshire, one each; Massachusetts. 

 North Carolina, two each; New Jersey, 

 Ohio, four each; Minnesota, five; Penn- 

 sylvania, six; Iowa, Michigan, seven 

 each; New York, nine; Wisconsin, 

 thirteen. Net gain by states, fifty- 

 eight; net loss by states, sixty-three, 

 giving a net loss to the S. A. F. of five. 

 Conclusions from these figures should, 

 however, be modified by the fact that 

 a few fluctuations are cause<l by re- 

 movals from one state to another, also 

 that a few of those members reported 

 as having lapsed last year are liable 

 to insist on paying all arrearages at 

 this meeting. 



With the security of a charter and 

 the foundation of a substantial per- 

 manent fund, with the support of the 

 most enterprising horticultural firms 

 assured through the instrumentality of 

 the registration department, with the 

 co-operation of the dealers as shown 

 in the splendid exhibitions of recent 

 years and the loyalty of the younger 

 element secured by the recognition of 

 their games and sports at our annual 

 meetings it would seem that now is a 

 good time for a big concerted effort to 

 build up our membership list, and thus 

 make the twenty-first year of the so- 



ciety's existence a banner year in its 

 history. 



The report of Treasurer Beatty, 

 showing the largest amount of cash 

 on hand in the society's history, was 

 next read. Following is a summary 

 of it; 



TREASURER'S REPORT. 



General Fund. 



Jan. 1, 1904, cash on hand. .. .$3,136.01 

 Receipts for year to Dec. 31, 

 1901 2,756.43 



Disbursements 



Balance Jan. 1, 1905. 



$5,892.44 

 . 2,969.37 



.$2,923.07 



Permanent Fund. 



Jan. 1, 1904, cash on hand $2,328.04 



Receipts for year to Dec. 31, 

 1904 491.92 



Cash on hand Ja 



190a. 



The evening lawn party and recep- 

 tion in honor of the President, which 

 had caused many anxious hours for 

 those in charge, proved to be one of the 

 most enjoyable affairs in which the 

 society has ever participated. Loef- 

 fler's lawn, which had been turned into 

 a veritable fairy forest, with trees, 

 flowers and electric lights, proved to 

 be an ideal place for the purpose. A 

 full band of music was on hand, and a 

 mammoth barbecue and other substan- 

 tial viands furnished material and aes- 

 thetic entertainment for the thousand 

 or more members and their ladies. The 

 weather prophet had predicted rain, 

 but he was mistaken, and the condi- 

 tions throughout were delightful. A 

 receiving party consisting of president 

 and Mrs. Vaughan, Vice-President and 

 Mrs. Freeman, Secretary Stewart, Mr. 

 and Mrs. W. H. Elliott, formed under 

 the evergreens, and for an hour hand- 

 shaking was indulged in, and many old 

 and new friendships were cemented. 

 The Florists' Club of Washington and 

 its busy, hospitable officials are to be 

 congratulated on the great success of 

 this unique occasion. 



rhe session of Wednesday morning 

 began with the reading of various 

 communications, appointment of sev- 

 eral important committees and the 

 presentation of the report of the 

 judges in the Beatty prize competition 

 in essays on the "Ideal Employer." 

 The fortunate contestants out of a 

 total of twenty-three were as follows: 

 First prize to S. S. Skidelsky of Phila- 

 delphia; second, to Henry Eichholz, 

 Waynesboro, Pa.; and third, to J. 

 Austin Shaw of New York. 



The selection of the location for next 

 years' meeting brought out some elo- 

 quent addresses on the merits of Ni- 

 agara Falls, N. Y., and Dayton, Ohio, 

 and on ballot Dayton was found to 

 be the winner with 134 votes in a 

 total of 198, and so it is to be Dayton, 

 Ohio, next year. 



Nomination of officers was next in 

 order. The candidates listed for the 

 election of Thursday were as follows: 



For President.— W. F. Kasting, Buf- 

 falo, N. Y.; H. B. Beatty, Pittsburg, 

 Pa.; and Lewis Ullrich, Tiffin, Ohio. 



For Vice-President.— H. M. Altick, 

 Dayton. Ohio. 



For Secretary.- William J. Stewart. 

 Boston; and E. A. Seidewitz, An- 

 napolis, Md. 



For Treasurer.— James Dean. Free- 



