HORTICULTURE 



August 



HORTICULTURE 



AN ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL 



DEVOTED TO THE 



FLORIST, PLANTSMAN, LANDSCAPE 



GARDENER AND KINDRED 



INTERESTS 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING CO. 



II HAMILTON PLACE, BOSTON, MASS. 



Telephone, Oxford 292, 



WM. J. STEWART, Editor and Manager. 



The prize essay project brought out some very clever 

 contributions. Its unexpected popularity seems to indi- 

 cate a line on which attention may be focused in future 

 conventions with assurance of success in a direction 

 hitherto untried. 



The experiment of allowing the exhibition to remain 

 open during the hours the society was in session seems 

 to have demonstrated the fact that liberality in this 

 respect is the better policy. Given a program in which 

 all are interested, the audience will be on hand all risiht. 



The criticism by the committee on the character of 

 the avetage state vice-president's report seems to have 

 been justified. With a few exceptions the contents of 

 these reports show lack of study in their preparation. 

 Tlmt many of them are barren of any feature really use- 

 ful to the society or the community they are supposed 

 to represent is unquestionably true. Wliat is the 

 remedy ? 



The suggestion that the presiding ofRcer of the local 

 club or similar organization be made the recognized rep- 

 resentative of the national society, instead of the state 

 vice-president, has much to recommend it. This plan 

 would tend to promote the much-needed unity and con- 

 tinuity of purpose between the local societies and the 

 national organization and should materially strengthen 

 both. 



The lecture by Miss Sipe which appears in another 

 column of this paper was one of the best-enjoyed fea- 

 tures of the recent convention because of its earnestness 

 and pathos, its clear delivery and its direct appeal to the 

 universal heart. The stereopticon illustrations were 

 full of interest and wholesome suggestiveness. What a 

 blessing it would be if we could have a Miss Sipe in 

 every community. 



The selection of Dayton carries with it the possibilities 

 of an exhibition in connection with next year's conven- 

 tion of a character and magnitude heretofore impossi- 

 ble. If, as is hoped, facilities can be secured for an 

 outdoor display of garden material and an exhibition of 



taste and design in planting, landscape designers and 

 dealers in ornamental nursery material will not l)e slow 

 to take advantage of the opportunity. 



Baltimore made good her promise and her florists 

 proved themselves worthy brethren of the generous 

 hosts of the national capital. There was a nobility and 

 unselfishness in the motives and the carrying out of this 

 delightful affair which made a deep impression on the 

 visitors. And, grand as it was, it did not detract from 

 but rather added lustre to the glorious and memorable 

 Washington convention. 



Tlie bowlers never had finer alleys nor the shooters 

 better facilities for their pastimes than at Washington. 

 What a gap it would leave in our annual conventions 

 were these jovial fellows with their healthy enthusiasm, 

 their good-natured rivalries, their trophies and all, cut 

 out of the program. To them belongs a goodly share 

 of the credit for the close attachment of young blood to 

 this society in a degree unapproached in any other 

 orsjanization of its kind. 



It was in the air that new policies or. at least, new 

 amplifications of existing policies nnght be looked for 

 at the Washington Convention. That this anticipation 

 was not without foundation is apparent as one studies 

 the proceedings of the meeting. It is notable that the 

 activities which have been instituted are in the line of 

 awakened interest in the Society and its work rather 

 than the development of any revolutionary or reaction- 

 ary spirit and this augurs well for harmonious and 

 concerted effort durinfr the vear to come. 



The convention program this year showed an almost 

 complete abandonment of essay reading. The growing 

 indifference to this time-honored feature is undoubtedly 

 due, in a considerable measure, to the poor delivery of 

 many of the readers in the past. The diversified char- 

 acter of the society's membership has also made it diffi- 

 cult to hold the attention of more than an interested 

 fraction of the attendants for any specific topic. The 

 lecture on subjects of general interest seems better 

 adapted to such audiences and specialized subjects are 

 likely to find their channel, henceforth, in the "question 

 box." 



The parade and drill of the IT. S. Engineer Corps on 

 the White House grounds on Friday morning was a 

 unique honor extended to the S. A. F. — an inspiring 

 spectacle that will always vividly mark the memory of 

 the convention nf 100.5. The perfect manoeuvres, the 

 music, the l;i-'';iI i \|i;iii-c of green lawn, the rich verdure, 

 blue sky ainl I'l.irin- Sr|i|..mber air on an August day — 

 all the suiTnini(lin-s r-o ]ini(luctive of patriotic emotions 

 made an indelible impression and when the word was 

 passed that the erect military figure riding at the head 

 of the column was none other than the grandson of the 

 lieloved commander of the Union armies, then indeed, 

 was the climax of exultant pride and enthusiasm 

 reached. 



