HOirn V ULTl-RE 



February 3, 1917 



AMERICAN CARNATION SOCIETY 



A Well- Attended and Enthusiastic Meeting and Splendid Exhibi- 

 tion — Boston Selected for 1918 Convention — 

 W. J* Vesey, Jr., Elected President 



As Horticulture goes to press the 

 American Oarnation Society, in session 

 at Indianapolis, Intl., is just about don- 

 ning its "glad apparel" tor the annual 

 "feast of reason and flow of soul." Our 

 brief reports by telegraph indicate a 

 serious business convention with plen- 

 ty of enthusiasm on the part of officers 

 and members for the coming year's 

 work. A more detailed report of the 

 proceedings will be. given in our issue 

 of next week. 



At the opening session on Wednesday 

 evening tliere was a good attendance 

 and President Ammann delivered his 

 annual address, as follows: 



President J. F. Amman's Address. 



Ladies, Gentlemen, Fellow Craftsmen: 

 As presiding officer of this organiza- 

 tion that has so vastly advanced the 

 interests of not only carnation culture, 

 but floriculture in general, I deem it 

 indeed an honor to welcome you to 

 this the twenty-sixth annual meeting 

 of the American Carnation Society in 

 this beautiful and centrally located 

 city of Indianapolis. 



It is unnecessary for me to repeat at 

 this time the history of this organiza- 

 tion. Suffice it to say that I feel more 

 and more as I grow older the touch of 

 good fellowship that a meeting like 

 this brings with it. Here we co-mingle 

 in brotherly love with fellow crafts- 

 men from all over this fair land of 

 peace and prosperity; here we renew 

 old acquaintances, and make new ones; 

 now and then we miss an old familiar 

 face — we ask the reason, and find that 

 he has passed on to the great beyond. 

 As the old varieties of our beloved car- 

 nations, we miss them but never for- 

 get them. It is these fond greetings 

 and memories that really make life 

 worth living after all. 



To the members of our craft who 

 are so diligently working to produce 

 new varieties of merit we are probably 

 more indebted than we realize, for 

 were it not for something new occa- 

 sionally the public interest would soon 

 wane. The American people are great 

 on fads, and in order to keep up an 

 interest new things of special merit 

 are always in demand. I dare say 

 nothing has popularized the rose so 

 much the last few years as the com- 

 ing on of so many new varieties of 

 merit, and the end is not yet, which I 

 am sure you will be convinced of in 

 your visit to the E. G. Hill Co. place 

 at Richmond. A friend recently told 

 me it was worth a trip across the con- 

 tinent to see the seedling roses there, 

 so I went and I now testify that the 

 statement is true. We see here what 

 one firm can do by untiring efforts in 

 roses. I contend the same must be 

 done in carnations in order to keep 

 this flower as popular in the future as 



it has been in the past. Much indeed 

 is being done along this line by quite 

 a few of our trusty old friends, but 

 what seems just at this time to lack 

 in the new production of carnations is 

 that they have not enough merit to 

 replace the older varieties. Either they 

 do not produce enough to be profitably 

 grown as standards, or the quality is 

 not good enough to command the extra 

 price a fancy should. But all good things 

 come to those who wait, so let us be 

 patient and I am sure we shall soon 

 be rewarded. 



I have but a few suggestions to offer 

 at this time. One I think worthy of, 

 is to recommend that the number of 

 blooms necessary for a preliminary 

 certificate for the Dorner memorial 

 medal, be changed from 50 to 25 

 blooms. It has been suggested that 

 many times it is hard to get 50 good 

 blooms from a new variety where not 

 so many plants are grown. 



We have an evergrowing demand 

 for the society's co-operation with 

 local flower shows, which I am sure 

 we cannot afford to ignore. At the 

 board of directors' meeting in Cleve- 

 land on Nov. 12, 1915, a motion was 

 passed to the effect that the board 

 recommend to the convention follow- 

 ing in January that the A. C. S. lend 

 its co-operation to local flower shows, 

 provided the schedule, the judges and 

 the underwriting of said show be ap- 

 proved by the president and secretary 

 of this society. I take it that the in- 

 tention here was to have the society 

 offer its usual medals and certificates. 

 However, this matter never came be- 

 fore the regular January meeting ow- 

 ing, I guess, to an oversight. I feel it 

 is of such importance that I would 

 recommend that at this meeting the 

 officers be authorized to carry out the 

 intent of this resolution, or that at 

 least some action be taken on the mat- 

 ter towards such a co-operation. For 

 the more we can induce the exhibits 

 of carnations the more we can popu- 

 larize that flower. 



I too would recommend that the sec- 

 retary be authorized to place an ad- 

 vertisement in each of the trade pa- 

 pers, say, when the premium schedule 

 is ready, calling attention to the fact 

 that premium lists are to be had on 

 application, and stating to those who 

 are not members to include price of 

 membership fee. so as to be eligible 

 to exhibit. I believe this will not only 

 help us to get more exhibitors but also 

 new members. On behalf of the So- 

 ciety I want to extend thanks to the 

 trade press for the vast amount of free 

 publicity given the carnation when- 

 ever opportunity has presented itself. 



In closing I want to heartily thank 

 the secretary, Mr. Baur, tor his kind 

 co-operation and advice in many 



things. Also Mr. Vesey, our worthy 

 vice-president, for his untiring efforts 

 in leading on the preliminary work of 

 this meeting and show. To the local 

 committees and especially to the ex- 

 hibitors I feel deeply grateful for their 

 hearty co-operation in helping to bring 

 about this creditable show. To the 

 members of this Society I feel much 

 indebted for the honor conferred upon 

 me in the unanimous election as your 

 president. I assure you, gentlemen, It 

 will ever bring to me fond memories 

 of your friendship in years to come, 

 and my good wishes and prayers will 

 be with you always. 



The secretary's report was present- 

 ed as follows: 



Report of Secretary A. F. J. Baur. 



During the past twelve months, the 

 secretary's office has been unusually 

 busy. With our participation in the 

 National Flower Show in Philadelphia 

 last March and the soliciting of funds 

 in aid of Miss Anna Jarvis, there has 

 been much extra work and some addi- 

 tional expense. The receipts, how- 

 ever, have also increased somewhat, 

 though not quite as much as the ex- 

 pense, so that at the end of this fiscal 

 year we find ourselves with somewhat 

 less money in the general fund than a 

 year ago, but still in very good condi- 

 tion. 



During the past year the secretary's 

 office has received in dues, $729 00; ad- 

 vertising, $261.85; miscellaneous, 

 $46.05: Jlothers' day, $154.00; total, 

 $1190.90, all of which was turned over 

 to the treasurer and his receipt taken 

 therefore. 



The secretary's and treasurer's 

 books were checked over by a pub- 

 lic accountant and found correct. All 

 bills are being met promptly and all 

 accounts due the society are being col- 

 lected without loss. We are pleased 

 to note that 26 pages of advertising 

 space in this year's premium schedule 

 were taken by our members and 

 friends. We feel that our members 

 should make an effort to patronize 

 these advertisers as much as possible, 

 in order to make it worth their while 

 to use these pages as an advertising 

 medium. 



The one department that gives the 

 secretary more concern than any other 

 is the membership list. During the 

 past year we have taken in 45 new 

 members and reinstated 6, yet in spite 

 of this unusual number of new addi- 

 tions, we are now 13 members behind 

 last report. The list now stands at 312 

 annual members and 12 life members, 

 making a total of 324. 



During the past year we lost Albert 

 Roper, who died March 1st, Wm. F. 

 Kasting, who died June 15th; Thos. C. 



