December 29, 1917 



HORTICULTURE 



679 



IN BEHALF OF FLOWERS 



The following letter from Wallace 

 R. Pierson appeared in the Hartford 

 Courant last week: 



The attention of the writer has been 

 drawn to a recent speech delivered in 

 Hartford, in which the speaker chose 

 for the subject of his remarks the ap- 

 parent waste in certain lines by the 

 citizens of our own good state, and 

 saw fit to set forth in his remarks that 

 coal used for greenhouse purposes is 

 wasted and is a loss to the nation. 

 "The idea of giving an orchid to a lady 

 In war times!" or something to that 

 effect, leads one to wonder if the 

 speaker ever stooped to pick the first 

 dandelion of spring or knows a bank 

 where arbutus may be found, for the 

 remark is not compatible with such a 

 man, in my opinion. There is some- 

 thing lacking. It may be a love of 

 nature or an entire lack of sense of 

 the beautiful. "And to think they 

 burn coal to keep such trifles warm!" 



The figures quoted were incorrect, 

 but that doesn't affect the issue. He 

 undoubtedly did not realize that his 

 remarks were a direct attack, not up- 

 on an individual, but upon an industry 

 that amounted last season in the 

 United States to $100,000,000 and upon 

 which thousands depend for their live- 

 lihood. He did not realize that one 

 night without coal at this season 

 means ruin not only for the present 

 but for the future, because the tender 

 plants gathered together in green- 

 houses cannot be replaced and w-ould 

 be a total loss to the world. 



The injustice of that statement is 

 apparent to all sound-thinking per- 

 sons. On Tuesday of last week in 

 Washington I listened to Mr. Snead, 

 ■who is in active charge of coal dis- 

 tribution in the United States, and 

 also to Mr. Noyes, who is in charge 

 of fuel conservation. I should like to 

 place before your readers the remarks 

 of these gentlemen who represent the 



government and whose message to the 

 florists of America is the message of 

 a government to its people. These are 

 men whose word can be accepted as 

 conveying judgments that are based 

 on facts and common sense. I quote 

 Mr. Snead as correctly as to wording 

 as memory will permit and absolutely 

 correct as to fact and intent. 



"This government realizes that 

 every industry which is and has been 

 considered legitimate and which has 

 been considered an asset to the na- 

 tion, must survive this war to make 

 places for those who will return to 

 industry from the front and from the 

 munition plants at the close of the 

 war. We do not recognize the term 

 'non-essential' for we realize that for 

 the best welfare of the country your 

 industry and other industries not di- 

 rectly connected with the manufacture 

 of munitions are necessary and essen- 

 ■ tial. It is your duty to so conduct 

 your business that at the end of the 

 war you will be in a position to ab- 

 sorb and use a large portion of the 

 labor that will be released. There is 

 no intention on the part of the govern- 

 ment to injure your industry or to in- 

 terfere with it. We suggest that all 

 available space be used for food crops 

 and that your industry takes upon it- 

 self the duty of seeing that vegetable 

 plants are produced in sufficient quan- 

 tity to stock the gardens of the nation.'' 



Mr. Noyes, in addressing the gath- 

 ering of florists, stated that there 

 must be saved in this country 50,- 

 000,000 tons of coal and that this 

 amount must be saved without the 

 ruination of any industry. "Burn less 

 coal but save your crops and your 

 business for they are needed by the 

 nation. The priority list must be 

 taken care of first but there is coal 

 enough to care for other industries if 

 care is used in consumption and the 

 proper distribution is effected." 



Flowers are a necessity to a people. 

 There is a limit to human strength 

 and endurance, and the relaxation 

 which comes to the mind by having 

 flowers in the home, garden or hospi- 

 tal is a thing of reality to those who 

 know and love flowers. Here in Amer- 

 ica we are not yet fully acquainted 

 with casualty lists and when they 

 come, as we fear they will, flowers 

 will express to the mother what words 

 cannot express. "How France Honors 

 Her Dead" was the title of a picture 

 of a French war-grave published In the 

 Red Cross Magazine, and the mass of 

 flowers told the story that flowers 

 carry the last message to those who 

 have gone beyond. My mail today 

 brought me a letter from a French 

 florist telling of the shortage of rose 

 plants in France, due not to the war 

 causing less production but because 

 the war is making roses a necessity 

 to those who sorrow. The record of 

 flowers in America is such that no 

 man should question it. 



The florists of America point with 

 pride to their boys in the army and 

 navy. Over half a hundred have gone 

 out from Cromwell and among them 

 four commissioned officers who grew 

 flowers and who may again grow 

 flowers if the fates are kind. We are 

 also proud of the fact that .$27,000 was 

 raised for the Red Cross by the New 

 York Flower Shows and that dona- 

 tions to the Red Cross have been 

 made by the florists' clubs of America. 

 We believe that just as France, the 

 great flower-loving nation, has saved 

 the soul of Europe, so the love of na- 

 ture and all that is good and beautiful 

 in the world and the love of right and 

 justice will save the American people 

 from hysteria and from themselves. 



Be saving, be honest, be natural 

 and be just, and your part toward the 

 glorious end will be accomplished. 



W. R. PlEBSON. 



Chairman George Asmus of the Fi- 

 nance Committee reports the follow- 

 ing additional subscriptions: : 



By Chicago Committees — L. Stapp Co., 

 Rock Island. 111.. $10.00; Zech & Maim, Chi- 

 cago. 111.. $i;.').(K): Arthur Klchpl. Chicago, 

 111., $10.0(1; Crawford Floral Co., Chicago, 

 111., $10.00; Montrose Floral Co.. Chicago, 

 111., .$10.00; Ilonrv F. Luedke, Chicago. 111., 

 $15.00; Frank Oechalin. Chicago. 111., .$100.(10; 

 D. F. Hawkes, VVheaton, 111., .$10,00; Schafer 

 Floral Co., Kankakee, 111.. $:!0.00 ; Fischer 

 Bros., Evaston. 111., $2."i.0O; U. K. Hohlander, 

 Melrose Park. 111.. $10.00; Stlelow Bros.. 

 Niles Center. 111.. $100.00; Schiller. Chicago. 

 111., $100.00; Walter Burhop, Maywood. 111., 

 $10.00; Hugo Lnedtke, M^ywood, 111., $2.00; 

 Wm. Wichtendahl. Maywood, 111.. $5.(J0; 

 Hausennan A: Ueitmau. Melrose Park, 111.. 

 $10.00; George W. Jacobs. Canton. 111., 

 $10.00. Annually for four years. 



Chicago Carnation Co., Joliet. 111., $100.00; 

 Chris Bond, Naperville, III., $20.00; Jensen 

 Bros., Chicago, 111., $5.00; Theo. Wolnl- 

 ewicz, Chicago, 111., $10.00; Fred Krell, Chi- 

 cago, III., $15.00; Thos. Krowka, Chicago, 

 111., $15.00; Peter Pearson, Chicago, 111., 

 $1.').00; Stollery Bros., Chicago. 111., $25.00; 

 Damm Bros.. Chicago. III., $25.00; Henry 

 K. Yoongquist. Chicago. 111.. $45.00; Geo. 

 Wittljold Co.. Chicago. 111.. .l.'iO.OO; Joseph 

 Kohout, Liberty ville III., $:t5.00 ; A. Lange. 

 Chicago. 111.. $100,011; O. J. Friedman, 

 Chicago, 111., $100.00; Krocschell Bros. Co., 

 Chicago, HI., $100.00; B. C. Amling, May- 

 wiHid, 111., $25.00; Henry Hart. Chicago, 

 III,, .$2.00; C. Frauenfelder, Chicago, 111.. 

 $100.00; J. C. Monlnger Co., Chicago, III., 

 .$100.00; National Galvanizing Co., Chicago, 

 III.. $10.00; Kirscht Bros., Morton Grove. 

 III., $10.00; A. F. Amling Co.. Maywood. 

 111.. $200.00; Lord & Burnhara Co.. Chicago. 

 III., $100.00; W. H. Amling, Maywood. 111.. 

 $15.00; Walter Amling, Maywood. 111.. 



$10.00; United States Gauge Co., Chicago, 

 111., $5.00. For one year. 



Robert Hardies, Melrose Park, III.. $5.00. 

 l<'or two years. 



Ickes Braun Mill Co., Chicago, 111.. $25.00. 

 For '/. year. 



By Lon Foster— Furrow & Co., Oklahoma 

 City, Okla., $25.00; Boston's Flower Store, 

 Tulsa. Okla., $5.00; Muskogee Carnation 

 Co., Muskogee, Okla.. $5.00. 



By J W. Ludwlg— McCallum Co., PlttB- 

 burgh. Pa., $50.00; Pittsburgh Cut Flower 

 Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., $50.00. 



By Florists' Telegraph Delivery Associa- 

 tion—Cohen & Hiller, Inc., New York (sec- 

 ond subscription). $50.00; Geo. J. Starr, 

 Wilson, N. C, $10.00. Annually for four 

 vcars. . 



Total $1,854.00. Previously reported from 

 all sources, $26,073.00. Grand total, $28,027.00. 



John- Yoi ng, Secy. 

 December 24th, 1917. 



