140 



II Uin' 1 L L l.T U li K 



January 29, 1916 



AMERICAN CARNATION SOCIETY 



Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting and Exhibition Held in St. Louis 



January 26th and 27th 



111. nwiii>-llfth aumial meeting ainl 

 exhibition of the American Carnation 

 Society was lield at the Planters' Ho- 

 tel, St. Louis, Mo., on Wednesday and 

 Thursday, Jan. 26 and 27. The meet- 

 ing was well attended and opened with 

 much enthusiasm. Mayor Kiel of St. 

 Louis, cordially welcomed the society 

 in a pleasing address and was ably re- 

 sponded to by C. S. Strout of Bidde- 

 ford. Me. President Joseph H. Hill 

 presented bis address as follows: 



ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT JOSEPH 



H. HILL. 

 Ladies and Gentlemen — Members of the 

 American Carnation Society: 

 As your presiding officer I bid you 

 welcome to this our 25th annual meet- 

 ing. Just a quarter of a century ago 

 in the good, old Quaker city of Phila- 

 delphia, a small body of earnest carna- 

 tion enthusiasts saw the possibilities of 

 the flower from which we derive our 

 name, and issued a call which was 

 sent broadcast over the land. All who 

 were interested in carnation growing 

 were invited to join them in organiz- 

 ing a permanent society. With your 

 permission I will read their call of 

 1891: 



To American Cnrnatioii Growers: — You 

 are cortllally invited to attend a meeting 

 to be held at Horticultural Hall, Philadel- 

 phia, Pa., on Thursday. October 15th, at 

 2 P. M., for the purpose of organizing a 

 Society of Amercan Carnation Growers. 

 All those who are uiialile lo attend kindly 

 send their names for enrollment. The ob- 

 ject of this Soriety will be to materially 

 benefit Carnation Growers and to advance 

 the popularity of tlie Divine Flower so 

 that it shall stand second to none. Let us 

 all step to the front and put our shoulders 

 to the wheel. 



Signed: C. W. Ward, Geo. Crcighton, C. 

 E. Alien. Wni. Swayne, R. T. Lombard, 

 Fred Schneider, Chas. T. Starr, C. J. 

 Pcnnock, Geo. Hancock, A. M. Herr, Ed- 

 ward Snayne, K. B. .Tenniiigs. .Tohn Mc- 

 Gowan, Geo. W. Love. Ale.x McBrlde, H. 

 E. Chitty, Isaac Larkin. I^dwiu Lonsdale, 

 W. R. Shelmire. 



From every section of the country, 

 East, West, North and South, came ap- 

 plications for membership and at the 

 close of that memorable meeting in 

 Horticultural Hall there were enrolled 

 49 staunch champions of our fair 

 flower. And thus was conceived and 

 ushered into existence The American 

 Carnation Society. 



It is fitting to mention at this time 

 the name of Mr. Edwin Lonsdale, the 

 first presiding officer of our body. Dur- 

 ing the past year he has answered the 

 call and leaves a place in the ranks 

 that is difficult to close. It is with 



J. F. A.M.M A.N.N. 



•President-elect, American Carnation Society 



referet and sadness that we are com- 

 pelled to note the dropping oft one by 

 one of the Old Guard of pioneer florists 

 to whom we all owe so much. 



Now, gentlemen, are we, after an 

 elapse of 25 years, putting the same 

 amount of push and of strenuous effort 

 into the work of our Society as did the 

 charter members? Are we carrying 

 forward the work cut out tor us with 

 the same earnestness and unity of pur- 

 pose that marked their early endeav- 

 ors? To accomplish our work and to 

 keep up interest in the Society it is 

 necessary for us to attend its conven- 

 tions and its meetings, even though to 

 do so means a personal sacrifice. Wm. 

 Scott once said at a carnation meeting: 

 "These conventions are productive of 

 the greatest good; we learn to know 

 each other better, and one of the great- 

 est pleasures of life is an exchange of 

 ideas with our intelligent fellow man." 

 It is a noticeable fact in our profession 

 that the man who attends conventions, 

 flower shows, and associations of flo- 

 rists, is the man who is successful and 

 progressive in his business. 



Your president would suggest to the 

 Society that we adopt a badge of neat 

 design to be worn at our conventions 

 upon which can be written the name of 

 the wearer. In this way we can more 

 readily identify one another and get 

 acquainted. This method was used at 

 the Cleveland Flower Show last fall 

 with success and satisfaction to all. 

 Our Secretary has suggested that we 



..'M.,j.^ii III. I,.-,- oi individual uddrebs 

 l)lacaidH on our ixhibits after the 

 judges are through with their work. 

 It is true that in rearranging the vases 

 the cards arc often lost or misplaced 

 on some one's exhibit. We Invite the 

 Society's deliberations on this point. 



The cardinal jtrlnciples of this So- 

 ciety are to materially benefit carna- 

 tion growers and to advance the popu- 

 larity of tho carnation. To do this It 

 is absolutely essential that we co-oper- 

 ate, If so requested, with any well- 

 managed flower show, and towards this 

 end the following are given by your 

 presiding officer as suggestions: 



1st. That any flower show manage- 

 ment desiring our support must give 

 us a positive guarantee that the pre- 

 mium money in the carnation section 

 will be |)aid to exhibitors. 



2nd. That the exhibition manage- 

 ment choose two from our list of duly 

 "If (ted judges to serve with the third. 

 who may be selected by them without 

 restriction. Poor judging by inexperi- 

 enced- men tends to make dissatisfied 

 exhibitors and consequently reduces 

 the number of entries at sticceeding 

 shows. 



:{rd. That they be allowed lo use the 

 Society's vases with the understanding 

 that they reimburse tlie Society for all 

 loss and breakage and pay all the ex- 

 pense for packing, carriage, etc. These 

 simple rulings will safeguard the Car- 

 nation Society. Let us resolve to lend 

 a helping hand to all flower shows no 

 matter where held, and dismiss the 

 idea of self-aggrandizement from our 

 minds and let us exhibit with the defi- 

 nite idea of bringing the carnation out 

 of the background, and of putting it 

 on tho same high plane as the rose and 

 the popular chrysanthemum. 



It is an admitted fact that in most 

 parts of the country the carnation is 

 marketed in a crude way as compared 

 with the rose; the idea seems to prevail 

 in many quarters that a carnation is a 

 carnation regardless of variety, but it 

 is not so with the up-to-date commis- 

 sion merchant; he knows the different 

 varieties by name and can explain to 

 the buyer why one variety has a higher 

 market value than another or vice 

 versa: so can the live retailer, and he 

 in turn advises his customers to select 

 the kinds that have texture and that 

 last and give satisfaction. 



It would seem that the grower is in a 

 measure responsible for the fact that 

 some of the largest retailers sell a 

 comparatively small quantity of carna- 

 tions because the grower insists on 

 holding to the idea of quantity instead 

 of quality. Stock that will not hold 

 up in the retailer's display case will 

 surely hurt the cause of the carnation 

 generally. 



To the grower who depends upon fig- 

 ures for facts the apparently shy 

 blooming varieties sometimes exceed in 

 money returns the prolific kinds with 

 their serious shortcomings. Let the 



