140 



11 ORTI CU LTDHE 



January oO, I91& 



AMERICAN CARNATIO N SOCIETY 



Annual Meeting and Exhibition Held in Buffalo. January 27th 



and 28th — St. Louis Selected as Next Meeting Place — 



Officers Elected Unanimously. 



The meeting and exhibition of the 

 American Carnation Society at Buf- 

 falo was a pronounced success in 

 every respect. The weather was pro 

 pitious and all exhibits arrived on 

 time and in excellent condition. 



The exhibition was certainly the 

 ■best in the history of the society as to 

 <luanUty and quality. The attendance 

 was very representative from all sec- 

 tions. 



Opening Session. 



The opening session on Wednesday 

 evening at 8 P. Jl. in the Iroquois Ho- 

 tel was well attended. After a few 

 preliminary words of welcome, Presi- 

 dent Goddard read his annual ad- 

 dress. 



PRESIDENT GODDARD'S ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen, Fellow Membei-s: As 

 the twenty-fourth President of the 

 American Carnation Society it gives 

 me pleasure to welcome you at this 

 convention in the City of Buffalo. 

 Official Efficiency. 



To Vice-President Anderson and the 

 local Florists' Club are due the thanks 

 of the Society for their untiring efforts 

 in working to make our convention the 

 success I am sure it will prove to be. 

 To Secretary Baur are also due the 

 same appreciation and confidenco of 

 the Society. No member except he be 

 .an officer can form any idea of the 

 amount of work the secretary has to 

 perform. The Carnation Register that 

 Mr. Baur and Mr. Dorner are compil- 

 ing will be of inestimable value to the 

 society in years to come and I hope 

 that some action will be taken at their 

 completion looking toward the preser- 

 vation of these records, to protect them 

 from fire or other such destructive 

 causes. 



Silver Anniversary. 



Next year our Society enters upon 

 its quarter century of existence, a 

 period showing achievements per- 

 formed never dreamed of by its found- 

 ers, and 1 would suggest that suitable 

 recognition be taken of this event; 

 something added to the premium list 

 that would make it noteworthy couia 

 well be accomplished. 



Inadequate Membership. 



Previous presidents have called at- 

 tention to the small membership in 

 our society as compared to the hosts 

 engaged in growing carnations, but no 

 specific way has ever been devised or 

 recommended whereby we have been 

 enabled to increase our membership to 

 any extent. Thousands are engaged in 

 growing carnations commercially, 

 either as a side line or specialty, and 

 I am sure that we can get our due pro- 

 portion if we have some influential 

 members to personally present to these 

 growers the benefits they and we joint- 

 ly shall derive by their joining with 



S.MIUEI, A. U0DD.\KD 

 President American Carnation Society 



the Carnation Society. Why not ap- 

 point one member in each state or sec- 

 tion of the country, whose duty it shall 

 be to induce all who are eligible, to 

 become members? Let us all endeavor 

 to help increase the membership to at 

 least 000 on our Siivei- Anniversary. 



Guaranteed Stock. 

 The American Carnation Society >s 

 recognized as the best managed special 

 tloricultural society in this country; its 

 influence is far reaching and 1 am of 

 the opinion that some pressure should 

 be brought to bear on disseminators of 

 carnations whereby they will be in- 

 duced to use greater care in selection 

 of stock, I know they are obliged to 

 handle thousands of cuttings when 

 sending out a novelty as the demand 

 for a winner is tremendous. Nowadays, 

 on nearly every new variety we invest 

 in, we get 25 per cent, of unhealthy 

 stock which either throw semi-double, 

 curly, or off-colored flowers. If the in- 

 troducers cannot meet the demand at 

 present prices, why not set a price 

 whereby they can meet them and give 

 us guaranteed stock? I believe we 

 should demand guaranteed stock in 

 carnations as we do on insecticides or 

 fertilizers. 



The Popularity of the Carnation. 



The carnation has been under a very 

 .severe test this season, much more so 

 than during any previous year. Some 

 growers claim that it is losing its 

 popularity with the flower-buying pub- 

 lic. 1 cannot agree with this view. 

 The carnation is as popular as ever if 

 not more so. It is still "Everybody's 



I'louer," and if it is jml on the market 

 or into the buyer's home as fresh as 

 |possil)le It will not be replaced by any 

 other flower. It often happens that 

 blooms are old when they are cut, and 

 are ready for the ash barrel Instead of 

 I lie drawing room. It Is In our own 

 province to make or destroy the popu- 

 larity of the carnation. 



Honorary Membership. 

 Some few years ago the Society had 

 an honorary niemhership list. For 

 some reason or other this has been 

 droiiped and I would recommend that 

 the names originally on the list be 

 again added, or if this cannot be done 

 under our present rules, that the by- 

 laws be amended, incorporating a plan 

 for honorary memberships. 

 Assistant Judges. 

 Another recomnntndatioh 1 would 

 like to make is that assistant judges 

 be appointed to serve with our regular 

 judges. Oftentimes some regular judge 

 is absent and an out.sider has to be 

 called in to take his place. It assis- 

 tants were in attendance they could 

 take the place of absent members or, 

 in case of a dead-lock, as often hap- 

 pens, they could be relied upon to give 

 soimd judgment based upon practical 

 knowledge gained while serving with 

 experts. ■V\'e all can judge by com- 

 parison, but it takes the expert to 

 score on points, the new varieties that 

 are entered for the American Carna- 

 tion Society and other medals. 

 Affiliation. 

 You will be called upon at this meet- 

 ing to consider the question of affiilia- 

 lion with the Society of American Flor- 

 ists, to accept or reject membership on 

 the board of directors of that Society, 

 and I earnestly hope that every mem- 

 ber who has views on this vital sub- 

 ject will express them, at this time. 



In closing I wish to express my 

 thanks to the trade press for the many 

 courtesies extended to the officers of 

 the Society during the past yo^ar. To 

 the members of the Society who have 

 shown such enthusiasm in our exhibi- 

 tion by setting up such a magnificent 

 display of carnations, I extend my sin- 

 cere thanks. Our Society cannot but 

 prosper while the members continue to 

 back up its officers the way they have 

 done here at Buffalo. 



Next came the reports of the secre- 

 tary iiiui tre:iHurir. 



SECRETARY BAUR'S REPORT. 



We are pleased to report a substan- 

 tial increase in the membership this 

 year, there being now 318 annual mem- 

 bers and 12 life members enrolled and 

 in good standing. During the past 

 year there have been added 38 new 

 members in addition to 13 delinquents 

 who have been reinstated under the 

 plan adopted in 1912. After deducting 



