2i0 



HORTI CULTURE 



September 1, 1906 



CONVENTION GINGER JAR. 



Looking back from the quiet of our 

 homes we will all agree. I think, that 

 harmony was the keynote of the Day- 

 ton convention. All was peaceful, 

 friendly and decorous, entirely unlike 

 the strenuous times we have experi- 

 enced at various conventions in re- 

 cent years. Apparently the College 

 of Red Cardinals has taken to the 

 woods and the Bulls of Bashan have 

 as a consequence ceased to lash their 

 tails and make the dirt fly. Even 

 down at the bowling alleys there was 

 a praver-meeting seriousness which 

 was reallv astonishing when one re- 

 called the halcyon and vociferous 

 times of the past. The barring out 

 of Stevens must have had a disheart- 

 ening effect on the usual liveliness 

 of the Chicago boys. That action 

 may have been all right in that no 

 one not a florist should compete— 

 and no one who made his living in a 

 bowling alley especially; but Stevens 

 was allowed to bowl at Washington 

 last year. So was Moss, for that 

 matter It seems to me that Stevens 

 ought to have been notified before he 

 went to the expense of going to Day- 

 ton It was a bad business, and 1 

 for one am sorry it happened. 



The gentleman who so ably talked 

 on postal reform was very eloquent, 

 but far too verbose. Jno. Wanamaker 

 told us in a much more succinct way 

 when he was postmaster general, why 

 we could not have a parcels post. 

 "There are four reasons." said he, 

 "why we can't have a parcels «post: 

 First, the Adams Express Co.; sec- 

 ond the United States Express Co.; 

 third the American Express Co.. and 

 fourth, the Wells-Fargo Express Co 

 We are no farther along today, and all 

 the orator advanced was the joining ot 

 third and fourth class matter. By the 

 way whv can't committees be more 

 concentrated? I mean geographically. 

 The parcels post committee of IMHb, 

 for instance, comprised Michigan. 

 Colorado and New York. Why couldn t 

 three good men have been got from 

 the Washington members? That city 

 is the battleground in postal matters. 

 Wanamaker's Four Reasons have had 

 their representatives there all the 

 time. I doubt if the S. A. F. had 

 theirs there once. The Seedsmen s 

 Association, and also the Nursery- 

 men's Association, are represented in 

 Washington frequently; or all the time 

 when there is anything doing. 



Last year there was a big grievance 

 against the railroads who had ad- 

 vanced plants shipped in pots from 

 rate to rate-and-half. There was a 

 committee appointed, but at Dayton 

 they were as scarce as the Macpher- 

 sons when the sword of the Lord and 

 of the Macdonalds got after them. 



We had no fight on Closer Relations 

 this year. The nearest approach to 

 a breaking out of that old fire was the 

 revival of the old canna committee. 

 Much ardent oratory abounded, and at 

 the conclusion one member had the 

 courage to call a meeting for the pur- 

 pose of forming a canna society. 



.Jno. Birnie had the misfortune ot 

 being arrested several times by the 

 sergeant-at-arms for non-attendance at 

 the meetings, but with the assistance 

 of his able henchman and seneschal, 

 John Donaldson, usually got off with 

 little damage, and continued his wan- 

 derings among the outdoor exhibits. 



taking stock of his favorite geranium 

 and so forth. 



The Dayton boys moved heaven and 

 earth for our comfort and kept the lid 

 ot the lower regions on so tight we 

 almost doubted their existence. There 

 may have been a slight suspicion of 

 them here and there about street cor- 

 ners when the 12-minute cars came 

 along in 60 or when collars and cuffs 

 and shirts were reduced to pulp. But 

 Mr. Altick. Mr. Heiss, Mr. Ritter, Mr. 

 Frank and others too numerous to 

 mention worked so hard for us that 

 these little things w-ere soon forgot- 

 ten. One of the surprises of the meet- 

 ing was the strength of Niagara Falls 

 for the convention in 1907. The vote, 

 101 to Philadelphia's 131, was certain- 

 ly a great showing. It's too bad there 

 will be no chance for Niagara in 190S. 

 That grtat International Exhibition to 

 which the Society is now committed 

 would appear to make Chicago in- 

 evitable for 1908. 



Edwin Lonsdale had no sooner got 

 on the home-coming train for Philadel- 

 phia than he began worrying about 

 ways and means for the 1907 meeting. 

 That's the way. If it isn't one thing 

 it's another; we are never absolutely 

 happy. But there need be no fear. 

 There are plenty of us in Philadelphia 

 to do the work, and we can all pull in 

 harmony under the leadership of John 

 Westcott. the vice-president-elect. 



There is a story going the rounds 

 about a young lady who had charge of 

 one of the trade paper stands at Day- 

 ton. A smarty asked her, "How much 

 is six times six?" "I don't know," said 

 she; "is there a come back to that?" 

 "No." "Well, I'm not sure how much 

 six times six is, but it you take nothing 

 from nothing it will leave mm." Wow! 

 When they are very good looking they 

 are generally very saucy! Anyhow, 

 that held smarty for a while. 



GEORGE C. WATSON. 



hibitors so that flowers will go through 

 to Toronto without any interference 

 from customs officers. 



SHOOTING TOURNAMENT, 



Following are the scores made at the 

 shooting tournament at Dayton. 



Brown, Richmond, Va., 17; Seybold. 

 Baltimore, 14: Rogers, Cincinnati, 13; 

 Hiupard, Youngstown, 12; Altick, Day- 

 ton. 12; Scott, Buffalo. 11. 



Young, St. Louis, 10; Reimels, Wood- 

 haven, 9; Herendeen, Geneva. 7; Ras- 

 mussen, 6. 



Team shoot, Dayton. 190. Florists' 

 team, 173. 



AMERICAN CARNATION SOCIETY. 



The American Carnation Society held 

 a meeting in the Hotel Algonquin on 

 August 22. president John H. Dunlop 

 in the chair. Some slight changes in 

 the premium list were made. The 

 Daybreak shade of pink was changed 

 to Enchantress shade, and Scott shade 

 to pink between Lawson and Enchant- 

 ress. 



Among the subjects to be treated at 

 the Toronto meeting are "New Sys- 

 tems ot Watering and Greenhouse Con- 

 struction," "Are There Too Many New 

 Carnations Introduced?" "American 

 Carnations and Their Prospects in Eu- 

 rope," "Carnations from a Canadian 

 Point of View." It is hoped that a 

 number of foreign carnation growers 

 may be induced to attend and make 

 addresses. 



A label will be furnished to the ex- 



FLORISTS' HAIL ASSOCIATION OF 

 AMERICA. 



The annua! meeting of this organiza- 

 tion was held at Dayton, Ohio, on 

 Wednesday. August 22. at 3 P. M. 

 The following amendment to the by- 

 laws was adopted: 



Article V. Section 7. Any risk 

 upon which three or more consecutive 

 losses shall have been paid in the five 

 years preceding the levying of an as- 

 sessment, shall be considered a haz- 

 ardous risk, for that assessment, and 

 an additional lit per cent, of the gross 

 amount ot such assessment shall be 

 added thereto. 



Officers were elected as follows: 

 President, E. G. Hill. Richmond, Ind.; 

 vice-president, H. H. Ritter, Dayton, 

 O.; secretary, John G. Esler, Saddle 

 River. N. J.; treasurer. Albert M. Herr, 

 Lancaster, Pa.; directors, Elmer D. 

 Smith. Adrian. Mich.; Joseph Heacock, 

 Wvncote, Pa.; F. E. Dorner, Lafayette, 

 Ind. 



The investment ot the reserve fund 

 was left in the hands of the president, 

 secretary and treasurer, who are to 

 constitute a finance committee. 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICUL- 

 TURAL SOCIETY. 



The schedule tor the 1907 spring ex- 

 hibitions ot the Massachusetts Horti- 

 cultural Society has been issued. Some 

 noteworthy features ot interest are the 

 bringing out ot several old-time favor- 

 ites which have not been seen in the 

 lists for many years, as well as some 

 novelties which appear for the first 

 time Among these are camellias, 

 schizanthus, imantophyllums (clivias), 

 fibrous begonias, forced lilies, and 

 Darwin and late single tulips. 



In addition to the numerous classes 

 of spring bulbous plants are the classes 

 of Indian azaleas, ericas, acacias, 

 "Raster plants," herbaceous spiraeas, 

 and climbing and rambling roses. 

 There is also a class of forced bulbs 

 for amateurs only. The very liberal 

 prizes offered should Insure a good 

 competition at these exhibitions. 



For the March exhibition the Julius 

 Roehrs Company of Rutherford, N. J., 

 offers special prizes to the amount of 

 $2.=;. on tor the best groups of hard- 

 wooded flowering greenhouse plants, 

 such as acacias, camellias, azaleas, 

 rhododendrons, etc., to be competed 

 for by private gardeners only. 



Accompanying this preliminary 

 schedule is a circular announcing 

 three special prizes tor decorated din- 

 ner tables to he awarded at the 

 Chrysanthemum Show ot November 

 2-4, 1906. These prizes are for the best 

 decorated tables laid for six covers, 

 and the judges are to be three ladies 

 selected by the committee on exhibi- 

 tions. The prizes offered are as 

 follows; 



First, $75.00 and a silver gilt medal; 

 second, S50.00 and a silver medal; 

 third, ?3.5.00 and a bronze medal. 



Copies ot the schedule and circular 

 and any further information desired 

 concerning these exhibitions can be 

 obtained on application to the secre- 

 tary. Wm. P. Rich, 300 Massachusetts 

 avenue, Boston. 



