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HORTICULTURE 



December 9, 1916 



NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS 



SIXTH ANNUAL CONVENTION WASHINGTON, D. C. 



The sixth Annual Convention of the 

 National Association of Gardeners was 

 held at the New Ebbitt Hotel, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, on December 4 and 5. 

 1916, under the presidency of W. N. 

 Craig, of Brookline, Mass. The weather 

 was fine and everything moved 

 smoothly, due in great measure to the 

 cordial hospitality of the Washington 

 florists, for which the association was 

 most indebted to Wm. F. Gude, Wash- 

 ington representative of the Society of 

 American Florists, who with his firm 

 did much to make the stay of the gar- 

 deners enjoyable at the National C^api- 

 tal The following were registered in 

 attendance at the opening session: W. 

 N. Craig. Brookline, Mass.; M. L. 

 Ebel, Madison, N. J.; Joseph Manda, 

 West Orange, N. J.; Robert Cameron, 

 Cambridge. Mass.; George Tull, Oak 

 Ridge Va.; Frank Humphreys. Jeri- 

 cho, L. I.; Xavier E. E. Schmitt, Phila.. 

 Pa ; P. W. Popp, Mamaroneck. N. Y.; 

 Antony Bauer. Deal Beach, N. J.; J. F. 

 Piper, Madison, N. J.; W. A. Sperling, 

 New York City; Percy S. Snow, Phila.. 

 Pa ■ W E Maynard, New York. Great 

 Neck Station; Alex Michie, Cold 

 Spring Harbor, N. Y.; John Mcintosh 

 Syosset, 1.. I.; J. G. Melrose. Cold 

 Spring Harbor, N. Y.; James Stuart. 

 Mamaroneck, N. Y.; William Klein- 

 heinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John Kuhn. Phila., 

 Pa.; D. J. Coughlin, Glen Cove, h. I.; 

 J W Everitt, Glen Cove, L. I.; A. K. 

 Bonsev, Sewickley. Pa.; J. Barnet, 

 Sewickley, Pa.; T. W. Head, Lake For- 

 est, 111.; E. B. Palmer. Bridgeport, 

 Conn.; F. L. MuUord. Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D. C; John 

 Scheepers. New York; George W. 

 Hess. Supt. Botanic Garden. Washing- 

 ton b C; W. F. Gude, Washington, D. 

 C.;'john S. Hay. Phila., Pa.; R. L. 

 Jenkins, Anacostia. D. C. 



William F. Gude delivered an ad- 

 dress of cordial welcome. Mr. Gude 

 spoke individually as representing his 

 own firm, and also as representing the 

 Washington Chamber of Commerce 

 and the florists generally of the city. 

 His remarks were enthusiastically re- 

 ceived. He then introduced President 

 Craig as the next speaker, who re- 

 turned the thanks of the association 

 to Mr. Gude. who he charactfirized as 

 the "silver-tongued" orator of the 

 Capitol City. 



President Craig then delivered his 

 address, which, in part was was fol- 

 lows : 



President Craig's Address. 

 Fellow Members: — I am very glad 

 that we have an opportunity to meet 

 in the city of Washington, a city very 

 dear to the hearts of every true Amer- 

 ican. Entirely apart from what we 

 will find here of horticultural interest, 

 there is so much that appeals to the 

 eye, that I presume most of you would, 

 like myself, prefer to make our busi- 

 ness session as short as circumstances 



will permit, in order that we may 

 have more time to enjoy the archi- 

 tectural and other features of interest 

 so abundantly spread before us. Hav- 

 ing these things in mind I will not 

 weary you with any tedious remarks. 

 Since our convention in Boston a 

 year ago, which proved to be quite a 

 successful one, in spite of the fact that 

 we were meeting on ground largely un- 

 filled so far as our association was 

 concerned, progress has been steady 

 and satisfactory; and while the addi- 

 tion of new members has hardly 

 reached my expectations, all things 

 considered we have done very well and 

 I anticipate a healthy growth during 

 the coming year, for the better we be- 

 come known, the more additions we 

 shall make to our ranks. 



It is very gratifying to know that 

 our membership grows more truly 

 national each year. At one time we 

 were looked upon as a purely New 

 York society, but that time has passed 

 and members are now being added 

 from all parts of our country; in fact 

 of late the West, thanks to energetic 

 work done by our vice-president, Mr. 

 Theodore Wirth. and one of our direc- 

 tors, Mr. T. W. Head, has been adding 

 more members than the East; and 

 with our next convention in the West 

 we are bound to add many more mem- 

 bers in that section. 



Our membership being truly nation- 

 al in character, we should spare no 

 pains to preserve it as such. As our 

 conventions are held only annually, 

 there must naturally be long lapses 

 between the visits to the various cen- 

 ters, and I think some plan might 

 be evolved for the holding of occasion- 

 al gatherings of members of the N. 

 A. G. in the various centres of horti- 

 cultural activity. A local secretary 

 might be selected in each of the sec- 

 tions where we are the strongest who 

 could call quarterly or semi-annual 

 meetings of the local members and 

 where matters pertaining to the wel- 

 fare of the Association could be dis- 

 cussed, short reports of each being 

 sent to the official organ. These lo- 

 cal secretaries could perhaps collect 

 dues as well as enroll new members, 

 and in this way relieve our hard- 

 worked secretary in some small meas- 

 ure. These meetings need not in any 

 way conflict with the activities of the 

 local clubs and horticultural societies. 

 We have during the present year 

 been furnishing practical papers for 

 discussion amongst the thirty-five or 

 more local societies affiliated with us. 

 If these have proven helpful we 

 should continue them, and in that 

 case we must ask your aid in helping 

 to furnish the necessary quota of 

 practical papers to carry the work 

 along for another year. 



The Service Bureau of the Associa- 

 tion as it becomes better known is 

 being more largely patronized. We 

 cannot unfortunately secure positions 

 for all applicants, but our good secre- 

 tary has placed a good number and 



would gladly have helped every one 

 had it been in his power to do so. 

 While there is no charge for this, we 

 need a special fund to work more ef- 

 fectively, and I want to say that it 

 those whom the Bureau has benefited 

 would each make a small contribu- 

 tion, it would materially aid us. All 

 are not unappreciative; one good 

 member not long ago donated fifty 

 dollars for services rendered. Is it 

 too much to hope that others will 

 contribute for similar reasons to this 

 fund? 



Our annual dues are small, and 

 seem particularly so when our month- 

 ly organ, the "Gardeners' Chronicle 

 of America" is included. Our Secre- 

 tary, hard-worked as he is, and with 

 physical disabilities to handicap him, 

 has labored steadfastly to make our 

 organ helpful and attractive, and has 

 succeeded very well. 



In conclusion, I am sorry that I 

 have not been able to accomplish 

 more for the interests of the Nation- 

 al Association of Gardeners during my 

 tenure of office; but I have done my 

 best to work up an interest in it in 

 New England, and 1 pledge my un- 

 stinted support to my successor, and 

 will continue to give the Association 

 all possible publicity. I ask the co-op- 

 eration of every member in making 

 1917 our most successful year, and 

 the National Association of Gardeners 

 one worthy of our noble profession, 

 and one which will command the re- 

 spect of both gardeners and their em- 

 ployers. 



The minutes of the last annua) 

 convention, held at Boston. Mass., 

 were read by Mr. Popp. and duly ap- 

 proved. 



W. F. Gude at the time announced 

 that he had arranged to have each 

 visitor given a pass to the Senate and 

 House of Representative Galleries, 

 to be signed by the Vice-President and 

 the Speaker of the House. Also that 

 he had made arrangements that the 

 convention go by boat to Mt. Vernon 

 on Wednesday, with the compliments 

 of the Steamboat Company and the 

 Mt. Vernon authorities. It was then 

 ordered that the officers procure and 

 have placed upon the tomb of George 

 Washington, at Mt. Vernon, a suitable 

 floral offering commemorative of the 

 visit, also that a letter of condolence 

 be sent to William Downs, who is pre- 

 vented by illness from attendance. 

 Sincere regret was expressed at his 

 unavoidable absence. 



The following resolution was unan- 

 imously adopted: 



WHEREAS: The fnited States li.is re- 

 ceutly concluded a trenty with Canada for 

 the protection of migratory wild birds; 

 and 



WHEKEAS: It will be necessary to 

 eruict further legislation by Congress to 

 give effect to the terms of this treaty and 

 to appropriate fnr.ds to carry out its pro- 

 visions: and 



V'lIEREAS: We. the members of the 

 XationMl Association of Gardeners, are 

 strongly in favor of the proti'ction of wild 

 birds as provided for in said treaty; there- 

 lore 



