78 



HOKTICULTURE 



July 20, 1912 



AMERICAN SWEET PEA SOCIETY 



On another page of this issue ap- 

 pears an interesting review ot what 

 the American Sweet Pea Society was 

 able to demonstrate at its exhibition 

 in Boston last week, from the pen ot 

 a gentleman recognized in this coun- 

 try and abroad as a leading authority 

 oii the subject. On that topic, there- 

 fore, we need to say but little, other 

 than to compliment the members 

 of the society on the magnificent 

 showing they made in the face of most 

 adverse conditions that were beyond 

 human control and to congratulate 

 Boston on its selection as the location 

 for the next annual feast of sweet 

 peas. 



The Meeting. 

 The annual meeting of the National 

 Sweet Pea Society of America was 

 called to order by President William 

 Sim at 4 P. M. on Saturday, July 13, 

 in the committee room at Horticultural 

 Hall, Boston, about 75 gentlemen be- 

 ing present. A brief address of cordial 

 welcome was made by Wm. J. Stewart 

 and then President Sim presented his 

 annual address. The secretary, Harry 

 A. Bunyard, made a general statement 

 on the growth and work of the organi- 

 zation during the year and was fol- 

 lowed by Prof. A. C. Beal of Cornell 

 University, who reported on the trial 

 grounds, giving a brief outline of what 

 had been accomplished during the past 

 season. 



Nomination of ofiftcers was the next 

 business. W. Atlee Burpee made an 

 eloquent appeal for Wm. Sim to suc- 

 ceed himself as president and M. C. 

 Ebel nominated J. C. Vaughan for 

 vice-president. On motion of Mr. 

 Burpee these gentlemen together with 

 Secretary Bunyard, Treasurer Bod- 

 dington and Recording Secretary Pep- 

 per were unanimously elected as the 

 officers tor the coming year. For the 

 next meeting place Invitations were 

 presented from the Chicago Florists 

 Club and Chicago Horticultural So- 

 ciety on behalf of their city— from the 

 Elberon Horticultural Society on be- 

 half of Asbury Park, N. J., and by 

 Wm. J. Stewart for Boston and Boston 

 was selected by a unanimous vote. 

 After a somewhat amusing debate it 

 was voted to change the name of the 

 organization from National Sweet Pea 

 Society ot America to American Sweet 

 Pea Society. Prof. J. J. Taubenhaus 

 ot the Delaware Agri. Coll. Exper. 

 Sta.. then read his paper on 

 Our Present Knowledge of the Sweet 

 Pea Diseases and Their Control, which 

 was closely listened to and then came 

 adjournment. 



The Luncheon. 

 On Saturday evening the visitors 

 -were entertained by the Gardeners' 

 and Florists' Club of Boston at an 

 informal luncheon in one of the base- 

 ment halls in Horticultural Building. 

 About 200 were present, a fair sprink- 

 ling of ladies being in evidence and 

 the affair was an exceptionally happy 

 and enjoyable occasion. President 

 Thomas Pegler of the Gardeners' and 

 Florists' Club extended a few brief 

 words ot hospitable welcome and 

 called upon Wm. J. Stewart to officiate 

 as toastmaster. Brief and full of snap 

 and wit were the responses ot the va- 

 rious speakers called upon and applause 

 was frequent and spontaneous. When 



President Sim was presented as "the 

 man who does things" he received an 

 ovation of which any man might well 

 be proud. W. Atlee Burpee was given 

 another lattling reception as he told of 

 the big things that were being accom- 

 plished in California. J. K. M. L. 

 Farquhar waxed eloquent as he voiced 

 the generous welcome of the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society and W. 

 A. ftlanda, fresh from his triumphs 

 across the Atlantic also brought down 

 applause unstinted. Rev. W. T. 

 Hutchins made a splendid and inspir- 

 ing address which was really the gem 

 of the evening. E. H. Wilson made a 

 most interesting little talk on the new 

 hardy plants he had collected in China, 

 Ed. Jenkins voiced the appreciation ot 

 the Lenox fraternity. Thomas Logan, 

 president of the Association of Gard- 

 eners was an excellent spokesman for 

 that organization. B. Hammond 

 Tracy presented the congratulations of 

 the Gladiolus Society and last came 

 President Pegler with a delightful 

 little siieech of felicitation. 



At intervals throughout the evening 

 songs were contributed by Miss Eliza- 

 beth C. Edmands and Miss May E. 

 Bews, and violin solos by Miss Jennie 

 A. Corson. These ladies all displayed 

 talent and ability such as is rarely 

 heard on occasions of this kind and 

 encores were almost insatiable. One 

 Scotchman was heard to say that he 

 now realized that he had never heard 

 "Annie Laurie" in his life until he 

 heard it from Miss Corson's violin. 

 The hall was elaborately decorated 

 with plants and flowers, sweet peas by 

 thousands adorning the tables. 



Aside from this Club affair many 

 little private entertainments were ex- 

 tended to the visitors — on Sunday es- 

 pecially, when an auto trip through 

 the parks, a visit to Wm. Sim's and 

 Thos. Roland's places, and to Mr. 

 Tracy's gladiolus gardens were en- 

 joyed by many. Come again. 

 The Exhibition. 

 The spacious halls of the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society were filled 

 to the limit. The scene was a spark- 

 ling one and had the weather not 

 played such a scurvy trick on Wm. 

 Sim and Duncan Findlayson, ruining 

 the hundreds of big tubs and boxes 

 of growing peas which were to have 

 transformed the largest hall into a 

 sweet pea garden, it was very evident 

 that the contributions of flowers would 

 have far exceeded the capacity of the 

 building. It is said that Mr. Sim alone 

 had to send three truck loads to the 

 dump as useless. Secretary Bunyard 

 told us there were no less than 900 

 entries and be was busy the greater 

 part of Friday night getting them in 

 order. It was a big task. Robert 

 Cameron as exhibition manager had 

 his hands full and accomplished what 

 seemed almost an impossibility with- 

 out friction or fuss. The new Jones 

 Patent exhibition vase proved especi- 

 ally well adapted for the display of 

 sweet peas and very many were in use. 

 The Spencers made a much more 

 effective impression than the Grandi- 

 floras and there were some remarkable 

 displays from New England points re- 

 mote from Boston which had escaped 

 the destructive storm of Thursday and 

 where the heat spell had been less 

 violent. 



As to the arrangement of the 

 flowers there was evidence on all sides 

 that education is still needed. The 

 disi)lay by Burpee was commented 

 upon favorably as an object lesson in 

 breaking away from the old beaten 

 track of stuffing quantities of bloom 

 into small vases and placing them in 

 flat array on the tables. Exhibits 

 where sweet pea foliage with tips and 

 tendrils were used among the flowers 

 were the more pleasing. The mantels 

 tables, baskets, hampers, etc.. in the 

 retailers' section showed evidence of 

 the same great fault, with but few ex- 

 ceptions, man.v of them being over- 

 loaded with probably five times as 

 many flowers as would have been re- 

 quired for graceful effect. The judges 

 evidently had this prominently in 

 mind for they favored the simpler ar- 

 rangements in every instance. The ta- 

 bles taking first and second awards 

 were beautiful in their simplicity and 

 delicacy. H. F. Michell's pagoda ar- 

 rangement in the lobby made a very 

 good effect. In addition to the exhibi- 

 tors named in the appended award list 

 there were many showy displays en- 

 tered for exhibition only, among these 

 being, a show of lily of the valley and 

 peas by T. J. Grey & Co., a collection 

 of about 60 named varieties of peas 

 from Stumpp & Walter, a similar one 

 of about 75 named varieties from Peter 

 Henderson & Co. and a collection of 

 peas, snapdragon and hollyhocks from 

 Jos. Breck & Sons. 



The Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society supplemented the American 

 Sweet Pea Society's schedule with a 

 generous list of prizes for sweet peas. 

 The table decorations alluded to in 

 the foregoing paragraph came under 

 this section, also. As will be seen by 

 the list of prize awards which follow, 

 the competitors in the various classes 

 w-ere mostly the same as in the Sweet 

 Pea Society's competition. There were, 

 however, some other displays of the 

 Horticultural Society calling for more 

 than passing notice. Chief among 

 these was the display of Lilium myri- 

 ophyllum, which filled the stage in 

 the lecture hall with a richly beauti- 

 ful grouping of hundreds of blooms, 

 the aroma ot Avhich faintly pervaded 

 the entire hall. This display won for 

 the exhibitors, R. & J. Farquhar & Co., 

 the rare award of the Mass. Horticul- 

 tural Society's gold medal. Four other 

 beautiful Wilson introductions — Lilium 

 Duchartrei, L. Chinense, L. Bakeri- 

 anum and L. Sutchuenense, won dis- 

 tinction also as the following" list ot 

 awards shows: 



LIST OF AWARDS. 

 Private Gardeners — Section A. 



.Insepli Breck & Sou's silver cup, value 

 .'?.')ii. 12 vases sweet peas. Miss Fauny 

 Fosier. 



K. & J. Farquhar & Co.'s prizes. Six 

 vases, 6 Spencer varieties, Mrs. T. D. Ricli- 

 arclson. W, D. Sloaue. 



Tlios. J. Grev Co.'s prize, cut glass bowl. 

 Vase of 10 Spencer varieties, W. D. Sloane. 



Kottler, FlsUe, Rawson Co.'s prizes. 20 

 vases, 20 varieties, Winthrop Ames, W. B. 

 O Field, H. E. Converse. 



.lerome B. Eice Seed Co.'s prize. Vase 

 ot White Spencer, S. P. Shotter. 



Vauffhan's Seed Store, silver cup. 8 

 vases, S Spencer varieties, S. P. Shotter. 



Arthur T. Boddinston. cup and prizes. 

 F(.r a collection of 25 varieties. Giraud 

 Foster, S. P Shotter. Hon. Seth Low. 



Watkins & Simpson prize. 6 vases Spen- 

 cer or Unwin. Mrs. ,T. S. Kennedy. 



National Sweet Pea Society's mecials ana 



