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HORTICULTURE 



August 21, 1920 



The Cleveland Convention 



Roland for President —Washington Chosen for Next Year — Biggest 



Trade Exibit Ever Held 



Cleveland has been owned by the 

 florists of this country all the past 

 week. While the convention of the 

 S. A. F. this year was not the largest 

 ever held, yet the attendance has been 

 very good and much interest in the 

 development of the organization was 

 shown. Without doubt the trade ex- 

 hibit was the best which has ever 

 been seen at any of the conventions. 

 Comment to this effect was heard on 

 all sides. 



Some of the best known faces were 

 missed this season. P. Wtelch and 

 Henry Penn of Boston being among 

 those absent. Other Boston men, 

 however, notably Thomas Roland. 

 S. J. Goddard and E. Allan Pierce 

 were active, and many of the mem- 

 bers were glad to welcome Edward 

 Welch, prophesying that he would 

 follow in the footsteps of his father. 



The opening sessions were carried 

 out as per the program. President H. 

 P. Merrick of the Cleveland Florists- 

 Club welcomed the delegates in well 

 chosen language and ex-president .T. F. 

 Ammann responded. President A. L. 

 Miller then made his address, which 

 was in part as follows: 



Address of President A. L. Miller 



After an interval of twenty-four 

 years, we are again meeting in the 

 Forest City, Cleveland, one of the most 

 important cities on the Great Lakes. 

 Many of us who were present at the 

 previous meeting are impressed with 

 the marvelous advances made in the 

 city of Cleveland in little less than a 

 quarter of a century, not the least of 

 which is observed in the development 

 of our own industry. Our society has, 

 too, advanced in this period of time. 

 The recorded membership for 1S96, the 

 year of the last convention in Cleve- 

 land, was in the neighborhood of 800, 

 while today, I believe, we are ap- 

 proaching closely to the 3,500 mark, an 

 advance upon which we may surely 

 congratulate ourselves. Still, we have 

 not advanced to the extent that we 

 should have done. I fear that we are 

 somewhat behind the average of trade 

 representation to be found in other 

 industrial organizations, whose inter- 

 ests are not greater than our own. 



Reconstruction of Business 

 In the reconstruction of business 

 following the war, it cannot be said 

 that the florist industry has been af- 

 fected very much except in the short- 

 ening of available help. The scarcity 



THE NEW OFFICERS 



On Wednesday the following were 

 nominated unanimously: 



President — Thomas Roland. Nahant. 

 Mass. 



Vice-president — Adolph Gude. Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 



Secretary — John Young. New York 

 City. 



Treasurer — J. J. Hess, Omaha, Neb. 



Directors nominated were as fol- 

 lows: Thomas Joy, Nashville, Tenn.: 

 Carl Hagenburger, Mentor, Ohio; 

 Harry Papworth, New Orleans, I^a.: 

 Henry G. Berning. St. Louis. Mo. 



of labor has been and is a serious 

 problem for many of us. and doubtless 

 there are many who had arrived at a 

 point where they expected to take 

 things easy from now on, but who 

 have been obliged to get back into har- 

 ness without thought of relief in the 

 immediate future. The high prices of 

 iron, steel, glass, lumber and other 

 material pertaining to greenhouse 

 building have stood in the way of 

 additions to existing plants and jf the 

 establishment of new plants, but 

 those of us who must of necessity 

 build, rebuild or expand, may as well 

 meet conditions, for no one can fore- 

 tell the time when they may change, 

 and in the meantime opportunity 

 counts for a good deal. We have not 

 yet reached the apex of the florist 

 business, and, in my opinion, we never 

 can, for there isn't any apex to it, at 

 least as far as we can judge at this 

 time. Reconstruction has not. won- 



derful to remark, hindered the flor- 

 ists, it has only made us adapt our- 

 selves to conditions. 



The Plant Quarantine 



At the last convention our society 

 went on record as opposing the Quar- 

 antine Order No. 37. Our opposition 

 against the order was based upon the 

 belief that such a drastic order was 

 unwarranted through conditions as 

 stated, and would work injury to our 

 industry. The action of the society 

 has been endorsed by several other or- 

 ganizations interested, to such an ex- 

 tent that there is now organized oppo- 

 sition to the Quarantine, not so much 

 to the object of it, but as to the man- 

 ner in which it is enforced and the 

 power the Federal Horticultural 

 Board assumes. The fact that florists 

 can make the best of opportunities 

 presented through stock which is more 

 or less staple in this country is i>oor 

 argument in favor of this quarantine. 

 It is true that, under certain condi- 

 tions, growers may bring in limited 

 stock for purposes of propagation, but 

 few growers would risk such importa- 

 tions under the inspection require- 

 ments as laid down by the Board, 

 which necessitate delays in delivery 

 fatal to most stock. Our Committee 

 on Tariff and Legislation have this 

 matter well in hand and are watching 

 its development closely. 



Reducing Cost of Flower Production 



All growers have in the last three or 

 four years had to look closely to their 

 production cost. In the operation of a 

 range of glass the heating cost is a 

 subject occasioning much thought, and 

 in working out conclusions, we are left 

 largely to our own theories and experi- 

 ences, although occasionally, as at our 

 conventions, we find opportunities to 

 discuss with our brethren our pet 

 ideas in regard to economies which 

 we believe we can effect. With many 

 others, I hold the opinion that an im- 

 partial investigation of heating instal- 

 lations and methods of operating them 

 if properly carried out might be pro- 

 ductive of a basic system of heat pro- 

 duction, Which would entail minimum 

 cost for fuel and result in maximum 

 efficiency. Through insufficient knowl- 

 edge many of ns suffer fuel wastes 

 which might be avoided. I am quite 

 aware that an investigation such as 

 ?uggested, would, necessarily, he at- 

 tended with considerable expense, and 



