CANADIAN HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 



479 



as the Local Horticultural Societies. We 

 have now in this Province over fifty horti- 

 cultural societies, most of which have been 

 organized during the last few years through 

 the efforts of the Ontario Fruit Growers' 

 Association. The greater number of these 

 societies are town societies, and they are 

 quite properly called Horticultural Societies, 

 because their membership, which now num- 

 bers 5000, is largely composed of amateurs 

 interested more or less in fruit growing, 

 others in vegetable gardening, but by far 

 the greater number are particularly inter- 

 ested in floriculture. 



These societies are doing good work in 

 fostering a love for flowers and giving the 

 people information about how to grow them. 

 It is along this line that you as an associa- 

 tion and as individuals might do good work 

 in assisting them. You are both interested 

 in the growing of plants and flowers, the 

 chief difference between you being that they 

 are amateurs and you are professionals. 

 They are growing plants for pleasure while 

 you are doing it for money, and the more 

 pleasure there is in it for them the more 

 money there is in it for you. It is in your 

 interests therefore, from a business stand- 

 point, to stimulate trade by encouraging the 

 amateur in his love for flowers and by teach- 

 ing him how to care for them. I have heard 

 some professionals say that they did not be- 

 lieve in telling the amateurs how to grow 

 flowers, that this was giving away trade 

 secrets, but if the amateur's plants failed, he 

 would be willing to sell him more. I can 

 tell you this is a very short sighted policy. 

 The secret of the professional's success is in 

 increased demand for plants and flowers. 

 This increased demand depends largely upon 

 the pleasure that the amateur derives from 

 them. And the more successful the amateur 

 becomes as a grower, the more plants he 

 will want. You are widening your money 

 by giving information about growing plants. 



There are a number of ways in which you 

 as leaders in floriculture may assist the ama- 



teur. In the first place, become a member 

 of your own local horticultural society. If 

 there is not one in your locality, organize 

 one as soon as possible. Encourage the 

 members from time to time to bring out a 

 good display of flowers at your meetings and 

 give all the information you can about them. 

 Whenever there is a fall fair or exhibition 

 held in your locality get your horticultural 

 society to co-operate and bring out as fine a 

 display as possible. Most of our fall fairs 

 are weak along just those Unes where you 

 can do the most to strengthen them. 



I have spent a good deal of time during 

 the last year in preparing a model prize list 

 for fruits, flowers and vegetables, which, if 

 adopted generally by township and county 

 fairs, would help very much to encourage 

 horticulture along the lines mentioned. 

 These lists will be published in a short time, 

 and may be obtained from Mr. G. C. Creel- 

 man, Secretary of the Fall Fairs Association, 

 Parliament Buildings, Toronto. Get one of 

 them, examine it carefully, improve or 

 modify it, if you think necessary, to meet 

 the requirements of your exhibition. Get 

 your Society to adopt it, and encourage all 

 the competitions you can among your ama- 

 teurs. Do not make the mistake of trying 

 to win all the prizes yourself. That might 

 be gratifying in one sense, but it would pay 

 you better to get as many amateurs com- 

 peting as possible, and you can make your 

 little pile furnishing them with plants. 



In conclusion, I would ask you to give all 

 of us the benefit of your experience by con- 

 tributing an article once in a while to the 

 Canadian Horticulturist, which goes to all 

 the members of the local horticultural soci- 

 eties. Our friend, Mr. Hunt, has been 

 doing nobly in this respect for the past two 

 years, and his articles have helped your 

 trade much more than you imagine. But a 

 number of short articles by different mem- 

 bers of your Association would be wel- 

 comed, not only by the editor, but by a 

 of us. 



