42 



The Florists' Review 



Mabch 30, 1916. 



AMEBICAX ROSE SOCIETY. 



Officers Reelected. 



The American Eose Society, which 

 held its seventeenth annual meeting at 

 Convention hall, Philadelphia, at 8 p. m. 

 March 27, has made such excellent 

 progress this year that officers were 

 unanimously reelected, as follows: 



President — Samuel S. Pennock, of 

 Philadelphia. 



Vice-president — Louis J. Reuter, Wes- 

 terly, B. I. 



Secretary — Benj. Hammond, Beacon, 

 N. Y. 



Treasurer — Harry O. May, Summit, 

 N. J. 



Executive committee — Admiral Aaron 

 Ward, of Roslyn, L. I., to fill a vacancy; 

 Robert Pyle, of West Grove, Pa., to 

 succeed himself; E. Allan Peirce, 

 Waltham, Mass., to succeed John H. 

 Dunlop. 



Judges — Philip Breitmeyer, Detroit; 

 Alexander B. Scott, Sharon Hill, Pa.; 

 George C. Thomas, Chestnut Hill, Pa. 



Standard Grades. 



The spirit of the meeting came into 

 activity when Harry O. May presented 

 the report of the committee on stand- 

 ardizing the grading of cut roses. The 

 report proposed the following official 

 standard: 



AMERICAN BEAUTIES. 



Name of Grade Length Stem 



Specials 36 inches and over 



Fancies 30 Inches and over 



Extras 24 inches and over 



No. 1 18 inches and over 



"O. 2 12 incbefl and over 



OTHER ROSES. 



Name of Grade - Length Stem 



Extra specials 30 Inches and over 



Specials 24 Inches and over 



Extras 18 inches and over 



No. 1 14 inches and over 



No. 2 10 inches and under 



The aim of the committee is not only 

 to create a uniform standard but to 

 enable telegraphic and mail orders to 

 be briefly given and intelligently filled. 



The report brought out a lively dis- 

 cussion and an earnest protest. W. H. 

 Elliott said there already is a standard 

 in general use in Boston that differs 

 from the proposed standard. It is based 

 on the Stearns Lumber Co. scale and 

 anyone can have one for the asking by 

 addressing that company. George Bur- 

 ton thought that extra special Beauties 

 of 48-inch stem or over should be recog- 

 nized. W. F. Gude opposed the stand- 

 ard as proposed. 



The matter finally was referred back 

 to the committee for further considera- 

 tion. 



Routine Business. 



President S. S. Pennock presented his 

 annual address, dealing with the work 

 accomplished by the society and its 

 possibilities for the future. Secretary 

 Hammond presented a report for his 

 office, mentioning that it ia twelve years 

 since the society had met in Philadel- 

 phia. Treasurer Harry O. May re- 

 ported cash receipts of $2,501.20 for the 

 year, with disbursements of $1,453.28 

 and a cash balance of $1,047.92. In the 

 investment account there is $3,450. 



J. Horace McFarland, of Harrisburg, 

 was elected an honorary member and 

 his work in editing the Rose Annual for 

 the society was highly praised. 



It was decided to hold a meeting June 

 25 to visit the rose test gardens at 

 Cornell University and at Syracuse, 

 N. Y. 



The date and place for the next an- 

 nual meeting were left to the executive 

 committee. 



Samuel S. Peoaock. 



(President Aaicrlcan Rose Society.) 



A gold medal and letter of apprecia- 

 tion was voted to Henry A. Dreer, Inc., 

 for its wonderful rose gardens in Con- 

 vention hall. 



George C. Thomas presented an out- 

 line of a plan perfected by Dr. Robert 

 Huey and himself for uniformity in 

 judging outdoor roses. Points to be 

 given to color, fragrance, form, shape, 

 size, quantity of bloom, stem and last- 

 ing qualities. Wallace R. Pierson 

 thought the plan in its present form 

 was not feasible. It was referred back 

 to the committee. 



SECRETARY HAMMOND'S REPORT. 



[The following Is the report of Secretary 

 Benjamin Hammond of the American Rose So- 

 ciety, read at the meeting held in connection 

 with the National Flower Show at Philadelphia, 

 March 25 to April 2, 1916.] 



This is the seventeenth annual meet- 

 ing of the American Rose Society. 

 Twelve years have passed since this 

 society held an annual meeting in 

 Philadelphia, and the development of 

 the society during those twelve years 

 is evidenced by the wonderful exhibi- 

 tion at Convention hall. Since our last 

 visit to this city the society has met 

 four times at Boston, once each at 

 Washington, Chicago, Buffalo and De- 

 troit, and three times at New York, 



Our membership varies from year to 

 year. Last year, 1915, we had the 

 pleasure to receive another life mem- 

 ber, namely, R. Witterstaetter. The 

 life membership fees help us to build 

 our permanent fund, which now reaches 

 the sum of $3,200. The annual mem- 

 bers who have paid for the year at this 



date number 179, of which forty-seven 

 are associate members. 



The Testing Gardens. 



The test rose gardens, which began 

 at Hartford, Conn., now consist of a 

 garden at Washington, D. C, one at 

 Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., and 

 one at Minneapolis, Minn. These are 

 watched over by special committees 

 appointed by the society and certainly 

 have awakened much interest. The 

 bushes to be tested are being furnished 

 gratis by rose growers. Two lots were 

 sent from Europe, one by Kallen & 

 Lunnemann, of Boskoop, Holland, em- 

 bracing 168 plants in twenty-nine va- 

 rieties. These were sent to the Cornell 

 rose garden at Ithaca. Hugh Dickson, 

 Ltd., of Belfast, Ireland, sent ten each 

 of four varieties. These are for compe- 

 tition in the test gardens and were di- 

 vided, one-half going to Hartford, 

 Conn., the other half to tlie Washing- 

 ton gardens. The details of the results 

 at the rose gardens is presented in the 

 Rose Annual, as well as the awards 

 made. 



Municipal rose gardens are being ad- 

 vocated in England. A letter from 

 England, under date of January 23, 

 came to me, saying, in part: "You 

 are far more progressive in America 

 as regards municipal rose gardens than 

 we are over here, and I shall be grati- 

 fied if you will send me details of any 

 public rose gardens established in 

 America." This writer is an amateur 

 and holds the championship both for 

 exhibition rosjfes and decoratives of all 

 England. Our amateur societies are 



