cy 



18 



The Florists^ Review 



October 2, 1919. 



York last spring to classify some of the 

 new hybrid types that have been pro- 

 duced duilng the last year or two, which 

 were puzzling to the judges at the 

 various shows. There has been a change 

 in the formation of new dahlia types 

 and hybrids are produced for which no 

 class has been formed. We believe that 

 we have this straightened out for the 

 present, but no one can say how long it 

 will last, for we are only at the begin- 

 ning of dahlia breeding and some aston- 

 ishing novelties can be looked for in the 

 near future. 



Trial Oroimds. 



"Some years ago, after the organi- 

 zation of our society, we established 

 trial grounds under the supervision of 

 Prof. Hall, and the New York experi- 

 ment station, at Geneva, N. Y. Prof. 

 Hall through sickness had to relinquish 

 the care of it, and the necessity of hav- 

 ing one somewhere else not too far from 

 New York confronted us. 



"Prof. Fraser, of Storrs, Conn., un- 

 dertook the job, although it was im- 

 possible to accomplish much the last 

 season on account of limited time, etc. 

 The results there show for themselves, 

 as you will see from the report of the 

 committee which has examined them, 

 which will be given at this meeting. We 

 hope with the cooperation of members 

 another season to be able to show the 

 work of the trial grounds to better 

 advantage and the good of all concerned 

 by giving a complete list of the best 

 varieties for the garden and for cut 

 flower purposes and also by eliminating 

 all old and practically useless varieties. 



Every Member Can Help. 



"We want the help this coming sea- 

 son of all our fellow members, not only 

 to increase our membership but to in- 

 crease the interest in the planting and 

 the cultivation of dahlias. , If you have 

 a spare bulb, give it to your neighbor 

 who has none, with the request that he 

 plant it. If he is successful you will 

 have made another dahlia lover and 

 possibly a member of the American 

 Dahlia Society. We want members and 

 we want to see the dahlia growing in 

 every home garden wherever possible. 

 So, fellow members, do not only grow 

 dahlias, but talk dahlias, and the re- 

 sults will follow." 



Secretary's Beport. 



In his report as secretary of the so- 

 ciety, John H. Pepper said: 



"Although the secretary took office 

 only January 1, superseding by appoint- 

 ment Mr. Lewis, whose business duties 

 prevented him from longer acting as 

 secretary, this report covers the period 

 since our last annual meeting. While 

 then quite unfamiliar with the details 

 of the society's work, I have, through 

 the kind assistance of my brother 

 officers and members of our directorate, 

 endeavored to carry the society's work 

 forward and am pleased to report that 

 in spite of the somewhat adverse con- 

 ditions experienced generally in the 

 commercial world, the society has had a 

 fairly successful year. 



The . Membership Koll. 



"The roll of membership at present 

 contains the names of 310 members, of 

 whom 202 have already paid their dues 

 for 1919. Four have asked to be 

 dropped from the roll at the close of 

 the year. Compared with last year's 

 record, a slight advance in membership 

 is shown, and, everything considered, 

 the society is to be congratulated on 

 having fully maintained its strength 

 during a most trying period. The great 

 and continued interest of our esteemed 

 member, George L. Stillman, of Wester- 

 ly, B. I., in the society has been demon- 

 strated in the number of applications 

 for membership sent in by him, and our 

 worthy president, Mr. Vincent, has also 

 rendered material assistance in this 

 direction. >- .. .; 



The Btilletin. 



"The society has published three is- 

 sues of the bulletin since our last an- 

 nual meeting, and two more are antici- 

 pated before the close of, the year, one 

 about the end of the present month, the 

 other in November. Thereafter, under 

 instruction from our executive board, 

 publication of the bulletin will be con- 

 tinued bimonthly. It is intended to en- 

 large the scope of the publication, mak- 

 ing it more educative in character and 

 opening departments in the conduct of 

 which our members are invited to join. 

 "The great improvement in the dif- 

 -ferent forms of our cherished flower 

 and the various methods of advancing 





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both quality and form now in practice 

 should furnish details for discussion 

 which would make the six issues of the 

 bulletin during a year highly interest- 

 ing. The circulation will, in future, be 

 sufficiently valuable to advertisers to 

 induce advertising patronage sufficient 

 to at least defray a portion of the ex- 

 pense, of printing, which nowadays is a 

 serious item, as most of us know who 

 have anything to do with the produc- 

 tion of printed matter. Our bulletin is 

 an important factor in our success, and 

 if its scope can be enlarged a little the 

 resulting benefit to the society will be 

 great. 



The Trial Garden. 



"Our trial garden at the Connecticut 

 Agricultural College, ®torrs, Comvij-iaa- 

 proved to be highly successftw in its 

 first year's operation.v^Th<ise of your 

 officers who had the privilege a day or 

 two prior to this meeting to examine 

 the exhibits planted in the garden can 

 testify as to the great value of this 

 splendid adjunct to our work and the 

 efforts of Professor Fraser to make the 

 garden a success. The report which 

 Professor Fraser will make covers the 

 results of his work and the awards 

 recommended. 



"Your executive board has met sev- 

 eral times during the year just closed, 

 and at its meetings the various de- 

 tails of our work have been thoroughly 

 discussed and directed. Eules for the 

 conduct of our trial garden and an offi- 

 cial scale of points for judging dahlias 

 were framed and adopted, as published 

 in the bulletin." 



AT DAHLIA TRIAL GROUNDS. 



Inspecting the Trial Grounds of DahlUs at Storrs, Coon., September 20. 



Society's Officers Judge. 



Saturday, September 20, President 

 Richard Vincent, Jr., White Marsh, 

 Md.; James Duthie, Oyster Bay, N. Y.; 

 George L. Stillman, Westerly, R. I., and 

 John H. Pepper, secretary, New York, 

 as officers of the American Dahlia So- 

 ciety, visited the society's trial garden 

 at the Connecticut Agricultural Col- 

 lege, Storrs, Conn., to judge the plant- 

 ings in the garden for the award of 

 certificates. At the garden also were 

 E. C. Vick, editor of the garden de- 

 partment of the New York Sun; C. 

 Louis Ailing, West Haven, Conn.; L. 

 B. Linsley, West Haven; A. W. David- 

 son, Ansonia, Conn., and Prof. G. W. 

 Fraser and G. R. Scrivinor, of the col- 

 lege. 



The garden was found to be in excel- 

 lent shape both as to culture and bloom. 

 About forty-five varieties had been 

 I)lairted for trial, three plants of each. 

 After a thorough examination governed 

 by the society's scale for judging, twen- 

 ty-six varieties were adjudged worthy 

 of certificates, scaling seventy-five 

 points or more. 



The official scale is: Exhibition va- 

 rieties — color, 20; stem and foliage, 25; 

 substance, 15; form, 20; size, 20; total, 

 100 points. Commercial varieties — 

 color, 25; stem and foliage, 25; sub- 

 stance, 25; form, 15; size, 10; total, 100. 



Certificates Awarded. 



The varieties awarded certificates 

 were as follows, the scale used being 

 exhibition except where otherwise 

 noted: 



Geo. H. Mastick, by M, G. Tyler, Portland. 

 Ore.; peony, crimson, very florlferous, early, 

 medium tall; 79^. 



