20 



The Florists^ Review 



AuQCST 28. 1»1». 



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AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL 



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THE last year has been an eventful 

 one for your Washington represent- 

 ative, particularly the first three 

 months of our fiscal year, during which 

 time the coal situation, with which you 

 are all so familiar, created much con- 

 cern and much work for your Washing- 

 ton representative, owing to the fact 

 that many local fuel administrators did 

 not seem to understand the national or- 

 ders. The everlasting "work or fight" 

 order, which cropped up all over the 

 United States as a big bugaboo and 

 which frightened many of the florists 

 into closing up their places and many 

 employees into quitting their positions 

 on account of the local draft boards 

 not understanding their orders, also 

 caused your Washington representative 

 much concern. However, be that as it 

 may, the war is -now over and the work- 

 or-fight order is obsolete, but the ques- 

 tion of adequate help still concerns us 

 much; and as for the coal situation, 

 while there is no embargo now, unless 

 those who have not already ordered 

 their coal for the coming winter got it 

 on the ground at once, they may find 

 themselves without fuel to carry them 

 through the coming winter. This is due 

 to several causes, such as insufficient 

 miners to dig the coal, insufficient rail- 

 road facilities to distribute the coal and 

 various other causes. However, I sin- 

 cerely hope that the coal situation is 

 not so black as it looks, because the last 

 several seasons caused enough anxiety 

 without our having further coal troubles 

 this year. 



Chamber of Commerce Convention. 



Obedient to a call from the National 

 Chamber of Commerce, President Totty, 

 Secretary Young, George Asmus, chair- 

 man of the national flower show com- 

 mittee, and the Washington representa- 

 tive attended the convention of the Na- 

 tional Chamber of Commerce, at Atlan- 

 tic City, December 3 and 4, 1918. The 

 convention was probably the biggost 

 convention of business interests ever 

 held in the United States. There were 

 over 400 business firms represented. 



American Sose Society. 



The annual meeting of the American 

 Rose Society was held June 2, 1919. The 

 members assembled at 1214 F street, 

 where they were received by the florists 

 of Washington and taken in automo- 

 biles for a ride through Potomac park 

 before going to Arlington Farm, where 

 they inspected and judged the rose gar- 

 den. They then reentered the automo- 

 biles and proceeded to the home of Mrs. 

 Charles J. Bell, Twin Oaks, where they 

 inspected her rose garden and grounds, 

 after which light refreshments were 

 served. 



The Coal Situation. 



For nearly two years the restrictions 

 on coal on account of the war gave many 

 of our members much concern. The coal 

 situation happily righted itself when 



The report of WtlHam F. Oude ^8 Washington 

 representatire of the 8. A. F.,- pr««e>iited at the 

 Detroit convention August 19> . . . , 



the armistice was signed, November 11, 

 and the coal embargo was lifted. 



The Shipping Board. 



I will not go into details on the ship- 

 ping proposition, which has been taken 

 care of with the end of the war and the 

 action of the Federal Horticultural 

 Board. 



Work-or-Fight Order. 



Then the work-or-fight order loomed 

 up to frighten many of the men engaged 

 in the florists' business, causing them to 

 seek other employment and also creat- 

 ing much unrest. This was through the 

 ill-advised draft boards who gave out 

 the information through the country 

 that men in so-called nonessential busi- 

 nesses must either secure essential em- 

 ployment or fight. September 14, 1918, 

 the following letter was sent out and 

 published in all the trade papers, and, 

 notwithstanding these publications, 

 there were a number of florists who left 

 their work or shut down their business 

 altogether in order to secure more es- 

 sential employment: 



Important to All Florists Throughout the United 

 Stiites of America. 



btatemfnt8 have gone abroad that an order 

 IsSiied from General Crowdpr's office, at Wash- 

 ington, D. C, placed the florists' business on the 

 nonessential list and that florists must seek other 

 occupiUi'jiis. Tliif. 1 have never believed and do 

 not bol-eve r.ou-, hut the fact is that these state- 

 ments have gone out and succeeded in disorgan- 

 izing help to large degree in the florists' busi- 

 ness. 



In view of the above statements which have 

 come to me from various parts of the United 

 States, I called on General Crowder at 3 o'clock 

 Friday afternoon, September 6, and he personally 

 assured me that the florists had not been clnssed 

 as nonessential, nor was there any idea of doing 



80. 



This statement coming direct from General 

 Crowder should in a measure alleviate the dis- 

 content among the florists, especially the beads 

 01* departments. 



All these rumors were unofficial, so 

 far as the war industries board was 

 concerned. 



Most of you will remember on the 

 Thursday of last year's convention 

 there was published what was supposed 

 to be an Associated Press story to the 

 effect that all must secure essential 

 work or fight. I said then that I did 

 not think it was true, but the story had 

 the effect of frightening many mon into 

 leaving their employment and going to 

 work for the shipping board and muni- 

 tions factories, where unskilled labor 

 could earn much higher wages. And 

 from that time until the armistice was 

 signed this monster would not be 

 downed, but would loom up at different 

 times in various places. 



The Hose Garden. 



The rose garden, which is conducted 

 by the Department of Agriculture in co- 

 operation with the American Rose So- 

 ciety, now contains 700 varieties. Dur- 

 ing the year additions have been made 

 to the extent of three varieties. Twen- 

 ty-four concerns were requested to con- 

 tribute plants to the garden, aggregat- 

 ing 161 varieties. Sixteen replies were 

 received and three firms sent plants 

 totaling fifteen and consisting of three 

 varieties. 



Fortunately, at the time the execu- 

 tive committee of the American Rose 

 Society visited the garden this year, 



the weather was propitious and the 

 roses were in better condition than at 

 any previous meeting of the committee. 

 The condition of the garden was credit- 

 able, considering the difficulty of se- 

 curing labor with the limited funds at 

 the disposal of the department. 



The work of Dr. Van Fleet in breed- 

 ing hardy garden types of roses has 

 yielded exceedingly interesting results. 

 There are now in the trial grounds be- 

 tween 3,000 and 4,000 seedlings and 

 among the mature plants which have 

 been selected out of the previous gen- 

 erations of seedlings there are five or 

 six remarkably promisiiig new varieties, 

 which the committee of the Rose So- 

 ciety feels warrant introduction. These 

 plants are not only interesting because 

 of their inflorescence, but because of 

 their foliage and habit of growth. 

 While they have not yet been tested 

 out in a wide geographical way, yet it 

 is believed from the parentage which 

 has contributed to these varieties that 

 they will carry rose planting into re- 

 gions not now well supplied with hardy 

 sorts which bloom profusely. One of 

 the remarkable plants is a hybrid form 

 of Rosa rugosa. The inflorescence in 

 this hybrid consists of a large number 

 of small perfect roses from three-fourths 

 of an inch to one inch in diameter, borne 

 in clusters of from twelve to twenty 

 roses each. The great number of flow- 

 ers borne by the plants gives them the 

 appearance of a large bouquet. Another 

 of the new forms carries a flower con- 

 siderably brighter, somewhat larger, 

 but with markings quite similar to that 

 of American Pillar. As this is a bush 

 type of plant and is floriferous, it 

 promises much. These two sorts are 

 outstanding in their inflorescence, but 

 others are excellent for their class. No 

 attempt is here made to describe the 

 several sorts, but merely to call atten- 

 tion to the fact that an important con- 

 tribution in the form of new varieties 

 is awaiting introduction and distribu- 

 tion. 



Test Garden Only. 



The rose garden, which is jointly 

 maintained by the Department of Agri- 

 culture and the American Rose Society, 

 is distinctively a test garden. The ar- 

 rangements entered into between the 

 Department of Agriculture and the so- 

 ciety were for the express purpose of 

 determining the adaptability of varie- 

 ties of roses to the soil and environ- 

 mental conditions of Washington and 

 for the purpose of affording the depart- 

 ment material to study roses in general, 

 as well as for breeding purposes. As a 

 result many have been disappointed in 

 the appearance of the rose garden main- 

 tained at Arlington Farm. Those who 

 visit the farm in the future should dis- 

 tinctly understand that the garden is a 

 test garden for the purpose of deter- 

 mining the relative hardiness and 

 adaptability of varieties and not a show 

 garden. Acting upon this viewpoint, 

 the executive committee of the Ameri- 

 can Rose Society at its annual meeting 

 in June considered the plan of attempt 

 ing to establish in the parka of Wask- 



