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20 



The Florists^ Review 



Januabt 22, 1920. 



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NEW YORKERS AT ALBANY 



NEW YORK FEDERATION. 



Entertained by Albany Club. 



The Albany Florists' Club enter- 

 tained the New York Federation of Hor- 

 ticultural Societies and Floral Clubs in 

 a most hospitable way Thursday, Janu- 

 ary 15. The federation was represented 

 by about twenty-five delegates from 

 affiliated societies. In the afternoon 

 automobiles were provided to take the 

 guests to various commercial green- 

 houses and other points of interest 

 about Albany. 



At 6 o'clock a federation meeting 

 was held in the rathskeller of the Hamp- 

 ton hotel, with President F. E. Pierson, 

 of Tarrytown, N. Y., presiding. The 

 project for a horticultural building at 

 the state fair in Syracuse was discussed, 

 as were also plans for a more rigid cam- 

 paign against insect pests and fungous 

 diseases on florists' crops. 



Tbe Annual Dinner. 



After the meeting, the guests joined 

 the members of the Albany Florists' 

 Club in one of the large private dining 

 rooms of the Hampton for the annual 

 dinner of the club. 



The dining room was most tastefully 

 decorated by the committee, consisting 

 of F. A. Danker, Edward Tracy and 

 1^ L. H. Schaefer. The tables were deco- 

 rated with splendidly grown cyclamens 

 from the greenhouses of Louis Menand 

 and a vase of fifty fine Laddie carna- 

 tions from Samuel Goddard, Framing- 

 ham, Mass. 



Wit, Song and Wisdom. 



Between the courses of the elaborate 

 menu, the diners were entertained with 

 instrumental music, songs, monologues 

 and various stunts given by a vaude- 

 ville troupe from Troy. One of the most 

 notable numbers on the program was 

 the singing of the official song of the 

 8. A. F., "Say It with Flowers," by 

 Miss Lavina Richards, 6 years old, of 

 Troy. 



After the dinner an address on "Some 

 Principles of Plant Breeding" was 

 given by Dr. R. A. Emerson, head of the 

 department of plant breeding of Cornell 

 University. He told of the results which 

 have been obtained, especially in breed- 

 ing sweet peas, carnations, beans, peas 

 and corn, and told of the results of his 

 own work in breeding a strain of gar- 

 den beans which is immune from an- 

 thracnose. 



Cooperating for Horticulture. 



Following the lecture, F. A. Danker, 

 as toastmaster of the evening, intro- 

 duced President F. R. Pierson, who 

 spoke of the important work the federa- 

 tion is doing. He thanked the Albany 

 Florists' Club for the splendid hospital- 

 ity it had extended to the delegates of 

 the federation and hoped that a large 

 number would go over to Ithaca for the 

 Farmers' week meetings February 11. 



President Pierson ^s address was fol- 

 lowed by short speeches by President 

 Tracy, of the Albany Florists' Club; 

 Werner Bultman, Syracuse Florists' 

 Association; Dr. Erl Bates, Syracuse 



Rose Society; Louis Menand, James Lar- 

 carris and L.rH. Schaefer, of the Al- 

 bany Florists' Club, and E. A. White, 

 of Ithaca. 



At the close of the toasts, Thomas 

 Tracy, on behalf of the Albany Florists' 

 Club, presented the retiring president, 

 William Newport, with a silver-mounted 

 carving set, and the retiring secretary, 

 Robert Davison, with a silver-mounted 

 ebony set of toilet articles. Mr. New- 

 port and Mr. Davison responded with 

 expressions of appreciation. 



E. A. White, See'y. 



GUESSING GERMAN SECRETS. 



In Selecting Ten Weeks' Stocks. 



When war was declared with Ger- 

 many, importations of seeds from that 

 country ceased. Many varieties of 

 seeds were always imported from Ger- 

 many. Among them was the German 

 ten weeks' stocks. There was a secret 

 about this seed, believed to be known 

 only to a few persons in Germany. The 

 secret lay in the selecraon of the seed 

 for sowing. German ten weeks ' stocks 

 produce two distinct kinds of plants, 

 those that bear double flowers and those 

 that bear single flowers. The former 

 are desirable; the latter are undesirable. 

 Now, the double-flowered German ten 

 weeks' stocks bear no fertile seed. 

 Therefore, the production of the desir- 

 able double-flowered German ten weeks' 

 stocks depends on securing the right 

 kind of seed from the undesirable single- 

 flower type. How is it done? 



Finding the Answer. 



That is the question that our seeds- 

 men have been having to answer. After 

 two years the problem has been solved. 

 First some German gardeners here were 

 approached. They said they had grown 

 ten weeks' stocks for seed in the old 

 country, but they had never selected the 

 seeds; the foreman always did that in 

 private. Then the problem was given 

 to some of our California seed growers 

 to solve. One of them, a particularly 

 bright man with a professional educa- 

 tion and of a scientific turn of mind, 

 has found out how it is done. First he 

 took all the different-shaped seeds in a 

 given lot of ten weeks' stocks. The 

 oval-shaped seeds were put in one lot 

 by themselves, the pointed seeds were 

 put in another lot by themselves, the 

 irregular-shaped seeds in another lot by 

 themselves, and so on until each dis- 

 tinct characteristic went into a group 

 of its own. When sowing time came, 

 each group was sown by itself and care- 

 fully marked. When flowering time 

 came, the results were carefully noted 

 and compared. At the end of the first 

 year some of the groups were eliminated. 

 Those remaining were given another 

 season 's trial, the seed being carefully 

 selected, grouped and marked as be- 

 fore. At the second year not a shadow 

 of doubt remained. The Californian 

 knew the secret of selecting the seed 

 that would ^ive double-flowered ten 

 weeks' stocks. . 



Of course, it is a well known fact that 



no strain, not even the finest Germany 

 ever produced, gives all double flowers. 

 There is always a percentage of single 

 flowers. When the seed is from a fine 

 strain the percentage of single flowers 

 is not large — an encouraging beginning. 



Phil. 



AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. 



Hubbard Medal to E. G. Hill. 



The executive committee of the 

 American Rose Society at a recent 

 meeting in New York city voted to 

 award to the hybrid tea rose, Columbia, 

 registered in 1917, by E. G, Hill, of 

 Richmond, Ind., the Gertrude M. Hub- 

 bard gold medal for the best rose of 

 American origin introduced during the 

 last five years. This award was made 

 possible by the generosity of Mrs. Ger- 

 trude M. Hubbard, of Twin Oaks, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, and has been previously 

 awarded but once, when, in 1914, it was 

 given to M. H. Walsh, of Woods Hole, 

 Mass., for the introduction of the climb- 

 ing rose, Excelsa. 



The honor which goes to Mr. Hill is 

 distinctive. It is the highest honor 

 which the American Rose Society can 

 confer on a hybridizer and it is a recog- 

 nition, not only of a variety of merit, 

 but of the valued work of a pioneer in 

 rose breeding, one who has devoted a 

 half century of real service to the 

 advancement of the rose through breed- 

 ing a type admirably suited for Amer- 

 ican conditions. 



E. A. White, See 'y. 



TRADE MAY OBTAIN REDRESS. 



Continual hammering against the 

 bars raised by the Federal Horticultural 

 Board in Quarantine No. 37 ha.s seemed 

 until now to avail the trade^ nothing. 

 Even when Dr. Marlatt faced in person 

 th3 scathing protests of florists at De- 

 troit in August, the only statement won 

 from him which gave grounds for hope 

 was one to the effect that if the board 

 had exceeded the necessary restrictions 

 in its sweeping quarantine, hearings on 

 individual classes of stock might be al- 

 lowed later, giving importers an oppor- 

 tunity to convince the board of the 

 error of its ways. 



Such a hearing has been secured, by 

 those whose complaint was keenest at 

 Detroit and who have not rested in their 

 appeals to the administration since, the 

 orchid growers. They will confer with 

 the members of the board February 10 

 at Washington. How successful will be 

 their pleas one cannot predict, but 

 there is hope for them and for the trade 

 in general in this first sign of leniency 

 on the part of the board in regard to 

 Quarantine No. 37. The notice regard- 

 ing the conference reads as follows: 



In response to requests for a conference on the 

 subject of the restrictions on the importations 

 of orchids, the Federal Horticultural Board would 

 lilie to have those Interested in the production of 

 orchids In this country, as -well as those here- 

 tofore interested in the importation of orchids, 

 meet the board for the purpose of such confer- 

 ence February 10, 1920, at 10 o'clock, in the 

 office of the chairman of the board. United 

 States Department of Agriculture. Washing- 

 ton. D. C. C. L. Marlatt, 



Chairman of Board. 



BRIEF ANSWERS. 



F. S., Wash. — As to which tomato will 

 sell better in your market, consult the 

 man who is to do the selling. 



L. N. B., O. — Botanically speaking, 

 yes; in a trade sense they aire of course 

 distinct. 



