18 



The Florists' Review 



Sbftembbb 2, 1920 



There are many communities already 

 organized in a cooperative way to raise 

 funds for publicity. Most of these are 

 in large centers and collect their funds 

 on the percentage plan; this is working 

 out quite well where the sales and pur- 

 chases go through the commission 

 houses. There are, however, as stated 

 before, many growers throughout the 

 United States who sell their own prod- 

 uct direct, either at wholesale or retail 

 or both. The only way the percentage 

 plan of collection could be put into 

 effect in such cases would be to go over 

 the books of such firms at various in- 

 tervals. That is neither practical nor 

 feasible. So the next best method to 

 collect an equitable amount from such 

 firms is on a basis of square feet of 

 glass area; hence, we have put the 

 clause in the constitution of the Na- 

 tional Flower Growers' Association that 

 an amount equal to not less than $1 

 per thousand square feet of ground cov- 

 ered with glass be collected for local 

 dues and that an amount equal to not 

 less than 50 cents per thousand square 

 feet of ground covered with glass 

 owTied or controlled by members of any 

 local be paid as dues to the national 

 organization annually. This does not 

 mean or say that every local district 

 shall collect on the square foot basis. 

 It can collect its dues on any plan the 

 members may adopt, the percentage 

 plan, the square foot plan, or on a di- 

 rect assessment of so much per mem- 

 ber; that will be left entirely to each 

 local district to decide for itself, just 

 so long as the lump sum collected is 

 equal to the amount stated. 



District Committees. 



So here we have several reasons for 

 the unit system of organizing. The 

 others are many, for we all well know 

 liow our conditions and problems vary 

 in different communities; some will be 



all strictly wholesale cut flower grow- 

 ers, others will be wholesale and retail 

 growers and still others will retail the 

 entire output of their greenhouses. So, 

 in districts where there are a mixture 

 of all three, special committees or 

 boards can be appointed to handle the 

 different problems locally. This can 

 be done much better through local 

 branches than by individual member- 

 ship in the national organization. True, 

 some of these districts will have to be 

 quite large, covering one or more states, 

 in order to be able to retain a paid sec- 

 retary to look after the work of col- 

 lecting dues, taking invoices, etc. 



Some will say, why then have a na- 

 tional organization at all? Why not 

 let each district be one organization in 

 itself and run its own affairs to suit it- 

 self? The purpose and plan of having 

 a national organization and units or 

 locals working under a charter issued 

 therefrom is not, in any way, to have 

 the national body dictate to the locals 

 any specified policies. There are, how- 

 ever, some general fundamentals, in 

 which all locals should be uniform. 

 Those are assessments for national 

 dues, invoice of plants, grading of 

 stock, packing stock, terms and credits, 

 claims and adjustments, along with 

 many other important matters requir- 

 ing standardization, which can be done 

 in a uniform way nationally. In these, 

 the national body should have absolute 

 jurisdiction. Through the national 

 body, local organizations can be kept 

 in closer union with one another, using 

 it as a sort of clearing house. The fact 

 that the national organization is made 

 up from the local units and has its 

 officers elected by delegates therefrom 

 simply proves that the national body is 

 not intended to be a dictator to the 

 locals, but rather must be a servant of 

 all locals, looking after the welfare of 

 all and keeping them united in one 



.1 



^«C_s^ 



strong body. These are some of the 

 principles we stand for and intend to 

 carry out. 



Growers' Child of the S. A. F. 



Just one more word in closing, with 

 reference to the relations of this or- 

 ganization to the parent body, the S. 

 A. F. There seems to be in the minds 

 of a few some doubt as to what rela- 

 tionship, if any, this growers' associa- 

 tion will bear to the S. A. F. As one 

 who has received the highest honor in 

 the gift of this great organization, I 

 want to say that I would rather live 

 in obscurity all the rest of my life than 

 to take from this great parent body one 

 iota of prestige or progress. I speak 

 not only for myself, but for all who are 

 vitally interested in this new move- 

 ment, when I say that we are builders, 

 not wreckers. We sincerely feel that 

 each and every one of us can be of 

 more service to the great parent body 

 by cooperating through affiliation as a 

 growers' association than we can as in- 

 dividuals; all we ask is a fair trial. 

 We all love the parent society. We 

 would not dare connect ourselves with 

 any movement that could in any way 

 deprive the old S. A. F. of the title of 

 parent. Yes, we hope to be the largest 

 of its many offsprings, but as such we 

 only pray that we may be able to add 

 more strength to it, helping to build a 

 reserve fund large enough to build for 

 us a permanent home in the national 

 capital and thereby put floriculture on 

 the high plane it deserves before the 

 American people and the world at large. 



If there are any communities which 

 want to organize into a district local 

 and want assistance from the national 

 body, get into correspondence with the 

 writer, who will be glad to help you to 

 organize. 



GROWERS' OFFICERS. 



Following the meeting of the National 

 Flower Growers' Association at Cleve- 

 land August 19 the board of directors 

 met to choose the two officers whose 

 selection is delegated to the board by 

 the constitution. J. F. Ammann was 

 continued as secretary of the association 

 and Wallace E. Pierson, of Cromwell, 

 Conn., was chosen treasurer. 



Gladiolus Jack London. 



(The exhibit by the RiclianI Di«-ncr Co. wliieli took sw<-ei>stak<'9 at the SaTi Francisco i;liulli>lus show. 

 AiiRu-t T, l'.»20. The flowers all came from bulblets.) 



DISEASED CYCLAMENS. 



I am sending some cyclamen leaves 

 which are affected with disease. Any 

 information as to the name of this 

 disease and the remedy for it will be 

 npprociatcd. O. B. — Mich. 



The leaves show unmistakable evi- 

 dence of cyclamen mite. While many 

 remedies for this dreaded pest have 

 been suggested, I do not know of any 

 real cure except the radical one of 

 throwing away the entire stock and not 

 growing any cyclamens for a year. The 

 mite seems to persist if even one or two 

 plants are retained. Large and usually 

 successful growers have proved this to 

 their cost. Probably the remedy of most 

 value is a good nicotine extract, such 

 as Black Leaf 40, with which the plants 

 should be syringed weekly on the first 

 appearance of the mite, being sure to 

 spray the liquid down well among the 

 leaves and on top of the bulbs. C. W. 



Manhattan, Kan. — T. S. Martin has 

 purchased from Ken Kimble the Kimble 

 Greenhouse, formerly owned by Henry 

 Moore. 



