16 



The Florists^ Review 



December 25, 1919. 



it^t^r^rrsvir^rrs\irirsvir/svir)«vir)rs\ir)rs>(irirstir;rsvi 



disposed of and the new policies are 

 ready to be written the Indiana State 

 Florists' Association will endorse the 

 company and will give it the associa- 

 tion's assistance, as the members of the 

 association want the protection that can 

 be given." 



MOBE HOOSIER CY0I.ONE. 



Insurance Tangle Clearing. 



The latest installment in the tangled 

 story of the affairs of the American Mu- 

 tual Cyclone & Hail Insurance Co., of 

 Muncie, Ind., is given in the largely 

 self-explanatory letter just received 

 from Dillon Myers, president of the 

 company. The letter comes in response 

 to the article entitled "Who's in the 

 Hoosier?" in The Review November 27 

 and is as follows: 



"When the present management took 

 over the company, we understood that 

 the policies of members outside the state 

 had been canceled and did not know 

 anything different until the article ap- 

 peared in The Review about them. We 

 then held a meeting of the board of 

 directors, and the secretary and I went 

 to Indianapolis and engaged an attor- 

 ney to investigate the whole thing. His 

 report covers several typewritten pages. 

 He decided that these contracts with 

 persons outside the state were 'ultra 

 vires' contracts; that is, they were be- 

 yond the power of the company to make, 

 because they were outside the state, and 

 the law under which the charter was 

 granted clearly states that the property 

 to be insured must be within the state 

 of Indiana. Therefore, these contracts 

 could not be legally made without vio- 

 lating the charter conditions. But the 

 attorney decided also that, as these con- 

 tracts were entered into in good faith 

 by both parties, they were legal con- 

 tracts as long as the insured met any 

 assessments that were levied. 



* ' Now, we were willing to carry these 

 policies until they expired, but the state 

 auditor of Indiana said that we could 

 not and should not levy any assessments 

 on them and even instructed the state's 

 attorney at Muncie to investigate pre- 

 paratory to instituting proceedings 

 against the company if we tried to col- 

 lect assessments. So that you see our 

 hands were tied fast. 



"Then we were granted permission by 

 the state auditor to send out the letter 

 which was published in The Review No- 

 vember 27. Over half of the outside 

 policy-holders signed the releases and 

 returned them to us. 



Contracts Bind Insured. 



"Now, the attorney further states 

 that these contracts are just as binding 

 on the insured as on the company and 

 that these assessments could be levied 

 and collected by a receiver if one should 

 be appointed to wind up the affairs of 

 the company. In order to get around this 

 and to straighten things out, we asked 

 the members outside the state to sign 

 the release, as it would be cheaper for 

 them to do so than to be liable for an as- 

 sessment if it should come to that. Some 

 do not understand tliat those a-ssess- 

 ments are only levied to meet the losses 

 that have already occurred, that they 

 are a legal debt and that no member can 

 drop out until he has paid all assess- 

 ments levied against him. Consequently, 

 that Michigan member who spoke about 

 the $70 assessment only paid what was 



his share of the losses up to that time 

 and nothing in advance. He would be 

 liable to another assessment, should a 

 receiver have to be appointed to 

 straighten things out. I am certainly 

 sorry that we cannot carry those mem- 

 bers, but, as you see, our charter rights 

 will not allow that. In order to get 

 that right, we should have to reorganize, 

 deposit $10,000 with the state and rein- 

 corporate. This we cannot do at pres- 

 ent and therefore we ask these outside 

 members to help us out of a tangle that 

 we did not get into ourselves, by re- 

 turning these releases and thereby giv- 

 ing the greenhouse owners of Indiana a 

 chance to continue their insurance. 



' ' In conclusion, I will say that the 

 board of directors is now working out a 

 plan to change the insurance from a dol- 

 lar rate to a square foot insurance and 

 that when these outside members are 



USINGER'S UTTERANCES. 



Edward Amerpohl, of the Janesville 

 Floral Co., Janesville, Wis., reports a 

 busy season. With the building of the 

 factory of the General Motors Co. here 

 and the increase of population which 

 will naturally follow, a big growth in 

 the florists ' business is anticipated. 



Chas. Rathjen, of Janesville, Wis., ex- 

 pects to market next year 100,000 cut- 

 tings of Chadwick chrysanthemum. Mr. 

 Rathjen specializes in Chadwick and 

 has no doubt of his success in disposing 

 of such a number of one variety. 



W. T. U. 



Moore Haven, Fla. — H. W. Luther, 

 who has an establishment at Ensley, 

 Ala., is starting to grow Asparagus 

 plumosus here in addition to his other 

 business. 



GOVEBNMENT-GROWN BULBS. 



Supplied Congressional Needs. 



Regarding the experiments in bulb 

 culture, the report of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry of the Department of 

 Agriculture for the year ending June 

 30, 1919, said: 



"During the year one-half of our bulb 

 stocks have been removed to the new 

 bulb farm at Bellingham, Wash. Ow- 

 ing to a shortage of labor, the other half 

 was left undug on rented ground. The 

 total excess production for the year was 

 about 350,000 bulbs, or one minimum 

 carload, which supplied the entire quota 

 of the congressional distribution. These 

 stocks proved to be fully up to the 

 standard. The narcissi were especially 

 commented upon as of superior quality. 

 Of the minor lists of stocks not before 

 handled, the Dutch irises, branching 

 tulips, our native camassias and some 

 of the newer narcissi have done espe- 

 cially well. The propagation of the lily 

 is promisinc Manv snecies grow read- 

 ilv in this region by simply drilling the 

 seed in open ground in autumn. Even 

 such a speciQ.s as Lilium washington- 

 ianum is now promising under prac- 

 tically open-ground conditions, most of 

 tlie plants not appearing above ground, 

 however, until the second spring. 



How Bulbs Increase. 



' ' The preservation of bulbs taken out 

 of beds after flowering has proved to be 

 thoroughly practicable this season. Some 

 20,000 or more tulips and narcissi from 

 the department grounds will give eighty 

 per cent of flowering bulbs, besides an 

 average increase of 160 per cent of small 

 bulbs, which are just as good planting 

 stock as can be secured anywhere. One 

 year will bring the eighty per cent of 

 flowering stock to first-class condition 

 and half of the small stock to flowering 



size. This class of conservation is to 

 be encouraged and no doubt will be 

 practical now that bulbous stocks have 

 doubled in price. 



"It has been demonstrated that the 

 beautiful Palestine irises can be grown 

 satisfactorily in the Sacramento valley 

 and probably in the other interior val- 

 leys of California. Our experiments 

 show that a reproduction of three and 

 one-half fold may be expected the first 

 two years after importation; also, what 

 is known as the Juno group succeeds 

 well here. In general, these groups, al- 

 though in some respects the most at- 

 tractive of the great iris family, have 

 not been considered successful in this 

 country up to this time." 



Easter Lilies. 



The investigations of Easter lilies 

 conducted at Arlington Farm, near 

 Washington, have revealed a number of 

 things of importance: 



(1) Our spedliiiK stocks aftpp two years give 

 a reproduction of biilblets which Is ample for 

 all purposes of propagation. This means that 

 once a seedling strain has been developed a 

 stock can be worked up rapidly by vefretative 

 methods and tliese same metliods will serve to 

 <-<>ntinue the Increase. 



(2) Stem bulblets, which form in the axils of 

 the leaves near the surface of the ground, are 

 six to twelve in number under ordinary condi- 

 tions.* and several of them will give one, two or 

 three flowers the first year and grow to good 

 flowering size with one year's cultivation. 



(3) An increased bulblet propagation can he 

 secured by plunging the pots, by hilling up 

 around the plants, or by layeripg the stems. 



(4) Seed dined for two or three months ger- 

 minates in a shorter time than that which is 

 sown immediately upon its maturity. 



(H) Home-grown bulbs three to six and one- 

 half inches in circumference average three to 

 five flowers to the stem when forced for Easter. 



(6) A few flowers are secured in one year from 

 seed. 



(7) Seed sown in .Tuly, when carried on in 

 pots, will produce bulbs which can be forced 

 for the second Easter following. 



(8) These facts enable growers to produce their 

 own Easter lily bulbs from seed in one year's 

 time, the seedlings being carried in pots. After 

 flowering, the bulbs not disposed of can be car- 

 ried outdoors south of Philadelphia and will be 

 ready to force again after one year's recuper- 

 ation. 



(9) Stocks thus produced are free from disease. 



