32 



The Rorists^ Review 



AWGCST 18, lJti:i 



ji fomniittee of fi\ »>, to investigate the 

 wliolc question, consider ways and 

 means, ohtain bids and specifications, 

 and to report to the board of directors 

 not later than January 15, 1922. 



I consider this a fundamental ques- 

 tion, bi'cause the history, work and 

 spirit of our society may best be pre- 

 served and understood through such a 

 form of permanent record. In fact, our 

 annual might well l)fcome a real history 

 of the progress of horticulture iu 

 ^Vm('ri<-a. 



Advisory Council. 



I iK-licve everyone will agree with 

 ine in claiming that the society has in 

 its ex-presidents a grouj) of men wliose 

 combined exjierience and devotion to 

 oiu organization needs no proof and no 

 trial, for each has already shown his 

 value to us in his individual capacity as 

 tiu' liead of our large society. They rep- 

 resent many branches of our profes- 

 sion- see<lsnien, nurscryiiien, retailers, 

 wholesalers, growers, ])ark and ceme- 

 tery superintendents, landscape garden- 

 ers and others. 



The assistance these men could ren- 

 der, acting together, may not be meas- 

 ured or demonstrated, but we must all 

 realize that in them is wisdom we need 

 and can use to our everlasting benefit. 

 Individually, they are active among us 

 today and ever ready to i-espond to a 

 call for help, but how niucli more can 

 they help us as a deliberative body, 

 meeting together by themselves and co 

 o]ieratiiig with your officers! There are 

 always matters needing all the thought 

 and knowledge we can nuistei'. Here, in 

 their experience and ability, is a so far 

 untouched mine of skill. Let us tap it 

 by establishing an advisory council com- 

 posed of our ex-presidents. My sug- 

 gestion is that this council would be 

 set up only to consider definite and 

 specific questions referred to it by the 

 board of directors, and it would report 

 its advice to the board of ilirectors, 

 who would use it as they chose in their 

 own deliberations. In this way we 

 would get the benefit of a deliberative 

 body of great value to us. 



I am much in favor of a field worker, 

 an efficient man spending all of his 

 time going over the country, lecturing 

 before local horticultural organizations, 

 (explaining what our great society stands 

 for and what it is doing and aiming to 

 ilo for horticulture in our country. 1 

 believe there can be no better way to 

 add new members and to create new in- 

 terest in our work and our organization. 



It might pro\ e difficult, at first, to 

 .'irrange for this ;is continual ser\ice, 

 and I would favor so rearranging our 

 secrt'tary's duties and office force that 

 he could Ix^ released and able to devote 

 a jiart of his time to this important 

 service. 



The personal contact and personal ap- 

 jieal of an accomplished field worker 

 would not only benefit the society, but 

 it would be the means of extending so 

 ciety benefits aiul grou]i thought ami 

 work more widely. Sniely, this is \vli;it 

 \\c slioulil like to do. 



The Medal of Honor. 



M;iiiy ye.'irs ,-il;o tliis society estab- 

 lished a gold medal, which 1 umlerstand 

 has been awarded but twice in all these 

 .\ears. Now, I believe we should not 

 bestow it excej>t after the most careful 

 consideration, but I cannot but think 

 that the progress oi many branches of 



our profession during twenty years 

 might have been rewarded wisely 

 through the medal wo have had so long 

 established. This would tend to encour- 

 age and to spur, especially those whose 

 work is so valuable and so often not 

 rewarded by financial returns. Much 

 of the scientific progress needed in our 

 ])rofession is by work for love and for 

 knowledge, and this sort of work needs 

 our help in any way we can give it. 



I, therefore, suggest that the society 

 Reestablish this medal as a medal of 

 honor, to be awarded by the board of 

 directors annually, to the man or wom- 

 .•m, firm or institution, in the United 

 States, or elsewhere, who has done the 

 most in recent years to promote horti- 

 culture, using the phrase in its broad- 

 est meaning. Members of our society 

 should be eligible for this medal, for 

 meritorious service of the same kind. 

 It may be awarded once in five years to 

 the member of the S. A. F. who, 

 during the preceding five years, shall 

 have rendered services best calculated 

 to advance the largest interest of this 

 society. I do not believe, however, that 

 the medal should ever come to be con- 

 sidered an internal operation, but that 

 the thought of the directors ever should 

 be to encourage others. I would sug- 

 gest that the board of directors decide 

 the award by ballot at the annual meet- 

 ing held about mid-Lent. 



Education. 



To approach the question of educa- 

 tion is to touch a broad sub.iect and 

 one wherein our foremost thinkers and 

 watchers believe there are serious short- 

 comings. 



But, beyond the general principles of 

 education, there is to be even more in- 

 tense specialization, and in this horti- 

 culture must not only keep the pace, 

 but it must regain a place in the front 

 of the procession. Science, as applied 

 to horticiilture, is backward and is 

 much needed. Professional horticulture 

 can never take a jiroper place among 

 other professions until it is on a strong- 

 er and firmer scientific basis. It is said 

 that America has the finest system of 

 agricultural and horticultiiral educa- 

 tion in the world. There is, however, 

 a great lack of correlation and dissemi- 

 nation, a deficiency in general support 

 and encouragement and too great a dis- 

 inclination to use and profit by what is 

 now available. I believe our society 

 can do no better work than to assist in 

 l)lanning and suggesting plans for mak- 

 ing more and better use of what we 

 have in scientific education in our pro- 

 fession, and for furth(>r improving it 

 wherever it may be done. We should 

 also encourage and ;issist young men 

 to t;iko this training in horticulture, 

 even providing scholarships. Work out 

 coii])eration between scientific institu 

 tions and the practical horticulturist, 

 each of whom has so much to give to 

 the other. These institutions are public 

 and for the gener;il good, and their use- 

 fulness is in pro]>ortioii to our liel])fnl- 

 iiess and willingness to do what we can 

 to niaki< them all that we so greatly 

 need. Many established facts in th(> 

 science of our jirofession have already 

 been made by our systems of public edu- 

 cation in experiment stations or other- 

 wise and these are too little known and 

 too little used. It would be a benefit to 

 us and to ill! horticulture to assemble 

 such things whenever possible .and place 

 them in the li.nnds of our members. It 



is time to show more results, for wi 

 are now able to do so. 



All these matters so closely connects I 

 with education and with tho backward 

 science of our profession deserve the at 

 tention, I think, of a strong special 

 committee, perhaps to be succeeded b\ 

 a continuing standing committee, to n 

 port at our next annual meeting what 

 we can do to further the science of our 

 profession and to encourage scientitii 

 training. 



. The Permanent Fund. 



Many suggestions have been made 

 about the use and care of our estaii 

 lished fund. There are those who would 

 have it used to establish an experi 

 mental garden, coupled with training 

 for young men in horticulture. This 

 is a worthy and much to be desired oh 

 ject, in which our society should take 

 a vital interest. I beliave, however, 

 that a majority of our members 

 strongly favor the policy of further in 

 creasing this fund, until it become- 

 large enough to yield an income that 

 would carry on some worthy work upon 

 a scale in keeping with onr great so- 

 ciety. No one wishes any part of it 

 used except in a way that will benefit 

 our whole society and horticulture in 

 general. I believe, therefore, that I 

 voice the opinions and desires of my 

 fellow members in recommending that 

 further heavy increases in the fund are 

 necessary. 



We now have a fund of $50,00(i, 

 which we consider a permanent fund. 

 There is, however, nothing in the by 

 laws to this effect, and it is certainly 

 wise to amend the by-laws so that there 

 shall be a permanent fund and so that 

 the principal of this fund shall not be 

 used, but only the income. 



We have a provision in the by-laws 

 that the "treasurer shall give bonds 

 in such sum as the executive board may 

 from time to time deem sufficient." In 

 my judgment the by-laws should not 

 leave it to the discretion of the execu- 

 tive board, except with the proviso that 

 such bonds shall be at least equal in 

 amount to the funds of the society un 

 der the control of the treasurer. 



Our present by-laws provided for a 

 .finance committee, yet they provide 

 that the treasurer shall have charge 

 of the funds of the society. 



I think also that the duties and 

 powers of the finance committee should 

 be more clearly defined. 



We have now in our growth reached 

 the point where it seems to me we 

 should iiiake, in the interests of safety 

 and conservatism, one or two changes 

 in our by-laws which will clarify them 

 and protect the society and its officers 

 in the administration of their work. 



These matters deserve tho eonsidera 

 tion of a special committee .and 1 

 strongly recommend the appointmept of 

 such a committee to report to the board 

 of directors not Later than .Tanuarv 

 1.3, .1922. 



The National Flower Show. 



The \;tluc of cooperative work has 

 been shown more (dearly by the great 

 tloucr shows of our society than in .■my 

 other of our efforts. They have been 

 successful: and I am of the firm opin 

 ion that they h;ive .'ittracted more 

 jieople toward horticulture than can 

 any other jneans as yet devised. They 

 are educational, instructing our people 

 to a greater apjireciation of one of the 

 tine arts. Over 100,000 ])eople paid to 



