

682 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



August 17, 1905. 



The Home of the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C 



(Soon to be replaced by a nvw structure In keeping with the needs of the great organization It houses ) 



should be present at our directors' win- 

 ter meeting as well as at the annual 

 session. 



Gardeners as Members. 



In 1885, at our first meeting in Cin- 

 cinnati, President John Thorpe said: 

 "There is a great deal of untrodden 

 ground for us to go over yet and where 

 we can do much good, especially among 

 gentlemen's gardeners and amateurs. 

 There are nearly 2,000 gardeners in the 

 employ of gentlemen who are holding 

 positions of trust and responsibility. 

 These gardeners are always well in- 

 formed, and would be of valuable aid 

 to the society." 



At Chicago, in 1887, President Robert 

 Craig said: 



The society has done wisely In not restricting 

 Its membership to any class, but has thrown 

 open wide Its doors to welcome all friends of 

 the art. Its chief object Is to cultivate In the 

 people of America a taste and love for plants 

 and flowers, and It should endeavor to get Into 

 its ranks not only all the commercial florists 

 and those engaged in supplying their various 

 wants, but should exert every effort to interest 

 gardeners on public and private grounds. On 

 this class much depends; to them Is entrusted 

 a great worli In the advancement of horticultu- 

 ral taste, and if It be Intelligently done they 

 will, In the growing appreciation of the Amer- 

 ican public, find due encouragement. 



I have read many extracts showing 



the foresight of our oflBcers along the 



lines of the growth of this society 



which we have seen developed, but only 



in the words quoted from President 



Thorpe and President Craig do we find 



even an intimation of the great help 



coming to our hands from the public 



and private gardeners. While we have 



all realized what wheel horses they 



have always been in most flower shows, 



we have not been prepared for the enor- 



mous increase in their numbers, nor 

 have we realized that because of these 

 increasing numbers, the great impor- 

 tance of their work, and the large ex- 

 penditures of money under their direc- 

 tion, they must make themselves felt 

 in our various clubs and societies. 



I wish to call attention to the fact 

 that many of our strongest gardeners' 

 and florists' clubs today from Massa- 

 chusetts to California are dominated 

 by live workers from public institu- 

 tions and private estates. There are 

 among them many who are able and 

 ambitious and whose employers encour- 

 age participation in everything that 

 belongs to horticulture. 



These brothers of ours are not only 

 strong in clubs in our trade centers, 

 but they are organized in smaller sub- 

 urban towns where the membership is 

 almost exclusively their own. The So- 

 ciety of American Florists must have 

 their support. They must consider our 

 society their national representative. 

 They must be members and be repre- 

 sented at its meetings. Our annual 

 convention programme must contain 

 matters of vital interest to them. Our 

 auxiliary societies, which are main- 

 tained by loyal members of this so- 

 ciety, must consider the welfare of 

 these gardeners and provide opportu- 

 nities for their co-operation in the rose, 

 carnation and chrysanthemum socie- 

 ties. 



The question mentioned elsewhere 

 regarding favorable membership rates 

 for club members in good standing must 

 be carefully considered by your com- 

 mittee with relation to these garden- 



ers' clubs. The visits of our officials 

 as suggested elsewhere will be heartily 

 welcomed by those now active and the 

 new ones constantlv forming. Knowl- 

 edge of the management and develop- 

 ment of these clubs which our officials 

 can supply will bind the new organiza- 

 tions to us with strong and lasting ties. 

 The necessity of an official representa- 

 tive of our society, whose whole time is 

 thus occupied is best seen in this rapid- 

 ly developing section of our affairs. 



Society Work Between Conventions. 



The very life of the society lies in 

 its membership, and recognizing that we 

 are not growing as we should, or in 

 proportion to the growth of horticul- 

 ture, I offer the following suggestions 

 that seem practical to me and worthy 

 of the consideration of the committee 

 which I believe should be appointed and 

 which should report at an early session. 



President Anthony said in 1894: 



The secretary should receive such compensa- 

 tion for his services as would enable him t<» 

 devote his whole time to the Interests of the 

 society. There are innumerable ways in which 

 a paid officer could be of benefit to the society. 



We must have more time from one of 

 our executive officers, presumably the 

 secretary, and probably not less than 

 six months of his time, that he may 

 visit once or twice a year by appoint- 

 ment, if possible, all horticultural 

 societies, florists' and gardeners' clubs, 

 nearly all of which this society may 

 rightfully represent in a national way. 

 It is certain that such visits would not 

 only bring to the society a larger fund 

 from increased membership than would 

 cover his additional salary, but further, 

 such visits made in company with other 



