708 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Fbbbuart 1, 1906. 



One of the Carnation Ranges at the Establishment of \7ietor Bros., Chicago. 



The Banquet 



A fitting conclusion to the best con- 

 vention and the finest exhibition of the 

 divine flower ever seen was the banquet 

 at the Copley Square hotel given by the 

 alUed horticultural societies of Boston 

 to the members and guests on Thursday 

 evening. The number of ladies present 

 was especially gratifying, and most of 

 them remained with their husbands or 

 escorts until the close at one o'clock. 

 About 250 were present altogether. 

 Judge Hoitt, of Nashua, N. H., is an 

 .able and witty toastmaster and kept his 

 audience in good humor. The ladies were 

 lauded by L. E. Marquisee, of Syracuse, 

 in his usual happy strain, his stories 

 with natural acting accompaniments 

 demonstrating that an Irving or a Talma 

 had missed his calling. President Kas- 

 ting responded for the S. A. F., and espe- 

 cially urged the claims of the Dayton 

 convention. E. G. Hill gave interesting 

 references to his European trip and to 

 the origin of his rose Richmond. Prof. 

 Elson spoke in verse. 



The presentation of the silver cups to 

 Messrs. Kleinheinz, Fisher, Nicholson, 

 Ward and Pierson furnished a delight- 

 ful interlude and the responses of these 

 gentlemen were vociferously applauded. 



President-elect Dunlop emphasized his 

 invitation for a record crowd at Toronto 

 in 1907 and feelingly appreciated the 

 honor of his election. Patrick O 'Mara 's 

 toast was "The Bachelors," whom he 

 bandied carefully for personal reasons, 

 and on the subject he would have selected 

 if he could, ' ' The Fakes in Horticul- 

 ture, ' ' he waxed serious and retributive. 

 Mr. Shaw responded to the toast of 

 "The Press," and Miss Wither, Mr. 

 Carroll, and the sweet tenor of Toronto, 

 Mr. Lawrence, added greatly to the en- 

 joyment of the evening with their songg. 



It was a Boston banquet in the style 

 the Boston horticulturists do things, and 

 everybody present voted it "the best 

 ever," as indeed it was. But wait and 

 see how the Toronto boys do things when 

 they get a chance to welcome their 

 American brethren. J. Austin Shaw. 



Mr. Shaw's Dream. 



The following is the * ' dream ' ' por- 

 tion of J. Austin Shaw's speech at the 

 banquet. He asserts that he had the 

 name of every variety staged at the 

 exhibition woven into his "nightmare." 



' ' I had a funny dream last night and 

 I didn't eat a rarebit either. I thought 

 that William Scott and I were wafted 

 through the mystic hours, from midnight 

 on, from earth to sky; from Boston to 

 the land of flowers. On a White Cloud 

 we safely sat, our Guardian Angel, Mrs. 

 Bradt. We both felt like Aristocrats. 

 It was a day of Jubilee. The Cardinal 

 and his Fair Maid gave audience to 

 Scott and me, and told us not to be 

 afraid. The Queen, enthroned in royal 

 state, smiled a bright welcome as we 

 knelt close by her side. The Enchantress 

 waits and next to her was Roosevelt. 



"It was an Imperial day, a day of 

 Abundance and Prosperity, when the 

 spirits of the immortals of floriculture 

 paid homage in this Eldorado of the 

 Gods. Far away we could hear the 

 echoes of the Vesper music, and the 

 sweet strains of My Maryland. Lady 

 Bountiful, the Fair Maid of Queen Lou- 

 ise, with Ruby lips made Melody, while 

 the Prospector, with his Beacon light, 

 filled all the great dome with the efful- 

 gence of Daybreak as bright as when 

 the sun's beams fall upon the Glacier 

 on the coasts of Norway. Never so en- 

 trancing a vision greeted one's eyes at 

 the royal palaces of Winsor. 



"Shouts of Victory were heard and 

 approaching us with all the regal grace 

 of the Mikado, a golden medal on her 

 breast, and the insignia of the Queen's 

 Ward crowning on her brow, was the 

 Ideal, Elsa Struss. Following in her 

 train, radiantly beautifill, were Robert 

 Craig and his Fiancee, Nelson Fisher, 

 Mrs. E. A. Nelson, Harry Fenn and his 

 Estelle, Senator Crane and Mrs. M. A. 

 Patten; the Manley Crusader and the 

 Winsome White Enchantress, Helen 

 Gould, Pink Patten and the whole Law- 

 son family, John Haines and his Evan- 

 geline, Joost and Flora Hill, Wolcott 

 and his Belle, Dukemanni and Mrs. C. 

 W. Ward, Lieut. Peary and Fair Jes- 

 sica, the Red Warrior and Helen God- 

 dard and all the sweet ladies of the 

 court, Marion Peirce, Floriana, Genevieve 

 Lord, Ethel Crocker and Ethel Ward, 

 whose sweet, pure face some said Eclipsed 

 them all. Feathered songsters, Flamin- 

 goes and birds of every kind came flying 

 toward us from the Boston Market in 

 Perfection; in fact, a perfect Avalanche 

 of beauty, scintillating in the Afterglow 

 and irradiating Glenn and Dale with 

 loveliness. 



' ' It isn 't any wonder we woke up, is 

 it? But it was a lovely dream. And, 

 though the carnations themselves are 

 not immortal, they have made so the 

 men who gave them birth. * * 



Gaedeke to the Rescue. 



August Gaedeke, Nashua, N. H., with 

 his usual alertness, proved himself equal 

 to the emergency on the closing day of 

 the carnation convention. At almost the 

 last moment Secretary Herr discovered 

 that the number of railroad certificates 

 necessary to secure the reduced rates 

 home lacked seven tickets. M. A. Patten 

 and P. J. Hauswirth called up Mr.- 



The Latest Range Erected by Wietor Bros., Rogers Park, Chicago. 



