V 



May 16, 1007. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



J97J 



Brass Receptacles That Take the Place of the Every-day Sort of Ferneries. 



Something like $4,000 was subscribed 

 there and then. Thus the idea of a na- 

 tional flower show — the ficst show of 

 the kind ever attempted upon the Amer- 

 ican continent — bids fair to become a 

 successful reality. 



I shall not attempt to portray to you 

 the grandeur of the show itself or the 

 magnificent hall — the Coliseum — where 

 it is to be held. Such is not the object 

 of this brief paper; nor, indeed, am I 

 equipped to go into any details of the 

 sort. 



That American enterprise, inspired by 

 the go-ahead spirit characteristic of our 

 people, will triumph despite all obstacles 

 and despite all predictions to the con- 

 trary, is a foregone conclusion with 

 many. 



Educational Purpose. 



The national flower show, it may be 

 depended upon, will not only come to 

 pass, but, like any other great work ever 

 attempted by public-spirited men for the 

 benefit of a people at large, it is des- 

 tined to fulfill a mission; it aims to 

 educate our people, to enthuse them, to 

 inspire them with a desire for all that 

 is beautiful in nature, to show them Dy 

 means of an object lesson how things 

 can be done, how the humble garden and 

 the humble cottage of the workingman 

 can be made as attractive in their way 

 as the magnificent grounds surrounding 

 the stately mansion of the millionaire. 

 What the progressive and enterprising 

 florist has attempted and has carried out 

 in a small way in his own town, what 

 public-spirited individuals have accom- 

 plished by way of spreading the idea of 

 horticulture in their own communities, 

 the national flower show aims to do on 

 a large scale. We are all familiar, more> 

 or less, with the history of the National 



Cash Register Co 's. institution at Day- 

 ton, Ohio. We know that Mr. Patterson, 

 the head of that model institution, has 

 worked long and hard to transform a 

 wilderness into a garden spot. We have 

 been told how rowdyism, that took pleas- 

 ure in wanton destruction of flower beds 

 and lawns, was converted in the end to 

 the gospel of ornamental horticulture, 

 how unsightly cottages in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of that institution were 

 transformed into beautiful little palaces, 

 how tin cans and rubbish heaps of all 

 sorts disappeared, flower beds and 

 shrubbery taking their place. To the 

 moralist, such a transformation bears 

 another lesson, for who will question 

 the benign and wholesome influence of 

 l>eautiful surroundings upon the mind 

 and character of the child, the youth — 

 our future law-maker or law-breaker? 



He was a wise man indeed, who said, 

 ' ' Tell me your company and I will tell 

 you who you are." To paraphrase this 

 saying, we may put it thus: "Show me 

 your surroundings and I will define your 

 character and social standing in your 

 community. ' ' 



After all we are but creatures of cir- 

 cumstances. To the one who rises from 

 amid squalid and filthy surroundings 

 and forces his way through into a world 

 of light, there are hundreds who suc- 

 cumb to the darkness and wretchedness 

 of the nether regions. 



If I remember right, it was the late 

 Benjamin Harrison, who, in a speech at 

 one of the Indianapolis chrysanthemum 

 shows, remarked that "the man who 

 loves flowers was never known to abuse 

 his wife," or something to that effect. 



G)mmercial Results. 



But, to return to the subject, stripped 

 of its moral element. Viewed in the 



light of pure utilitarianism or commer- 

 cialism, a national flower shotv, such as 

 it is intended to hold at Chicago, must 

 as a matter of course bear good fruit. 



We need but recall the early strug- 

 gles of the florists of a generation or 

 two ago, men still living in our midst — 

 their trials and tribulations long before 

 a society of American florists and or- 

 namental horticulturists sprang up, long 

 before a carnation society made its ap- 

 pearance or a local flower show of any 

 sort was ever thought of, to arrive at the 

 conclusion that the progress we have 

 achieved was due in a large measure, 

 not so much to individual endeavor or 

 to individual enterprise, as to a combi- 

 nation of efforts, having for its aim the 

 benefit of each, individually, and of all 

 as a body. 



Whatever arguments one may advance 

 in favor of that hackneyed injunction, 

 "Attend to your own business," etc.; 

 whatever success one may point to as the 

 result of strict attention to one 's own 

 affairs, it is a fact beyond dispute that 

 the Society of Atoerican Florists is re- 

 sponsible for most of our achievements 

 in the past and, if I may venture a 

 prophecy, for much more that we are 

 sure to accomplish in the future. 'I will 

 go further and say tha,t the Society of 

 American Florists, as a body composed 

 of earnest, energetic, progressive and in- 

 telligent men, is directly responsible for 

 the success of the very man who ' ' can 't 

 see what good it will do him to join 

 such a society. ' ' 



What Good? 



"What good?" Let the history of 

 our society speak for itself. Twenty-five 

 years of energetic work along progres- 

 sive lines has brought about the results, 

 which we see in the greenhouse, at the 



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