jANtlABr 30, 1008. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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THE WASHINGTON 



CONVENTION 



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The American Carnation Society Holds Its Seventeenth 

 Annual Meeting and Exhibition. 



President^ M. A. Patten, Tewksbury, Mass. 



Vice-prestdentt A* F. J. Bauf , Indianapolis^ Ind. 



. Secretary, Albert M. Herr, Lancaster, Pa. 



Treasurer, Fred E. Dorner, Lafayette, Ind. 



NEXT MEETING PLACE, INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JANUARY, 1909. 



With an exhibition which for uniform 

 high quality of stock and for number 

 of novelties has never been surpassed 

 and seldom equaled in its seventeen 

 years of activity, the American Carna- 

 tion Society held its annual convention 

 and display of cut blooms at Washing- 

 ton, D. C, this week. The national cap- 

 ital is an ideal convention city, with its 

 many points of interest to add to the 

 attendance and its large hotel capacity 

 to provide for the comfort of the vis- 

 itors, and the number of carnation 

 growers present was up to the best pre- 

 vious records, although the western rep- 

 resentation was not large. Many old- 

 timers were absent, but the result of 

 last year's excursion to Canada was 

 shown in an increased delegation from 

 the Dominion, under the pilotage of 

 John H. Dunlop, who has oeen a "reg- 

 ular" for many years. 



The interest in the business sessions 

 was good and the joint sessions with 

 the American Breeders' Association 

 added to the fidelity with which the 

 members discharged their duty to the 

 society. But while the papers were 

 closely listened to and the discussions 

 alive with good points, it was the dis- 

 play in the lower hall that held the 

 chief interest and repaid the closest 

 scrutiny. Aside from the points gained 

 in intimate exchange of views between 

 the members, which many consider the 

 best part of the annual gathering of 

 carnation enthusiasts, the opportunity 

 to compare the novelties with the best 

 varieties in commerce constitutes the 

 niain attraction of the meetings. 



The novelties shown this year were 

 not only more numerous than usual, but 

 the quality showed that the improve- 

 ment of the carnation has by no means 

 reached an end; in fact, it looks as 

 though it is now progressing with 

 greater celerity than ever. Alma Ward, 

 t'le splendid white of the Cottage 

 Gardens Co., which received the S. A. 

 ^- silver medal at Toronto, captured the 

 P''emier award, the gold medal, which 

 ^■:?3 not awarded to any variety last 

 y' ^T. Mr. Ward also had another fine 

 JJ^ng in Mrs. C. W. Ward, pink. Of 

 the. varieties going out this year almost 

 ^'i were creditably shown and some 



were in grand shape, whiie the vicissi- 

 tudes of travel had left its mark on 

 others. Afterglow was fine. The Wan- 

 oka Greenhouses, Barneveld, N. Y., 

 staged Apple Blossom, Climax and Wan- 

 oka, all in good shape. Splendor came 

 from Stevenson Bros., Maryland grow- 

 ers. J. D. Cockcroft had Georgia, Har- 

 vard and others. Jensen & Dekema had 

 a vase of Defiance in good shape con- 

 sidering its long journey. The B., K. & 

 B. Floral Co., Bichmond, Ind., had 

 Sarah Hill, Lawson-Enchantress, and 

 Mrs. Charles Knopf in good form. Creole 

 Beauty, from Ward, is a fine crimson. 

 Andrew Carnegie, by the Chicago Car- 

 nation Co., Joliet, III., won first on its 



entry, and this firm, by the way, did 

 wonderfully well on all its exhibits, con- 

 sidering that they left home Sunday to 

 be judged Tuesday afternoon. H. W. 

 Field staged Gov. Seelye and No. 100, 

 white. Joseph Heacock also had a No. 

 100 seedling, but his was like Eose-pink 

 Enchantress, M. Tierney put up a fine 

 vase of Mrs. Robt. Hartshorne, red, and 

 John Beimels also had a good one in 

 this color, No. 52. Toreador, by H. Weber 

 & Sons Co., was one of the striking 

 vases. T. J. McClintock had two whites 

 and a pink and there were good exhib- 

 its of Viola Sinclair, pink; Snowflake, 

 white; Flavins, yellow; Ruby, pink, 

 and several others of which only a lim- 

 ited quantity was shown. To give an 

 idea of how some of the general classes 

 filled, there were twelve entries in the 

 class for fifty of the Eose-pink En- 

 chantress, Welcome and Winsor color. 



The society elects its judges and the 

 three are W. N. Rudd, Wm. Nicholson 

 and Wm. Scott, but Mr. Scott is ill and 

 Eugene Dailledouzetook his place. Al- 

 though all was ready at the appointed 

 hour, thanks to the energy displayed by 

 the hospitable Washingtonians in per- 

 fecting arrangements, the task of judg- 

 ing was so gr at that Peter Fisher, M. 



A. Patten and S. J. Renter were selected 

 to help out by covering classes A and 



B. The task was performed to the com- 

 plete satisfaction of all, the hall being 

 closed only two hours. 



The Opening Session. 



The first business session was called 

 to order at 8 p. m. Tuesday, January 28, 

 in the hall above the exhibition, by 

 Peter Bisset, president of the Washing- 

 ton Florists' Club, who, after speaking 

 a few words of welcome for the trade 

 in Washington, introduced Commission- 

 er McFarland, whose job in the District 

 corresponds to the mayoralty in other 

 cities. He has the typical mayor's gift 

 of felicitous oratory,' but said he need 



M. A. Patten. 



(President-elect American Carnation Society.) 



