AUtiiisx 19, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



37 



.lould induce us to systeinatieally en- 

 mii'age the organizing of amateur socie- 

 ,,s. niei^ting in aiiiiu:'! convention on the 

 , k'gate plan, under the oneourugeniont 

 i' tiie S. A. F., until sufli time as the 

 iiiateurs preferred to release the heipinj.;- 

 ;iiid and Avalk alone. Our secretary 

 i<^lit to have the time and the means 

 ! his disposal so that he could help ac- 

 Mly in jtromoting and organizing snch 

 H.icties. The National Council of Hor 

 .iilture, which is partly maintained from 

 u' treasury of tliis society, does greal 

 (ickI through the publication of articles 

 r a liorticuJtnral 'diaracter intended to 

 net the needs of amateurs. This same 

 iganization could do much to stimulate 

 lie growth of such an association of anui- 

 riir llower growers. 



It w<inld be impossible to calculate tiie 

 iicreased ilemand for our ])roducts as 

 iie result of sucli an organization, if it 

 iiuld be made to catch the popular fancy. 

 I'he greatest good resulting from such a 



■ lovement. however, would be the adorn - 

 iiy of jdaces now barren and the stiimi- 

 .iting of the love for nature's beauties 

 iiiiong the pf'ople of this great land of 

 lurs. 



Count less small societies and clubs are 

 ■lilt waiting the heat of enthusiasm to 

 ! use them into a mighty force which shall 

 riino\e the ugly si'ars from our laml- 

 -'■Mpe and convert thousands of dreary 

 ■iiwiis into the abiding places of beauty. 

 ->liall we be faint-hearted and say this is 

 n(] much to accomplish, or shall we say 

 :liat the fullilhnent of this noble purpose 

 i< both our duty and our rightful pre- 

 rogative? 



I recommend the appointment of a 

 ■ onimittoe with authority to take up this 

 "oik in a preliminary way and report 

 progress at our next convention. 



I'iie lousiness atfairs of a society like 



■ ins ar<' varied in character, and the 

 mojier lumdling of them calls for en- 



rgy, experience and good judgment. The 

 nan upon whom the chief responsibility 

 "sts in these matters is the secretary 

 ■f the society. In the past you have; 

 'jien oxi-oedingly fortunate in the men 

 '\lio have been selected for this import- 

 mi work and I, therefore, feel perfectly 

 I Ire to express my opinion, sinci; none 



■ Ml consider it as personal criticism. 



Method of Chosing the Secretary. 



I am lirmly of the opinion that tiie 

 "iivention of this society should not 

 lect its secretary, but should leave that 

 inportant duty to be undertaken by the 



'■<iard of directors, who will closely scru- 

 inize the (|ualilications of such men as 



-•em available and will select the man 

 lioy think best suited for the ]>osition. 



'ii the privacy of the board room such 

 natters can be fully discussed, whereas 



•iich a disi'ussion on the llo(U' of tlie 



onvention would be unwise. Large busi- 



"•ss concerns do not allow their stock- 



"I'leis to elect the active head of the 



'ncern, but that important nmtter is 



-'tied in directors' meeting. 



Under our present arrangement each 

 "iivcntion brings the peril that some 

 ■o].iilar hnt incompetent man will be 

 ousted into this otlice on a temporary 

 ' ave of enthusiasm. Any man wiio has 

 "Id the ollice of president of this so- 

 I'ty will gladly testify how much he has 



' n compelled to turn to the secretary 



'"'■ guidance and how completely the 

 '»' ifare of the society is in his keeping. 



^N hat 1 have said concerning the eloc- 



lon of secretary applies also, but with 



' -ss force, to the election of a treasurer. 



'" niy ii)dirmer' the business conduct 



of the society sliould 1)e under the con- 

 trol of the board of directors. 1, there- 

 fore, rcH'omniend such a change in onr by 

 laws as will ]>ro\ii|e for the conxentioii 

 electing two directors eacit year tor a 

 term of lliiee \e;irs, instead of tlieir ap 

 |)oin(menf by the jiresident as at ])resent, 

 and for tlie (declioii ut' the secretary anil 

 ti'easiirer by the Imnrd of direcloi's, sob 

 Ject to renio\al at tlieir discretion. 



The Secretary's Entire Time. 



It' our society is to ex|)and its (iidd of 

 usefulness (ir propei'ly culti\ate tlie field 

 it now occnpies, it must be able to se- 

 cure the entire time of a capable man as 

 secretary. The yeur would be ail too 

 sliort in wliieh to do the many iiidpful 

 things such a man wouhl find to do in 

 visiting ;iud ein iiuru<;iiig IocmI clulis, iiotli 

 I)rofessional ami amateur. In aildres-^iiig 

 meetings in \iilages wiiere it was desireil 

 to awaken an interest in horticulture, 

 our }U(>sent seeietary iias been able to 

 do some good foi- tlie cause, but undei' 

 our present |d;in llie time devoted to such 

 tilings must l)e taloui at the exi)ense of 

 private interests. 



It is the conscientious conception of the 

 work tliat a secretary oiigiit to do which 

 lias forced our ]tresent etlicient otiicer to 

 decide that he must not continue in the 

 work, in justice to his own interests and 

 the interests of his busiu(>ss associates. 



The undertaking of ambitimis projects 

 with iiope of suci-ess necessitates expen- 

 ditures. This society ought to he. in a 

 position to speiul money for the things 

 which would ultimately profit its mem- 

 bers and promote the objects for whicli 

 it is conducted. At ]»resent our immune 

 is too limited to permit of anything but 

 the most necessary ex|>enditures. 



it is lamentable that a society of a 

 iliousaml tlorists banded toi^etiier cannot 

 collectively s|iend money lor desirable 

 en(ls when it has hundreds dl' men within 

 its ranks who would nol liesitate to in- 

 di\idually incur tiie e\|iense in tiu'ir o\vu 

 interest. Whether some means <-iinnot 

 successfully be devised t'fir largely in- 

 crejisiuy llie funds at the dis|iosal of the 

 society is a sulijei-t which sliouhl ii.'ive 

 the careful attention of an eiiei-'^elic and 

 .ible commitlee. 



Tlie nnist im|iortaiil in-idi-ni since our 

 last couNi'iition was llie national (lower 

 show, liejd under the auspices (d' lliis and 



Kindred •-licjeties jii ( liicayo las| XiiM'm- 

 l:e|-. \\'li;it was ac-com|)lishe(| will be re- 

 ported to you at this mec'tin^ by the 

 chairman ot' the e\eciiii\ mmiltee. 



Another committee has becai appointed 

 to take lip the matlei- dl' a similar show 

 III some eastern city and will .-ilsii re|iurt 

 Ui you at this meetiiiL;. 



It is eiiciMiraoiiio to know that the (. hi- 

 ca^o show was held with jirolit to the 

 yiiai-antors and to this society, for that 

 Inct alone make- the success ot' I'uture 

 shows more probable. 



A Suggestion as to Imports. 



Many artiides. notably azaleas, Ijull.is 

 .and palms, are iuiporte(| into this coun- 

 try in immenst' niimliers an<l tlii' impres- 

 -ioii is <i('neial that a large jmrt of these 

 import.at ions might be prolitai)ly grown 

 in the I'nited Stales. In order to judge 

 as to the merit of such an enterprise, the 

 fullest and most detailed knowledee of 

 foreiiiii metliods is desir.alile. It seems 

 lik(dy that if this society inaile applica- 

 tion to tlie Secretary of Agriculture, that 

 ollicial would iM'der an i n\ est iyal iim ariil 

 would setaire and rnrnish to us all the 



Gustave Adrian. 



iCIiairman of the Cincinnati Club's Committee on S. A. V Transportation.! 



