46 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



AuODST 19, 1909. 



Experimental Greenhouses, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



(Ordinary wooden licncti to Ici't, solid coucrete l)ed in center.) 



• lisaflection into loyalty. He was the 

 \vise counselor, the devoted friend of our 

 society, the skillful organizer, and to him 

 was due in large measure the pronounced 

 .success of that fust meeting. 



Cincinnati was selected as llie best 

 place for our first meeting for two roa 

 sons: First, on account of its geograph 

 i'cal position, being intermediate between 

 "rhe east and west; second, on accoutit 

 of the hearty invitation given by tlie 

 snembers of the i)rofession in this city. 

 How well these members acquitted them- 

 selves is greatly to their credit, for tluMr 

 ivillingncss to iielp and their cordial wel 

 ^•ome awakened a strong fraternal feeling 

 which \vas of untold value. 



Early Fears and Encouragements. 



1 sliall always remember witli plcaMiii* 

 the arrival of the <lill"erent delegations 

 from the \arious sections of our country 

 on the night prece<ling the opening of our 

 meeting. When I looked upon the faces 

 of the men who had coiiu! \ip to that 

 first session T confess F ftdt relieved and 

 happy, for a great load of res[i(insibility 

 had been lolled away. 



The spirit of those jiresent from every 

 section of the country seemed to set the 

 tnark of apjiroval ujion the tdl'orts put 

 forth by those who iiad taken up the 

 initial work of organization. 



If you will look over the rejiort of the 

 proceedings of tliat first meeting you will 

 find many jirophetic utterances I'egard 

 ing the future, mit oidy of tiie organiza 

 tion, but of floriculture— and most of 

 these propiiecies liave come to pass. The 

 tx>j>ics of the papers read on that lu-c.i 

 sion were eminently practical, and of 

 far-reaching im|iiirt;ince to the trade at 



tllllt tim(\ I SDMIetillles tllildi We tail to 



apj>ri'ciate the treinendiMis power for 

 fTiuyi] tliat this siiciety has wiejijed, luit 

 Mr, V'aughan \vill take up that |ilias{^ of 

 the society's work, for no ont^ is better 

 qu;ilifie(| or entitleil to speak on this sub 

 .■jcct than he. He has been an iiide 

 fafjgable worker and a tower of strengtli 

 to tlie organization down to thi' present 

 moment. 



Tlie one question foremost in tlie early 

 days of the society was hail insurance. 

 This \va>; a vital <|uestion, wiiicli caused 



prolonged argument an<l discussion. The 

 formation of the Hail Association was 

 coincident with the organization of the 

 Society of American Florists, and the 

 wisdom of its founders is best justified 

 by a study of its finances, which you will 

 hear presented by the treasurer. 



We have looked in vain for many fa- 

 miliar faces that were present on that 

 first occasion ; they have gone on before, 

 having served their day and generation. 

 .Myron Hunt. Peter Henderson, ,T. M. 

 .lordan, Hendricks, .Tohn Henderson, As- 

 nuis, Scott, Thorpe — the list is a grow- 

 ing one, and though each death seemed a 

 loss beyond rej)air, the building has been 

 so well founded that the individual stones 

 have been re|daced without impairing its 

 strength, a lact which is the highest 

 tribute possible to the wisdom of the 

 founders of the S. A. F. 



U. S. WORK FOR FLORICULTURE. 



I I A |.M|i. ;■ li.\ i:. T. (;iillo\v;i\, riiicf ef the 



r.iircaii ol I'liiMl lii(lusli-.v, \' . S. Kcpaitnient of 

 .Xs/ricultiirc, rcail at the Ciiieiniiuti convention.) 



The I'nited States Dejiartment of Ag- 

 riculture is tloing considerable work 

 bearing both directly and indirectly 

 ui)on floriculture. 1 shall not attempt 

 to discuss all of this work, but will en- 

 deavor to point out and emphasize cer- 

 tain lines of investigation and experi- 

 ment that ai'e jiow being carried on by 

 the liiireau of J'laiit Industry. 



Introducing New Plants. 



As is ]iretty wcii kTiowii. the dei)art- 

 meiit has lor a mimber of years been 

 making a sj)ecial I'udeavor in the matter 

 of iutroflucing new plants and seeds 

 from foreign countries. While the gr(>atcr 

 portion of th(> introductions ha\e been 

 more strictly of an agricultural nature, 

 there are some things winch have ]>eon 

 brought in ol interest to tlie horticul- 

 turist. 



During the past three years the de- 

 partment has had I'rank X. .Meyer, an 

 agricultural explorer, visiting little 

 known regions of Asia, with the result 

 that finite a number of promising crops 

 lia\(' lieeu sent in by him. It is too 

 early yet to predict what these things 

 will do. They are being tested at a 

 niimliei- of our stations and .also in co- 



operation with reliable horticulturists m 

 different parts of the country, with a 

 view to determining their possibiliti > 

 and adaptation to varying conditions : 

 soil and climate. 



Among some of the things which > 

 Meyer has secured is a new and str; 

 ing white bark pine, which grows to gn 

 size and seems specially fitted for cen 

 teries and certain types of public par - 

 and grounds. Mr, Meyer has secur. . 

 also a number of interesting quick-gro- 

 ing and more or less ornamental, droug',, 

 and alkali resistant willows. One of t! 

 problems met with by horticulturists • 

 certain parts of the west has to do wil , 

 plants that may be suitable for orn, 

 mental purposes under arid or sen 

 arid conditions, it is believed that son 

 of the willows found by Mr. Meyer wi 

 be useful in this connection. Several ne 

 forms of poplars have been secured, oi; 

 of which, it is believed, will prove 

 valuable tree for avenues and street 

 Mr. Meyer also secured a collection <•■ 

 Chinese pistachio, a beautiful ornament; 

 tree and a very promising stock for tii 

 pistachio nut- — a plant which the di 

 partment is endeavoring to introduce ii 

 various parts of the country. Variou- 

 forms of elms have also been found ans 

 introduced. Some of these have promis. 

 of value in their ability to resist drough' 

 and alkali, hence may become quite usefui 

 in connection with the development ot 

 gardens and parks in the semiariii 

 regions of the United States. Somi 

 promising cold and drought resistant 

 roses were secured, which may be of valui 

 in connection with the drier sections oi 

 the country, or may be useful adjunct- 

 to the horticultural possibilities of othei 

 sections. 



Plant Breeding and Improvement. 



Closely associated with the plant in 

 troduction work is that which has to de 

 with the improvement of plants h} 

 breeding and selection. Considerable 

 work of this kind has been under way for 

 a number of years, the results of which 

 have already been published. Mr. Oli 

 ver 's efforts in the direction of improv 

 ing the lily have been set forth in bulle 

 tins from the department, and his worl. 

 in securing new types of dahlias has alsi' 

 been described from time to time in other 

 jniblications. 



As a finishing touch to our lily work, 

 we secured ,a large number of apparently 

 healthy bulbs of such varieties as the 

 multiflorum, Harrisii and giganteuni 

 They were flowered and what weri 

 thought to be desirable crosses made be 

 tween the varieties. Nearly sixty quart- 

 of seed resulted, which was distributee 

 in southern California and elsewhere 

 One firm has eight acres of these seeil 

 lings in fine condition, which will bloon 

 next spring. Other lots are equally 

 jiromising. Tiie fnfurt^ of lily growing 

 will dei^end upon tiie growers growin;. 

 the Imlbs ujion mwv ground; that is, ti 

 put other crops in the ground ' for a' 

 least three years succee<ling the lii^ 

 cro[i. In connection with the work wit I 

 dahlias. 1 may say that we iu)W ha\' 

 about six seedlings which are promis 

 ing. One of them is n semidouble re'! 

 with long stems and early in blooming 



Study of Principles of Plant Breeding. 



Considerable work is in progress in 

 the matter of getting at the basic prin 

 ciples involved in improvement by breed 

 ing and selection of commercial florists' 

 crops, such as the rose and carnation. 

 The principles involved in carnation 



