Jolt 6, 1911. 



r^vr'WTr^^-: '■ T' '' 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



9 



General View of the Ezhibition of the National Sweet Pea Sodety, Philadelphia, June 29 and 30. 



all In spirit and Bball look forward eagerly to 

 receiving, July 4, upon arrival at Soatbampton, 

 a oflblegrara telling of the success of tbls tnlrd 

 aDiinal ezblbltlon. I feel quite sure that under 

 your mble management, and you are well entitled 

 to be called "tbe father of the National Sweet 

 Tea Society," assisted by our vice-president and 

 otlier ofllcers, together with such willing helpers 

 as Messrs. Craig, Pennock, Rust, Watson, 

 Mirbell, Earl and Kerr, the exhibition will be 

 a decided success. 



Such work as you and your colaborera have 

 done HO effectively at the two previous ezblbitlons 

 of our infant society is of lasting value In 

 bringing to the notice of the trade and of 

 growers generally tbe importance of the sweet 

 pea as deservedly the most popular of all flowers 

 grown from seed. 



But should I continue in this strain I might 

 tire you with expressions of ray love for the 

 sweet pea, even more than if I could have been 

 able to deliver In person "President Burpee's 

 Address," for which the program has me booked. 



Only two words more In closing. At our meet- 

 ings we have never discussed polities. Your 

 present president, therefore, does not know the 

 political opinions of bis fellow members. What- 

 ever their polities may be, however, I tiilnk 

 that most of our members will agree that the 

 Ex-President of tbe United States acted wisely 

 in urging as his successor President Taft, who 

 certainly, despite all criticisms, will make good 

 as an honest, intelligent executive. 



Now would it be asking too much for me to 

 suggest that upon reading this letter (if you 

 think it worth reading), some member put 

 In nomination the name of William Sim, of 

 Cliftondale, Mass., and that another member 

 should then move that the nominations for 

 president be closed. Mr. Sim needs no intro- 

 duction. As vice-president be has been most 

 earnest and effective In his work for tbe ad- 

 vancement of the interests of our society and 

 1 feel sure that this suggestion of your retiring 

 president will meet with the hearty approval 

 of all. 



The secretary's report showed the so- 

 ciety to be in excellent condition. Then 

 came the paper entitled "The History 

 of the Sweet Pea, ' ' by Leonard Barron, 

 managing editor of the Garden Maga- 

 zine, read by A. C. Beal, of Cornell 

 University, which was given a rising 

 vote of thanks. Mr. Beal also told of 

 the trials of the sweet peas at Ithaca. 



Visit to Fordhook. 



The beautiful weather that had fa- 

 vored the Sweet Pea Society continued 

 throughout the afternoon of the second 

 day, when the visitors were the guests 

 of W. Atlee Burpee & Co. at their farm 

 and trial grounds at Fordhook, near 

 DoylestowB, Pa. The party left the 

 Reading terminal early in the afternoon 

 and spent nearly four hours most de- 



lightfully at Fordhook. Jklr. Earl and 

 his staff met the party on arrival and 

 by their genial good fellowship made 

 everyone feel thoroughly at home and 

 in the best possible mood for enjoying 

 the afternoon. Mr. Kerr, who had come 

 out with the party, devoted himself to 

 their entertainment, telling about the 

 sweet pea novelties and standard varie- 

 ties, their habits, their strong points, 

 their requirements and comparison one 

 with the other. Mr. Earl called espe- 

 cial attention to the benefit the sweet 

 peas had derived from the Skinner sys- 

 tem of irrigation, which had saved the 

 crop this spring. There are ten acres 

 of land in all irrigated in this way and 

 it has proved of the greatest value dur- 

 ing the two seasons it has- been in use. 

 The ease with which it can be adapted 

 to any special requirement is one of its 

 strong points; Mr. Earl says that noth- 

 ing can be compared with it. The sweet 

 peas bore eloquent testimony to the 

 cultural skill that had been lavished 

 on them; the flowers on the vines fully 

 equaled those on the exhibition tables, 

 affording the additional advantage of 

 studying the habit of growth of each 

 variety. 



There were many other beautiful flow- 

 ers. The pansy beds resembled a flow- 

 ered carpet. The phloxes and the snap- 

 dragons were especially fine. Then there 

 were the perennial beds and the trial 

 beds for grass seed; the tomatoes, mo^t 

 important among the vegetables. The 

 wavy fields of ripened wheat were beau- 

 tiful. 



Douglas Earl assisted his father in 

 showing the visitors over the farm. He 

 took especial pride in the Crimson Ram- 

 blers planted at every post, which will 

 in time reflect the beauty of the arch- 

 covered path that adorns the approach. 

 Douglas Earl's bright interest in all 

 that is being done for the advancement 

 of horticulture at Fordhook indicates 

 where we may look for progress in the 

 future. 



When the guests had left the dining- 

 room and were gathered on the porch 



Mr. Turner thanked Mr. Earl heartily 

 on behalf of those present for the de- 

 lightful afternoon they had all enjoyed 

 so much. Mr. Earl replied that it was a 

 pleasure to have the members of the 

 National Sweet Pea Society at Ford- 

 hook and that he would be glad to see 

 each and all of them there at any time. 



Those Present. 



Among those present were noted the 



following from outside Philadelphia: 



Angus, Walter, Chaplnvllle, Ck)nn. 

 Baur, Anthony, Deal Beach, N. J. 

 Beal, A. Cy Ithaca, N. Y. 

 Bunyard, H. A., New York city. 

 Cremer, Frank, Huntingdon, Pa. 

 Duckham, Wm., Madison, N. J. 

 Davy, J., and wife, Arpajon, France. 

 Ebel, M. C, Madison, N. J. 

 Farr, Bertrand H., Reading, Pa. 

 Farqubar, J. K. M. L.., Boston. 

 Gaut, Henry, Glencoe, L. I., N. Y. 

 Hamilton, Samuel A., Huntingdon, Pa. 

 Kennedy, James, Deal Beach, N. J. 

 Klrby, Arthur M., Jersey City, N. J. 

 Kirby, Norval E., New York city. 

 Mueller, Robt., Rutherford, N. J. 

 Nichols, Howard, Yonkers, N. Y. 

 Paterson. Adam, Saugatuck, Conn. 

 Pepper, J. H., New York city. 

 Rotirer, A. K., Lancaster, Pa. 

 Seymour, W. R., West End., N. J. 

 Sim, William, Cliftondale. Mass. 

 Strange, G. W., South Orange, N. J. 

 Totty, Charles H., Madison, N. J. 

 Turner, Harry, Yonkers, N. Y. 



SECItETABT BUNYABD'S BEPOBT. 



[Presented at the annual meeting of the 

 National Sweet Pea Society of America, held at 

 Philadelphia, June 29 and 30, 1911.] 



When I helped to organize the Na- 

 tional Sweet Pea Society three years 

 ago, I stated at the first meeting that 

 it would and must be a success. Up to 

 this time it has not fulfilled my high- 

 est expectations, but we have made sub- 

 stantial progress, have learned some- 

 thing and have placed the society on a 

 sound foundation. Aided by the expe- 

 rience of the past, we hope to be still 

 more successful in furthering the aims 

 and objects of the society. 



Up to and including this exhibition, 

 we have held four shows — two in New 

 York, one in Boston in connection with 

 the S. A, F.'s National Flower Show, 

 and the Philadelphia exhibition. All of 



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