40 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



June 23, 1010. 



BECEiPIS. 



From initiation feea. .x- $ 225.00 



From membership duMT- 1,450.00 



Drawn from reserve fund 627.09 



From interest on funds lu bank 62. 18 



From sale of codes. ■,, , 18.64 



Miscellaneous sources 17.60 



Total $2,401.41 



EXPENDITURES. 



Initiation fees returned $ 50.00 



Stenographer's services 108.00 



Secretary's salary a&— voted 350.00 



Coun8<?l's retainer . . . .'. 1,050.00 



Executive committee's expenses 169.71 



Wholesuli?- Seedmen's League 25.00 



National "Board of Trade 25.00 



National Council of Horticulture 200.00 



Printing annual report 216.50 



Miscellaneous printing 60.75 



BadgeR 32.50 



Postage 31.17 



Incidentals 8.77 



Total $2,327.40 



Cash lu bank to balance 74.01 



Total .-. $2,401.41 



«> ^ New Members Elected. 



The following new members were 

 ele<?tfecT: Herman Simmers, of J. A. 

 Simmers, Toronto, Canada; J. Edward 

 Schuttz, Washington, D. C; Diggs and 

 Beadles Co., Inc., Richmond, Va.; J. F. 

 Noll & Co., Newark, N. J.; H. G. 

 Hastings, Atlanta. Ga.; Frank W. How- 

 ard, Pittsfield, Mass. 



President Robinson proposed for hon- 

 orary membership F. W. Bruggerhof, of 

 J. M. Thorburn & Co., New York city, 

 who was unanimously elected. He was 

 inforined by telegraph, and returned his 

 acknowledgments, expressing his regret 

 at his inability to be present at the con- 

 vention and banquet.- 



Beport of Committee on Legislation. 



George S. Green, chairman of the 

 committee on seed legislation, submit- 

 ted a comprehensive report showing the 

 condition of present and probable fu 

 ture legislation and work done in en- 

 lightening legislatures and congressmen 

 as to the true conditions of supply. He 

 recounted work dtme in Boston last De- 

 cember by the conference of represent- 

 atives of various seed trade organiza- 

 tions and the National; -Association of 

 Official Seed Analysts. At this meeting 

 it was the unanimo^ ctfnrSlusion that if 

 seed legislation is enacted in various 

 states it should bff reasonably uniform 

 in character, so that interstate trade 

 shall be restricted as little as possible. 

 It was quite generally conceded that if 

 reference to germination can be kept 

 out of seed laws it -"will tend to unify 

 efforts all along tha line to protect the 

 public, and trade as well. The com- 

 mittee believes that restrictions should 

 be only such as are necessary to protect 

 against fraud, but should leave com- 

 merce free. A bill was prepared, and 

 it is being considered, that will include 

 these views, and it is hoped will tend to 

 uniformity in legislation of seed sub- 

 jects. 



Correspondence was read showing a 

 liberal attitude on the part of con- 

 gressmen and a desire to inform them- 

 selves fully before enacting laws which 

 otherwise, without due consideration 

 and information, could not iielp but be 

 hurtful to all interests and fail to 

 safeguard the public. Representative 

 Mann expressed a determination to re- 

 frain^flgv hasty and ill-considered ac- 

 tion, anoris willing to receive seedsmen. 



Any^ legislation should not include 

 under Ife same provisions the widely 

 different classes in prQitlctlon and rise, 

 such as fi^ir^iMi seeds a^»^ulbs, on the 

 ; (^n^ ,h*ui4, as opposed to grass and 

 cloveir seeds' on the other. Arbitrary 

 standards are declared against for 



reasons given. The best methods of 

 testing seeds for purity and germina- 

 tion which are now in use are not 

 sufficiently uniform and accurate, and 

 the vitality of the seeds not 

 sufficiently stable to warrant imposing 

 heavy penalties for the sale of seeds 

 falling below a certain arbitrary stand- 

 ard. While purity and germination con- 

 stitute the only basis available for arbi- 

 trary standards, they are by no means 

 i> complete or accurate measure of the 

 actual value of seeds to the user there- 

 of. Many other qualities enter into 

 the value of seeds, such as color, size, 

 locality of production, trueness to type, 

 excellence of strain, etc. These consid- 

 erations make it manifestly unjust to 

 iiUow the term "United States stand- 

 ard'' to be applied indiscriminately to 

 all classes of seeds of certain varieties 

 Avhich might reach certain standards of 

 purity and germination. 



It is believed that under conditions 

 where the apparatus and methods for 

 making testa are only now in process 

 of evolution and not by any means per- 

 fect, no legislation should restrict or 

 prohibit exportation of any class of 

 seeds having commercial value in any 

 foreign country. For example, there 

 jire climates and countries where dodder 

 does not thrive and there is no sound 

 reason, either commercial or moral, for 

 absolutely prohibiting exportation on 

 such seeds. On the contrary such pro- 

 liibition would tend to cause such seed 

 to be resown within our own country. 

 If the original Mann bill had become 

 a law it would have absolutely disor- 

 .-ranized all existing methods of handling 

 the seed business. If any large propor- 

 tion of the many state laws proposed 

 had passed it would have had the same 

 result. But the prospects are that fu- 

 ture state laws will be guided by a 

 system and this is ardently to be hoped 

 for. 



Charles N. Page, vice-chairman in 

 charge of state seed legislation, in his 

 report dealt with the state aspect. He 

 declared that seed dealers have never 

 seriously objected, as a class, to reason- 

 able legislation which was intended to 

 serve a good purpose, but most of the 

 earlier bills introduced were unjust, ill- 

 considered and unfair and therefore met 

 merited condemnation, as the proposers 

 of such bills showed ignorance of con- 

 ditions under which the seed tr;.de is 

 conducted and it would have been ab- 

 solutely impossible for seed dealers to 

 carry out the provisions in many cases. 

 But the seed trade protests against any 

 legislation which would make criminals 

 of honest men who are engaged in a 

 reputable and useful calling and who 

 are willing at all times to assist in the 

 preparation of reasonable legislation. 



Dues Increased. 



In order to carry out the work al- 

 ready under way, it was proposed to 

 raise the annual dues to $20, double the 

 former dues. This was amended to $15 

 and adopted. 



Various Reports. 



For the committee on customs and 

 tariffs, J. C. Vaughan, chairman, re- 

 ported that he had received no com- 

 plaints as to the workings of the pres- 

 ent Payne law, though average advance 

 in duties is probably thirty to thirty- 

 five per cent over what was paid on the 

 ad valorem basis. The customs opera- 

 tions as to seed importations are being 



handled with less friction than ever 

 before. 



No reports came from the committee^ 

 on irrigation of old eastern farms oi 

 the committee to confer with nursery 

 men and florists. 



The auditing committee, Simeon F 

 Leonard, John W. May and Harve} 

 Mixson, reported books correct. 



Delegates to the National Council ol 

 Horticulture presented a report through 

 Secretary Kendel showing continued 

 good work and progress, and the usual 

 sum of $200 was voted for the use ot 

 the press bureau of the National Councii 

 of Horticulture in the interest of seed 

 trade. 



National Board of Trade. 



Albert McCuUough, one of the dele 

 gates to the National Board of Trade, 

 the other being W. Atlee Burpee, of 

 Philadelphia, presented their report in 

 part as follows: "It is the aim of 

 the National Board of Trade, of which 

 the American Seed Trade Association 

 is a constituent member, to keep all 

 of the trade bodies supporting the 

 Washington headquarters informed of 

 what is going on. This will enable 

 every commercial organization in the 

 United States to come in direct con- 

 tact with the various committees of 

 Congress to arrange for hearings be- 

 fore committees of the House of Repre- 

 sentatives and Senate and cooperate 

 with respective committees of National 

 Board of Trade so that opinion and in- 

 fluence of business men of the country 

 may be exerted during entire session 

 , of Congress. The transportation inter- 

 ests, conservation of national resources, 

 diplomatic and consular service, bank- 

 ing and currency, renewal of trade 

 treaties and political affairs are among 

 the important questions and subjects 

 taken up at the last meeting. Mr. 

 Frank D. La Lanne, president National 

 Board of Trade, has been appointed by 

 Secretary of State Knox as delegate to 

 represent the United States at the 

 fourth international congress of Cham- 

 bers of Commerce and commercial and 

 industrial associations to be held in 

 London, England, June 21 to 23, 1911. 

 The questions to be taken up by the 

 congress are many and all of national 

 interest. W. Atlee Burpee has been 

 appointed a member of the council and 

 Albert McCullogh one of the managers 

 on the National Board of Trade. The 

 National Board of Trade under Presi- 

 dent La Lanne is taking on new life 

 and, through its commissioner, Mr. An- 

 derson, its work will be felt this com- 

 ing year more than ever before. The 

 American Seed Trade Association is at 

 libeity at all times to call upon th'' 

 commissioner for information as to whal 

 is going on in Congress and in this w?-v 

 keep posted and properly advised when 

 there is any bill introduced in whicli 

 we are directly interested." 



Committees Appointed. 



Charles H. Breck, C. 3, Coy and W. 

 F. Jones were appointed as an obituary 

 committee. j 



Charles H. Breck, E.-L. Page and C 

 F Wood were named as a committee on 

 recommendations in president 's address. 



Papers Bead. 



The program of essays was originally 

 six, but was redticed to flve'"by circum- 

 stances which prevented the attendance 



