42 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



August 18, 1910. 



Vincent, Mrs. Richard, White Marsh, Md. 

 Virgin, Mrs. U. J., New Orleans, La. 



W 



Walticcker, Mrs. H., Braintree, Mass. 

 Walker, Mrs. John, YounKStown, O. 

 Weber, Mrs. Charles, Lynbrook, N. Y. 

 Weston, Mrs. Henry, Hempstead, N. Y. 

 Wilson, Mrs. Ella Grant, Cleveland, O. 

 Wilson. Mrs. J. S., Des Moines, la. 

 Wlnterlch, Mrs. Christ., Deflance, 0. 

 Wittman, Mrs. U., West Hoboken, N. J. 

 Wollmers. Mrs. J. A., Brooklyn, N. Y. 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



[The following Is the address delivered by 

 President F. R. Plerson before the Society of 

 American Florists. In convention at Rochester, 

 August 16 to 19, 1910.] 



It gives me great pleasure to address 

 you on this occasion, our twenty-sixth 

 annual convention. This convention 

 marks the beginning of the second quar- 

 ter century in our history. It is very 

 fitting that Eochester, the Flower City, 

 should have been chosen for this con- 

 vention, for no city in the United States 

 has done more to inculcate the love of 

 horticulture among our people than has 

 Kochester. This city was the cradle of 

 the seed and nursery business of the 

 United States, and has a world-wide rep- 

 utation for its love of flowers and the 

 beautiful. 



To my mind, one of the most im- 

 portant objects to be accomplished at 

 this time is the incorporation or con- 

 solidation of the various societies de- 

 voted to special lines of ornamental 

 horticulture into one homogeneous, har- 

 monious whole. By this I do not mean 

 that the different societies, such as the 

 Carnation Society, the Rose Society and 

 the other kindred organizations, should 

 lose their individuality or identity, but 

 that, instead of being separate organi- 

 zations, they should become sections of 

 the national society, each devoted to 

 its own individual interests, but incor- 

 porated into one powerful organization. 

 This is the day of concentration, and 

 now, it seems to me, is the psychologic- 

 al moment for the unification of the 

 different horticultural interests. 



Theoretical and Practical Union. 



You may ask how this is to be done, 

 and it is a pertinent question. As my 

 friend, Patrick O'Mara, has expressed 

 it, "We need a Moses to lead us out of 

 the wilderness into the promised land." 

 If I remember correctly, this promised 

 land flowed with milk and honey; so 

 it would seem as if the object to be 

 attained was worth striving for. I do 

 not want you to mistake me as expect- 

 ing to be the Moses to lead you out 

 of the wilderness of the numerous and 

 varied interests represented by the dif- 

 ferent horticultural societies. 



This subject has been uppermost in 

 all our minds for years, and the ques- 

 tion of affiliation has been threshed out, 

 and it seems to me as if we might ac- 

 complish, io a concrete and practical 

 form, what we have been theorizing 

 about for years, in the midwinter con- 

 vention, which it is now proposed to 

 hold in connection with the National 

 Flower Show, to be held in Boston next 

 spring, the executive board having rec- 

 ommended that a special meeting of 

 the society be held during the time of 

 the National Flower Show; and I sin- 

 cerely hope that this recommendation 

 will meet with your approval and be 

 adopted, especially in view of the fact 

 that the American Carnation Society 

 has already fixed that date for holding 

 its annual convention, and the American 

 Rose Society has also agreed upon that 

 date for holding its annual convention. 



and I trust we may have the coopera- 

 tion of all the other societies as well. 



A General IMidwinter Convention. 



This is directly in line with what I 

 have in mind at this time as a desir- 

 ability. In other words, I believe that, 

 instead of having a convention of the 

 Carnation SocitsLy in January, a conven- 

 tion of the Rose Society in March, and 

 a meeting of the Sweet Pea Society in 

 the summer, it would be better if these 

 difl'erent meetings were held at one 

 time, under the auspices of the Society 

 of American Florists. 



This would afford us an opportunity 

 to test the desirability and advisability 

 of such a midwinter convention before 

 committing ourselves definitely to any 

 change of plan. There are a great many 

 arguments that can be advanced in 

 favor of the summer convention, such 

 as we have always held, and there are 

 other arguments in favor of the mid- 

 winter convention. 



There are some who advocate doing 

 away entirely with the summer con- 

 vention of the society and substituting 

 a midwinter convention, but at this 

 time I should not want to advocate so 

 radical a change. The secretary was 

 directed to send to each member of the 

 society an inquiry as to whether he 

 would find it more desirable or con- 

 venient to attend a summer meeting or 

 a meeting during some month in the 



spring; so we shall soon have this in- 

 formation available. I do not know 

 why it would not be advantageous for 

 the national society to hold a semi- 

 annual convention instead of an annual 

 convention, as in the past. The sum- 

 mer convention has its advantages for 

 plant exhibits, but gives practically no 

 opportunity for an exhibition of cut 

 flowers of any kind. 



To Interest the General Public. 



Last year, at Cincinnati, there was 

 considerable discussion as to the de- 

 sirability of making our exhibitions of 

 such a character as to interest the gen- 

 eral public, but on account of lack of 

 room at Eochester, there being so great 

 a demand for space by exhibitors, it 

 was found impossible to carry out that 

 suggestion at this time. There is no 

 doubt but the general public is much 

 interested in our conventions, and it 

 is very desirable that our exhibits 

 should be of such a character as to in- 

 terest the public and help floriculture 

 generally in the different cities where 

 we gather from time to time. A mid- 

 winter convention would offer a mag- 

 nificent opportunity for this purpose, 

 and I believe that the coming National 

 Flower Show will demonstrate the de- 

 sirability of a midwinter meeting — pos- 

 sibly not on so elaborate or extensive 

 a scale as will be attempted in Boston 

 next year, but along those general lines. 



Edward S. Osborne. 



(Chairman Committee on Transportation.) 



