NOVEMBEB 9, 1911. 



'<¥!.■ 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



IS 



<r'*^'-^>6-^ijaH:' 



BAINBRIDGE'S SUCCESS. 



At Mount Airy. Pa., William Bain- 

 bridge, whose face appears in a corner 

 of the accompanying illustration, has 

 had excellent success with Chrysanthe- 

 mum Jeanne Noniu. This variety now 

 has been in the trade for some years, 

 and there have been a number of new 

 sorts introduced as possessing superior 

 merit on one point or another, but Mr. 

 Bainbridge has not found anything that 

 could surpass Nonin as an all-around 

 commercial variety, though he thinks 

 well, also, of Beatrice May. 



WOEK OF THE MUM SOCIETY. 



[Tlio addivss of Prcj-idoiit KliiiiT D. Smith nt 

 llje aunual meeting of the Chiysanthemum Society 

 of America at !?t. Ixjiiis, Xovember 8, 1911.] 



This is our tenth annual joint meet- 

 ing and exhibition and, as we will soon 

 be making history in a new decade, per- 

 mit me to briefly refer to what has 

 taken place since the Chrysanthemum 

 Society of America was organized. 



This society was instituted at Buf- 

 falo in August, 189C, and from that 

 time until the first exhibition was held 

 in Chicago, in 1902, the annual meetings 

 were held in the summer, during tlie 

 convention of the S. A. F. The estai)- 

 lishment of annual exhibitions with 

 executive sessions seemed to give the 

 society new life. 



The Premier Accomplisliment, 



To my mind the most worthy and 

 beneficial act the society performed dur- 

 ing its existence was that of appoint- 

 ing committees to commend such new 

 varieties as they consider improvements 

 and worthy of being disseminated. We 

 owe much to these committees, which 

 meet at intervals during the flowering 

 season, at Boston, New York, Phila- 

 delphia, Cincinnati and Chicago, to in- 

 spect and pass judgment upon these new 

 candidates. The unselfish devotion they 

 have given in time and money to this 

 work enables the society to point out 

 to the buying public the best kinds for 

 , their purpose. Their unbiased judg- 

 ment is clearly set forth by the fact 

 that the majority of the most popular 

 kinds today have received their ap- 

 proval. 



You may question the truth of this 

 statement by citing some which have 

 not come up to your expectations, but 

 if you will scan the list of varieties now 

 conceded as our best commercial sorts 

 you will find the large majority have 

 been certificated by this society through 

 its committees. It is not to be expected 

 they can determine such defects as are 

 either constitutional or controlled by 

 cultural methods, such as diseases, lack 

 of fullness or difficulty of propagation. 

 No mortal optics are so keen as to de- 

 tect such blemishes from the six blooms 

 submitted. Everyone interested in 

 chrysanthemums should sing praise to 



these men, who so unselfishly and pos- 

 sibly unconsciously have done so much 

 to benefit us all. I 5oubt if many of 

 us fully appreciate how general and 

 far-reaching are the advantages we now 

 enjoy and that this boon is largely Sue 

 to the benevolent spirit of these com- 

 mitteemen. Since their inauguration 

 there has been a wonderful curtailment 

 in the number of novelties offered. In 

 1893 there were disseminated 180 

 American and 130 foreign, or 310 new 

 varieties were brought out in a single 

 year. Under such conditions it was 

 difficult to select the most suitable, and 

 in those days, when there was no safe- 

 guard against imposition, it was not un- 

 usual for introducers to include varie- 

 ties of little merit. Since the appoint- 

 ment of these committees, in 1894, these 

 numbers have been growing less year 

 by year, until the offerings for the pres- 

 ent are twenty American and fifty-five 

 foreign, of which fifteen were certifica- 

 ted by this society. And so I say, all do 

 not appreciate what has been bestowed 

 upon us. The introducers are seeking 

 higher standards in preference to large 

 numbers, and the purchasers, whether 

 commercial growers, private gardeners 

 or amateurs, have greater confidence in 

 those kinds which are sufficiently meri- 

 torious to pass their critical examina- 

 tion. 



Membership Should Be Iiarger. 



Although our membership is slightly 

 on the increase, rather than waning, 

 the society has not received full value 

 in return for this service given all lov- 

 ers of the queen of autumn. We have 



received the hearty support of only a 

 small portion of those interested in this 

 important branch of floriculture. We 

 have been unable to impress upon the 

 many the importance and t)ur earnest 

 desire of their hearty cooperation. As 

 previously stated, the time was when 

 the report of exhibitions was our chief 

 guidance in making selections, but now 

 the nuts are all cracked and the meats 

 are placed before you. This one fea- 

 ture alone should be of sufficient im- 

 portance to secure the membership of 

 every grower interested in the best and 

 latest kinds. All the society demands 

 is $2 annual membership fee, and I 

 venture most of us spend this small 

 amount in some frivolous way, without 

 benefit to ourselven or to any worthy 

 cause. It seems strange, with the vast 

 number deeply interested, that so small 

 a portion see they owe a moral obli- 

 gation in supporting so worthy a cause. 



The Improvement of Varieties. 



W^e want your counsel and advice. 

 We want you to assist in formulating 

 new plans whereby greater benefit will 

 exist. You can assist us. I mean all 

 of you. If you grow but a few hun- 

 dred plants, it is worth more than the 

 paltry sum we ask to receive our an- 

 nual report and feel you are associated 

 with those whose endeavors are for the 

 betterment of all. A brighter future, 

 with greater achievements, will be 

 wrought by putting into force the 

 proverb, "Heaven helps them who help 

 themselves. ' ' 



Just a few words on what has been 

 accomplished during the last decade 



Wm. Bainbridge and a Bench of His Jeanne Nonin. 



