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APRIL 10, 1913. 



The Florists^ Review 



27 



AMERICAN EOSE SOCIETY. 



Officers Elected. 



President — ^Wallace E. Pierson, Crom- 

 well, Conn. 



Vice-president — Eobert Pyle, West 

 Grove, Pa. 



Treasurer — Harry O. May, Summit, 



N. J. 

 Secretary — Benj, Hammond, Fishkill, 



N. Y. 



Executive committee — J. H. Dunlop, 

 Toronto, and S. S. Pennock, Philadel- 

 phia, to succeed J. A. Valentine and 

 W, R. Pierson, whose terms expire. 



Annual Meeting. 



The interest in other matters was so 

 great that it was impossible to get to- 

 gether a large attendance for the an- 

 nual meeting, held in New York April 

 8, but a profitable session was held. 

 President Farenwald presented his an- 

 nual address and Secretary Hammond 

 read his report. Treasurer May added 

 to the general satisfaction by reporting 

 total receipts of $2,787.77, as against 

 expenditures of only $1,921.16, leaving 

 a balance of $866.61 in the general fund 

 and $3,250 in the permanent fund. 



There was a discussion of ways and 

 means of increasing the membership 

 and widening the scope of the society's 

 usefulness, participated in by E. G. 

 Hill, James Simpson, Philip Breitmeyer, 

 J. H. Dunlop and others. The upshot 

 was the adoption of a resolution in- 

 structing the president to appoint a 

 committee of three to formulate a plan 

 for a campaign. 



The subject of a rose garden for test- 

 ing purposes under the care of the 

 national government, at Washington, 

 being up, it became apparent that the 

 Department of Agriculture is interested 

 in such a project and is only waiting 

 for some official action by one or an- 

 other of the national societies. It is 

 not intended to in any way conflict 

 with the project at Hartford, to which 

 the society has given its backing. After 

 some talk, all in favor of the projected 

 government trials, a motion was adopted 

 instructing the president to appoint a 

 committee of three to take the matter 

 up in an official way with the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and to work in 

 conjunction with any other organiza- 

 tions that may interest themselves in 

 the matter. 



There being no invitations from horti- 

 cultural bodies for the 1914 annual 

 meeting, the selection of next meeting 

 place was left to the incoming officers. 



MB. FABENWALD'S ADDBESS. 



[The foUowlDK Is the address of President 

 Adolph Farenwald at the national conTention of 

 the American Rose Society, held In connection 

 with the Natlonf.1 Flower Show In New York, 

 April 5 to 12, 1913.] 



A little over a year ago we met "in 

 Detroit, under raw, chilly conditions. 

 Although the weather was so much 

 against us, the American Rose Society 

 can look back to it with pride only. 

 The exhibition was never surpassed in 

 quality and quantity. Our members 

 showed a loyalty and enthusiasm which 

 was highly commendable — to go at such 

 an unfavorable time of the year, and in 

 severe winter weather. It was a great 

 pity that this splendid show was not 

 better patronized by the public. 



Our membership is slowly increasing, 

 but not at the rate it should be for 

 such a worthy cause — the advance of 

 the queen of flowers, the mainstay of 



Thomas F. Roland. 



(Member National Flower Show Committee.) 



the business, the bread and butter of 

 almost everybody in it. Why are so many 

 standing pat, when we need them so 

 badly? Do they think we have reached 

 the highwater mark of popularity? I 

 hardly think so. There is plenty, of room 

 for expansion. So we need you, Mr. 

 Stand Pat. See the hustle and bustle 

 everywhere in our business today; bet- 

 ter to unite, to come together, to help 

 one another; that is the spirit of the 

 times. Anybody who shuts his eyes to 

 these conditions and refuses his help is 

 not worth his salt. That's my candid 

 opinion. 



Opposes Amateur Membership. 



Regarding our amateur membership 

 agitation, I want to express myself as 

 against that movement, for various rea- 

 sons. We are a body of commercial 

 men, specialists. We are not in it for 

 pleasure, though most of us derive 

 pleasure from attending to the queen of 

 flowers, but pleasure does not pay our 

 coal bills and others, so with us the 

 financial side of the question is the pri- 

 mary issue. All this does not interest 

 the amateur, and the history of our so- 

 ciety will back me up in what I say. 

 The most of you will remember our 

 early struggles with this amateur prob- 

 lem. It was useless to attract the ama- 

 teur to a body of professional men. It 

 was a waste of effort in every way; it 

 brought our society down to its knees; 

 only the untiring, loyal work of our 

 commercial members saved it from 

 utter collapse. 



Let us take a leaf from this past his- 

 tory, and give it up. Let our efforts 

 be directed to the making of a strong 

 commercial society, so that we are not 

 swayed first one way and then the 

 other, vainly trying to accomplish some- 

 thing we are not able to do, as has been 

 proved so long ago. The public is gradu- 



ally being educated to the value of 

 roses in home decorations, and the most 

 enthusiastic amateurs will finally start 

 their own societies, with a sprinkling of 

 professional men among them, as the 

 horticultural societies are doing today. 

 Those are the true amateur societies, 

 which will grow and prosper, but in my 

 estimation no commercial body of men 

 can interest the amateur. 



For a National Society. 



Affiliation is the watchword of today. 

 Some little while ago the present presi- 

 dent of the S. A. F., J. K, M. L. Far- 

 quhar, said to me, ' ' How can the Rose 

 Society and S. A. F. come into closer 

 touch with each other?" I confess, I 

 don't know that we could get closer. 

 We are an offspring of the S. A. F., 

 doing the work which the S. A. F. is 

 not able to do — specialize in a certain 

 line, the growing of roses for cut flow- 

 ers. I do not think we have a member 

 who is not a member of the S. A. F, as 

 well. To give up any of our privileges 

 would mean to give up our society, 

 which would be a detriment to the busi- 

 ness. I am sure the American Rose So- 

 ciety would always willingly work in 

 conjunction with the National S. A. F. 

 This vital question of affiliation I have 

 outlined previously, urging the merging 

 of the florists' clubs' membership into 

 a national society, to increase its mem- 

 bership and its usefulness. But let our 

 Rose Society keep up its own good 

 work, nation-wide, as we have been 

 doing, creating and stimulating a love 

 for the queen of flowers. 



Battle Creek, Mich.— S. W. Coggan 

 led the discussion on gladioli, which 

 formed the principal part of the pro- 

 gram at the entertainment recently 

 tendered the Battle Creek Horticultural 

 Society by the Grand Trunk Horticul- 

 tural Society. 



