The Editor's Outlook. 



THE FLORISTS' 'THE SOCIETY of American 

 SOCIETY. A Florists has passed its 



seventh milestone in its Toronto 

 meeting, which took place the third week in August. 

 The attendance was gratifying, and the meeting a 

 pleasant one in many respects. The lieautiful 

 city of Toronto was new to many of the florists, 

 and is a sufficiently attractive place at any time. 

 The Canadian people most heartily welcomed their 

 American brethren ; indeed, the public interest 

 taken in the entertainment of the society was 

 remarkable. The place of meeting was an admir- 

 able one in that it was free from disturbing causes. 

 The convenient hall in the center of the beautiful 

 Horticultural gardens was an inspiring place for 

 such work as the florists ought to do ; yet we ques- 

 tion whether the actual results of this convention 

 were satisfying to the mass of the florists who 

 attended, and whether they were commensurate 

 with the importance of such an organization to 

 American horticulturists. There was a consider- 

 able undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the meth- 

 ods of the management, which has seemed to have 

 a little too much of an autocratic tendency to 

 please the true American. This tendency may be 

 ascribed, possibly, to inexperience in the proper 

 conduct of so large a society ; yet we question 

 whether much progress is being made toward bet- 

 ter methods. This condition of affairs is, of course, 

 the fault of those members who bewail it and who 

 surely have the power to change it. The disposi- 

 tion to leave the real object of the meeting take a 

 second place to mere entertainment, with the ex- 

 pressed idea that " We will get it all in the annual 

 report, anyhow " was destructive to the proper dis- 

 cussion of the many important essays read, as well 

 as to the bringing out of new facts which might 

 make each session of the society a marked and dis- 

 tinctive advance in its work. 



The Society of American Florists has been un- 

 justly maligned, through the carelessness of its 

 friends, in the peculiar reports given out through 

 its trade organs relative to the convivial disposition 

 of the members. To judge from these reports one 

 would think that the various delegations from the 

 larger cities traveling together were on a prolonged 

 debauch, and that the entertainment at the sessions 

 partook of the same character of bibulousness. 



That this is not true the writer has had personal 

 evidence, and it is not just to the florists that hair- 

 brained correspondents should be allowed to exploit 

 their own ideas of fun at the expense of such an 

 important body ; nor is it any credit to trade jour- 

 nalism that space should freely be accorded to all 

 sorts of undignified talk about the meetings. 



Some work was done by the society looking 

 toward proper representation at the World's Fair, 

 and there is an outlook for excellent results. The 

 meeting at Washington next year must be of great 

 importance to the society, and we sincerely hope 

 that its executive committee will by that time have 

 come to a realizing sense of some things they seem 

 to have disregarded of late years. They are all 

 worthy gentlemen, and doubtless have the real 

 good of the society at heart. 



The beauties of a tariff fence were fully shown 

 at the convention, and many a stiff " protectionist " 

 execrated the customs authorities and the whole 

 silly system, under his breath. Some exhibits did 

 not get through at all ; all had bother and delay 

 and expense in passing the border. One poor un- 

 fortunate from New York did not get his trunk 

 through until the last day, and then an expressman 

 with a convenient conscience had to declare that it 

 was his " uncle from New York '' who wanted clean 

 linen. Truly a high tariff between neighbors is a 

 charming thing ! 



* * 



THE AMERICAN T^LSEWHERE in this issue 

 GARDEN i_i will be noticed an announce- 



AND POPULAR , . , 



GARDENING ment which must be of pecu- 

 liar interest to our readers. 

 The growth that brings together the two most prom-' 

 inent gardening papers of America, and the pros- 

 pect that this union shall result in greater good to 

 the cause of horticulture, and greater benefit to 

 readers, is surely gratifying. It is rare indeed, 

 that two successful periodicals are combined in 

 one, as their publishers and editors are usually too 

 much at loggerheads to discern and accept the 

 great advantages of uniting their forces, and put- 

 ting all their energies, strength and money into 

 the production of one paper or magazine superior 

 to what each has been producing separately. 

 This rare deed has, however been accomplished in 

 the case of The American Garden and the bright- 



