had been used to hiring had given as little work as possible for their pay, 
while the Farmerettes tried to do all they could. 
An invitation from Professor Sargent was read inviting the Garden 
Club to visit the Arboretum in May. A motion was made to hold 
the Annual Meeting of the Garden Club of America in Boston this 
year and accept the invitation of Professor Sargent, provided, on 
further consideration of the Executive Committee, the meeting was 
deemed practical. As the ayes and nays were indistinguishable, the 
Chair called for a rising vote which resulted in the ayes carrying it, 
so the final decision rests with the Executive. 
Miss Nichols, Chairman of Committee on Trade Relations 
spoke of graft among seedmen and said that it could very easily be 
stopped if the Members of the Garden Club of America would help 
boycott the tradesmen who did this sort of thing, since the honest 
seedsmen were anxious to have this practice discontinued. 
In closing this large, interested and enthusiastic meeting, the 
President urged all the Member Clubs to help in every possible way 
the Patriotic Agricultural Work planned for the Summer of 1918. 
Mrs. Bayard Henry, Secretary. 
Report of the Committee on Trade Relations 
May I report the results of the work so far accomplished by 
the Committee appointed by the Garden Club of America to en- 
courage honest nurserymen? In the first place, Mrs. Hill and I 
have ventured to change its name to the Committee on Trade 
Relations, as the original name gave offense to certain nursery- 
men. 
The Joint Committees on Relations with Trades of the American 
Society of Landscape Architects, the Ornamental Growers' Associa- 
tion, and the American Nurserymen's Association invited me to be 
present at their meeting on January 3, and passed the following 
resolution: 
"That we heartily endorse the proposed action of the Garden 
Club of America and their efforts to hunt out and. abolish the insidious 
practice of horticultural trades giving commissions, gratuities, or 
other things of value to gardeners or their employees to influence 
their patronage." 
It was also decided that as soon as Mr. Kelsey had obtained the 
compendium of existing state laws in regard to gratuities, the joint 
committee would forward it to Miss Nichols for the use of the Garden 
Club of America, Miss Nichols stating that she would urge this 
