Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Convention of the Society of American Florists

Excerpt from Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Convention of the Society of American Florists: Held at Pittsburgh, Pa;, August 20th, 21st, 22d and 23d, 1895 At the Convention headquarters (the Alvin Theatre), the members of the Society of American Florists and their ladies were welcomed upon their arrival by representatives of the Pittsburgh and Allegheny Florists and Gardeners Club. The interior of the building was resplendent with flowers and foliage. Palms, ferns, araucarias and other decorative plants were grouped about the platform, and two vases of handsome roses appeared on the table. The foyer and adjacent galleries were occupied with the trade exhibit. Preliminaries. Prior to the formal convention proceedings, President A. W. Bennett, of the local club, cordially welcomed all the visiting members of the Society of American Florists, and announced the opening of the session with prayer. Rev. J. Schaefer, of Allegheny, invoked the divine guidance in the deliberations of the Convention, and that "the spirit of truth might be present in the contemplation of those things which the Almighty had made beautiful and glorious as a manifestation of his divine goodness and mercy." Hon. B. McKenna, Mayor of Pittsburgh, upon being introduced, delivered the formal address of welcome. After receiving a round of applause, the Mayor said: - Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen. - It seems strange for a representative of the city of Pittsburgh to appear in this place, before an audience of persons interested in the culture of flowers. Pittsburghers are more noted for the information they have on iron and coal. Therefore, for me to speak to you upon a subject so novel to me as that of a tender flower, would be almost impossible. For that reason I have confined what I have to say to a few remarks of welcome, which I have prepared. When your committee asked me to come here and extend to you a welcome to "the city of wage-earners," of men who follow literally the divine injunction, "by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread," they gave me a pleasant task. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.