462 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



is "Grand Rapids," but as this is one 

 of the loose, flabby type, it does not find 

 so much favor as the heading varieties, 

 which the niajoritv of families insist on 

 having. Of this ' latter class I grow 

 "Deacon" in preference to any other. 

 This, though somewhat slower than some 

 of the others in maturing, I have found 

 to be the least subject of all the head- 

 ing varieties to fungous diseases and 

 makes a fine solid head. 



In conclusion I would caution grow- 

 ers against allowing the young plants to 

 become crowded and drawn. It is bet- 

 ter to handle them in a small state, 

 first from the seed boxes into flats, and 

 again from the flats to their maturing 

 quarters, before there is any danger of 

 crowding. 



- SWEET POTATO PLANTS. 



Could you give us through the columns 

 of the Review a few points on starting 

 sweet potato plants; when and how to 

 start them, and do they need a hotbed or 

 cold frame? 



Plant a few tubers in box of sand or 

 light soil in greenhouse or hotbed. They 

 will soon sprout. When three or four 

 inches long take cuttings and insert in 

 sand. They will root as readily as Ger- 

 man ivy. When rooted, pot, using 4-ineh. 

 Grow in hotbed. When well started put 

 in cool frames ready to plant out middle 

 of Mav. 



It is much better to buy plants from a 

 good seedsman along in May or early 

 June. They can be bought for .10 or 60 

 cents per hundred. Make hills of light, 

 rich, sandy soil three or four feet apart 

 and about fifteen inches high. Have pail 

 of thick cow manure water ; dip roots in 

 and plant on hills. Give good watering. 

 As plants begin to run go through them 

 twice a week and lift up runners to pre- 

 vent them rooting to the ground (as they 

 loot at every joint) or you will not get 



a crop. 



Wm. Rayneu. 



Qob Meeting. 



meeting of the Florists' Club 

 vely and interesting one. 



the retail 

 paper on the 

 1 will be found 



The 



was a 



The talk bv Mr. V> 



trade an.l Mi. S;i 



trade of l«iiii \ \ >v 



clsewheri' in llii-- i-~u.'. 



A comniunicaliMii \\.i- i.ri\,.l -tjtiiii; 



that Mr. Benjamin llnil.. . i tin \nui- 

 ican Rose Coni]i:iin, \\ .i-lnn ji-n. I' ''■, 

 would be present at i1h n.\t mating 

 and would display a vase of blooms of 

 his new rose, White Golden Gate, and 

 would also probably favor the members 

 with a talk on growing the Golden Gate 

 rose, with which he is very successful. 



Mr. II. E. Philpott, of Winnipeg, Man- 

 itoba, was a visitor, and told of the dif- 

 ficulties of the florist in a city where the 

 thermometer stood at 30 degrees below 

 zero when he left and where it had nev- 

 er been higher than 10 degrees below for 

 the past three months. He said that 

 growing roses was simply out of the 

 question, as during the winter months 

 the frost on the inside of the glass was 

 rarely less than half an inch thick. He 

 obtains most of his roses from Toronto 

 and Brampton, as the duty of 20 per 

 cent makes a heavy addition to the cost 

 of flowers imported from the United 



States. He indorsed all that had been 

 said by other speakers regarding the 

 importance of attractive window dis- 

 plays, etc. In speaking of shipped flow- 

 ers he said that the growers were too 

 apt to let the flowers remain too long 

 on the plants to make them good long 

 distance .shippers and that they should 

 be cut earlier for this purpose. 



Mr. James Hartshorne, of the (..liica- 

 go Carnation Company, showed a vase 

 of blooms of the new carnation, Mrs. J. 

 J Mitchell, a cross between Red Bradt 

 and Jubilee. It has the size and form 

 of Bradt, the color of Portia and is very 

 fratrrant. It is a beautiful carnation. 

 G. E. Anderson was elected to mem- 

 bership. 



TheMarket- 

 The bitter cold weather has checked 

 local demand and while there is no ma- 

 terial change in prices of the first grades, 

 there is a wider range and prices are 

 really easier. On tea roses the range 

 is now $4 to $8, with not very many 

 sales at the top figure, $G probably rep- 

 resenting the rate at which tlie balk of 

 the "ood stock is sold and the poorest 

 qualities finding difiiculty in winning 

 the lower figure mentioned. American 

 Beauties still bring $5 a dozen for the 

 best but they grade down rather sharp- 

 ly and the poorest go as low as $6 a 

 hundred. Liberty is getting to be inore 

 of a factor and sells at from $6 to flO. 

 In carnations the range is from $1.50 

 to $3 for good ordinaries, with a few 

 fancies, such as Lawson, etc., going as 

 hi<jh as $4 and an occasional sale of 

 ve?y poor stock at as low as $1. Violets 

 still move poorly. For good stock the 

 price ranges from 40 cents to $1 a hun- 

 dred, only a very few bringing the top 

 price and poor ones being often cleaned 

 up at any bid made by the buyer, some 

 sales hardly realizing enough to pay for 

 the picking and bunching. Bulbous 

 flowers are also suffering. The rates 

 quoted on tulips are $2 to $5, but the 

 sales at the latter figure are very few 

 and the bulk go at the lower rate if at 

 all. Daffodils move very slowly, too, 

 and more are sold at $1 to $2 than at a 

 higher figure. 



Among the tulips coming in the high- 

 ly colored La Reines from Klehras 

 nursery are very noticeable at Kcnni- 

 cott Bros. Co. We have seen these used 

 in plateaus for table decorations, making 

 a better effect than roses and they were 

 some little cheaper, too. 



The best hardy ferns are up to $2 a 

 thousand. Good smilax seems scarce and 

 sells at $2 a dozen. 



Various Items. 



Last Monday evening a large number 

 of friends attended a surprise party at 

 Mr. George Reinberg's, Summerdale, and 

 were unexpectedly "^joined by Mr. John 

 Beck, of Remsen, Iowa, a cousin. The 

 affair was a decided success and the even- 

 ing was a most enjoyable one. Among 

 florists present in addition to the host 

 of the evening were Henry Wietor, N. J. 

 Wietor, Adam Zender, Peter Reinberg, 

 and John Muno. 



Mr. and Mrs. 0. P. Bassett, returned 

 last Monday evening from Florida and 

 on Tuesday Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Wash- 

 burn left for South Carolina. 



As is noted elsewhere in this issue, 

 Messrs. Peter Reinberg and Peter Wei- 

 Innd have concluded the purchase of land 

 in New Castle, Ind., and material has 



already been shipped for the construc- 

 tion of the new range of glass to be- 

 erected there. Mr. Weiland is on the- 

 ground to superintend operations. 



New Castle has also been definitely se- 

 lected as the site for the new range of 

 glass to be erected by Mr. L. Coatsworth, 

 of Benthey & Co., mentioned last week. 

 Eight acl-es of land have been purchased 

 and building will begin at once. 



New Castle is getting to be an im- 

 portant point floriculturally. A party 

 of Chicago florists will journey there this 

 week, taking the 8:40 p. m. Panhandle 

 train this Thursday evening, to attend 

 the meeting of the Indiana florists, and 

 incidentally look over the existing and 

 prospective establishments. 



The bowlers will play a series of league 

 games this Thursday evening at An- 

 son's. „ _ 



Mr. J. W. Canaga, of St. Louis, was a 

 visitor this week. 



BOSTON. 

 Trade Conditions. 



The last week of February read like a 

 yellow-covered novel, a "dull thud" and 

 "sickening silence" on every page, togeth- 

 er with a "bloodcurdling groan" in each 

 chapter as some poor grower closed out 

 his stock at a ruinous price. 



The weather was too cold to allow the 

 street -trade to do much business until 

 the closing day, and the sun now runs 

 hii'h enough to' bring out lots of material. 

 Violets an'ii yellow jonquils have been the 

 most plentiful, quantities and quantities 

 of the former being left on the plants for 

 lack of trade. Single ones were even 

 more plentiful than double. Roses of all 

 kinds are not now so plentiful as they 

 have been, but there are too many of 

 them yet, and the size and quality never 

 was equaled in the history pf the busi- 

 ness. . ., , .,.^,. 

 Carnations are getting quite taminai 

 once more and prices av n > i-\. -:>y 

 from one to three cents, \m' ' ' ' ' "■•'> 

 at four. Ordinary rose? i < ' ■ i - ;y' 

 to twenty cents. Meteors m'l ' >' » I-'''- 

 erty from three to twelve and a halt. 

 Beauties from eight to sevcnty-hve each. 

 The scarcity in fine white flowers for ton- 

 in" up designs still continues, and the 

 supply of good green material is limited. 



Various Notes. 



Much serious sickness prevails among 

 the blossom men. Pres. W. C. Stickel, of 

 the Park street market, strained his tjack, 

 sli-'htly, as at first supposed, but it is 

 proving to be a tedious affair, being pain- 

 ful and interfering with movement of the 

 legs. 



Wm Anderson has been laid up now 

 for a couple of weeks with a scalded leg. 



B L. Clark, Jr., of Randolph's, has 

 1» ,-n nuitp sick with typhoid fever, as has 

 ,|, , Mr llii^'li. the Temple place retail- 

 , , ,,hl ^il.i- loabelle, of J. W. Howard's 

 ( iijii.-iMii liiaiuh, is confined by a very 

 piinful combination of diseases. The 

 grippe is still quite active, but not so 

 vicious as formerly. 



Out on the B. & A. 

 Having noticed two shining spots on 

 the hills' twenty miles away to the west- 

 ward. I gathered up the remains of my 

 personality and half a day's worth of 

 Uare moments I had been saving up dur- 

 ing the past busy weeks and trained out 

 th?re to sec what they were. Simply the 



