188 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



JANfARY IS. 1911(1. 



There are a few Dendrobium formos- 

 ums still on the market, a very limited 

 quantity of Laelia albida, possibly a 

 little Coelogyne cristata, Odontoglos- 

 sum crispum and Phalaenopsis ama- 

 bilis. 



When making up your bouquet, it 

 is best to have variety, for one kind 

 of orchid is apt to arrange awkwardly 

 and be less handsome than one with a 

 cluster of orange blossoms, valley, or 

 some other choice white flower. You 

 know the sectional bouquet in which 

 a ring was tied to foretell the receiv- 

 er's wedding is seldom made nowadays, 

 because it caused too much jealousy 

 and quarelling as to who should get 

 the lucky section. Gardenias are get- 

 ting to be more plentiful and are fine 

 for bouquet, corsage spray or button- 

 hols. 



We regret to see that the phalaenop- 

 sis is becoming rarer every year and 

 that they are seldom seen even in pri- 

 vate orchid collections, never in the 

 cut flower market. Growers tell us 

 they are too diflicult to grow, others 

 that some form of disease has almost 

 wiped them out; whatever tlie cause, 

 their non-appearance on the market 

 is to be deeply deplored. Of all the 

 choicest of flowers in cultivation we 

 consider many of the varieties of pha- 

 laenopsis the most beautiful; they are 

 by far the finest material for spray 

 bouquets and numerous forms of dec- 

 oration. We would appeal to retail 

 florists to give a good price for them 

 whenever it is possible to purchase 

 them, in order that some encourage- 

 ment nay be given for their more ex- 

 tensive cultivation. 



The retail cut flower trade is badly 

 in need of a larger white rose than the 

 Bride or Kaiserin. We remember 

 years ago that the "Puritan" prom- 

 ised to supply this want; whenever it 

 could be got in good condition high 

 prices were obtained for it. A prepon- 

 derance of bullheads was given as a 

 reason for discarding it; may not this 

 fault be a result of poor cultivation? 

 We remember how American Beauty 

 in its early days was kicked about and 

 ignored, and this rose even today is as 

 far from being understood as it is from 

 the zenith of its glory. We look back 

 with fond recollections to the days 

 when Cornelia Coolvs were grown to 

 perfection by Littlejohn, of Chatham. 

 There never was, nor has there since 

 been, a white rose to compare with it; 

 we can never forget how grand they 

 were, especially when with sprays of 

 foliage, and often we got as high as 

 $6.00 and $'J.OO per dozen for them 

 through the winter season; we believe 

 it could be repeated today were they 

 grown so finely. 



We have arrived at a most peculiar, 

 nay, critical stage in floriculture; the 

 greenhouse is put on a level with the 

 machine furnished factory. We seem 

 to say to a plant, "Now, rascal, pro- 

 duce just so many blooms, or we'll dis- 

 own and despise you." The gardener 

 of today is but an engineer whose oil- 

 can is filled with physic. The trend of 



higher cultivation seems to lower our 

 standard of appreciation. The broader 

 our views the narrower our selection. 

 Under the veil of business people per- 

 petrate n:any crimes, and there aro 

 none so blind as those who see and yet 

 ignore the inevitable. 'Tis quite true 

 that those who excel in growing cer- 

 tain grades of stock are making 

 money, those who attempt to follow 

 and fail had better be working for oth- 

 ers or go into some other line of trade. 



If you wish to study the present 

 condition of the cut flower market 

 read the trade reports in the papers, 

 or stay, go out to Madison, N. .1,, and 

 investigate the rose question of today 

 as we have done. You will find that of 

 the one million square feet of glass de- 

 voted to commercial floriculture in this 

 township alone, not 5,000 square feet 

 is given to the cultivation of any rose 

 other than Beauty, Bride, Maid and 

 Meteor. Our business cannot exist 

 much longer on this plan of everyone 

 growing the same variety of flowers, 

 simply because they can produce so 

 many of that particular kind, because 

 the market conditions of the future 

 will be far worse than they are today, 

 and only a greater variety of flowers 

 will prevent a stunted state of trade. 



The average grower of today is too 

 slow to recognize this, and the only re- 

 lief we see is to get successful retail- 

 ers to have certain novelties and lines 

 of stock specially grown for them. To 

 be able to control the sale of a house, 

 or even a bench of some beautiful rose 

 of a variety which cannot be got on the 

 market means a great deal to any flor- 

 ist with a large trade. We look for 

 this in the near future, and with it not 

 only the advent of numerous new flow- 

 ers, but a reappearance of many of the 

 ge t s of fifty years ago. IVERA. 



THE COUNTRY FLORIST AT 

 CHRISTMAS. 



Mr. Editor: I note in your paper 

 that the plant trade at Christmas 

 time is growing all over the country, 

 and some claim that it is on accoimt 

 of the high prices asked for cut flow- 

 ers. 



I will endeavor to show you how the 

 country florist does it at that particu- 

 lar time. The florist in a small town 

 will have from 5,000 to lO.OrtO feet of 

 glass. He will have about 500 tea 

 roses on the bench, about the same of 

 carnations, and the rest of bis houses 

 in general stock. Of course he has to 

 depend on the city for his cut flowere, 

 but as there are no nabobs in our 

 small towns with "money to burn." it 

 is an uphill business to sell cut flow- 

 ers at three prices. 



This is the way it works in a small 

 place: A lady steps into your place 

 and says: "Good morning. Mr. S." 

 "Good morning, lady." "Give me a 

 dozen carnations." "Yes, ma'am." I 

 wrap them up and hand them to the 

 lady. She says, "How much?" "$1.50." 

 "What! Why, I paid you only 50 cents 

 last week for the same carnations." 



"Yes; but this is Christmas." "Oh! 

 Well, it don't cost any more to grow 

 them now than it did last week." 

 "But, you know, there are not enough 

 cut flowers to go around for Christ- 

 mas." "Well, I'll not take them at 

 that price." "Well, then, why not buy 

 this azalea at $1.50? The price is just 

 the same as last week." "Well, I'll 

 take that." "All right." 



Next customer: "Got any roses?" 

 "Yes, ma'am." "How much are they?" 

 You answer. $2. $2.50. or $3, as the 

 case may be. "Oh, they are so much 

 higher than you charged me last 

 week." "Yes; but this is Christmas. 

 Do .vou want something for a present 

 for a friend?" "Yes, sir." "Why not 

 buy this nice incarnata begonia at $1? 

 It will outlast the roses." "I'll take 

 it." With the next customer it will he 

 about the same way. 



To the country florist I would say: 

 Work up your plants and have them 

 ready for Christmas. Have your prim- 

 roses, cyclamen. Boston ferns, bego- 

 nias (incarnata is the best I know of — 

 Lorraine is a dandy if you can grow 

 it), your palms, araucarias, etc.. in 

 shape, and see how well you will get 

 through Christmas time without mak- 

 ing your customers mad, and you cer- 

 tainly want them another day. 



I do not say that cut flowers should 

 not be higher at Christmas, but I 

 think all will agree with me that it 

 is better for the country florist to 

 please his customers, and this. I find, 

 is the way to do it. But he must have 

 the cut flowers, too. as about one in 

 ten that comes in will buy them even 

 at prices asked, and he must please 

 that customer as well as the others. 



A great point in favor of plants is 

 that if you don't sell them they will 

 last till another day. And of the 

 amount you receive for them you don't 

 have to send the bulk of it away, as 

 you do when you buy cut flowers. S. 



BENCH OF POINSETTIAS. 



The bench of these gay plants con- 

 tained some 800 pots, mostly 5-inch. 

 A few hundred 4-inch pots, as well as 

 several dozen 10-inch pans, in which 

 were six dwarf plants, do not show in 

 photograph, being too near the camera. 

 Those shown were a very even lot ot 

 plants, averaging IS to 24 inches in 

 height. The bracts were from 15 to 

 IS inches across, and as the pots were 

 stood closer than that a view of them 

 was just a sheet of scarlet. I have 

 never succeeded bettenin keeping their 

 foliage perfect to the pot. There was 

 scarcely a yellow leaf to be seen in the 

 whole lot. 



You can grow larger flowers by 

 planting them out in 5 or 6 inches ot 

 soil in a light, warm house, but as a 

 cut flower tliey are not a success. They 

 will wilt. Ninety per cent of these 

 plants sold in pots, and of the pansi 

 many more could have been sold. It 

 is just about 2S years ago since I first 

 grew them in this city and looked for 

 a market in New York, but there 

 seemed very little demand for them. 

 ■^Vfi have continued to grow them 



