844 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Mat S. 1902, 



BOSTON. 



The Market. 



The business for May Day week began 

 here with a slight scarcity of carnations 

 and violets and closed with empty chests 

 so far as violets and bulb material were 

 concerned. The rise of the sweet pea 

 crop to sizable proportions was also a 

 feature of the week. These are selling 

 well at from $1 to $1.50 per 100. Pinks 

 nm from 1 to a possible 4 cents, with 

 good ordinaries about i! cents. Eoses 

 are plentiful in all colors, sizes, prices 

 ^ and conditions. 



Pointers. 



Tenants are rushing into the new Pad- 

 dock building on the site of old Horti- 

 cultural Hall. One fine apartment on 

 the street floor is labeled ' ' Paddock 

 Florist," with information that Mrs. G. 

 A. Sutherland will very shortly occupy 

 it. There is an old classic relating to 

 the demise ol^a donkey before he could 

 decide which one of three hay stacks to 

 patronize. It will be almost as hard for 

 customers to decide in future which 

 iJromfield street floral emporium to 

 visit. 



By the way, Sutherland shows a mag- 

 nificent line of metal wreaths, etc., for 

 Memorial Day at his Hawley street 

 headquarters. The best I have ever 

 seen. 



There is a magnificent display of plant 

 life at the auction sales on that street 

 also. 



The Salesman and the " Lob." 



.\ Boston roso salt'sm.Tii. an nnfortnnritp sktb. 

 Out to dinner Iiist week encouiilered a lob. 

 *T\vfts a mild-mannered brute of a lively red 



hue. 

 .\nd the^ salesman approached with no more ado. 

 . In full view of his lobsblp he opened bis jaw. 

 Raised up the crustacean and bit off his off 



claw. 

 Brave was his manner, bis words full of scoff: 

 Kight proud was his carriage as be clawed tbe^ 



claw off. 

 Ho bit but this bit. but this bit was bitter. 

 The fit that was tit could not fit any fitter. 

 The man knew the lob felt at liome in the 



brine. 

 So he .swallowed a beer and eke a small wine. 

 Two hours later said fish rose in Iiis ire: 

 His feathers all bristled, bis breath full of fire. 

 . He fell on this salesman with blood in his eye: 

 He tore him asunder and smote hip and thiph. 

 He ripped up his back and he ripped his front 



down. 

 Not an organ left wliole from his feet to his 



crown. 

 ■With a yell in bis language, meaning. "Pike's 



Peak, or bust!" 

 He went through that man like a horse-rake 



through dust. 

 ili^ left the poor man in a mix of a fix. 

 .\nd put a face on him like half-past six! 



.1. S. M.i^.NTEK. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



The recent w:irm weather brought out 

 the flowers in abundance and though de- 

 mand held up splendidly till last Sat- 

 urday, since then it has fallen off sadly. 

 On Tuesday the dealers were feeling 

 rather glum. There was a big accumu- 

 lation of everything and almost no buy- 

 ers. Eoses have deteriorated consider- 

 ably in quality and there is precious lit- 

 tle first class stock to be had. For what 

 few shipping orders there are great 

 piles of roses have to be sorted over to 

 get 'out a few hundifd ■ that will stand 

 the test. For these $5 a hundred is 

 the price, a fair range in quotations 

 being from $2 to $5 with the poorest 

 being jobbed oif at as low as $1. 



Carnations hold their quality better, 

 though naturally somewhat soft after so 

 much damp weather, but there are tons 



of them and prices are weak. It takes 

 a mighty fine flower to bring more than 

 .$2 and the bulk of the good stock is sold 

 at $1 to $1.50, and large lots of under 

 grade stuff have been cleaned up at as 

 low as $4 and $5 a thousand. 



Good Beauties hold their own best 

 among roses and the best still bring 

 $2.50 to $3 a dozen. From this prices 

 range down to as low as $1 a hundred 

 for poor shorts. 



Some of the commission men are lit- 

 erally buried in lilac. Jmmense lots are 

 coming in and there is no way to move 

 it. The street men are badly missed 

 by the wholesalers now. 



The first paeonies of the season ar- 

 rived at Kennicott's Saturday and they 

 have moved very well so far. But as 

 soon as they cease to be a novelty it is 

 feared they may class with the lilac if 

 present conditions continue. 



The weather liureau reports a cold 

 wave on the way from the northwest 

 and conditions may change by the time 

 this is in print. 



Various Notes. 



We much regret to have to announce 

 that Louis Gregor, for the last few years 

 with the Harms Park Floral Co., in 

 which he had an interest, took his own 

 life last Saturday morning. He first 

 threw himself in front of an elevated 

 railway train, but the motorman man- 

 aged to stop his train in time. He 

 was taken from the track, and the rail- 

 way attaches, realizing the man was 

 practically insane, sent for the police. 

 But before they arrived Mr. Gregor 

 managed to break away from those 

 watching him and taking a knife from 

 his pocket severed his jugular vein. He 

 was dead when the officers arrived. For 

 some time past Mr. Gregor had given 

 evidences of an unbalanced mind, but 

 such a tragic result was entirely un- 

 looked for. It is a very sad affair. He 

 was in the prime of life and leaves a 

 wife and family. 



Mr. Gladiolus Thompson, South Haven, 

 Mich., was a visitor Tuesday. 



The American Rose Co., Washington, 

 D. C, offers prizes of $100, .$50 and $25 

 for best 50 cut blooms of Ivory roses 

 to be competed for at the fall exhibition 

 of the Horticultural Society of Chicago. 

 The roses must be exhibited by the 

 grower thereof, and must be purchased 

 by said grower from the American Eose 

 Co. or through its authorized agents. 

 Xo exhibitor to receive more than one 

 prize. 



One thing that the retailers and the 

 wholesalers should get together on is the 

 question of permitting flowers to be used 

 at the local school closings. By acting 

 together and vigorously they could un- 

 doubtedly secure a reversal of the order 

 now in force forbidding the use of 

 flowers at these public events. Now is 

 the tinie to do the work. 



Wietor Bros, have planted four houses 

 of the new white rose Ivory. They are 

 also planting other roses early, having 

 already planted three houses of Liberty, 

 six of Meteor, three of Golden Gate, 

 two of La France and two of Kaiserin. 

 Their two new houses for chrysanthe- 

 mums are already completed and the 

 posts are up for their range of five new 

 rose houses, each 33x300. 



C. Neilsen & Son have started into 

 the business at 594 North Lincoln St., 

 having acquired the greenhouses of C. 

 Paasehat that location. INlr. Paaseli re- 

 tains his store on Clvbourn avenue. 



The husband of Mrs, A, Hertel, the 

 Clybourn avenue florist, died last Sun- 

 day. 



George Eeinberg has the iron posts 

 in position for his new range of glass 

 at Summerdale. 



L. Coatsworth has returned from a 

 week's visit to New York and vicinity. 

 . Bassett & Washburn have all their 

 carnations planted out in the field. They 

 have already completed the replanting 

 of over a dozen of their rose houses, and 

 are using all grafted stock this year, 

 being convinced that it pays. 



Alex Newett is now with J. B. Dea- 

 mud. 



Lee AValz is now behind the counter 

 at John Mangel's. 



N. A. Schmitz, for many years gar- 

 dener at the Guardian Angel Orphan 

 Asylum, is now with Peter Eeinberg at 

 Summerdale. 



Leonard Kill struck out a birthday 

 Wednesday, but won a home run at a 

 surprise pSrty in the evening. 



McKellar & Winterson Co. keep enlarg- 

 ing their supply department and their 

 business in this line. Mr. Degnan says 

 that the business of the new seed depart- 

 ment is fully up to expectations, and the 

 outlook is very encouraging. 



A GROUP OF FERNS. 



A beautifully arranged group of 

 ferns of manj' species and in various 

 sizes is shown in the accompanying 

 illustration which has been reproduceil 

 from the Gardeners' Chronicle, and such 

 a group would attract much attention 

 even in these days of wonderful roses 

 and four-inch carnation flowers. 



In the arrangement of this group an 

 effort seems to have been made to show 

 distinct forms and also to arrange them 

 artistically and the result is a decided 

 success. Beginning with the foreground 

 at the right of the picture we find an 

 uncommon species in the form of a pan 

 filled with Meniscium simplex, a simple 

 leaved fern of moderate growth, and 

 one that is almost a semi-aquatic in its 

 habits. Not a fern for the trade, but 

 one that is both odd and interesting, and 

 well worthy of a place in a private col- 

 lection. 



Next to this in the front rank is one 

 of the crested forms of Pteris cretica, 

 probably P. cretica Childsii, and this 

 in turn may be considered among the 

 most valuable of trade species, for 

 among the many forms of P. cretica are 

 found some of the most useful ferns for 

 fern dishes and other decorative work, 

 these pteris being very easy to raise, 

 quick in growth and having foliage of 

 good texture. 



Back of the pteris we find a good- 

 sized plant of Davallia solida, a strong 

 growing member of the hare's-foot ferns 

 that produces fronds two to three feet 

 long, finely dirided, and of good sub- 

 stance, a fern of merit and one that 

 would probably prove acceptable for 

 decorative work if it could be had in 

 quantity. 



Eetiirning toward the front line and 

 near the center of the picture is found 

 another simple leaved fern of rather 

 massive outline, and one that is but sel- 

 dom seen, namely, Hymenodium crini- 

 tum. This fern is a West Indian species 

 and in large specimens sometimes pro- 

 duces fronds 18 inches to two feet in 

 height, dark green in color, and having 

 a sprinkling of stiff, black hairs all over 

 the fronds. The fertile fronds of the 



