640 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



OCTOBEK 9, 1902. 



secured where the return pipe enters the 

 top of the boiler. 



In calcuhiting for low pressure steam 

 heat, it is advisable to provide a steam 

 main pipe having its diameter equal to 

 at least one-tenth of the sq. root of the 

 total radiating surface to be fed. 



New York. Henry W. Gibbons. 



BUFFALO. 



Much dull, wet weather has rendered 

 useless about all the outside flowers 

 there were leftj and now there is noth- 

 ing. Carnations are coming in so slow- 

 ly, and roses are so poor in quality, ex- 

 cept Beauties, that we are really hard 

 up for flowers. There is no Mr. Peacock 

 here to send in a wagon load of dahlias. 

 The attempt to cultivate dahlias in this 

 neighborhood is in nearly every case a 

 failure. Yet you see by the side of a 

 cottage in our country villages a few 

 plants flowering as freely as the golden- 

 rod by our fence rows in September. 

 T)ie beds of coleus at the stations on 

 the railroads are as fresh and growing 

 as they were in August, proof positive 

 that we have had no frost, and therefore 

 there should not be such a dearth of 

 flowers. A few thousand carnations, 

 not stopped after the middle of June, 

 would be giving us lots of blooms out 

 of doors, but I don't hear of anyone here- 

 abouts having that few. 



The agony will soon be over, for we 

 began cutting Polly Rose and Willow- 

 brook chrysanthemums a few days ago. 

 There are very few Fitz^vygrams grown 

 here. VVillowbrook seems to be a dandy. 

 Others will quickly follow, andl the con- 

 stant necessity for apologies will soon 

 cease. There is something joyous in the 

 return of tie bold and noble chrysan- 

 themum. It's like an old friend return- 

 ing after a long interval. And the old 

 friend is not down at the heel, wanting 

 assistance or relating misfortunes. He 

 is well dressed, in the finest of spirits, 

 in the best of health, and you are de- 

 lighted to see him. He cheers you up; 

 gladdens the whole family. But like 

 most old friends, if he stopped too long. 

 he would wear out his welcome, and 

 after two months' stay you are not 

 broken hearted when you bid him good- 

 by with the remark, "Will see you 

 later." Other flowers are nearer to our 

 heart, and like other friends, we never 

 tire of them. 



ButTalo is not attempting a flower 

 show of any kind this year. It's too 

 bad we c-an't do it. A burnt child dreads 

 the fire and a few of us have been 

 scorched. Our worthy president, Capt. 

 Braik, was willing to take the lion's 

 share of the work, but there was a lack 

 of interest and so it dropped. We don't 

 believe that the public is to blame. Tliey 

 would patronize it if every florist in 

 town would do the same, but oh, there 

 is such a miserable, selfish feeling that 

 controls the actions of two-thirds of our 

 craftsmen, that instead of giving it their 

 moral, if not material, aid, they would 

 rather pooh pooh it. "It's nothing in 

 their pocket." "They can sell all they 

 grow without it." "They have no time 

 to bother," etc. Perhaps other cities are 

 the same, for the average of human na- 

 ture is the same, whether it be Boston, 

 Bengal or Basutuland. 



It's remarkable how little is said in 

 dead earnest in the florist press on that 

 momentous subject, the coal strike. We 

 are all hoping, like the optimistic Mr. 

 Macawber, for something to "turn up." 

 It would be presumptous and) absurd 

 for a humble florist to even pass his 



opinion on the merits of this calamity. 

 When the President of this great coun- 

 try, and his wise counselors, can not 

 see their way to make eitlier side give 

 in, or decide which is right, it's little 

 good for us to discuss it. A few, I hope 

 many, were fortunate enough to lay in 

 their coal before the strike began, but 

 for every one that is now so fortunate, 

 there are ten who were careless, and I 

 can not see anything but a great calam- 

 ity before hundreds of struggling flor- 

 ists. Outrageous prices would bo hard 

 to bear, but money will not buy what 

 will soon be needed to keep our homes 

 from freezing. 



There is an apathy just now, for the 

 weather is favorable. Some coal left 

 over from last spring, or a wood fire 

 occasionally, keeps the chill off, and may 

 for another month, but when the first 

 night of fifteen or twenty degrees of 

 frost drops down on us, what then? 

 Pennsylvania has ninety per cent of all 

 the anthracite of the world, owned and 

 controlled by a few men. Under pres- 

 ent conditions this coal has Ijecome a 

 natural monopoly. And I may as well 

 speak the truth about myself and say 

 flatly that I am, and have been for years, 

 a thorough believer that natural monop- 

 olies should be owned and controlled by 

 the municipality, state, nation or com- 

 munity they affect. Call this socialism 

 if you like, so much the better. 



New Zealand is held up to us as the 

 best government in the world, that is. 

 best for all the people, and there all 

 these phases of socialism are carried fur- 

 ther than in any other of the so-called 

 civilized countries of the world. Even 

 the liberal monarchy of Great Britain 

 has municipal ownership of natural mo- 

 nopolies carried out ten times more than 

 our republic, and are acquiring by pur- 

 chase the ownership of private monopolies 

 as fast as they can to the great benefit 

 of the public, who owns them. Not 

 only the eommimity who owns the trol- 

 ley lines, water works, electric lighting, 

 telegraphs and telephones, gets these 

 necessities cheaper, but in many cases 

 tliere is a large surplus left to help run 

 the city expenses, and consequently lower 

 ta.Kes. 



The New York Democratic platform 

 adopted at Saratoga advocates the own- 

 ership and control of the anthracite coal 

 fields. The Brooklyn Eagle says it is 

 a cheap bid for the socialist vote, dema- 

 gogical and absurd, and would cost the 

 country more than the national debt at 

 the close of the war in 1865. A Chicago 

 paper, I think the Record-Herald, says 

 it's a good, strong plank and will meet 

 with the approval of many thinking men, 

 and there you go. We got over the 

 national debt all right, or soon will, and 

 have paid in pensions since that some- 

 thing like $5,000,000,000. Money is no 

 object to the coimtry. Let us have peace 

 and prosperity, and the use of those 

 natural products which were stored up 

 for future races millions of years ago. 



The primitive savage man got along 

 with a skin and some kindling wood, that 

 is, after he learned to make a fire. Coal 

 with our present civilization is a neces- 

 sity and we must have it. Talk about a 

 slight lowering of the tariff endangering 

 our present commercial prosperity. Is 

 not this terrible struggle in the Wyom- 

 ing Valley much more serious than any 

 lowering of the tariff on some trust 

 made monopoly a thousand times. I 

 would owu the coal mines if I were 

 Uncle Sam, but that could not bring im- 

 mediate relief, and I must close. 



We are very like the poor .sailor who 

 was chased by a farmer, a bull dog and 

 a powerful, long-horned bull. Poor Jack 

 had run as far as he could and come to 

 a high stone wall, against which he knelt. 

 Looking over his shoulder and seeing 

 that the bull was approaching fa-st with 

 loweiing horns. Jack gave utterance to 

 the only prayer he knew and which he 

 learned aboard ship. "For what I am 

 about to receive may the Lord make me 

 truly thankful." We will be saying 

 our little prayer about November 15th, 

 or sooner. W. S. 



CHICAGO. 



There is likelihood of a strike of the 

 drivers for the express companies and it 

 is giving the wholesale florists some 

 uneasiness. The Chicago Wholesale Cut 

 Flower Association held a called meet- 

 ing at the Bismarck Hotel last Tuesday 

 morning and appointed a committee, 

 consisting of E. E. Pieser (of Kennicott 

 Bros. Co.), E. C. Amling and Leonard 

 Kill (of Peter Reinberg), to confer with 

 the drivers to see if they would not 

 make an exception in favor of cut flower 

 shipments in case a strike was ordered. 



Commission men say growers are los- 

 ing money by not making their ship- 

 ments more frequent during present mar- 

 ket conditions. When the cut is small 

 the temptation is strong to hold back 

 until there is enough to make a regu- 

 lation shipment, but that is not the way 

 to get the fullest value for the stock. 

 Keep it coming so the dealer can take 

 the fullest advantage of the demand, 

 which always has its ebbs and flows 

 from day to day, and in fact from hour 

 to hour, and also insure every bit of the 

 stock reaching the market in a fresh 

 condition. The same stock that will 

 make a quick sale at $10 today may not 

 bring .$5 tomorrow. Freshness is an 

 absolute essential these days. 



Wietor Bros, are cutting Kalb and 

 Pacific chrysanthemums and some small 

 Eatons from early propagated plants. 

 They are more than ever impressed with 

 Ivory rose. Last week they sold some 

 select blooms at as high as $20 per 100. 



Kennicott Bros. Co. are receiving 

 some tine yellow mums that have sold at 

 ■$30 per 100. 



Mr. A. L. Randall has returned from 

 his summer home in Michigan and is 

 ready for another season of hustle. 



Mr. C L. Washburn is on the sick 

 list and is confined to his home at Hins- 

 dale. 



Lloyd Vaughan, with E. H. Hunt, is 

 spending a few days in the city, but will 

 shortly resume his trip on the road. 



Mr. Isaac Kennedy, of Cleveland, is in 

 the city. He has sold his interest in 

 the J. M. Gasser Co. and is looking for 

 new fields to conquer. 



John P. Tonner, the florist of Mont- 

 dair, has for some years suffered much 

 from insomnia and other troubles, and 

 last Sunday morning he became so des- 

 perate over his condition that he ended 

 his life by shooting himself with a rifle. 

 He was 73 years old and had been a 

 resident of Chicago and vicinity for 

 over fifty years. The business has for 

 some time past been almost wholly con- 

 ducted by his son. Walter Tonner, and 

 the death of the father will in no way 

 afleet it. 



Bond issues have been recommended 

 by the South Park and Lincoln Park 

 Boards for raising money with which to 

 provide a series of small parks through 



