OcTOEEn 16. 1902. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



677 



active growth and had made some new 

 leaves they would be mature in two 

 weeks. My good friends, you know I 

 meant two months. ■ 



Wn.T.TAM Scott. 



BOSTON. 



A Two Days' Visit at the Hub. 



One may crowd into a couple of days 

 many interesting horticultural investi- 

 gations and experiences if he "keeps 

 busy;" especially if he has the good for- 

 tune to run into the unexpected privi- 

 lege of a banquet "on the side." and 

 this feast of reason "was a bird." The 

 "old guard" and minj- of the "new" 

 ones were there, and the Boston Society 

 "did itself proud" in thus honoring the 

 twenty-fifth anniversary of the found- 

 ing of the cut flower commission busi- 

 ness in Boston by ilr. Patrick Welch. 

 The menu was faultless, and the poetical 

 garnishing most creditable to its au- 

 thors. 



A Bacquet. 



In the chair, as master of ceremonies, 

 sat the ponderous concentration of gen- 

 iality, Fred ilithison, whose introduc- 

 tory address was an able effort. He said 

 of Mr. Welch many complimentary things 

 that the company unanimously indorsed, 

 and gave a sketch of his career that 

 would make any man proud, of the won- 

 derful increase in shipments of cut flow- 

 ers from Boston in the twenty-five years 

 of progress, and characterized his activ- 

 ity as illustrative of perpetual motion. 

 iir. Mathison then appointed Mr. Ed- 

 ward Hatch as toast-master, a position 

 the gentleman filled in his usual able, 

 humorous and tactful way. 



Mr. George Moore, of Quebec, assist- 

 ant editor of the Journal of Horticulture, 

 first employer of Mr. Welch in this coun- 

 try, was the first speaker. His care- 

 fully prepared and read address was 

 frequently applauded. He considered 

 Mr. Welch an inventor, being the orig- 

 inal commission man and the father of 

 the wholesale cut flower commission busi- 

 ness. In 1877 Mr. iloore hid charge of 

 the Waban Conservatories, when Bon Si- 

 lene. La France and M. Xiel were in 

 their glory, and Edmond Wood began 

 the enterprising career that did so much 

 for horticulture in Xew England, and 

 the "hustler," P. Welch, was then his 

 salesman. He spoke of Mr. Welch's hon- 

 est dealings, )iis critical division of 

 stock according to real value and time 

 of cutting, of the partnership formed 

 with his brother.s, David and Edward, 

 and of the weekly price list system, 

 which he was the first to inaugurate. 

 His references to the pleasant relations 

 existing between Canada and the United 

 States, his plea for reciprocity, and his 

 good advice as to the desirability of 

 larger families in American homes were 

 appropriate and humorous. 



Following Mr. Moore's address were 

 letters of regret and congratulations 

 from Patrick O'Mara. Eobert T. McGor- 

 um, John Young. Walter Sheridan, Carl 

 Jurgens, Frank Barnard and others who 

 were unable to accept the invitation to 

 be present. 



Prof. Elson, of Boston, then read an 

 original poem, with Mr. Welch for his 

 subject, ^^■ritten for the occasion; and 

 he followed this with a song, both of 

 ■which were heartily applauded. 



The best speech of the evening fol- 

 lowed, and Attorney Blair demonstrated 

 that he was not onlv an orator, but an 



elocutionist, by his superb rendering of 

 "John Anderson, My Joe," and other 

 poems. His speech was a masterpiece of 

 eloquence. 



William E. Doyle had only compli- 

 mentary things to say of his twenty- 

 five years' dealings with the Welch Bros., 

 of their shipments to other large cities, 

 of their other facilities and their relia- 

 bility, closing with a brilliant prophecy 

 as to their future success. 



Lawrence Cotter's congratulations, and 

 his peroration on the absorption of Can- 

 ada, were in his best vein, and Frank 

 Barnard's letter which followed ex- 

 pressed the wish that "the best days of 

 the Welch Bros, in the past might be 

 their poorest days in the future." 



.Judge Hort. from tlie rocky countrv 

 of Xew Hampshire, was the wit of the 

 evening, and his stories and repartee 



kept the banqueters in good humor un- 

 til midnight. He called Mr. Welch "Our 

 Sweet P," and seemed to be afraid that 

 Lawson might want to absorb him. 



Warren Ewell was the next speaker, 

 and I regret I cannot give his oration ex- 

 actly as it was delivered. Those who 

 know Warren and have heard him speak 

 will also regret it. Mr. Ewell's voice is 

 still resonant and vibratory and there 

 was no difficulty in hearing every word. 

 Warren's reminiscences reached back to 

 1874, and included the suburb of Bos- 

 ton and its foundations, systems, taxes, 

 horses and vegetables, a bay horse with 

 a silver mane and tail receiving honora- 

 ble mention. He spoke of experiences 

 with the plow in his early days, and of 

 the suburbs of New Jersey "where the 

 glorious moon is beaming." Warren is 

 a little difticult to follow, and it requires 

 some care to grasp the intricate thoughts 

 that surge through him, but the ap- 

 plause that followed his effort showed 

 that he has lost none of his magnetic 

 oratorical ability. 



ilichael Xorton. the father of the 

 flock, remembered ilr. Welch when he 

 was a boy. and traced his career through 

 all the years to the present in a 'nost 

 kind and complimentary way, speaking 

 of his ability as one_ of the executive 

 committee of the S. A. F. when he was 

 president of the society, and of his 

 methodicity and sagacity. 



ilr. P. Welch then gave his response 

 to the addresses made, in an eloquent 

 and modest effort that was vociferously 

 .applauded. He toasted the memory of 

 E. M. Wood, to which the gathering re- 

 sponded silently, paying a beautiful trib- 

 ute to that gentleman's character and 

 generosity, complimented his growers 

 and retail customers in the most cordial 

 and complimentary way, and closed his 

 address with many appreciative words 



for his friends, who had honored him 

 with the banquet. 



A good orchestra dispensed fine music 

 throughout the evening, and in many of 

 the popular melodies which they 

 gave the whole company joined. Other 

 ad<lresses were given by ilessrs. 

 Stewart, .lackson Dawson. George An- 

 derson, John B. Dorr, W. W, Edgar, 

 and William ilartin. all of them 

 full of pleasant personal recollections. 

 About fifty participated in the festivi- 

 ties, and joined hands at midnight in 

 rendering "Auld Lang Syne." It was a 

 delightful evening and will always be a 

 happy memory. 



Items. 



A visit to the home of the Anna Fos- 

 ter fern at Dorchester fovtnd all hands 

 busy packing and shipping this hand- 

 some nephrolepis to every ' part of the 

 country. Mr. Foster has found a great 

 demand for his beautiful discovery and 

 is much pleased with its reception. In 

 addition to the small plants for the 

 growers he has a large stock of the Anna 

 Foster in 6, 7 and 8-inch pots ready for 

 the retailer, and is sending these to Ihe 

 bon ton stores of Boston and Xew York, 

 ilr. Foster anticipates a much greater 

 demand for the fern in 1903, when its 

 merits are more universally realized. 



The sympathy of the trade everywhere 

 is extended to ilr. Foster in the great 

 sorrow that has befallen him in the loss 

 of liis wife last week, and those v,ho 

 knew this estimable lady can realize how 

 greatly he is afllicted. 



I found ilr. A. H. Hews, of Xorth 

 Cambridge, a little under the weather, 

 an unusual condition for him, but his 

 pottery business was as well as it could 

 be, orders far ahead of shipments, and 

 both travelers at home and not solicit- 

 ing trade, because there was '"not enough 

 to go around," a most healthy state of 

 affairs from a manufacturer's stand- 

 point. This. too. is the oldest establish- 

 ment of the kind in the country, reach- 

 ing away back through several genera- 

 tions, and into the years when the 

 witches were a Salem reality, and Bunk- 

 er Hill and the tea episode only a few 

 miles away. 



The Boston Cut Rower ilarket is 

 sadly cramped for room, and after Jan- 

 uary expects to be located in more ex- 

 pansive quarters with double the present 

 space. One hundred and thirty-seven 

 stalls at present and an average of 200 

 growers daily, with a spurt to 400 on 

 holiday occasions, gives you some idea of 

 the rush and hustle to be found there at 

 6 in the morning, an early hour for ob- 

 servation after a midnight banquet. 



The manager here is certainly an 

 adept, and a perfect and harmonious sys- 

 tem prevails. Xo undue noise is heard, 

 no smoking is allowed, and altogether 

 it's a model market, as becometh the 

 staid and venerable city. The display 

 of cut flowers was fiaie and abundant. 

 Alex, ilontgomerv was there with some 

 fine Willowbrook mums that sold rapid- 

 ly at $2.50 a dozen. 



ilr. Elliott, the Asparagus King, ran 

 in from his new place at iladbury. X. H., 

 where his immense house. SIO feet long 

 by 54 feet wide, with its 45.000 square 

 feet of glass, is the wonder of Xew Eng- 

 land and a veritable "sea of glass." Here 

 he has over 20.000 plants of the Amer- 

 ican Beauty, and you can figure out 

 what that means in the way of daily 

 shipments, not only to the wholesale 

 market, but all over Xew England. His 

 asparagus houses at the old stand in 



