NovciiBEii G. ]'.)02. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



787 



General View of the Kansas City Show. 



Market. We are glad to see you take so mut-h 

 interest in an enterprise, the beginning of which 

 I believe to be the murkiug uf a new era to 

 the Philadelphia florist, be he grower or re- 

 tailer, and the advance of which will be as 

 great as that of fifteen or twenty years ago. 

 when the steam boiler and steam pipes super- 

 seded the brick flues. We are told by those 

 older in the business that I am of the good 

 old time when all one had to do was to grow 

 the flowers and at sunrise he found the re- 

 tailers at his gate begging for a chance to 

 buy them. We all know how things have 

 changed since then, until now the grower goes 

 around seeking the man who wants to buy, and 

 how often he misses him! You have doubtless 

 all had the experience, after having hunted for 

 some one in a crowd, and having at last given 

 it up in despair and stood still, of having the 

 one whom you sought all at once find you. 

 This is just our case. While we have been 

 hunting some one to buy our flowers, and have 

 found him with more or less success, we have 

 frequently missed him. much to the loss of 

 both parties, and now we propose to have the 

 product of our greenhouses in this beautiful, 

 well-lighted room at 7:30 nest Saturday morn- 

 ing, and on every morning thereafter, Sundays 

 excepted. 



We have all felt the need of just such a 

 market, a central place where buyer and seller 

 could find each other and do far more business 

 in an hour than could heretofore be accom- 

 plished in a forenoon, and do it far more sat- 

 isfactorily to both parties. New York has 

 two and Boston one such market. Philadel- 

 phia, proverbially slow, is at last awake, and 

 has the experience of her sister cities by which 

 to profit. Philadelphia, with her milUion in- 

 habitants, is going to support such a market. 

 There is no question about that, and any grower 

 who is not here at the start will be ashamed to 

 let his descendants know it. 



Our enterprise is of a healthy growth. Lit- 

 tle did we think of such a company as this 

 three months ago, chartered by the State of 

 Pennylvania. with a capital of $20,000. Our 

 plans were humble. We said, if we could only 

 get half a dozen growers to bring their flowers 

 to a central place the market would be a suc- 

 cess. Whomever we talked with about li 

 seemed to be in favcr of it. We then decided 

 to have some capital, and thought $5,000 would 

 be ample, and then it developed into $10,00'?. 

 and finallly stopped at the present figure. It 

 seemed the larger we made it the more de- 

 termined the growers were to have some of 

 the stock, until now there are but a few shares 

 left, and all the shares sold are held by those 

 actually in the business of growing flowers, or 

 growing or dealing in plants, trees, shrubs. 



seeds, bulbs and other merchandise of the gen- 

 eral flower business for purposes of commerce, 

 and our by-laws are so drawn that no other 

 person can ever hold shares of stock in the 

 company. 



I feel that I would not be just to whom 

 honor is due if I did not speak of the valuable 

 work done by Mr. Samuel S. Peunock at the 

 beginning of this project. Indeed, if it had 

 not been for his earnest co-operation and serv- 

 ices, this market would not be started at this 

 time. It seems like the irony of fate that 

 Mr. Pennock should be excluded from any part in 

 the company, after having done so much for 

 it. and all because he is a dreaded commission 

 man ! Mr. David Rust also rendered us most 

 valuable assistance at a time when it was very 

 difficult to get. 



In conclusion, allow me to congratulate all 

 interested in this market on our having pro- 

 cured the valued services of Mr. Charles Meehait 

 as manager. Mr. Meehan is well known to all 

 of you, .ind bis character, ability and impar- 

 tiality means success to the enterprise. 



Rolx?rt Craig followed with remarks 

 in his happit'st vein. Then came an at- 

 tractive program, full of wit, music and 

 song, arranged by William P. Craig, who 

 carried it through eighteen nunil>ers and 

 encores in fine style. Tlie talent, well 

 known in our business circles, was com- 

 posed of Eoljert Kift, styled the ''Father 

 of the Market," who responded to "Mag- 

 ic;" Horace T. Dumont. of Dumont & 

 Co.; A. G. Campbell and I^eo Niessen. 

 The last two named have fine voices. 



Light refreshments and dancing closed 

 an CA'ening voted by many as the most 

 successful affair of the kind ever given 

 in the City of Brotherly Love. One of 

 the features of the entertainment was 

 the beautiful bouquets and baskets of 

 liowers sent by many of the retailers 

 with their best wishes for the success of 

 the market. 



Saturday, Xovember 1, was the mar- 

 ket's first day of business. By 7 a. m. 

 nearly a score of growers had gathered 

 in the big room; several leading retail- 

 ers came earlv, and bv 9 o'clock nearlv 



all the cut flowers were sold — an unex- 

 pectedly good showing for the first day. 

 The atinosphere of a mart was certainly 

 there, and it ought to prove a great 

 thing for Philadelphia business Avhen 

 the place gets fairly moving. S. 

 Alfred Baur, of Erie, has the proud 

 distinction of being the first out-of-town 

 visitor, a distinction probably not real- 

 ized at the moment. 



Manager Meehan expressed himself as 

 pleased with the start made. The next 

 few weeks will be a very busy time for 

 him. By the end of that time things 

 should be running smoothly. 



C. H. MiUer. 



It is with deep regret that I record 

 the death of Charles H. Miller, which 

 occurred at his home, Mt. Airy, on Sun- 

 day evening last. He was born in Eng- 

 land in 1820 and came to this country 

 just before the war closed. In 1876 he 

 was made landscape gardener at Fair- 

 mount Park, which position he has held 

 for the past twenty-six years. He w\as 

 a man of great energy-, and his reput^i- 

 tion as a landscape architect is kno^vn 

 over a large poi-tion of the Eastern 

 states. For many years he was engaged 

 in the nursery business adjoining his 

 home at Mt. Any, but lately he had de- 

 voted liis entire" attention to the park 

 and to his landscape business. A widow 

 and two daughters survive him. 



Notes. 



Leo Kiessen has made a new depart- 

 ure in offering plants to his out-of-town 

 customers. This should prove a gi-eat 

 convenience. His Liberties are excep- 

 tionally fine. 



Joseph Heacock's reference to the work 

 done for the market by S. S. Pennock 



