December 24, 1903. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



225 



NEV YORK. 



With the Retailers. 



If one may judge by the enormous 

 quantities of blooming plants and tbe 

 gorgeously brilliant windows of the re- 

 tail stores, tliis is to be an old time 

 Cliristmas, with enough and to spare for 

 all. There seems to be a contidenco and 

 expectancy in the great floral centers 

 as great as in other years and there can 

 bo no doubt as to this being tho greatest 

 plant Christmas on record. At this writ- 

 ing, Monday evening, the stores are 

 ablaze with color and day and night 

 the plantsmen are delivering their fin- 

 ished work and the increased force is 

 busy banking, arranging and preparing 

 the stock for the grand display of 

 "Wednesday and Thursday, when the 

 great retail stores of the metropolis will 

 present to the admiring public an exhi- 

 bition that pales any ordinary flower 

 show into insignificance. No wonder 

 the usual flower exhibition fails to draw 

 crowds in New York when such a mag- 

 nificent display is made every Christmas 

 and Easter in our retail stores, the like 

 of which is seen nowhere else in the 

 country. 



It would be difficult to particularize 

 where all do so well. Red is the prevail- 

 ing color, of course, and poinsettias, 

 bells and holly are used lavishly every- 

 where. Some fine specimen azaleas are in 

 evidence and this plant is used more ex- 

 tensively than ever before for Christmas. 

 Gloire de Lorraine begonias are numer- 

 ous and beautiful. All the growers have 

 them this season. Ward's baskets of 

 this plant are superb. Orange trees are 

 everywhere and heather is exceptionally 

 profuse and excellent in quality. So, too, 

 is the hoUy; green, well berried and util- 

 ized as never before on the walls as a 

 background for the blooming plants. 

 Bells in all sizes and styles, and red 

 ribbons galore, make the display a bril- 

 liant one. Then, to add to it all, come 

 the novelties of the year and the left 

 over novelties of the years that have 

 gone. There are ham{>ers of dark wood, 

 grand pianos in purple and white, char- 

 iots of gold and trunks in green and 

 purple, autos and imported vases and the 

 new Russian and Pompaeian designs in 

 wood, exquisitely painted, made into bas- 

 kets, jardinieres and sleighs and very 

 popular, all the best establishments using 

 them. 



Siebrecht & Son's "palace" opened 

 on Monday, as determined upon a few 

 months ago, an accomplishment that then 

 seemed impossible. This firm is occupy- 

 ing all of the immense space on the 

 ground floor of their building — three 

 large stores — with Christmas goods of 

 every kind. The lighting effects here 

 are very brilliant. The entire store is en- 

 closed by immense plate glass windows. 

 The furnishing will entail an expendi- 

 ture of nearly $10,000. It is without a 

 doubt the finest floral establishment in 

 the world. 



Mrs. ScEillen's new store in the Im- 

 perial Hotel, where her husband estab- 

 lished the business twenty-three years 

 ago, is complete and open for the Christ- 

 mas trade. It is one of the handsomest 

 shops in New York and has a splendid 

 location. 



President Traendly. 



President Traendly, of the Naw York 

 Florists' Club, was born in Brooklyn 

 only thirty-six years ago. He comes nat- 



Frank H. Traendly. 



(Prealdent New York Plorlats' Club.) 



urally to the florist pasture, his father 

 liaving conducted a flower business at 

 Fulton street and Ft. Greene place for 

 many years. At the age of sixteen he 

 was in the service of Fred Donahue, 

 on Fourteeutli street, and later was one 

 of the lieutenants witn Thos. Young, 

 Jr., at 11 West Twenty-seventh street. 

 In June, 1893, he formed a partnership 

 with Chas. Schenck, in the wholesale com- 

 mission business at 38 West Twenty- 

 eighth street, where they still hold the 

 fort and are adding yearly to the volume 

 of their business. 



Mr. Traendly has been a member oTE ' 

 the New York Florists' Club for over ' 

 ten years and has always been an active 

 worker, well deserving the honor which 

 has been bestowed upon him. He has 

 been a trustee and committeeman, often 

 had much to do with the successful out- 

 ings of the club and is a strenuous and 

 enthusiastic bowler. His management 

 of the canteen department has immor- 

 talized him and endeared him to his fel- 

 low members and he will make an excel- 

 lent presiding officer, dignified, devoted 

 and deliberate. 



The Asmus Obsequies. 



The funeral services over Ernst Asmus 

 were held on Sunday afternoon at Trinity 

 church, Hoboken, and a very large num- 

 ber of his friends in the trade were 

 present to pay the last tribute of respect 

 and affection to his memory. Represent- 

 atives from many neighboring cities and 

 towns and a large number from New 

 York and Brooklyn attested to the uni- 

 versal regard felt for Mr. Asmus. Many 

 beautiful floral tributes were sent to the 



bereaved family, that of the American 

 Rose Society being singularly appropri- 

 ate. An immense tablet made of Bride, 

 Maid, Liberty, Golden Gate, KiUamey 

 and Franz Deegen roses surmounted a 

 vase of American Beauties. Mr. Asmus 

 was beloved by all who knew him inti- 

 mately. His cheerful, happy personal- 

 ity made friends wherever he was known, 

 and his success in his profession made 

 his reputation national. 



Various Items. 



The stock of the supply houses is about 

 depleted. Never has there been such a 

 demand for holly and evergreens. Day 

 and night the shipping has been in prog- 

 ress. The Christmas tree department is 

 of especial interest. It is estimated 

 that New- York spends $2,000,000 this 

 year for "green goods" and that half 

 a million trees will be distributed within 

 the confines of Greater New York. 

 Prices for Christmas trees retail, range 

 from 25 cents to $25 each. The usual 

 rate paid by the florists is $50 per 100 

 bundles. Bundles contain from one to 

 ten trees and vary in height from two 

 to twenty-five feet. Mistletoe is plenti- 

 ful and perfect this year. The imported 

 is especially good and in demand. 



The handsome conservatories in Bronx 

 park escaped destruction last week in a 

 terrific dynamite explosion that shat- 

 tered the glass there and the windows 

 in the botanical museum, 400 feet away. 

 Fortunately no one was injured. 



Henry Berger, of Irvington, N. Y., 

 who has been gardener for Miss Helen 

 Gould for over twenty years, met with 

 a sad loss on Saturday, his daughter 



