January 2S, 1004. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



46f 



OAKLAND, MD. 



Death of Henry Weber. 



Henry Weber, the senior member of 

 the firm of H. Weber & Sons, died at 

 his home in the suburbs of Oakland, at 

 2:15 on the afternoon of January 21, 

 after an illness of several months. He 

 was 68 years of age and ividely known 

 in the trade. The funeral took place 

 on Saturday afternoon, January 23. 



Mr. Weber was born in the Province 

 of Hesse-Cassle, Germany, in 1835, and 

 was a gardener by instinct. He had 

 his own garden as a boy and after com- 

 pleting the usual course in the govern- 

 ment schools he was apprenticed to the 

 trade. At 19 he was in charge of the 

 place as foreman. Enlisting in the 

 British army, he saw active campaigning 

 in the Crimean war, in 1854 and 1855. 

 Later he participated in army opera- 

 tions in New Zealand, Asia and Africa, 

 continuing in the service for ten years. 

 In 1865 he came to America to join 

 a brother, John, who had preceded him. 

 The two engaged in market gardening 

 near Mt. Savage, Md., continuing for 

 five years. In 1870, Mr. Weber, having 

 sold his interest in the business, re- 

 moved to Cumberland, Md., and started 

 at market gardening and plant growing. 

 In 1879 he bought the property at Oak- 

 land where he has since Uved. It was 

 almost a marsh when he bought the 

 land, but he converted it into an ideal 

 property for growing cauliflower and 

 celery for market. Soon, however, he 

 was attracted to the possibilities in the 

 line of florists' plants and cut flowers 

 and in a few years developed this branch 

 to large proportions. He was always 

 alive to the value of the best cultural 

 methods and was one of the first to 

 take up the good work which has placed 

 the carnation in the forefront as a 

 florists' flower. Among the best known 

 \Veber introductions are Genevieve Lord 

 and Governor Lowndes. Mr. Weber had 

 three sons in the business with him and 

 of recent years had left it largely to 

 their care. One son, WiUiam, was vice- 

 president of the American Carnation So- 

 ciety. They will continue the business 

 as heretofore. 



CXEVELAND. 



The Market. 



Business since January 1 has been so 

 light and everything so quiet that there 

 has been nothing to write about during 

 that time. Prices have been gradually 

 falling until at present cut flowers are 

 quoted as follows: Beauties, 75 cents to 

 $3 per doz. ; Meteors, Maids and Brides, 

 $4 to $8 per 100; carnations, $1.50 to 

 $4 per 100; tuUps, $2 to $4; Romans, 

 $3; valley, $4; violets, single, 50 to 75 

 cents; N. Y. double, 75 cents to $1; 

 smilas, 15 cents per string. In large quan- 

 tities these prices have been shaded heav- 

 ily, and even then lots of stuff has been 

 thrown in the dump pile. The down- 

 town stores have kept very fine window 

 displays, but even that does not seem to 

 create any demand, and they all report 

 nothing doing. The cuts vrith almost all 

 the growers are light, which fact ought 

 to make them feel very thankful. 



Various Notes. 



Sutton Parks will open a retail store 

 in the Citizens' Bank building, on Eu- 

 clid avenue. This location is a good one 



and is about half way between the stores 

 of Smith & Fetters and the J. M. Gasser 

 Co. Mr. Parks has been in the business 

 for the past six years, is well known and 

 already has a good traae established with 

 the best flower buyers of the city. 



The trade has been agreeably surprised 

 by the receipt of a notice from the 

 Cleveland Cut Flower Co., announcing 

 the opening of their commission and sup- 

 ply house at 52-54 High street on Feb- 

 ruary 1. The company was organized 

 under the laws of Ohio and has a capital 

 of $10,000. It will do a strictly whole- 

 sale business in cut flowers and handle a 

 full line of florists ' supplies and has a 

 force of men manufacturing wire designs. 

 The first move of the new company was 

 to purchase the stock, fixtures and good 

 will of Bate Brothers and the F. E. 

 Williams Co. Messrs. Geo. Bate and F. 

 E. Williams will be found with the new 

 company. E. 



DETROIT. 



Carnation Convention Plans. 



The time has arrived when the carna- 

 tion grower is thinking of the annual 

 meeting of the American Carnation So- 

 ciety and wants to know what prepara- 

 tion is being made for the success of the 

 meeting, which is to be held in the most 

 central city in the Union, Detroit, March 

 2 and 3. The local club has been quietly 

 working, has a meeting place that cannot 

 be excelled anywhere and a program that 

 should please all. The meeting wiU be 

 held in Harmonie Hall, the exhibition on 

 the top floor and the business sessions 

 on the second. This is the same hall in 

 which the S. A. F. met in 1899, and is 

 sufficiently commodious. The banquet 

 will be in the same hall and commence at 

 7:30 p. m., giving ample time for a 

 pleasant program. The committee hav- 

 ing the matter in charge has secured 

 some of the most able speakers in the 

 country for the occasion and a most en- 

 joyable time is expected. 



The exhibition promises to be the larg- 

 est ever held. One grower has already 

 written that he wiU bring over 3,000 

 blooms. As the one and one-third fare 

 is secured from the railroads, there is 

 every reason to expect the banner meet- 

 ing of the society, and if the eastern 

 growers appear with as good a repre- 

 sentation as did the western growers at 

 Brooklyn last year, the meeting is an 

 assured success. Detroit has ample ho- 

 tel accommodations of a first-class order 

 !ind all who can should be on hand to 

 help and to learn. The visiting ladies 

 \fho attend will be asked to enjoy the 

 banquet. 



There will be three most interesting 

 papers read and discussed, of interest to 

 every member of the societv. The presi- 

 dent, G. A. Eaekham, will be glad to 

 secure hotel accommodations for any one 

 in advance or give any required informa- 

 tion. The members of the club will be 

 glad to meet any and all delegations on 

 arrival here and wish to be notified as to 

 time of arrival. They also wish everyone 

 to register on the first day of the meeting 

 and procure their banquet tickets. It is 

 necessary, to secure the one and one-third 

 fare, to procure a certificate on buying 

 a ticket and on arrival here turn it in to 

 the secretary for validation to enable the 

 holder to buy a return ticket for the one- 

 third fare. Now let us get together 

 once more for benefit and a social time. 



Ear. 



BUFFALO. 



Current Topics. 



The most optimistic of our brethren 

 pronounce the present state of business 

 as quiet, and all will agree that there are 

 plenty of flowers of all qualities to meet 

 the attenuated demand. Very good long- 

 stemmed tulips have been plentiful for 

 the past week, but are not yet in brisk 

 demand. Violets are in fair supply and 

 few go to waste. Good carnations are 

 always cleaned up. Eoses appear to be 

 rather more plentiful just now than is 

 usual at this time of the year and there 

 are too many of second, third and fourth 

 grades. The public has not and perhaps 

 never will fall in love with Golden Gate 

 and Ivory wUl never sell if there are 

 enough Brides to go around. Not every 

 one wants big roses at an expensive price. 

 A first-class Bridesmaid or Bride should 

 retail now at $2.50 or $3 per dozen at 

 least, and then you can pay the grower 

 what he should have and what it is worth 

 to produce them, but weak necked, limp 

 and poorly colored roses of those varie- 

 ties are wanted by no one. 



And there is where I think there is an 

 opening for most of us to grow perfect 

 flowers of varieties that will produce a 

 large quantity and can be sold at, say, 

 $1 or a little more. W. J. Palmer & Son, 

 of our city, grow a quantity of pretty, 

 old Bon Silene and find a constant and 

 profitable demand for it. Morgan is an- 

 other variety, and what's the matter with 

 sweet old Safrano, and Wootton seems 

 relegated to oblivion. These varieties 

 may not be the thing for the grower who 

 ships his entire cut, but for the grower 

 who retails his product there is room for 

 at least some of them. 



Perhaps Mme. Chatenay will be one 

 of those roses that can be produced in 

 quantity and sell at a moderate price. 

 There is as much need for a dollar-a- 

 dozen rose as for 50-cent carnations; 

 there always will be, and this demand is 

 not filled by a third quality of our finer 

 and more expensive varieties. 



We tried to have a meeting of the 

 Florists' Club last Friday, but the slim- 

 ness of attendance was excusable. AV. F. 

 Kasting was taking his forty-third de- 

 gree of Masonry, better known as the 

 "convivial rites." The secretary was 

 suffering with ' ' rumatis, ' ' to whicii he is 

 a martyr. W. A. Adams could not ven- 

 ture across the street for fear of being 

 I'lrowneo in semi-liquid snow. Others had 

 o(!ni! excuses anl the country members 

 could not be expected to travel through 

 the flood. The executive committee de- 

 cided to make the February meeting a 

 carnation gathering, endeavor to get a 

 few flowers of most advertised new va- 

 rieties as well as some of the best home- 

 grown standard varieties and a talk on 

 the divine flower by some acknowledged 

 authority, not a Buffalo man, of course, 

 because he could not draw an audience. 

 We shall be delighted to see Flamingo 

 take flight from Syracuse and Lady 

 Bountiful come, accompanied by her 

 Fiancee from the west, and Cnisader we 

 wiU be particularly glad to see if he can 

 leave the Holy Land, and others that can 

 be spared. W. S. 



Bellingham, Wash.— The bulb grow- 

 ers of Whatcom and Fair Haven should 

 now be addressed at this place, as the two 

 cities have been consolidated under the 

 name of Bellingham. 



