1162 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



April 21, 1904. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



AVest Toledo. O. — Charles Jfoebiiis is 

 biiiWing a greenhouse for forcing vege- 

 tables, 36x150 fett. 



The lettuce growers about Chicago had 

 a poor season up to about March 1. Coal 

 bills were high and prices low, but in 

 the last six or eight weeks values have 

 advanced to fully double what they were 

 during the severe cold weather. Al let- 

 tuce is bringing 40 to 50 cents a case of 

 twelve to fifteen plants. 



THE MARKETS. 



Chicago, April 20. — Eadishes, 25@ 

 60c dozen bunches; rhubarb, $1.10 40- 

 Ib. box: lettuce, heads, 70@85e a bu., 

 leaf, 50c case; spinach, 60@7oe box; 

 cucumbers, 50c@$1.00 dozen. 



BosTOX, April 19. — Cucumbers, No. 1, 

 $6.50, Xo. 2, $4.50, No. 3, $3 per box; 

 lettuce, in strong demand and firmer 

 in price, 50@S5c dozen ; mushrooms, 

 50@75c lb. ; hothouse tomatoes, choice, 

 25@30c lb.; rhubarb, 7c lb.; radishes. 

 40c dozen bunches ; mint, 50c dozen 

 bunches; parsley, 75@$1 bu.; beets, 2.5c 

 dozen launches; good samples of Boston 

 Market celery are still coming foiward 

 and bring $2.50 per dozen ; a few hot- 

 house cauliflower of nice quality sell at 

 from $4.00 to $5.00 per dozen. 



VEGETABLE PLANTS. 



When convenient to a good market, tlie 

 raising of vegetable plants imder glass 

 for subsequent planting outdoors is often 

 quite a remunerative Ijusincss and even 

 when they have to be shipped quite a 

 distance they are not likely to suffer 

 much in transit. When the season gets 

 late for planting vegetable crops to ma- 

 ture indoors, the houses can often be 

 turned to Isetter advantage for the above 

 purpose, as the piices of produce are 

 often run down through competition with 

 southern products during the late spring 

 months. 



A great mistake is often made in try- 

 ing to raise too many plants in the 

 space at command, to the detriment of 

 the quality of the stock produced, and 

 I would advise anyone who intends es- 

 tablishing a trade in this line to pay 

 particular attention to the quality of his 

 stock. Once a name is established for 

 sending out first-class stock, a steady de- 

 mand is assured. This cannot be done 

 if the plants are huddled together and 

 quantity made the first consideration. A 

 satisfied customer is the best advertise- 

 ment and such a customer will be perfect- 

 ly willing to pay a higher price for stock 

 that he can rely on than for stock that 

 he is taking a good deal of risk in plant- 

 ing. If you can make ends meet for 

 the start, it will pay to wait a little 

 for the dollars and cents, but just as 

 sure as you send out good stock, the 

 dollars and cents will come. 



The plants should be firm and stocky 

 and of good color. Such plants can only 

 be produced where ample space and am- 

 ple light and air are given. It is often 

 hard to establish such subjects as peppers 

 and egg-plants in the open ground wlitn 

 adverse climatic conditions prevail, but 

 when good stock is planted they have a 

 much better chance than weakly drawn 

 up things with little or no backbone to 

 them. We have seen poor tomato plants 



under very favorable conditions pick up 

 surprisingly fast and give good returns, 

 but peppers and agg plants, the latter 

 especially, seldom if ever give good re- 

 turns rrnless good plants are set out to 

 begin with. Another point of the ut- 

 most importance is the proper harden- 

 ing off of the plants before sending them 

 orrt. This matter is too often neglected 

 and the plants are sure to receive a 

 check if carelessly rushed out, rrnpre- 

 pared for the change, where if grad- 

 ually hardened off little or no check will 

 resrrlt. W. S. Croydon. 



Seed Trade News. 



AMERICAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION. 



Pres., S. P. Wlllard. Wetherafleld. Conn.; First 

 VIce-Pres., J. Chas. McCulloug-h. Cincinnati, O.: 

 Sec'y and Treas., C. E. Kendel, Cleveland, O. 

 The 22d annual meeting will be held at St. Louis, 

 Mo., June. 1904. 



Visited Chicago. — Alex. Bodgers, rep- 

 resenting J. Charles McCullough, Cin- 

 cinnati. 



Gratiot, 0. — W. B. Longstreth says 

 business is good and well up to last year, 

 some items sold out by April 15. 



Dunkirk, N. Y.— The Dunkirk Seed 

 Co. is moving its warehouse and offices 

 from the country into town, where its 

 facilities will be much improved. 



At all of the pea growing sections the 

 planting will be very late. This may 

 have no material effect on the crop, b\it 

 it will prevent a good start. 



C'ENTERVILLE, Ia. — D. Hamilton re- 

 ports that spring has arrived, business 

 opening up in good shape, weather cool 

 but giving opportunity for planting, 

 and everything on a rush. 



Chicago. — No seeding has been dou'i 

 for onion sets as yet, but it is thought 

 that a good movement toward getting 

 seed into the ground will be under way 

 by the end of the week. 



Eeports generally for the month thus 

 far do not show a sufficient gain in 

 trade to make up for the shortage of 

 March and February, and it looks as 

 though May wiU have to hump itself to 

 make 1904 equal 1903. 



Indianapolis, Indj — This section, 

 which is now an important onion 

 set point, has. as yet seen no planting of 

 seed. We are two weeks late now, with 

 the prospect of adding another before 

 the weather will permit planting. 



Toronto, Ont. — Under date of April 

 16. J. Simmers & Co. write: "We have 

 beautiful spring weather here, six inches 

 of snow on the ground. Yesterday we 

 had as severe a snow storm as any of 

 the past winter; very encouraging for 

 the seed birsiness. ' ' 



Spinach seed seems to be the only 

 item that is holding its own in price, 

 with a prospect of advancing. 



The backwardness of planting opera- 

 tions at all points is having a demoral- 

 izing effect on the seed trade. Lack 

 of customary orders is causing jobbers 

 to lower prices in the effort to force 

 sales. This meets with little response, 

 and the planting time for sweet corn, 

 cucumbers and other seeds that are un- 

 usually short is likely to drag along un- 

 til all chance for a proper price for 

 stock has been lost. 



EASTER LILY BULB SITUATION. 



V. ][. Henry, of llenrv iSc Lee, was 

 a Chicago visitor this week, having but 

 recently returned from six weeks in Ber- 

 muda. With regard to the Easter lily 

 bulb situatioii he states: 



' ' While the acreage planted is about 

 tliat of last year, the stock planted is 

 of 3 smaller grade and growers are 

 practically irnanimous in predicting a 

 shortage of from twenty-five to fifty 

 per cent in the larger sizes, that is, 7 to 

 9 and 9 to 11 bulbs, with an average 

 crop of 5 to 7. Owing to the short crop 

 outlook prices are quoted about ten per 

 cent higher than last year. Quality 

 shows a little improvement over last sea- 

 sou 's crop. 



' ' The prices on Japan stock, Lilium 

 lougiflorunr and its varieties, are quot- 

 ed at an advance from fifteen to twenty- 

 five per cent over those of last year, due 

 to an increase in freight rates from 

 .Tapan and to the land tax levied by the 

 Japanese government as the result of 

 the war with Eussia. An export duty 

 had been feared, but it has been decided 

 not to levy it at this time. The ad- 

 vance in price is more pronoimced on 

 the giganteum vai-iety than on the regu- 

 lar longiflorum. While this is merely a 

 matter of opinion, we do not expect 

 that the war complications TviU interfere 

 with the regular deliveries of longiflo- 

 rums, these shipments being usually made 

 in August and September, but later 

 shipments may be interfered with. 



' ' Figures which have recently come to 

 hand show that the average Bermuda 

 crop, say that of 1903, is about 10,000 

 cases, or two million bulbs. The figures 

 on the Japanese shipments of last year 

 show a total of from three and a half 

 to four million bulbs. The proportion 

 of the 9 to 10 size was between fifteen 

 and twenty per cent of the quantity har- 

 vested of the 7 to 9 and smaller sizes." 



Wanted-japan Lilies 



OF AI.I. Kimis. 



state Quantity, Sizes and Price. 



JAMES VICK'S SONS, 



BOCHESTEB, N. Y. 



CUSHMSN'S HYBRID 

 ig04GLSDIOLlJS BULBS 



AT PRACTICAL LIVING PRICES = 



Our BulljB are not better ilian the best, but better than the rest. 

 Try them; $5,00 per thousand for fine blooming size. Light mixture. 



GUSHMAN GLADIOLUS GO., SYLVANIA, 0. 



