April 28, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



J2I3 



Mention The Review when you write. 



BUFFALO. 



Current Comment. 



While the people of the large eastern 

 cities had the opportunity to sun them- 

 selves at a game of baseball, we were 

 treated to nine inches of snow, and 

 sleighing was resumed. Still, we were 

 no worse treated than many other cit- 

 ies in our latitude, only if we don 't get 

 more summer than last year it can be 

 truthfully said that our climate con- 

 sists of eight months winter and four 



months d bad weather. Seriously, 



it is the most backward season the writer 

 can remember in thirty-six years. Last 

 year we sowed sweet peas in the open 

 ground in the month of March. On this 

 day, April 25, not a furrow is turned, 

 not a pansy blossom or even a dandelion 

 to be seen, and the misguided warblers 

 who left their sunny southern homes 

 last month have been seeking shelter in 

 bams and thick woods, and their voice is 

 not heard. This is going to make a 

 very short season for the nurserymen to 

 handle their deciduous trees and shrubs. 



There has been nothing very momen- 

 tous in the iloricultural line of late; 

 business fairly good with an abundance 

 of material to do it with. A look in at 

 W. F. Kasting's commission house laso 

 week was convincing that flowers were 

 plentiful, although those of good qual- 

 ity were moving off. What with moving 

 into his large new quarters, attending 

 democratic state conventions and adver- 

 tising Adiantum Croweanum, W. F. has 

 been a very busy man of late. 



Prof. Cowell is home from Jamaica 

 with a large assortment of West Indian 

 plants. The Professor penetrated somi! 



of the tropical jungles that he thinks 

 were not previously botanically explored. 

 At any rate he has brought back sev- 

 eral plants new to science. He escaped 

 all snake and tarantula bites, and looks 

 as tough as the commander of a Japa- 

 nese cruiser. 



Among the visitors in town of late 

 was Mr. Gowdy, representing the Henry 

 A. Dreer Co., and James W. Begbie, in 

 the interest of Arthur T. Boddington. 

 ilr. Bfigbie was accompanied by his 

 wife. This is a good idea, having the 

 "Missus" along, and in many cases 

 would redound to the benefit of the home 

 ufl!,-e. 



A novelty in spring flowers this year 

 are dahlias. The William Scott Co. has 

 been cutting a number of tine blooms of 

 late, but they were not quite in by 

 Easter, because they were not planted in 

 the bed before the third week in Jan- 

 uary, and Easter was very early. But 

 planted about December 20, there 

 would be no diiEculty in getting them 

 into full bearing by April 1. A vase 

 of the beautiful single Twentieth Cen- 

 tury is as fancy a dish as you would 

 want to lay before a queen, and there 

 are many other beautiful varieties. 



"The Society for Beautifying Buf- 

 falo" had a bUl introduced at Albany 

 to empower the mayor to create a for- 

 estry commission. The three commis- 

 sioners were to serve without pay but 

 hire a superintendent, with necessaj-y 

 labor, etc., and they were to take charge 

 of all the street trees, dictate what 

 should be planted in certain streets, caie 

 for tha welfare of the trees, remove un- 

 sightly ones, rent or buy land and raise 

 young trees to sell to the property own- 



ers, etc. The mayor very properly ve- 

 toed it, and it 's a dead bill. Uniformity 

 of planting and the proper care ami 

 preservation of our street trees is much 

 to be desired, but the municipality going 

 into the nursery business is, in the writ- 

 er's opinion, very absurd. I am an 

 ardent advocate of municipal ownership 

 of public utilitiea, which must essentially 

 be monopolies, but begin at the ones 

 that bleed us, the gas and electric light- 

 ing, telephone, etc. We can buy trees 

 much cheaper than a city nursery could 

 raise them, for there is no nursery trust 

 as yet. W. S. 



GRAND RAPIDa 



The weather since Easter lirjs been 

 raw, rainy and very disagreeable. There 

 were three hot July days, a transition 

 from January to midsummer. We 

 thought it was spring for sure, but sev- 

 eral cold nights nipped it in the bud. No 

 outside planting has yet been attempted. 



Business has been brisk, vrith a shorl/- 

 age of flowers until this week, when 

 trade seemed to quiet down. Save for 

 weddings and funeral work there is not 

 much doing. Flowers are plentiful and 

 for the first time this winter beginning 

 to accumulate ; long American Beauties, 

 though, are a bit short in supply. The 

 spring peddling wagons are in evidence, 

 both on the streets and at the main cor- 

 ners down-town. Plant shipping has 

 started and promises to be the heaviest 

 in years. All energies are being bent *o 

 get stock in shape for the rush when it 

 comes. 



The Grand Eapids Violet Co. is again 

 having trouble in getting water. 



G. F. C. 



