^uv 12. 11104. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



1317 



judgment of the buyer of cut flowers and 

 plants, much of the store 's success de- 

 pends. This may seem to the uninitiated 

 a simple matter, but it is very complex. 

 Our business is unlike any other; it re- 

 quires nice discrimination to decide when 

 to firmly hold a steady source of supply 

 by taking stock in dull times and when 

 to decline to purchase at all. Then, too, 

 curiously enough much depends on the 

 way the buying is done, for while it is 

 a purely business matter, a little of the 

 milk of human kindness is often a great 

 help in .securing needed stock. 



The increase in the number and im- 

 jiortance of the commission houses and 

 the advent of the Flower Market, bring- 

 ing together great quantities of stock, 

 combined with the keen competition 

 among the stores themselves, seems likely 

 to cause a change in the methods of pro- 

 curing at least a part of the stock. The 

 retailer often cannot leave his business, 

 yet he must know where certain things 

 are to be found, about comparative ex- 

 cellence, price, in short have a line on 

 the market. So he sends a trusty re- 

 tainer to do this work, and the buyer has 

 appeared among us so quietly that one 

 hardly recognizes him at first, but there 

 he is, examining, selecting, making one 

 wonder whether the race of buyers will 

 wax strong and in time supplant the race 

 of peddlers! 



Various Notes. 



Herbert 6. Tull, of the firm of Henry 

 A. Dreer, is authority for the state- 

 ment that the first Jlonday in ilay was 

 the heaviest business day in the history 

 of his house. 



Edwin C. Jellett addressed the German- 

 town Horticultural Society last ilonday 

 evening on that suburb 's historical trees. 



M. Kice & Co. broke all their past rec- 

 ords in the number of wheat sheaves 

 made and shipped during the past fort- 

 night. This is very unusual for this time 

 of year. 



Thomas Butler 's winning ways prove 

 well nigh irresistible to the private gar- 

 deners. 



H. Bayersdorfer & Co. are working 

 hard to get out Memorial day orders. 



It is rumored that Robert .Jamison will 

 assist F. & H. Mergenthaler. 



.Joseph Heacock was heartily applauded 

 for his paper read before the Florists' 

 Club's May meeting. Phil. 



BUFFALO. 



Stock Over-abundant. 



It only needed twenty-four hours to 

 change from very temperate to very trop- 

 ical and the past week's heat and sun 

 have made the supply of flowers of all 

 seasonable kinds overabundant. Eoses 

 and carnations liave been piling up in 

 great quantity and there is no particular 

 price on them. DafEodils and early tulips 

 from outside have also helped towards 

 the abundance. 



Planting Work Heavy. 



The plantsmen are getting busy and 

 will soon be rushed. Most of our people 

 know that it is not safe to put out ten- 

 der plants till the last days of the month, 

 but there is lots doing besides that. It 

 seems that our spread-out city and the 

 garden-surrounded houses on all residence 

 streets are the cause of a great demand 

 for labor and material to fix up and em- 

 bellish the grounds. You can scarcely 

 dignifv this work by calling it landscape 

 gardening, yet it's all in that line, and 

 grading, sodding, seeding, planting of 



ornamental trees and shrubs, roses, heba- 

 ceous plants and hardy vines have made 

 many busy. Then there is the familiar 

 call over the telephone, ' ' Can you sell 

 me a load of dirt?" 



AYe have a real resident landscape art- 

 ist now, I)e Peyster Townsend, a civil 

 engineer, graduate of Harvard, a culti- 

 vated gentleman, who has a decided tal- 

 ent in his chosen profession and his' ex- 

 chequer is of that enviable kind that it 

 does not matter to him whether ' ' school 

 keeps or not." 



George JlcClure has several large jobs 

 on hand, employing thirty-five to forty 

 men. L. H. Xeubeck has a gang or two 

 outside. C. W. Zimmerman, Dennis 

 O 'Connell, the William Scott Co. and sev- 

 eral others are rushed with "jobbing" 

 work, besides a number of a coarser 

 breed of humanity who grade and sod 

 the surroundings of a newly built resi- 

 dence at so much per square yard. The 

 latter belong more to the lightning rod 

 and tree peddler class. They never ex- 

 pect to do work twice for the same per- 

 son, but the florist does, for in a well- 

 kept garden there is something doing all 

 the time. 



Everyone who plants a tree or shrub on 

 his lawn or a clematis. Crimson Bambler 

 or begonia on his veranda, is a bene- 

 factor of his city. It makes it a more 

 beautiful cit.y to live in and by his ef- 

 forts at embellishments compels his 

 neighbor to do the same. 



Various Notes. 



There has been a good crop of spring 

 store openings and a few of entirelv new- 

 establishments. Many readers of the Ee- 

 viEw who have attended conventions in 

 this city wiU remember the old Tifft 

 house, good, bad and indifl:erent at vari- 

 ous times under different managements. 

 Xow on the site stands a most up-to-date 

 department store. So modern is it in ap- 

 pointments that you have to seek the 

 eastern and western metropolis to find 

 such magnificence and luxury. Their 

 opening yesterday and reception to the 

 public in the evening was an event. 

 Palms and ferns were judiciously placed 

 wherever they could adorn and vases of 

 American Beauties were in profusion at 

 every nook and corner. W. J. Palmer 

 & Son were the floral artists. 



At the opening of a wonderful new 

 drug store last week, one of a syndicate 

 of stores which are represented in all 

 large cities, they advertised "Music by 

 Kuhn's orchestra," "Floral decorations 

 by Anderson. ' ' So they need us for all 

 functions. 



The national convention of the Y. M. 

 C. A. convenes here this week and the 

 city and society will be graced by the 

 presence of that good girl, Helen Gould, 

 and more posies will be used on many 

 occasions. 



We picked up a little story recently 

 which will do for Adam Graham 's parlor 

 friends. I don't know that it points a 

 moral, yet it's a lesson to make every 

 effort happy. A Scotch clergyman was 

 taking a stroll in a neighboring parish 

 and he came across Sandy McTavish 

 sleeping by the roadside: "What ails 

 ye the morn, Sandy?" Answer. — "I 

 would na be positive whether it wa ' a. 

 funeral or a wedden. but whatever it 

 wa' it wa' a most extraordinary suc- 

 cess. ' ' 



The annual election of oflBcers of the 

 B. F. C. is to be followed by a banquet 

 tonight and let us hope it will be "a 

 most extraordinary success," with dif- 

 ferent results. W. S. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



Since the middle of last week the mar- 

 ket has been in a most deplorable state 

 of oversupply. It has been a week of 

 glut fully equal to anj-thing in previous 

 experiences. As is usual in such a time, 

 (the out of town demand has shrunken 

 materially and, after the legitimate re- 

 qviiromcnts are supplied, there is an un- 

 wieldy mass of material left in the whole?- 

 salers' hands. It then becomes a case of 

 getting all that one can from the men 

 who run the cheap sales. It is surely 

 the harvest time for the Greeks and the 

 quantities of material they carry away 

 each day are really something surprising. 

 In the aggregate the sales of the whole- 

 sale houses are up to ordinary iccords 

 at this season, but the average returns 

 to the growers are too small to be a 

 pleasant subject for contemplation. Red 

 roses clean up after a fashion but Brides 

 and Maids are hard to move at any price 

 if not strictly first-ela.ss. 



The warm weather of last week was 

 rapidly taking the quality out of the 

 stock. Roses were becoming soft and 

 carnations rapidly losing color, but the 

 change to cool, bright weather with a dry 

 atmosphere is doing much to restore 

 qualities to the high level they have 

 maintained all season. There are plenty 

 of the first-grade roses for everyone and 

 few poor carnafions are seen, the general 

 average being very good. It is thought 

 that the rose crop is showing a slight 

 recession already because of replanting 

 operations and it is hoped that a few 

 days more will see the worst of the glut 

 past, but there is every prospect of the 

 carnation receipts continuing heavy for 

 some time to come. 



There are unlimited quantities of 

 southern stock available, such as lilacs, 

 narcissi and arbutus and now peonies, 

 cape jasmine and outdoor tulips are be- 

 ginning to arrive and neither finds a very 

 hearty reception. As one of the whole- 

 salers expresses it, there is probably lit- 

 tle difference in the market, compared 

 with the same dates last year, in so far 

 as roses and carnations are concerned, 

 and carnations may be doing even a lit- 

 tle better than usual in May, but it is 

 the spring stuff which is suffering. Sweet 

 peas find a fairl.v responsive market, but 

 there are many more than the usual re- 

 quirements. Gladioli are seen. Pansies 

 are coming in heavily and sell at all 

 sorts of prices, some as low as 20 cents 

 per 100, some as high as $1 per 100. 

 Violets are done for. Callas were sel- 

 dom in so great oversupply. Longiflor- 

 ums are not so plentiful as formerly, but 

 still in excess of the demand. 



Various Notes. 



The Flower Growers' Company has 

 elected Percy .Jones as financial secre- 

 tai-y and manager in the place of John 

 SinneT, who has resigned after a year 

 and a half of service. A hearty vote of 

 thanks was tendere<I Mr. Sinner by the 

 board of directors in appreciation of his 

 efficient service. He is still a member of 

 the board. 



J. A. Budlong has a quantity of Beauty 

 plants in pots which are expected to be 

 in full bloom for Decoration day sales. 



George JIuno, son of John Muno, of 

 Rogers Park, and Miss Lizzie Hermes 

 were married on Tuesday and had the 

 assistance of many of the craft of the 



