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The Weekly Florists' Review. 



June 4, 1803. 



Seed Trade News. 



AMERICAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION. 



Pres.. Walter P. Stokes, Philadelphia; First 

 Viee-Pres.. Llias N. Pa_e. li. - ■ 

 and Tr.as.. s K. WUlard, Welherstield. Conn, 

 llie l wenty-tirst annual eonventluu will he held 

 it Philadelphia and Atlantic- Cln . June ■•;;. >4 and 



Both Peppard and Trumbull were 

 among the Hood sufferers at Kansas 

 City this week. 



Reports from the pea-growing sec- 

 tions so far are favorable, but it is too 

 early for anything definite. 



Visited St. Paul.— J. B. Kidd, of the 

 Cox Seed Company, San Francisco; G. 

 C. Eldering, Overveen, Holland. 



Mr. Marshall, long with Weeber & 

 Don, has commenced in the seed busi- 

 ness at 41 West 24th street. New York. 



Vi sited Chicago.— Alex. Rodgers, of 

 •T. M. McCullough's Sons. Cincinnati; 

 Harry A. Bunyard, of Clucas & Bod- 

 dington Co., New York. 



Nebraska seed growers are afflicted 

 by floods, while in the eastern district 

 drought is destroying the crops. It 

 does not look like a year of plenty. 



The consequence of the floods is likely 

 to make turnip seed good property. 

 There is quite a dearth of seed at the 

 ordinary sources of supply, so that even 

 a normal demand is likely to develop a 

 shortage. 



The Leonard Seed Company, Chicago 

 reports the heaviest market garden trade 

 for any May since the year of the 

 World's Fair. The weather conditions 

 generally have been right and the mar- 

 ket conditions favorable. 



Mas Wilhelmi and Charles F. Eltz- 

 holtz, of Barteldes & Co., Lawrence 

 Nan., have been at Oklahoma City,' 

 Okla., where they selected a site for a 

 seed warehouse to be built this summer 

 and cost not less than $15,000. 



The floods in the west and southwest 

 have covered the onion set fields in 

 those localities. At Lawrence and 

 -Atchison, Nan., much damage has been 

 done. At Iowa and Nebraska points 

 the extent of the damage is not yet 

 know,,, hut it is likely to prove serious. 



Vine seeds, especially cucumbers, have 

 been contracted at higher prices than for 

 many years. The high price for seed 

 and the shortage of "pickles" in the 

 vats of the pickling works has a ten- 

 dency to make the farmers quite inde- 

 pendent. 



Bean contracting for the year 1903 

 is about finished. Reports afe that it 

 was uphill work to get the farmers. in- 

 terested in garden beans, owing to the 

 good prices and favorable market out- 

 look for navy and other field beans. 

 The prices that have ruled this season 

 are higher for many varieties than for 

 some years. 



There is still a brisk demand for 

 seed corn of both the sweet and field 

 varieties. In the absence of stock of the 

 Early Dent varieties of field corn there 

 is sharp call for the flint varieties, 

 while any canners' variety of sweet corn 

 of good germination is quickly taken. 

 isers cannot be led back to the 

 $15 a bushel price, however. 



So far Chicago onion-set growers 

 have been favored with splendid weather 

 conditions. Weeding is the important 

 thing just now. The seed is well up 

 and the stand is good. In some fields 

 the onion magot is working, and this 

 may have a bad effect on the crop later 



Philadelphia.— Continued dry weath- 

 er lias had a very depressing effect 

 upon the local seed trade. It has not 

 only lessened sales but has caused much 

 complaint from those whose seed in the 

 ground is not germinating. As usual, 

 the fault is attributed to the seed, and 

 very especially where it is not paid for. 

 Potatoes are especially dilatory about 

 coming up. All kinds "of vegetables are 

 selling well at unusually high prices, 

 which augurs well for the trade in the 

 future. 



Frank T. Emerson, of Waterloo, says 

 the rainfall during the month of May 

 throughout the state of Nebraska was 

 greater than at any time during the 

 previous ten years. As a consequence, 

 corn planting, not only as an ordinary 

 field crop, but for seed purposes, has 

 been greatly retarded, and a large pro- 

 portion of the crops already planted, 

 especially in the valleys, will have to be 

 replanted. The sweet corn crop for 

 seed purposes is likewise affected and, 

 owing to the present unfavorable con- 

 ditions, the probabilities are that the 

 crop will not be nearly as large as has 

 been anticipated. The planting of the 

 vine seed crops has also been retarded, 

 but as these crops may be successfully 

 grown even when planted as late as the 

 second week in June, it is to be hoped 

 that the weather will become settled be- 

 fore it becomes too late to obtain good 

 stands. 



GEORGIA SEED CROPS. 



Crops of the garden and field seeds 

 peculiar to this section are quite prom- 

 ising at the end of May. but a dry, hot 

 June is anticipated and conditions may 

 change very materially before crops are 

 safe. At this writing Seven Top tur- 

 nip and Giant Curled Mustard may be 

 counted safe and the seeds are of ex- 

 cellent quality. The famous Georgia 

 collard is also safe. 



The largest acreage of okra. Nixon 

 liiii-kmelon, Mexican June corn. Pearl 

 millet. Spanish peanuts. Upland rice, 

 W Im. Multiplier onion, shallots, chufas, 

 Velvet beans, Johnson grass, teosinte. 

 Soja beans, Burr clover, cow peas and 

 cotton ever put in is now well advanced 

 and the prospect is encouraging at pres- 

 ent. Notwithstanding the tremendous 

 energy expended in the cultivation of 

 these seeds, the demand is also greater 

 than ever and spot cash buyers stand 

 ready to take the output. Uncle Sam 

 reaches out his paternal hand and draws 

 in many tons of Georgia-grown seeds to 

 distribute broadcast "over the land. 

 This is one of the most unbecoming en- 

 terprises our great government is en- 

 gaged in, and one of the most useless. It 

 works a great injustice t.. the enterpris- 

 ing seedsmen of the country by robbing 

 them of trade. If it is 'a legitimate 

 function of the government to furnish 

 the people with free seeds, why not fur- 

 nish tea and coffee? But let the govern- 

 ment confine its free seed distribution to 

 things entirely new to this country and 

 there will lie no cause for complaint. 

 Mark W. Johnson. 



BALTIMORE. 



Since the drought was broken by the 

 gracious rain of about a week ago we 

 have had moderate showers, but we 

 can stand a great many more. The 

 weather continues moderate, and, save 

 some cool and muggy nights, favorable 

 for flowers. Brides and Maids are 

 growing less in size and the scarred 

 foliage shows the mildew's blistering 

 finger in many cases, but stuff gen- 

 erally is in better shape than is usual 

 at this date. 



The past week was one of activity in 

 trade and flowers were not in excess of 

 calls. The commencement season is 

 upon us, and the demands are large for 

 June weddings and public and private 

 entertainments, and are equally dis- 

 tributed. 



Decoration day, as was foreshadowed, 

 produced more demands for finer flowers 

 than was probably ever noticed before, 

 and it is pleasant to see signs that the 

 day will be of more advantage to the 

 growers and dealers than it has been 

 heretofore in this section. Of course 

 the largest use is made of outdoor stuff, 

 but greenhouse flowers were consider- 

 ably employed. 



The peony crop this year was not so 

 abundant as usual, and sweet peas are 

 not seen in their customary annual 

 abundance. 



The vacancy in the post of manager 

 of the Florists' Exchange caused by the 

 sickness of Alexander Scott, has been 

 filled by the appointment of John J. 

 Perry, who has had experience in this 

 line, is well acquainted with the needs 

 of both growers and buyers, and has 

 the confidence of the entire trade. B. 



PITTSBURG. 



The great surplus of roses and car- 

 nations which has glutted this market 

 for the past three weeks came to an end 

 Thursday, May 28. The big demand 

 for stock for Decoration day used up 

 almost everything. Outdoor flowers, 

 such as deutzias, snowballs and Nar- 

 cissus poeticus, which are usually 

 abundant at this time, arrived in small 

 quantities. Peonies were more plentiful 

 and the demand for them was brisk. 

 On carnations and roses the supply 

 equaled the demand. Every one reports 

 business for Decoration day as very sat- 

 isfactory. 



Charles Koenig is cutting some very 

 good gladioli. 



A. W. Smith struck Decoration day 

 just right with a house of fine longi- 

 florurn lilies. So did Fred Burki. with 

 a house of Kaiserins. 



Christian Rieger. the pioneer manu- 

 facturer of florists' wire designs, has 

 moved bis works to 513 First avenue. 



James Brothers, of Wilkinsburg, Pa., 

 with greenhouses on the Greenbury pike, 

 failed Tuesday, June 2. 



At this anting. June 2, a surplus of 



the i ier grades of carnations and 



roses i- again very noticeable. 



Visitoi •: J. J. Bolton, of Beaver 

 Falls. Pa. Hoo-Hoo. 



ST. PAUL. 



The Market. 

 Everybody has been very busy the 

 past two weeks. Decoration day busi- 

 ness was immense from every point of 

 view. The demand, both for cut flow- 

 ers and plants, was away ahead of past 



