738 



HORTICULTURE 



June 9, 1906 



SAN FRANCISCO NOTES. 



April 18, and the manner of its com- 

 ing to San Francisco, is still the talk 

 of the town, and it is likely to be for 

 some time to come. But that another 

 day like it will never again be ushered 

 in in these parts while the present 

 plantsmen and floriculturists remain, 

 they feel fully assured. They base 

 this reassurance, they tell me, on faith 

 they have in such scientific authori- 

 ties as Dr. F. Omori, reputed to be a 

 professional grower of fancy chrysan- 

 themums, also professor of seismology 

 at the Imperial University of Tokio. 

 and whose invented seismometer is in 

 use in the weather bureau office in 

 Washington, and John C. Branner, 

 professor of geology at Stanford Uni- 

 versity. These two wise men have 

 been here ten days studying earth- 

 quakes and making deductions, and 

 this week publicly announced that al- 

 though differing as to their concep- 

 tions of the cause of the great earth 

 jar here last month they are perfectly 

 agreed in stating without qualification 

 that there cannot be another destruc- 

 tive shock within a thousand miles of 

 San Francisco before the year 2015! 



Additional to the resumption of 

 business by tradespeople reported last 

 week two more of the prominent ante- 

 calamity growers and florists are now 

 to be added to the list, namely, Peli- 

 cano, Rossi & Co.. formerly Frank 

 Pelicano & Co., at 1944 Post street, in 

 the unburnt district, and Alex. Mann, 

 Jr., also in the unburnt district, at 2041 

 Pine street. 



That more than $50,000 damage was 

 done by the earthquake to the build- 

 ings in Golden Gate Park was made 

 known at this week's meeting of the 

 park commissioners. Satisfaction is 

 found, however, in the fact that the 

 commission directed that the work of 

 restoration proceed immediately, 

 funds being available. Senior member 

 of the commission, Mr. Lloyd, said he 

 had observed the good charitable work 

 of Superintendent and Mrs. McLaren 

 in aiding the streams of people that 

 took refuge in Golden Gate Park dur- 

 ing and after the conflagration, and 

 upon his motion a vote of thanks was 

 tendered the superintendent and his 

 wife. 



Professor C. M. Woodworth of the 

 Department of Entomology at the 

 State University is just now in receipt 

 of an appeal from the horticultural 

 association of Stanislaus county for 

 aid in combatting a plague of grass- 

 hoppers, whose present devastating 

 operations are much earlier in the 

 season than has been their habit. 



The Santa Clara County Grange this 

 week endorsed the action of the recent 

 mass meeting of local growers and 

 voted to hold this season's crop of 

 prunes at a 3 1-2-cent basis; also re- 

 quested the board of supervisors to 

 create the office of county entomolo- 

 gist. 



A phenomenal weather feature the 

 past last week of May was a soaking 

 three days' rain storm, resulting in 

 great damage all over the state to 

 cherries, berries, and the hay crop. It 

 was a phenomenon for the reason that 

 the month of May has always been 

 reckoned as a "dry season month." 

 Nearly all of the receipts of < berries 

 and the bulk of the arrivals oi berries 

 were rain damaged and had t.> be sold 

 for what buyers cared to pay. Large 



lines of loose cherries were turned 

 over to the canners at the inside quo- 

 tation and great quantities of Malinda 

 strawberries had to be thrown away. 

 Cherry plums from Vacaville sold at 

 75c. per drawer and early Alexander 

 peaches from the same place were sold 

 at $2 per box. 



Heart aches are affecting many San 

 Francisco florists because of the dila- 

 tory action of insurance companies in 

 paying policy holders, and what the 

 outcome will be the Lord only knows. 

 It is unfortunate for this crushed com- 

 munity at this time that we are find- 

 ing that there are both "good" and 

 "bad" insurance companies, and it 

 isn't much consolation to the "in- 

 sured" who need their money that the 

 State Insurance Commissioner is 

 drawing up a "good" list and a 

 "black" list of insurance companies 

 which have losses in San Francisco 

 and will send them to every insurance 

 commissioner in the United States and 

 to every newspaper that will print 

 them. There are instances of good 

 California men who have been acting 

 as Pacific Coast agents of eastern in- 

 surance companies sending in their 

 resignations because the companies 

 wanted the agents to compromise with 

 the policy holders on a basis of 75 to 

 SO per cent. 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES. 



S. S. Pennock has moved his ribbon 

 and supply department from the second 

 floor of his building to the main floor 

 of the new annex thus providing con- 

 centration and economy, for his rapidly 

 growing interest. 



George C. Watson has moved his 

 offices to the Dobson Building, 9th 

 and Market. He is now sole agent 

 in the United States and Canada for 

 the well-known growers of fancy 

 grasses; Barenbrug, Burgers & Co.. of 

 Arnhem. Holland; also Philadelphia 

 representative of J. C. Vaughan, Chi- 

 cago and New York, Western Springs 

 Nurseries, and Horticulture Publish- 

 ing Co.. of Boston. 



The sympathy of the trade is ex- 

 tended to Mr. Maull, late of the 

 Peacock Company at Atco, on the death 

 of his wife. Many of the leading 

 members of the trade attended the 

 funeral on the 4th inst. 



Mr. McKubbin of Dreer's. with Mrs. 

 McKubbin will start next week on a 

 three week's vacation to Newfound- 

 land. The way the prospect is painted 

 by Mr. McKubbin makes us register a 

 vow to take that trip if business will 

 only let up long enough. 



Among the latest new building 

 projects we hear of are an addition of 

 two houses by Fred Aicher. Clifton 

 Heights, and one of three houses by 

 Jacob Becker. Lord & Burnham Co., 

 through their Philadelphia represen- 

 tative, D. T. Connor, have secured both 

 contracts. 



A. E. Wohlert. Bala, has sub-let the 

 greenhouses to his brother Emil and 

 will devote himself henceforth to the 

 landscaping end of the business. 



A voluntary bankruptcy petition has 

 been filed in the United States District 

 Court by Edward C. Holmes, florist 

 and seedman, of Broadway. Somer- 

 ville, Mass. His liabilities are $31,245. 

 and his assets $9372. There is one 

 secured and 400 unsecured creditors. 



NEWS NOTES. 

 The Central Floral Co., Chicago, are 

 to be located at 68 State street. 



The Twin City Pottery Manufactur- 

 ing Co. of Minneapolis, Minn., has 

 taken the business of the Swahn Pot- 

 tery Co. 



Thomas Hall of Minneapolis will start 

 a business of his own, having left his 

 position with the Lakewood Cemetery 

 Association. 



Involuntary bankruptcy proceedings 

 were filed in the United States court 

 against the Hugh L. Aumann Co., Inc., 

 of Norfolk, Va. The Philadelphia Cut 

 Flower Company and the Leo Niessen 

 Company are among the creditors. 



A five-acre field has been planted to 

 sunflowers by Rood Bros., Lake Park, 

 la. A corn planter was used and the 

 cultivation will be the same as corn. 

 Rood Bros, are reported to have con- 

 tracted to sell their entire output to a 

 seed house at from $1.75 to $2 per 100 

 pounds. A yield of 1500 pounds per 

 acre is expected, which at $1.75 per 

 hundred weight will bring $26.25 an 

 acre. 



The report of Dr. Clinton, botanist 

 of the agricultural station at New 

 Haven, Conn., has just been issued. 

 It contains notes of new fungous 

 diseases which have appeared within 

 the year in this State, and two papers 

 containing critical studies of the mil- 

 dew of lima beans and the potato 

 blight. Copies can be secured by ap- 

 plying to the Connecticut Agriculture 

 Station, New Haven, Conn. 



Among the charges made before the 

 Drake investigating committee at 

 Cincinnati was the alleged sale of 

 flowers from the city parks by the 

 former park superintendent. Quite a 

 number of the local florists have been 

 notified to appear before the grand 

 jury, and while no information as to 

 what they will be asked to testify is 

 given out the inference is that this dis- 

 position of the flowers is the matter 

 under investigation. 



The Southern Floral Nursery Co., 

 now located at Fruitdale, Ala., has 

 been incorporated as a stock company 

 with capital of $30,000. The head- 

 quarters of the company will be re- 

 moved about Aug. 1 to Bucatanna. 

 Miss., the nurseries at Fruitdale and 

 Fairhope will be extended, and it is 

 planned to establish branch nurseries 

 throughout Alabama and Mississippi 

 in such communities as will subscribe 

 for at least $5000 worth of stock. 



We are in receipt of a pleasant let- 

 ter from Green's Nursery Company of 

 Rochester, informing us that the fire 

 of the past spring, while it incon- 

 venienced them considerably, coming 

 in such time as it did, was not so 

 disastrous as first anticipated, as the 

 records being complete gave them an 

 opportunity of corresponding with 

 those patrons whose orders were de- 

 stroyed in the fire, thus saving the 

 annoyance and inconvenience that 

 would have occurred had the records 

 of these orders been destroyed. They 

 have now completed the remodeling of 

 the building and are again located 

 therein. 



