December 9, 1897. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



85 



Kentia Canterburyana. 



KENTIA CANTERBURYANA. 



This handsome palm will not be new 

 to many of our readers, and while palm 

 cuts do not always do full justice to the 

 species delineated, yet we feel sure that 

 the accompanying illustration will be 

 readily identified, the photo from which it 

 was prepared having been a good speci- 

 men of the art. 



Kentia Canterburyana, which by the 

 way, has been renamed Hedycepe Canter- 

 buryana, is closely related to that favorite 

 palm commonly known as Kentia Bel- 

 moreana, but is usually more dwarf in 

 habit than the latter, and has heavier leaf 

 stalks and a stouter stem. 



The leaves ot this species droop grace- 

 fully as the plant attains age, and are 

 divided into many narrow segments, both 

 leaves and stems being dark green, and 

 the plant most symmetrical in habit. 



Unfortunately K. Canterburyana is 

 quite a slow grower in a small state, and 

 it has therefore never become a popular 

 palm in the trade. If this species can be 

 mduced to progress to a salable size 

 within a reasonable period of time it 

 would doubtless soon find a larger market, 

 the foliage being tough and the plant 

 having much endurance. 



W. H. Tapun. 



ST. LOUIS. 



The first issue of the Weekly Flor- 

 ists' Review created a genuine surprise 

 in this city, and the verdict of the trade 

 is that it's the only paper. The pictures 

 of our old friends William Scott, Presi- 

 dent-elect Gude, Adam Graham, and 

 others, were also commented upon. A 

 great nianv mistook Charlie McKellarfor 

 William j' Byran and F. R. Pierson for 

 ex-Governor .\ltgelt. 



In the cut flower line roses have not ad- 

 vanced in value since my last report. 

 Good firsts in Meteors, Brides, Kaiserins, 

 Bridesmaids, and La France are selling 

 at from I5.00 to |S.oo; seconds from |2. 00 

 to I4.00. American Beauties, first-class 

 long ones, are sold at $3500; seconds, 

 I25.00, and short-stemmed ones from 



I5.OO to jflG.OO. 



Carnations are not plentiful, and bring 

 a good price; the best are $3.00, and 

 some extra fancv go at I4.00. The best 

 sellers are Jubilee, Scott, Daybreak, and 

 Eldorado, and many kinds of white. 



Harrisii and Romans are only few and 

 seem scarce. The former bring |i5.oo 

 and i;iS.oo, and the latter I4.00 per 100. 

 Paper whites and valley are good and sell 

 at I4.00. In violets, the Californias are 

 in best demand at J1.50 and |2.oo; double 



scarce at $1.00; single (home grown), 40 

 cents, and Southern 25 cents. Smilax is 

 plentiful and is selling slowly at Jio.oo to 

 $15.00 



The retail trade is only fairly good and 

 a great many of the retail florists about 

 town complain that their business has 

 fallen oiT considerably as far as selling 

 good first-class stock. A Cheap John 

 store down town is content w-ith the old 

 motto: "Quick sales and small profits." 

 They have the best location in the city 

 and also a handsome store and could ask 

 the best prices and get them, but were 

 selling roses on Thanksgiving Day at 35 

 cents per dozen and carnations at 25 cents 

 per dozen. They were rubbish in the 

 eyes of a florist, but the public seen«ed sat- 

 isfied. The wholesaler at the same time 

 asks the retailer $2.50 and $3.00 for car- 

 nations and from $4.00 to fS.oo for roses. 

 Not saying that they were not worth the 

 price they ask, but how can we compete 

 with the man who handles the rubbish? 

 The only way out of this is for the grower 

 to keep his rubbish out of the market or 

 take le.ss for that he calls his first quality 

 stock. This same Cheap John concern is 

 not spending its own money, but has a 

 good backer who knows nothing of the 

 business. How long they can pull the 

 wool over his eves remains to be seen. 



In the West End it is different. They 

 all seem to be doing a good business and 

 can't use any of the so-called rubbish. 

 They handle only the best of .stock, gel 

 good, fair prices, and the public seems 

 satisfied. The same thing could be done 

 down town if things were so the grower 

 with rubbish would have to go to the 

 ilump pile or grow better stock and get 

 good returns. You can't educate the 

 flower-loving people of St. Louis into 

 buying rubbish. You may do it once, 

 but they never come back. The old say- 

 ing is, ''Give a fool rope enough and he 

 will hang himself, and you will not have 

 to wait long to see the hanging." 



I am happy to note that the Chicago 

 Bowling Club will pay us a visit next 

 Sunday (December 12), for a return 

 game at bowling. Well, boys, we will 

 give you the best we have got and try to 

 return the compliment if it's in our power 

 to do so. 



This reminds me ot something that 

 happened a few days after the St. Louis 

 bowlers came back from Chicago. It was 

 a contest between a Chicago drummer 

 and a St. Louis florist as to which of the 

 two was the best liar, and it was won by 

 the St. I.ouis man. He began by saying, 

 "There was once upon a time a bowler in 

 St. Louis — "whereupon the Chicago 

 drummer gave up the contest, saying no 

 one could tell a greater lie than that. 



The Ohio Valley Floral Company at 20 

 South Broadw^ay ' closed its doors last 

 week, and was reopened this week by Mr. 

 and Mrs. Thoman. The firm is known 

 as Holmes & Thoman. 



At the next meeting of the Florists' Club 

 the following applications will be pre- 

 .sented for membership: F. W. Weber, 

 with F. C. Weber; Andy Hoffman, with 

 George Waldbart; and Will Adles, with 

 Ayres Floral Company (better known as 

 the big three); also Andrew Meyer, Jr., 

 Mr. Meinhardt, and William Lingen- 



tink. 



