Decembek Hi, 1897. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



153 



Plumb; vice-president, J. M. Logan; 

 treasurer, C. B. Weathered; secretary, 

 John Young; board of trustees, \Vm. I. 

 Brower, J. H. Troy, Alex. Burns. 



A motion to appropriate the sum of 

 5150, to be given to the essay committee 

 to defray expenses attending the secur- 

 ing of essayists and having their papers 

 copyrighted so that members should re- 

 ceive a copy of same and the plates 

 then be destroyed, was carried. 



At the conclusion of the unfinished 

 business, Pre.sident Hensbaw invited the 

 members present to discuss the future of 

 the club, in which Mes.srs. May, Morris, 

 Burns, Weathered, Withers, and Manda 

 took part. A motion to have the usual 

 annual dinner was referred to the next 

 meeting. 



Invitation to Poughkeepsie. 



.\ letter was read from the Dutchess 

 County Horticultural Society inviting the 

 club to attend their annual dinner, to be 

 held January 5, at Poughkeepsie, was re- 

 ferred, to the secretary, in order to return 

 a hearty vote of thanks. 



A New Carnation, 



There was only one novelty exhibited, 

 a carnation named "Francis Joost," by C. 

 Besold, Mineola, L. 1. It is a cross be- 

 tween Wm. Scott X lIcGowan, and be- 

 sides having the good qualities of both, 

 the color was an exceptionally fine pink, 

 good calyx and long, stiff, erect stems. 

 Mr. Hesold explained that he had had 

 the variety four years and that the blooms 

 exhibited were from cuttings taken from 

 the propagating bench in the middle of 

 June and planted in the house at that 

 time; it undoubtedlv' has a future before 

 it. A vote of thanks was accorded the 

 exhibitor. 



"On Change." 



Well, Mr. Florists' Revikw, what 

 kind of weather do v'ou call this, was the 

 greeting I usually received from the 

 wholesale men, and 'tis a fact the warm 

 weather has been knocking things higher 

 than the proverbial kite the last few days 

 and last Saturday the surplus stock 

 usually closed out was carried over to 

 take chances on ilonday morning; this 

 applied more especially to violets and 

 carnation stock. 



Prices are ruling about the same since 



sent in my last report. Beauties, fancy 

 stock, slighth- higher, however. Good 

 stoc'< of ail kinds finds ready sale in spite 

 of the elements. Medium stock sells 

 middling and poor stock realizes what 

 you can get and sometimes less. Car- 

 nations fluctuate about as much as any- 

 thing in the market. The fancy stock, 

 as in all other lines, seems to have the 

 call; the day for "culls" seems to have 

 gone by. Paper white narcis.sus are 

 coming in slowly, and I haven't seen a 

 "mum" for over a week. Smila.x is a 

 little above the demand these days, and 

 orchids, more specially cattleyas, are de- 

 cidedly scarce. The Cypripedium insigne 

 is plentiful, and is being held back for 

 the holidays. 



"We expect dull times for about ten 

 days," said one wholesaler, "the calm 

 before the storm, and we are all laying 



back for it. We hope it will prove no 

 'Will o' the Wisp.' " 



John Young is making great prep- 

 arations for Christmas, and a friend of 

 his suggested he had gone into the lum- 

 ber business, but he was only shipping 

 back some bo.xes that are "disintegrated" 

 and shipped back "flat." 



MacDonalil iV; JIcManus are handling 

 quite a comprehensive collection of or- 

 chid flowers these davs. 



Around the Stores. 



Preparations for Christmas are evident 

 in all the retail stores, some are making 

 red immortelle wreaths, stars, etc., some 

 wreathing — all busy — for the long looked 

 for harvest. Palm trade has not been so 

 good as it ought to have been, the "large 

 stuff" is scarce for decorative purposes. 

 A great many heaths are in evidence, 

 Erica fragrans and Erica Hyemalis being 

 among the earliest to appear. Cyclamen 

 are here in plenty, while gaudv- poinsettia 

 makes a Ijrilliant showing. 1 notice also 

 a great many Solanum Capsicastrum or 

 "winter cherry" in the windows. 



A few novelties are seen in some stores. 

 Miniature golf bags in which are sent vio- 

 lets, and the "new speaking flowers," as 

 if flowers could not speak for themselves. 

 This idea is advertised by a lady who 

 paints, for instance on the petals of an 

 American Beauty, various sentiments, as 

 "Bon voyage," "A Jlerry Christmas," 

 etc.. etc. Next! I saw another novelty 

 in one store, a "miniature greenhouse" 

 filled with small ferns, etc, like a 

 "Wardian Case.'' 



Late Notes. 



Excessive rain has slumped the market. 



Mr. A. IMmmock sailed on the Teu- 

 tonic Wednesday. 



Mistletoe from England arrived in 

 verv bad condition and almost useless. 



.\mong recent visitors was R. G. Han- 

 ford, Xorwalk, Conn. 



The horticultural section of the Ameri- 

 can Institute met at 7:30 p. m,, Tuesday. 

 This new section promises to be one of 

 the leading features in a horticultural 

 sense, and it is expected that a very 

 elaborate and instructive course of lec- 

 lures will be delivered during the winter. 

 Dr. N. L. Britton, director of the New 

 York Botanical Garden, is president of 

 this section and is aided by the follow- 

 ing committee: James W. Withers, A. 

 L. Don, A. Herrington. All meetings are 

 free, and there is no charge for member- 

 ship. 



An Even Exchange. 



I notice one of our contemporaries gives 

 us a few left-handed compliments on our 

 debut. It. however, closes b\' wishing us 

 all the good things of this life, which re- 

 minds me of the two Irishmen, one of 

 whom had been "mixing in" the night 

 before with an intimate friend of his- 

 "And don't yer feel revingeful toward 

 him fer wiping the flure wid ye," said 

 Tim. "Sure, no," said Pat, "didn't yez 

 see him hand me the whist broom to 

 brush meself wid after I got up." 



H. A. B. 



WILLIAM PLUMB. 



Mr. William Plumb, who was elected 

 to the Presidency of the New York 

 Florists' Club, Monday evening, is an 

 linglishnian by birth, having been born 

 at Buckden, Huntingdonshire, England, 

 in July 1S50. Like all successful Engli.'-h 

 gardeners, he served time as an appren- 

 tice and journeyman, starting at Chip- 

 stead Place, Sevenoaks, Kent, and from 

 there .going to Halifax, Yorkshire, and 

 other places. 



Mr. Plumb is at present manager and 

 gardener for C. P. Huntington, Throggs 

 Neck, New York City, the great Pacific 

 railroad magnate, and before this had 

 charge of several other estates during his 

 successful career. 



He is a man of fine sensibilities, popu- 

 lar and a " hale fellow well met, " takes 

 exceptional interest in his w'ork, is a 

 thorough florist in all senses of the word, 

 and as an organizer showed exceptional 

 ability when he was manager of two of 

 the largest and most successful exhibi- 

 tions at Madison Square Garden, given 

 by the New York Florists' Club in the fall 

 of 1M91-1S92. 



Mr. Plumb is a Mason and a member 

 of Columbian Commandery No. i. New 

 York, a Noble of Mecca Temple, Mystic 

 Shrine, New Y'ork and an Odd Fellow. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



Weather Affects Trade. 



With the mercury lingering between 

 65° and 70°, it is difficult to imagine that 

 Christmas is but two weeks off, but such 

 is the case. The weather at this date, 

 1 1 th inst. , is so warm and spring-like, 

 that the effect on trade is decided. In 

 other words it seems to take the starch 

 out of business Trade had made a fair 

 start and we all commenced to feel that 

 we were "in it," but these freaks in the 



