202 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Decembek 23. 1897. 



WASHINGTON. 



Baltimore loins In. 



The committee .ippointed .it the last 

 meeting of the Commercial Florists' As- 

 sociation, of Washington, composed of J. 

 R. Freeman, John Bovle, Chas. F. Hale, 

 W. H. King, Roht. Bowdler and Messrs. 

 Lewis and Woods, visited Baltimore last 

 Monday evening to attend a meeting of 

 the Gardeners' Club of that city. The 

 trip was the result of a statement made 

 by Col. Bingham, superintendent of Pub- 

 lic Buildings and Grounds, that he did 

 not believe the florists of other cities 

 shared the views of their Washington 

 brethren regardin,g the free distriliution 

 of flowers and jilants raised in govern- 

 ment gardens and conservatories. 



The Baltimore Club invited the growers 

 of this city to send a committee to per- 

 sonally ascertain their views. The Wash- 

 ington men were .given a cordial reception 

 and the subject of government distribu- 

 tion was discussed in all its jdiases. The 

 following resolution was adopted unani- 

 tuousl}' : 



"Resolved, That this organization repro- 

 bates and protests against the existing and 

 still further growing practice of the free 

 distribution to officials and private per- 

 sons, of cut flowers, decorative and flower- 

 ing plants in the District of Columbia by 

 the sub-departments of the United .States 

 government as contrary to justice, to the 

 correct principles of business and pulilic 

 polity, as well as the ver}- letter of the 

 law governing the production of plants, 

 et cetera, adapted to use in the public 

 grounds, and also as working great detri- 

 ment to the florist trade of Washington 

 and vicinity." 



\Ve think every florist in the United 

 States should interest himself in this 

 fight, and I feel sure were they made ac- 

 quainted with the true situation they 

 would, to a man, enter as vigorous a pro- 

 test as have our Baltimore brethren. We 

 of the District of Columbia are nonenti- 

 ties, without representation in Congress. 

 Therefore we must look to our brother 

 florists who have a vote, to assist us. 



Growers' Notes. 



To see neatness and well grown stock 

 describes the greenhouses of genial Joe 

 Freeman, at Silver Springs, his house of 

 Bridesmaid being particularly fine, such 

 blooms being unusually large for this 

 •section. A house of cyclamen in S and 

 lo-inch pans were the finest I ever saw 

 for size of plant and flower, a perfect sea 

 of color. 



John Boyle, who leased the late John 

 Saul's place, did not get possession 

 until late iit the season. Yet John 

 is rushing things, having nearlv 

 all the houses filled with tomatoes 

 and cucumbers which promise good 

 crops. John has a new violet. The 

 flower is a trifle darker than Lady Camp- 

 bell, bloom large and on long stems. The 

 plants are vigorous and strong. There 

 were plants of Marie Loui.se growing 

 along side of it with a fine dose of spot 

 yet the new one seemed proof against con- 

 tagion. 



Mr. Clark has a house of President 

 Carnot roses planted in solid beds, which 



have been exceedingly profitable this 

 fall. He has opened up the house to 

 give them a touch of winter and expects 

 good results from this treatment. 



Gude Bros, seem to be the only growers 

 who will be in full crop Christmas, with 

 the exception of a house of Meteors. 



Several growers added the new carna- 

 tion White Scott to their stock this sea- 

 son, and with all it has been not only dis- 

 appointing but worthless. 



For a week preceding Christmas there is 

 a calm in the florists' business. The great 

 throngs are bu.sy buyin,g presents and 

 shopping. The storm will break bv the 

 end of the week and the florists will be 

 in a veritable cvclone. W. H. K. 



ST. PAUL, MINN. 



Calm Before a Storm. 



Trade here has experienced a little of 

 the dullness which precedes the holiday 

 rush, but in general business for the past 

 two weeks has been satisfactory. We have 

 had some "dark" weather and a number 

 of daj'S of severe cold, but so far during 

 the month December has had less cloudy 

 days than the average, consequently 

 blooming stock here is in good condition 

 and the cut for Christmas will be good; 

 larger than the average for several years. 

 Of course some of the growers do not 

 time their crops just right, and others 

 fail through carelessness or "too much 

 economy" in the use of coal. 



Christmas Greens. 



Advance orders for Christmas would in- 

 dicate the usual volume of trade for that 

 occasion. Greens have sold unusually 

 well, the demand for holh- and wreath- 

 ing being larger than ever. Of lycopo- 

 diuni the supply seems ine.xhaustible and 

 prices are lower than ever. Holly is in 

 fair supply though a shortage is immi- 

 nent for the end of the week trade. 

 Southern stock is handled chiefly by the 

 produce conimi.ssion men, while the regu- 

 lar florist trade handles Delaware stock 

 exclusively. Being near the pineries and 

 spruce woods, immense numbers of 

 Christmas trees are brought here. This 

 trade is not handled at all by the florists, 

 the most of it being done b)- small dealers 

 throughout the city. C^' 



Retail Prices for Christmas Week. 



Retail prices for Christmas week are 

 quoted as follows: American Beauties, 75 

 cents to |i. 50 each; other roses, J2.00 to 

 I4.00 per dozen; carnations, Romans, 

 paper whites and valley, 75 cents to |r.oo 

 per dozen; violets, I3.00 to I4.00 per 100; 

 Harrisii, 25 cents each. 



Supply of Blooming Plants. 



In the plant line there is a good supply 

 of Harrisii (the finest ever seen in this 

 market), azaleas, cyclamens, primroses, 

 cinerarias, begonias, etc. There is also 

 a good supply of palms, ferns, etc. 

 In the larger florist stores, jardinieres, ped- 

 estals, fern di.shes, artificial plants, 

 immortelle designs, etc , etc., are seen, so 

 that department store bargain tables are 

 almost duplicated. And yet so many of 

 our friends, especially in Illinois, bewail 



the evils of this .so-called commercial 

 Octopus, which is swallowing up all other 

 lines of trade. The truth is that hardly 

 any store, however small, in business to- 

 day, but what is a department one. in a 

 greater or less degree. 



Among the Growers, 



R. C. Seeger, who commenced bu.siness 

 in a small way several years since, now 

 has 6,000 square feet of glass and is 

 counted as one of our most successful 

 growers. His house of roses, just coming 

 in crop for the holidays, is one of the best 

 we have seen. Varieties grown are Bride, 

 Bridesmaid, Perle, Wootton, Testout and 

 Siebrecht, most of his plants having been 

 carried over from last year. The growth 

 is something remarkable. His green- 

 houses are located on Gorman avenue on 

 the West Side. 



Another West Side grower, on whom 

 we called, is C. F\ Haupt. His specialty 

 is violets, and he has a house of Marie 

 Louise, which would be very hard to beat 

 anywhere. R'lr. Haupt is a living 

 example of what industry, pluck and per- 

 severance will accomplish under adverse 

 circumstances. 



A. H. Bimde is bringing in some fair 

 sized mums and expects to cut them 

 until New Years. 



Jno. Nilsen has a good crop of violets 

 for the Holidays. He never misses them 

 for that occasion. 



Dr. SchiflTnian, who has one of the 

 finest collections of orchids in the 

 country, intends to go to Central America 

 next month on an orchid collecting tour. 



Chris. Hansen, who has been in busi- 

 ness here about nine years, is offering hi& 

 entire range of houses for sale. Mr. 

 Hansen has been very successful in 

 business but wishes to retire owing to 

 poor health. X. Y. Z. 



SYRACUSE. 



Club Election. 



The Central New York Horticultural 

 Societv met in annual session at the St. 

 Cloud' Hotel. A. D. Perry, who ha.s. 

 served as president of the society for a 

 number of years, presided, and in his 

 annual address asked that his succes.sor 

 be chosen on this occasion, as it would 

 be impossible for him to longer fill the 

 pcsition. It was with reluctance that the 

 society complied with Mr. Perrv's re- 

 quest. On the first ballot Mr. Perry wa.s 

 re-elected, but as he positively refused to- 

 accept, it was found necessarv to make 

 another selection, and Samuel T. Betts 

 wa.s chosen as Mr. Perry's successor. The 

 whole ticket as elected was as follows: 

 President, Samuel T. Betts; vice-presi- 

 dents, A. D. Perry, C. W. Snow, E. A. 

 Powell, F. C. Brower, L. E. Marquisee,, 

 and \V. Judson Smith; treasurer, F. H. 

 Ebeling; secretary, D. Campbell; execu- 

 tive committee, George Ham, Robert 

 Bard, C. Barson, W. Parsons, I. Heller, 

 and J. L. Porter. 



The retiring president stated in his ad- 

 dress that better work had been accom- 

 plished during the pa.st year than ever be- 

 fore, and the attendance at the flower 

 show was one-third larger than on previ- 



