470 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



FEBRUARY 10. 1S98. 



tend to Increase the supply. Carna- 

 tions, violets and other flowers con- 

 tinue to jog along at their accustomed 

 gait. Harrisii are still short in sup- 

 ply and are very likely to continue so 

 as the season advances. 



A Trip to Mentor. 



The writer took a trip out to Mentor 

 lately lor the purpose ot visiting Mer- 

 kel & Son's and Carl Hagenberger's es- 

 tablishments. Merkel & Son's green- 

 houses were found in their customary 

 good shape. The houses devoted to 

 small ferns and palms were full of fine 

 young stock in excellent growing con- 

 dition. The houses devoted to roses 

 were looking particularly well. One 

 hears a great deal concerning carrying 

 over roses for a number of years — a 

 proceeding usually decried, especially 

 where the roses are on raised beds. 

 Yet here all the stock is grown for a 

 number of years and on raised benches 

 at that, most of the plants having been 

 put in three years ago; yet nothing 

 could look better than they do. 



The carnation houses were in good 

 condition. A number of seedlings 

 show evidence of considerable prom- 

 ise, one in particular, somewhat like 

 Scott in general appearance, but very 

 much larger, looks like a good thing. 

 There were also several scarlets of va- 

 rious shades that look well if they do 

 not go back later, after the pleasant 

 fashion of carnation seedlings in gen- 

 eral. One thing not often seen was a 

 batch of Asparagus plumosus in seed. 

 There is an impression quite general 

 with many, that this variety does not 

 seed, at least without artificial aid. 

 This stock has been allowed to pur- 

 sue nature's course throughout and the 

 strings are heavy with berries in all 

 stages of development. Many thous- 

 ands have been gathered and sold, and 

 there are many more thousands still to 

 come. 



One house of violets is grown, mostly 

 Marie Louise, with one bench of Prin- 

 cess of Wales. They all look well, 

 quite the best that the writer has seen 

 for a long time. Princess of Wales is 

 a fine grower and bloomer, ine flowers 

 being large and of fine color, with good 

 stems. One very good feature of them 

 is, that instead of the petals being so 

 much reflexed as in the California vio- 

 let, they stand straight out, making a 

 fine, bold flower almost round in form, 

 reminding one rather of the shape of a 

 pansy than of the conventional single 

 violet. 



Carl Hagenburger makes a specialty 

 of bedding stock and carnations. The 

 stock was looking well throughout rnd 

 in a batch of seedling carnations some 

 very novel specimens were noticed. One 

 in particular was very odd. It was a 

 bright yellow, with broad stripes of 

 dark red through the petals. The flower 

 owing to great contrast of colors and 

 the breadth of the stripes, had a pe- 

 culiarly bizarre appearance. Should 

 further propagation and growing fix 



the character of the bloom it would cer- 

 tainly make a novelty. 



Seen from the Car. 



On the trip out, the writer forgot to 

 mention that the grounds of the Cush- 

 man Gladiolus Co. were passed. High 

 up on a side hill a man or two, under 

 the superintendence of Mr. Cushman, 

 were at work prying at something in 

 the ground. As the car sped by, all 

 hands could be seen prying away tor 

 dear life. Suddenly the tools slipped 

 and all hands with surprising unani- 

 mity, sat down without seeming to se- 

 lect any particularly desirable spots for 

 performing the evolution. There was 

 at first some idea that the movement 

 was some new method of saluting the 

 occupants of the passing car, but fur- 

 ther consideration leads one to think 

 that the indefatigable Mr. Cushman 

 was only getting out an unusually 

 large gladiolus bulb. Why not try dy- 

 namite? NEMO. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



There is little change in market con- 

 ditions. The promised increase in sup- 

 ply of roses has not yet materialized 

 and the shortage seems as great as 

 ever. Other flowers are in fair supply, 

 and bulbous stock is coming in freely. 



The Carnation Convention. 



Preparations for the convention of 

 the American Carnation Society are 

 well advanced and everything will be 

 in good trim on time. The exhibition 

 will be held in the banquet hall of the 

 Auditorium Hotel and the meetings in 

 an adjoining club room. Remember 

 that the convention opens the morning 

 of next Thursday (Feb. 17). The local 

 florists should be on hand in force to 

 greet the visitors. 



The banquet will be held at the 

 same hotel, beginning at 7:30 o'clock 

 Friday evening (Feb. IS). This prom- 

 ises to be a most enjoyable event. All 

 florists are invited to attend. The lo- 

 cal people will be expected to pay for 

 their own plates, and the tickets are $3 

 each person. Those who will attend 

 are requested to notify the chairman 

 of the committee, Mr. P. J. Hauswirth, 

 318 Wabash ave., so the committee 

 may know how many to provide for. 



^ A bad Fire. 



Wednesday night of last week the 

 greenhouses and stock of Messrs. Felke 

 & Miller, at Wilmette, were almost to- 

 tally destroyed by fire. The range of 

 glass contained about 50,000 feet and 

 the loss is a serious one. There was 

 no insurance. It is suspected that the 

 fire started from some tobacco stems 

 which had been wet and frozen and 

 placed on the boiler to thaw, and then 

 forgotten. In his attempts to put out 

 the fire when first discovered, Mr. N. 

 Miller, Sr., aged about 70 years, was 

 quite seriously burned and may lose his 

 eyesight in consequence. 



Various Items. 



Mr. John Zeck, of Reinberg Bros., is 

 confined to his home by an attack of 

 rheumatism. 



Harms & Lang have dissolved part- 

 nership, to take effect March 1. Mr. 

 Lange will continue the business on 

 his own account. 



Florist Mueller, of Morton Grove, is 

 reported to have made an assignment. 



Walter Kreitling says he is still in 

 the ring, even if he has been confined 

 to a diet of fried snowballs. 



This Thursday evening is "Retailers' 

 Night" at the Florists' Club, and the 

 meeting will undoubtedly be a very in- 

 teresting one. 



TORONTO. 



Market Conditions. 



No one can complain that old probs. 

 has not been giving us plenty of 

 weather this last week. There were, 

 however, a few hours' sunshine mixed 

 in with it, which did some good while 

 it lasted. Roses and carnations have 

 come on very slowly, barely keeping 

 up with the demand, in fact, carnations 

 have not done so. Violets, however, 

 are plentiful and in good demand. Dun- 

 lop has two houses of them in very 

 fine crop now and very healthy look- 

 ing; they are worth looking at. 



Society Meetings. 



It was too cold and stormy for the 

 crowd to get out to the regular meet- 

 ing of the Horticultural Society last 

 Tuesday, A few ladies, however, at- 

 tended in spite of the weather, and 

 about 25 of the male sex, mostly pro- 

 fessional. Mr, J. McP. Ross, the new 

 president, took the chair for the first 

 time and there is no doubt, judging 

 from experience of his genial qualities, 

 that he will make a most efficient pres- 

 ident. The meeting was very pleasant 

 and interesting, the papers were well 

 written and the discussions lively. 



The Canadian Horticultural Associa- 

 tion hold an organization meeting here 

 on Thursday, the 10th, and if the 

 weather does not turn too severe again 

 before that time a large meeting is ex- 

 pected. Visiting delegates will be in- 

 vited to the eighth annual dinner of the 

 Toronto Gardeners' and Florists' Asso- 

 ciation. It will be an event in the his- 

 tory of Horticulture in Toronto. 



The executive committee of the G. & 

 F. Association have resolved to recom- 

 mend at the next regular meeting that 

 the annual fee be $1, payable in ad- 

 vance, that the association adjourn for 

 four months during the summer, that a 

 grand social meeting be held at the re- 

 opening in August, that the full prize- 

 list for the chrysanthemum show be 

 compiled and issued as soon as possi- 

 ble, and that the show be held the sec- 

 ond week in November. 



Messrs. T. Manton and A. H. Ewing. 

 were chosen as delegates to the Indus- 

 trial Exhibition Association, the an- 

 nual meeting of which takes place oa 

 the 15th. 



