December 28, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



861 



WE SOLICIT 



new accounts and guarantee our growers good 

 satisfaction and prompt returns. 



WE CARRY 



all the staples in season and also many exclusive 

 specialties. Careful packing, prompt delivery. 

 Let us hear from you. 



ASPARAGUS PLUnOAUS A SPECIALTY 



ALFRED M. CAMPBELL, wncesa. c^„.us.o„ 



1510Sansom5t., PHILADELPHIA 



A Fine Assortment of 



--iv^ A r^ K iv s-= 



Extra fine lot of FIKEFLY in bloom from 



CHRISTMAS to EASTER 



WRITE. FORIIPRICES 



MAJOR BONNAFFON 



Tlie best all 'round Yellow Chrysanthemum. Strong stools, 

 $5.00 per 100 



W. W. EDGAR CO., Waverley, Mass. 



FLOWER MARKET REPORTS 



Boston florists had a 

 BOSTON good Christmas, every- 

 CHRISTMAS thing satisfactory and 

 REPORT all the more pleasing 

 because few dared to 

 expect so much. The weather was very 

 favorable on Tuesday and Wednesday 

 for the flower and plant trade, and this 

 circumstance helped not a little in the 

 final results. As usual the wholesale 

 markets were heaped up with flowers 

 on Tuesday morning, at sight of which 

 the local buyers were disposed to hold 

 aloof and there was a slump, but prices 

 rallied by noon time and the remaining 

 stock was satisfactorily disposed of. 

 The wholesale dealers who do a ship- 

 ping trade had no surplus at any time, 

 and the only difficulty they experienced 

 was in the handling of the first clear- 

 ings of the storage cellars, which were 

 shipped in to them on Monday morn- 

 ing. There was nothing salable left 

 unsold in the wind-up. The demand 

 for Beauties was noticeably weak and 

 they fell far short of last year's good 

 record, but Richmond and Bridesmaid 

 roses sold well. Violets were strong 

 factors all through, the warm weather 

 permitting their use for outdoor wear. 

 PoinsetTias had to be pushed and were 

 unloaded with difficulty. Lily of the 

 valley did as well as was expected. Too 

 mucli of this flower is being grown for 

 this market. Carnations were in good 

 demand, especially the bright colors. 

 There w^re some early yellow trumpet 

 daffodils in, but they found little favor. 

 January 1st is early enough for these 

 flowers. There is little to be said 

 about the plant trade except that it 

 was larger than last year and prices 

 were well maintained. Nothing in the 

 way of novelty was noted. Azaleas, 

 poinsettias, cyclamens, primroses and 

 berried plants were the chief stock. 



Trade the week 

 INDIANAPOLIS preceding Christ- 

 mas was rather 

 quiet as far as demand tor flowers 

 was concerned, but not unexpected, as 

 such conditions usually prevail at that 

 time. Boxwood, holly and festooning 

 are selling well, and houses that make 

 a specialty in that line have their 

 hands full. Stock in the plant line 

 everywhere is now at its best and 

 ought to be enticing to flower buyers. 

 Fancy poinsettias, both cut and plants, 

 are in evidence with all the leading 

 growers and are meeting with good 

 demand. 



No one expected that 



NEW YORK the Xmas. business 



CHRISTMAS would measure u)) 



REPORT to previous years. 



It did not, either in 

 volume or price, but the demand was 

 sufficient — even if it was fitful — to 

 use up nearly everything except white 

 material, of which latter the usual 

 proportion was left over. Prices 

 ruled 25 to 50 per cent lower than last 

 year. The rose crop was light. Ap- 

 parently there were more long stem 

 Beauties than any other variety, 

 though it is a question if as many 

 were in the market as a year ago. 

 The short grades were of poor quality. 

 The supply of teas was small and 

 quality not over good, excepting some 

 Killarney and Richmonds. Carnations 

 were plentiful, too much so to main- 

 tain anything like a fixed price, and 

 of course the bright colors had the 

 preference. It seemed that there was 

 a larger proportion of white this year, 

 and though some brought good figures, 

 many were sold for less than could 

 have been realized a couple of days 

 before. The call for scarlet was not 

 as keen as last Christmas and the sup- 

 ply was heavier. A good many were 

 "over ripe." too. A sign of the times 

 was the number of cattleyas to be 

 seen in the windows of several whole- 

 sale houses, and the comparatively 

 low prices averaged, and all were not 

 sold either. The choicest grade of 

 gardenias cleared out well. Plenty of 

 short stem flowers could be had 

 cheap, but it seems they were not all 

 sold. Lily of the valley could be had 

 in quantity until closing time Christ- 

 mas Day. A large quantity was dis- 

 posed of at figures little above last 

 week. If it were not that some of the 

 violet men saved a few the picking 

 would have been light, as the crop is 

 off. None of these were left unsold — 

 perhaps the low price helped to sell 

 them. Poinsettias. mignonette, paper 

 whites, Roman hyacinths and aspara- 

 gus were too plentiful and not wanted 

 particularly. Lilies were moved easily. 

 There seems to 

 PHILADELPHIA have been a 

 CHRISTMAS strong tendency 

 REPORT among buyers to 



indulge in made- 

 up baskets of flowering and foliage 

 plants, jardinieres, etc., in preference 

 to cut flowers either loose or in 

 bunches. Still the trade in cut flowers 



was good but, in comparison with for- 

 mer years, the fancy basket forged 

 ahead. A i-oottd plant even if it is 

 neglected as to water will usually stand 

 longer than the cut product, and the 

 pleasure to the recipient is correspond- 

 ingly augmented. This idea has been 

 working its way slowly but surely for 

 many years. A handsome plant in full 

 flower is a great seller, a nice bunch of 

 roses is lovely and goes good, but a 

 basket with trimmings and containing 

 the combined loveliness of both, and 

 at a price which seems moderate to 

 the buyer, carries the day with the 

 ma.iority. This, in brief, is the experi- 

 ence of 1907. We are not growers, 

 neither are we retailers, consequently 

 our mirror is bound to be tmbiased 

 either way. When we say it was a 

 good Christmas we mean it; when we 

 say there was enough good stock left 

 over to start another Christmas, we 

 pretty near mean that too. Early in 

 the game a courageous attempt was 

 made to jack up prices in the cut 

 flower market — the dollar mark for 

 roses and the twelve for carnations, but 

 the situation was too unmanageable 

 and a retreat had to be sounded. The 

 shorts in American Beauties were in 

 better demand proportionately than 

 the fancies although the flowers were 

 poor. All other roses were very satis- 

 factory stock and while prices were 

 not extra there was a good clean up. 

 The carnation men were very bold at 

 first but were the first to back-down. 

 A few very fancy Beacon reached six- 

 teen anil Enchantress scored twelve 

 and a half once or twice but six to 

 eight for very good stock was about 

 the size of the market. Reds were the. 

 favorites of course, with Enchantress 

 a close second. Large single violets 

 sold well but doubles and small .sin- 

 gles were a drug. Lily of the valley 



{Contittued on page bl2)- 



ROBERT J. DYSART, 



Public Accountant and Jtuditor 



Simple methods of correct accounting i 

 especially adapted for florists' use. ' 



Books Balanced and Adjusted 



Merchants Bank Building 



28 STATE ST., - BOSTON 



Telephone, Main f 8 . 



The KERVAN CO. 



113 W. 28th ST 

 New York 



WHOLESALE DEALERS 



Fresh cut Palmetto & Cycas Palm Leaves, Galax, Leu- 

 cothce. Ferns and Mosses, .All Decorating Evergreen . 



