152 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Decembek 18. 1902. 



did veiy well, especially in white and 

 light pink, which were quickly taken up 

 for funeral work. More American 

 Beauties are to be had than heretofore 

 and they are good property. 



Violets are the most sought after 

 flower at present, and are very scarce. 

 There was a sharp advance in price, or- 

 dinary giades selling at from 50 cents 

 to $1 per 100, and fancy reaching $2. 

 There seems to be no chance for an 

 immediate increase in the supply of 

 this flower, and indications are that 

 the price will mount again this week. 



Harrisii lilies follow violets veiy close- 

 ly, as to supply and demand. 



As to supply prospects for Christmas, 

 carnations in all grades will be scarce. 

 Roses will in all probability be equal 

 to the demand in all grades, except se- 

 lects, which will be short. Several large 

 growers are well in it with American 

 Beauties and .a large cut is anticipated. 

 Violets will be scarce, as at present. 

 There will be plenty of bulbous stock. 



Notes. 



The regular meeting of the Florists- 

 Club was held Saturday and was very 

 interesting. Considerable business was 

 transacted. E. G. Gillett and Albert 

 Sunderbruch were appointed to repre- 

 sent the club in the Fall Festival Asso- 

 ciation. The increase in express rates 

 on cut llowcrs w^as taken up by the club 

 and it was finally decided to confer with 

 florists of other cities to see if anything 

 can be done to have the new rate re- 

 pealed. Leo Temming was elected a 

 member. 



Ed. Bissel. formerly with the Jlianil 

 Floral Co., of Dayton, Ohio, is now with 

 Huntsman & Co., Ft. Thomas. Ky. 



John Evans dropped in for a few 

 hours on his way home from Dayton, 

 Ohio. 



E. G. Gillett took a flying trip to 

 New Castle and Richmond, Ind., and 

 reports stock looking fine. 



Julius Baer and Charlie Jones ran 

 over to Richmond to have a look. 



Mr. Weltz, of Wilmington. Ohio, and 

 Mr. Fancourt, of Philadelphia, were re- 

 cent visitors. C. J. Ohmer. 



ST. LOUIS. 



Trade Conditions. 



Trade in cut flowers improved con- 

 siderably the past week, owing to a large 

 amount of funeral work, which with 

 Christmas work in immortelles, cape 

 flowers and wreathing, kept the retail- 

 ers quite busy. The wholesale market 

 was well supplied with all kinds of 

 stock in cut flowers, and carnations and 

 roses went begging. Of course Al stock 

 is always in demand, but everything 

 that looked like seconds was left over. 



It is hard to tell this early as to the 

 supply of Christmas stock and prices on 

 same. From the way stock is coming 

 in just now one would think there will 

 be plenty of everything, but, unfortu- 

 nately for St. Louis, many of the ship- 

 pers 'to this market do a retail busi- 

 ness at home and naturally need most 

 of the stock for their trade during the 

 holidays. This keeps the wholesalers in 

 hot water, being uncertain until the 

 last moment as to what their shippers 

 will send in. 



The West End florists, who do a large 

 trade in plants, seem well supplied this 

 year. Among the best sellers is cycla- 

 men, trade in which is immense at this 



time of the year. Primula grandiflora 

 fimbriata, really beautiful in growth and 

 flower, also has a good sale. Then comes 

 that grand seller. Begonia Gloire de 

 Lorraine, which with poinsettias in pans 

 are now to Christmas what azaleas are 

 to Easter — simply indispensable. All 

 these ferns and palms make fine displays 

 in the show houses of the West End 

 florists and many orders are booked 

 ahead, indicating a clean sweep in ev- 

 erything in this line by Christmas day. 



Club Meeting. 



The last meeting of the year of the 

 St. Louis Florists' Club, held on last 

 Thursday afternoon, was poorly attend- 

 ed, owing to the failure of Secretary 

 Schray to send out notices. Tlie meet- 

 ing opened at 3 o'clock with fourteen 

 members present and all the officers in 

 their chairs. The final vote was taken 

 on changingtthc hour of meeting and the 

 result was that after this tlie meeting 

 will open at 2 p. m. promptly. This 

 gives our suburban and out-of-town 

 members more time, as they often had to 

 leave the meeting before it closed. 



Henry Berniiig, C. A. Kiiehn and 

 Frank Ellis were ap])ointed a committee 

 to sc?e the express companies in regard 

 to lower charges on flowers from the 

 consignors, which has almost doubled. 



The club will give an entertainment 

 for its members and their families in 

 February. The committee in charge is 

 composed of J. J. Beneke, V. M. Ellis 

 and Frank Fillmore. The talent will be 

 made up from the members and their 

 families. Refreshments and dancing 

 will be features. 



Mayor Halstedt, of Belleville, left his 

 busy office to attend the meeting and 

 brought a few seedling carnations. A 

 fine white (cross between McGowan and 

 Flora Hill), and a large pink (cross be- 

 tween McGowan and Daybreak), which 

 the judges, Messrs. Windier, Ellis and 

 Fillmore, praised very much, especially 

 the pink, pronouncing it an improvement 

 over Daybreak. 



Messrs. Jablonsky, Mohr and Hal- 

 stedt were excused" from reading their 

 essays, all having been too busy to pre- 

 pare same. President Dunford read his 

 essay on "Greenhouse Construction," 

 which proved very interesting and in- 

 structive. » 



Before closing the meeting Mayor Hal- 

 stedt invited the club to hold its first 

 meeting in the new year at the Com- 

 mercial Club rooms in Belleville, which 

 invitation was accepted with thanks. 

 This meeting will take place January 8, 

 at 2 o'clock, at the Commercial Club 

 rooms in Belleville, III. 



Heniy Johann, of Collinsville, III., 

 was in town visiting his son, who is 

 now with Michel Plant and Bulb Co. 



Fred Ammann and Henry Blixen, of 

 Edwardsville, and E. W. Guy, Mayor 

 Halstedt, Adolph Fehr and Henry Em- 

 undt, of Belleville, were in town the 

 past week buying Christmas presents. 



J. J. B. 



BALTIMORE. 



In common with the rest of the coun- 

 try, this section has just paSsed through 

 an epoch of severe and sudden wintry 

 weather, all the more trying that up to 

 its advent we had phenomenally high 

 temperatures for the season. This, 

 with the continued cloudy skies, snows, 

 sleets and chilly rains, has retarded the 

 production of cut flowers, while at the 



same time increasing the consumption 

 of fuel — now, probably more than ever 

 before, the factor of most vital conse- 

 quence to most of our growers. Vet in 

 the face of untoward conditions the gen- 

 eral trade continues good, and the only 

 thing to mar the prospect of a satis- 

 factory holiday business is the impend- 

 ino- scarcity of flowers of desirable 

 grades. 



Roses are im[ roving in quantity and 

 character, but local supplies are hardly 

 equal to the demand. Carnations, in 

 pinks and reds, are increasing in re- 

 ceipts, but whites continue short and in- 

 dications are that they will be so until 

 after Christmas. Vioiets are extremely 

 scarce. Some of the largest producers 

 of former years are out of the market. 

 Mr. Merritt, who has about 400 sash, 

 has not yet picked a flower, and during 

 the summer lost the bulk of his plants. 

 Some of his neighbors have the same 

 experience. 



The fuel situation does not improve. 

 Coal supplies are short and the distri- 

 bution very unsatisfactory. A curious, 

 indeed inexplicable, feature is that some 

 persons and firms seem to have succeed- 

 ed in securing stocks of bituminous coal 

 at very moderate rates, whilst others 

 have been unable to procure it at even 

 famine prices. A number of florists laid 

 in their winter stock after the strike at 

 figures which now would seem abnor- 

 mally, almost absurdly, low, but some 

 have lived only from hand to mouth in 

 constant alarm, lest the temporary and 

 uncertain supply should fail any day. 



Some of the larger places in this vi^ 

 cinity are burning wood. Xt the ex- 

 tensive establishment of Messrs. Vin- 

 cent, .Jr., & Son, as we are informed, 

 something like five cords a day are 

 burned ; and Isaac H. Moss at the larger 

 of his two plants has been burning wood 

 for the past week and has orders out 

 for one hundred cords, though we be- 

 lieve he has four or five ears of coal on 

 the rails somewhere between this city 

 and the mines. 



The' advanced tarift" on rates of the 

 express companies became operative 

 here on the 10th and 50 per cent is add- 

 ed to the cost of transportation. This 

 tax is a heavy enough mie to be borne, 

 but it might be sustained with equa- 

 nimitv if there were any prospects that 

 the service would be made 50 per cent 

 more efficient. A story might be told 

 in these columns of the derelictions and 

 defaults of one of these companies which 

 would be interesting as showing how 

 far incompetence and neglect can go, 

 without pointing a moral or adorning 

 a tale. 



Harry Ekas. for many years finan- 

 cial seeretarv of the Gardeners' Club, 

 has resigned" from that post. Tlie club 

 netted, as we are informed, a profit of 

 about $100 on the recent chrysanthe- 

 mum show. 



The Florists' Exchange here has taken 

 a new step in supplying the trade with 

 holly, southern smilax and other nat- 

 ural requirements, as well as various 

 manufactured articles. This will prob- 

 ably contribute to the convenience of 

 patrons and add something to the earn- 

 ings. "• 



New Castle, Ind. — A large party ol 

 florists from Indianapolis visitedi the 

 city Dec. 2 and while here were the 

 guests of the South Park Floral Co. and 

 Benthev & Co. 



