330 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



January 22, 1903. 



who calls himself '"Arry"; he is bright 

 and educated, and Dean Hole in his 

 most lovely book calls Harry's uncle 

 "The Emperor of Popomology.'' But 

 Harry was not talking stone fruits or 

 pomacious fruits. He was "spieling" 

 for Clucas & Boddington Co., and you 

 all know that they have everything to 

 sell from a Russian mat to a mole trap. 

 I regret that last week 1 posted my 

 notes too early to tell you of the sudden 

 death of Sam Smiley, of Lancaster, N. 

 Y. Mr. Smiley began the growing of 

 flowers at Bowmanville, a village twelve 

 miles east of Buffalo, some twenty years 

 ago, and later moved to Lancaster for 

 better railroad facilities. He grew cut 

 flowers and plants for the Buffalo mar- 

 ket. He was about forty years of age. 

 a most hard working, industrious and 

 unassuming man, and was respected by 

 all who knew him. Going out to see 

 over his houses in the evening, he was 

 later found dead in his boiler shed. 



W. S. 



NEW YORK. 



An Auto Trip. 



Mr. Langjahr, the Brooklyn whole- 

 saler, did me the courtesy of a short trip 

 through a part of Carnationville, Flat- 

 bush, last week in his auto, but the visit 

 was not comprehensive and many of the 

 great growers could be seen only in imag- 

 ination. 



Our first call was on Papa Zeller, 

 whose vitality is remarkable, and a fair 

 hope exists that this grand veteran 

 among carnationists may be well enough 

 to attend the February convention. 



Away out in the "rhubarbs" of Flat- 

 bush — a mile southeast of Dailledouze 

 Bros.' — is the range of Suydam, whose 

 schooling with the brothers graduated 

 him from a vegetable grower to a pro- 

 ducer of novelties. He has a "strain" 

 of mignonette which readily brings at 

 wholesale from $2 to $.3 a dozen. It 

 has no name and the seed is not for sale, 

 but it is a Suydam good article and for 

 size and sweetness it stands at the head 

 of the procession. !Mr. Suydam also has 

 a grand pink carnauon, a child of Scott 

 and Daybreak, double the size of Scott, 

 with 2-foot stems, and exactly like Scott 

 in color. This also is an "uncrowned 

 king" and of the no name series, but the 

 price it brought at Christmas was enough 

 glory for the season. Here, too, are Cer- 

 vera, pink and yellow, a nearly white 

 seedling from Bradt and Flora Hill, and 

 a very productive light pink seedling 

 of great strength and some fine stock 

 of Prosperity and Gfov. Roosevelt, Gomez 

 and Queen Louise. 



A little farther out in "the wilds" are 

 the establishments of C. & W. W. Kou- 

 wenhoben, once — before the "lettuce mi- 

 crobe" arrived — large growers of vege- 

 tables, now carnationists and mignonet- 

 tists of no mean calibre, and finding at 

 the cut flower market in New York a 

 steady demand for all they produce. 

 They grow about tlie same varieties of 

 stock as their neighbor, Mr. Suydam. 



Tlie shades of night were falling as 

 our auto sped homeward after a call on 

 our friend from "bonnie Scotland," 

 Davy Mellis, whose beautiful new home 

 is artistically painted and decorated 

 with scenes from the land of the heather, 

 including the old homestead., "a wee bit 

 house," he calls it, where he first began 

 the nursery business. Mr. Mellis has 



thirteen fine houses devoted to about ev- 

 erything a florist grows. His lilies are 

 superb. Close to one of the largest cem- 

 eteries in the country, his business in 

 tlie planting season is enormous. Six- 

 teen men are constantly employed and 

 his charming daughters are in charge of 

 his two offices. He is the principal 

 grower of shamrocks in the east and 

 his wholesale trade in this "17th of Ire- 

 land" necessity is extensive. The sur- 

 plus of his cut flower stock goes to Mr. 

 J. v. Phillips, of Brooklyn. Mr. Mellis 

 will be with the Flatbush bowlers at 

 Milwaukee. 



Items. 



Hanft Bros, had the bridal and maids' 

 bouquets for the Gruner wedding. The 

 bride's bouquet consisted of orange blos- 

 soms, white roses and lily of the valley, 

 and the bridesmaids' of violets and gar- 

 denias. 



At the Hotel Netherlands the decora- 

 tions for the Reid wedding were artistic, 

 the dining room being a bower of smilax 

 and roses. At the Cliurch of the Incar- 

 nation only lilies and Bride roses were 

 used with palms. 



Hodgson, of Fifth avenue, and Alex 

 McConnell report very busy times with 

 their parties, of which there seems to be 

 no en<l. All the Fifth avenue stores 

 seem to be "in the swim" in this respect 

 and there is little complaint of dull 

 times. 



Wadley & Smythe had the De Mauriae 

 wedding last week, with a carte blanche 

 house decoration. The muff bridesmaids' 

 bouquets for this event were charming 

 constructions. 



The Fernery, on 33rd street near the 

 Waldorf, reports a fine holiday trade, 

 and many decorations and dinners. The 

 ladies who have built up this business 

 unaided and so rapidly are a credit to 

 "the woman in horticulture" and deserve 

 their success. 



Mr. Scallen, of 1259 Broadway, has 

 been a suflTerer from rheumatism during 

 the past week, confining him to the 

 house. 



One of the dinners of the year was 

 that of Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish last week, 

 where unique floral decorations pre- 

 vailed. Sixty guests were seated at five 

 immense tables over which hung gigantic 

 umbrellas of flowers and asparagus with 

 innumerable electric lights suspended by 

 white moire ribbons. White tulips, 

 primroses, hyacinths and roses were used 

 in the table decorations. 



The Astor ball last Tuesday estab- 

 lished a new record for society and it is 

 now the "six hundred" instead of the 

 "four hundred." It was a brilliant af- 

 fair. American Beauties and orchids 

 were the principal flowers utilized with 

 an abundance of pink azaleas used in 

 arches and pink roses in festooning. 

 Manufactured rose trees formed aisles 

 and banks and were divested of their 

 blossoms for corsages and boutonnieres. 

 The two great mansions of the Asters 

 were turned into floral bowers. These 

 are but the beginning of events that 

 promise great opportunities for the 

 floral profession daily until Lent arrives. 



Preparations are complete for the big 

 dinner of the Florists' Club on Satur- 

 day, January 31, and a fine attendance 

 is assured. 



C. W. Ward, of Queens, and W. A. 

 Manda, of So. Orange, have been dis- 

 seminating knowledge over in Trenton, 



N. J., at the meeting of the New Jersey 

 State Horticultural Society, discoursing 

 on "Plant Breeding" and on "New 

 Privets and Roses for Hedging." Their 

 addresses were much appreciated. 



Among the last week's visitors was 

 A. N. Broadhead. of the Jamestown, N. 

 Y., "Lake View Rose Gfardens." 



Tlie sick list has among its numbers 

 John N. May, of Summit, and James W. 

 Withers, of American Gardening, the 

 latter gentleman contemplating a trip to 

 the tropics to hasten his recovery. 



The eolden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. 

 C. L. Allen, of Floral Park, will be cel- 

 ebrated on next Tuesday afternoon and 

 evening and a cordial invitation is ex- 

 tended to all their friends to "come and 

 make merry." Mr. Allen is still a 

 "young" man in all that goes to make 

 life worth living and an illustration of 

 the splendid results of "right living" 

 that makes the word "old" unnecessary. 

 May they "live long and prosper." 



To the majority of the florists of this 

 country the shortage of coal and exor- 

 bitant prices are a sufficient burden to 

 bear. Add to this the calamity of fire 

 completely destroying everything, houses 

 and plants, and you have some idea of 

 the misfortune that has befallen Geo. 

 Zeiner, of Flatbush. Tlie loss is over 

 $3,000, with no insurance. Mr. Zeiner 

 has the sympathy of all in his trouble. 



The coal situation is as discouraging 

 as ever. There seems no hope of relief 

 in this vicinity and an early spring is 

 about the only probable relief. 



Paul Dailledouze has been enjoying a 

 business and pleasure trip among the 

 western carnationists, and doubtless has 

 stirred up a good deal of enthusiasm 

 as to tlie convention. He can't say too 

 much in behalf of the coming Carnation 

 Society's meeting in Brooklyn next 

 month, for it will be a record breaker, 

 and unhappy will be the man who can-. 

 not come. 



Mr. Frank Clarke, of Clarke Bros., 

 the leading florists of Portland, Ore., 

 is in New York, and took in the bowling 

 contest at Flatbush last Thursday. Mr. 

 Clarke and his sister are talented musi- 

 cians and have come to the city to take 

 a course of lessons from the best teach- 

 ers, with a view to a grand opera career. 

 The two establishments of this firm at 

 Portland and San Francisco, with their 

 60,000 square feet, place them in the van 

 in the great northwest in the florist 

 business. 



Wm. Sampson has arranged his whole- 

 .sale business interests in connection with 

 the Cut Flower Co. His principal stock 

 consists of Lawson, Prosperity, Gene- 

 vieve Lord and Flora Hill and excellent 

 mignonette. 



iyir. Ruppert. of the H. A. Dreer Co., 

 was in town last week and reports busi- 

 ness excellent and a wide demand for 

 their new pandanus. 



Mr. Eisele, of this house, sailed on the 

 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse on the 6th 

 for a business and pleasure trip in 

 Europe, which will be prolonged until 

 nearly the end of February. 



For the last four years B. S. Slinn, 

 Jr., has decorated the Arkwright Club 

 for their annual banquet and made an 

 especially elaborate display of Beauties 

 this year in honor of the popular guests. 

 Governor Odell and Admiral Schley. 



Mr. L. B. Craw, of the Lord & Burn- 

 ham Co., is now out of danger and rap- 

 idly recovering after a long siege of 

 typhoid fever. 



