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726 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



March 26, 1903. 



believe it a good investment to keep up 

 the display in their show windows. 

 Something new and attractive can be 

 seen at these places daily. ^ ,, „ , 



Citizens and business men of the Jiast 

 End have urged Mr. Snowden Randolph, 

 of the firm of Randolph & JleClements, 

 to hand in his application as superin- 

 tendent of the bureau of parks. Tins 

 position was made vacant last week, by 

 Mr Wm. Falconer resigning. 



John Bader reports business very good 

 in blooming plants and palms. 



T. M. Ulam went to New \ork last 



Shipments of daffodils and callas from 

 the southern states are being received 

 by the Pittsburg Cut Flower Co. 



Sidney Gibs, of Carnegie, is able to be 

 at his place of business agaim 



Hoo-Hoo. 



BUFFALO. 



Tliere is a good excuse for anyone 

 niakin"- a remark about the weather for 

 the pa'st week. Sixty degrees at night 

 and 75 degrees in the day on the Ijth 

 of Ireland is indeed a record, and its 

 not one day, but many. Crocuses are in 

 full bloom; muskrats are frisky; snipe 

 are resting in our swampy lowlands on 

 their long flight northwards; millions 

 of tons of ice are falling over Niagara s 

 brink every hour; I sowed sweet peas 

 in the open ground on the loth; tlie 

 Buffalo Florists' Club is going to hold 

 its annual banquet in the spacious and 

 finely appointed Ellicott Club dinmg 

 room on the 25th, and without any 

 further signs you can be sure spring 

 is here and here to stay until summer 

 takes its place. 



I can't say much for business, tor l 

 have not seen many of those who are in 

 the rush. I know it's very fair and not 

 suffering very much on account of the 

 season of I^^nt. Flowers are quite 

 plentiful, roses more particularly tlian 

 anv other. If this June like weather 

 continues it will bring on that state of 

 affairs when violets are all leaves and 

 no flowers. 



We are all looking forward to a great 

 and busy Easter, and if winter does not 

 return on that identical week— which, 

 alas, it too often does— all will be well. 

 We should not only sell all we have, 

 but at good prices. I am one that be- 

 lieves we are passing through a period 

 of fictitious prices and inflated times. 

 No matter what you buy or need, every- 

 thing is up. from coal to corned beef. 

 WTiy, a caterer who would have been 

 glad two vears ago to give you a modest 

 spread for fifty at .$1 a head now wants 

 $2. Our employees are getting better 

 wages. We go to the bank and all we 

 can'' draw is our breath, so why not 

 be in line and all keep a stiff upper lip 

 and obtain good, big prices. Our goods 

 are luxuries and the Easter buyer will 

 forget in twenty-four hours what he 

 paid, or promised to pay. Until the 

 great downward flop comes, for come it 

 will, let us share in the good times. 



An expressman remarked to me the 

 other day, just aft^r the restoration of 

 prices to" the old rates, "This time your 

 national society cut some ice." It's 

 verv gratifying to know that such 

 miMit>^ corporations will listen to rea- 

 son and can he brought to time. One man 

 mav have done more than another, but 

 more than all it was the vigorous kick 

 all along the line. I don't often refer 

 to or even remember the pleasant com- 

 ments that are made when I happen 

 very occasionally to speak the truth or 



utter a sensible remark, but I was 

 "tickled" at the words of my brother 

 florists of Pittsburg, who heartily coin- 

 cided with me that we have brought tlic 

 trouble on our own lieads. Trumpery, 

 frivolous claims for loss or damage to 

 flowers handled bv the express companies 

 was the cause of their retaliation, and 

 they are now going to give us another 

 chance. So, brethren, beware, and 

 make a claim only when it is pun' 

 negligence. 



There is another week for me to tell 

 vou how the stock of Easter plants 

 shows up in our little town, and 1 will 

 get Mr. Dennis O'Connell to loan me 

 his automobile I I will avoid the stone 

 nuarrv at Jamnierthal. because there is 

 a Peiinell-ty attached to that) and visit 

 the manv more or less extensive places 

 from which our store men get their 

 Easter plants. 



There has been a dearth of visitors 

 the past week, or they did not get, to 

 the suburbs of Cold Springs, Dan Mc- 

 Rorie was the lonely one. I wish he 

 would write up for" your columns his 

 adventures in the mountains of North 

 Carolina while collecting Rhododendron 

 catawbiense for W. A. Manda. The rug- 

 ged mountaineer, whose civilization is 

 that of two hundred years ago. the rush- 

 ing mountain torrent, the mule, the log 

 that saved his life, the primitive court 

 of justice, the jury of tliree. the jug of 

 corii juice which swayed the judge and 

 jury— all well told would suit many 

 reailers of the Rkvikw bettor than "Gib- 

 bons' Derliii.' of tile liotiian Empire." 

 A Model Little Place and a Great Garieoer. 

 There are only two private gardens 

 that have anv glass in our city. Some 

 commercial florist may say. "So much 

 the better." I don't think so, but that s 

 a question we won't discuss just now. 

 One of these is the Buffalo residence of 

 J. J. .AUbright, not only perhaps our 

 wealthiest man. but the one who has far 

 outstripped all other Buffalonians in 

 philanthropy, \'isitors to the dear old 

 I'an-.Vmeriean may remember seeing the 

 unfinished marble palace just before 

 they entered the gate of the Pan. It's 

 now the magnificent half-million art 

 gallery built and given to the city solely 

 by Mr. Allbright, Some years ago when 

 Mr Allbright first acquired his beauti- 

 ful house on W. Ferry street an East- 

 ern firm built for him, attached to his 

 residence, a very fine palm hou.se built 

 as good as horticultural architecture 

 at that time could build. 



Then another Eastern firm was given 

 the contract to fill it. and it did fill 

 it so full and at a cost of so many 

 thousands that while there may have 

 been more dollar bills to unroll, there 

 was no room left in the house for a 

 leaf or a petal to expand, no room to 

 .rrow and develop the beauty of form 

 of the individual plant. When a dis- 

 tjint firm gets a chance of this sort, and 

 the man that pays the bill does not 

 pretend to know what's what in that 

 line, it is tempted to take such a 

 frightful bite of the cake that it 

 leaves scareelv a nibble for either the 

 local man or themselves. The local 

 man has a local reputation, which he 

 strives to keep, and no pretension to a 

 national one, and can and will do far 

 better if consulted in such cases than 

 the distant big firm, who sees only a 

 chance to unload a lot of stuff at a 

 "splendid price," What the local man 

 has not he knows well where to get. 



In a few years this splendid structure 

 was a jungle of frowsy, spindling, buggy 



vegetation. And the end was that Mr. 

 Allbright gave structure and contents 

 to the" Buffalo Botanic Gardens, and al- 

 though there was much rubbish, there 

 were some most desirable plants — not- 

 ably some large and rare cycads. 



Thus endeth the first lesson. There 

 still remained in a distant part of the 

 garden two or three small houses used 

 for o-rowing flowers for the house. ^^ ith 

 the exit of the big palm house came the 

 advent of a new gardener, and although 

 so near I have not visited this new gar- 

 dener ami his four little houses until a 

 few weeks ago. There are two three- 

 quarter span houses not much over 30 

 feet long by 20 feet wide each, then a 

 diminutive "orchid house 20 by 12, and 

 then a palm or warm house about 30 

 liy 20, Most any man wlio is at all a 

 gardener and is not lazy can grow 

 orchids if he has several orchid houses, 

 roses if he has specially constructed 

 lose houses, carnations in suitable 

 buildings, and palms if he has heat and 

 a hose, but few men in a place of this 

 size and without any other convenience 

 or glass what(5ver can have such a dis- 

 play of blossoms and health and clean- 

 liness as I tliere saw a few weeks ago. 



There were American Beauty roses 

 and Brides and ilaids all yielding the 

 finest flowers, carnations of several 

 varieties. H. P. roses coming on for 

 Easter. Chinese primroses and obconica, 

 cinerarias, calceolarias, pots of freesias, 

 and manv flowering plants I cannot now 

 recall. Now. there would be nothing 

 wonderful in having this varied assort- 

 ment if they were just existing and 

 struggling for life, as you too often see 

 them," On the contrary, every single 

 ]ilant looked as if it were some expert's 

 specialtv, 



I send you a photograph of the little 

 orchid house, which was taken at my 

 request, and in flower three weeks ago, 

 as the picture shows, were the following: 

 Cattleya Tiiana;. C. speciossisima (a 

 magni'ficent flower). Coclogyne cristata, 

 Cypripedinm Ivjiwrencianum. C. 'Vil- 

 hisum, Dendrobium Devonianum, D, in- 

 fmidibiilum, 1), nobile, D, Wardianum, 

 Ladia acuminata. E. anceps alba, L. 

 .Tono-heana. Lveaste Skinnerii, Vanda 

 suavis, and " Zygopetalum citrinum. 

 They were not only flowering, but 

 looked at home and thriving. In the 

 little warm house is a rare collection 

 of choice palms and ornamental plants 

 of a great variety. Now this is an 

 achievement to have in this varied col- 

 lection and in so small a place every 

 plant bearing the look that says: "I 

 am it; t get the care: the rest must 

 do the best they can under the circum- 

 stances," 



The genius that presides over this 

 small lint wonderfullv managed place 

 is Mr, fhas, Sandiford, well known 

 among the gardeners of New England. 

 I need not say what I think of him, for 

 rarely have l" seen the art of gardening 

 so well demonstrated. It is far too 

 small a scope for the ability of Mr. 

 Sandiford, but his talents and char- 

 acter are highly appreciated by his 

 worthy and kind employer, and it is 

 most earnestlv hoped that Mr. Allbright 

 may in the liear future afford a larger 

 fiel'd for this grand gardener to show 

 his skill and industry. W. S. 



ROCIIE.STER. N. f.— The II. S. Taylor 

 Nurserv Co. has been incorporated with 

 a capit"al stock of $10,000. The directors 

 are H, S. Taylor, F, V. Taylor and J. F. 

 Nor r is. 



