876 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



APEIL 16, 1903. 



sweet and emblematic of the season 

 of bursting bud and song of bird as 

 cheerful, sweet blossoms? All we can 

 do to foster and conserve this harvest 

 season is to introduce new and varied 

 forms of plants and flowers, be fair and 

 moderate in our dealings with our 

 patrons, and see to it that when the 

 gift arrives it is in such shape as to be 

 a joy to the remembered one. W. S. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



Easter Trade. 



Philadelphia has just experienced the 

 most brilliant Easter in her history. Her 

 Ijeople have sent plants and flowers to 

 their churches, to their friends, and to 

 their homes with a unanimity that has 

 practically exhausted the largest supply 

 of both plants and flowers ever offered 

 by the growers. Such a display as was 

 seen in the shops and on the streets just 

 before Easter will long be remembered. 

 The color effects were dazzling. The 

 quality and variety of the stock offered 

 was excellent. Good judges say that cut 

 flowers and plants were about equally 

 popular. When both sold so well it is 

 ■useless to compare. By Sunday morn- 

 ing there was mighty little left, many 

 of the retailers being obliged to use the 

 telephone to complete their orders. The 

 quantities of lilies, both cut and in pots, 

 was Something enormous, very few in- 

 deed being left over. Prices ranged from 

 8 to 15 cents a flower, the higher grades 

 going first. Azaleas were never better, 

 the colored varieties being most popular. 

 Rhododendrons were very showy and 

 seemed to increase in favor. The feature 

 in hydrangeas was a pretty shade of 

 blue, imported from France. Crimson 

 Ramblers were finer and sold better than 

 during the past two seasons. Among the 

 spirseas Gladstone was deservedly a fa- 

 vorite. Genistas \vere pretty, but do not 

 keep well enough to be a favorite. 



Bulbous stock in pans, especially in 8- 

 inch, went well in limited quantities. 

 Some very nice pot roses were seen and 

 brought good prices — 75 cents to $1 each 

 in sixes. In cut flowers besides the Eas- 

 ter lilies before mentioned, lilies of the 

 valley seemed to come to the front. They 

 were fine and very popular. Carnations 

 were quite scarce and brought good 

 prices. Brunners sold well. Beauties 

 were very plentiful, especially the long 

 stemmed flowers. They brought from $5 

 to $6 a dozen. The poorer grades of tea 

 roses were a little hard to sell. Violets 

 came in better than was expected. Im- 

 mense quantities of mignonette, aspara- 

 gus and smilax were used. 



Robt. Craig, who is the largest grower 

 of Easter plants in this city, had scarce- 

 ly anything left over Easter Monday. He 

 grew between 12,000 and 13.000 lilies. 

 On TInirsday there were 2,000 unsold, 

 but on Saturday he was obliged to refuse 

 orders. He said the out-of-town ship- 

 ments were unusually heavy, but a. num- 

 ber of orders came in too late to be ac- 

 cepted. He was extremely pleased with 

 the business done, which he said was bet- 

 ter than ever before. The 6-inch azaleas 

 of Vervenaeana and Van der Cruyssen 

 were great sellers, as also the Crimson 

 Ramblers of all sizes. Bulbous stock he 

 thought might be very easily overdone, 

 the demand being limited. 



H. H. Battles had but half a dozen hy- 

 drangeas left of the enormous stock 

 stored away in his annex, and these were 

 considered too soft to give satisfaction Or 

 they would have been sent out. 



A. B. Cartledge said that his firm. 



Pennock Bros., were obliged to close 

 their doors on Easter eve. He consid- 

 ered azaleas as the most satisfactory 

 plants they handled, a few more being 

 sent out each year. The freshly imported 

 plants of the colored varieties are pre- 

 ferred to carried over stock on account 

 of their brilliancy. Great quantities of 

 lilies were used. Many hampers of bloom- 

 ing plants were made up. Their business 

 was fully 10 per cent ahead of last sea- 

 son, which held the record. 



Samuel S. Pennock was greatly pleased 

 with the demand for cut flowers. He 

 distributed over 20,000 lilies of the 

 valley and was obliged to send for more 

 on Sunday morning. 



Edward Reid had a great run on car- 

 nations, one store alone using 1,800, 

 mignonette and asparagus, of which he 

 had fully a wagon load. 



Chas. E. Meehan did splendidly at the 

 flower market, his best calla lilies bring- 

 ing $3 a dozen. 



Eugene Bernheimer had choice special- 

 ties in Jacques and lavender sweet peas. 



William J. Baker had a great many 

 very fine carnations. 



The weddings this week are a feature. 

 Sweet peas, gardenias and the very few 

 orchids obtainable being ih great de- 

 mand. Beauties are very fine and can be 

 had in quantity at moderate prices. 

 Carnations are still scarce and have 

 fallen but little since Easter. 



Notes. 



Frank Gould read a paper on "The 

 Culture of Hardy Herbaceous Plants' 

 before the Germantown Horticultural 

 Society on Monday evening. 



The Lord & Burnham Co. have deliv- 

 ered roofing material for seven houses, 

 155x18 feet each, to Isaac Layer, of Ta- 

 cony. 



Robert Scott & Son are sending in 

 some superb Beauties to Reid and Pen- 

 nock. 



N. L. Wilson, of Oxford, Pa., is great- 

 ly pleased with his returns from the 

 Flower Market. He is cutting some fine 

 Flora Hills. 



Joseph Heacock did well with his 

 palms for Easter. 



Stephen Mortensen. of Southampton, 

 Pa., is sending in some very fine Liber- 

 ties and Maids to S. S. Pennock. The 

 latter, by the way, brought $5 a dozen 

 la.st week. 



W. A. Walten is bringing in some fine 

 Prosperity to the Flower Market. 



Leo Niessen sold all of his large ship- 

 ments of Beauties. He sent a car load 

 of Easter plants in one order. Every- 

 body was pleased with Easter. 



The department stores handled many 

 plants. 



^\"illiani C. Smith had a store at Ninth 

 and Chestnut streets for Easter plants 

 last week. Phil. 



BALTIMORE. 



Easter Trade. 



We have just passed an Easter of phe- 

 nomenal business, if the exultation of 

 the conflict is confirmed by the sober 

 second casting up of the accounts. Of 

 all interested — grower, retailer and go- 

 between — we have found not a single one 

 who is not more than satisfied with the 

 results. At the Florists' Exchange trade 

 moved regularly and without the excite- 

 ment, perhaps, of other years, and it is 

 probable the stores bought less than 

 heretofore. This was due to the sup- 

 ply at wholesale not being up to that of 

 preceding seasons in volume, but all the 



stock received was entirely cleared out 

 at moderate prices. 



A marked and unusual feature was 

 the almost total absence of violets. 

 These, except in fragmentary quantities 

 and low grades, were practically unob- 

 tainable. The weather conditions of the 

 past few weeks are responsible, doubts 

 less, for this. Carnations were not plen- 

 tiful, and this was the general experi- 

 ence, though some growers, like John G. 

 Rider and Chas. W. Akehurst & Son, 

 shipped large quantities, many of them 

 of high quality. Roses were ampler in 

 quantity, but the quality was not high 

 as a rule, climatic influences for a long 

 time, indeed, throughout the whole win- 

 ter, having been rather unpropitious. 

 Callas were very scarce and much sought 

 for. Bulbous flowers were not so abund- 

 ant as usual, and much of this stock was 

 just on the edge of collapse. 



In the market there was an abund- 

 ance of material which many thought 

 was unequaled in the experience of the 

 trade, but by 10 o'clock Saturday night 

 it was practically cleared out, and at 

 figures usually satisfactory to the seller. 



The weather fairly favorable, not cold, 

 rather threatening and sometimes driz- 

 zling, lacking the inspiring movement 

 which bright skies and warm suns some- 

 times lend to the vernal festival here, 

 but shoppers were not deterred and the 

 market men as well as the stores of 

 every grade did well. The street fakirs 

 had more reason to complain than any 

 other class, their sales being restricted 

 by the scarcity and high price of the 

 stuff they handle. 



The store windows as a rule were elab- 

 orately decorated, most of them with 

 great good taste, this varying, of course, 

 with individuals and the material at 

 command. There was an absence this 

 year of the bougainvilleas and genistas 

 which a season or so ago had the call. 

 Azaleas and lilies seemed the general 

 favorites on every side. Reports vary 

 as to the plants. Some found the Ram- 

 bler had begun to go down hill in popu- 

 lar estimation; others sold quite as 

 many as usual. Tliere was similar di- 

 vergence as to hydrangeas, one store find- 

 ing the supply insufficient and the next 

 one unable to move them off. 



The proportion of sales of plants to 

 cut flowers at Easter is here gradually 

 but surely increasing, and any sorts 

 which add to the variety and brightness 

 of collections are gladly welcomed. In 

 cut flowers a feature was the replacing 

 of violets by valley, some of the latter 

 worn by the ladies in the street parade 

 being wonderfully fine. 



Here are the reports of a number of 

 the trade: 



John Cook — "Never had better busi- 

 ness. Everything practically cleared 

 out.'" 



William .J. Halliday — "Quite up to the 

 average and probably beyond. Well sat- 

 isfied." 



S. Feast & Sons— "Believe trade quite 

 up io usual mark. Well pleased with 

 results." 



Halliday Bros. — "Never had better 

 business." 



E. A. Seidewitz — "Trade excellent in 

 all branches. Everything moved well." 



Robert L. Graham- — "Simply great." 



Chas. E. Smith — "Fine business done. 

 Fully satisfied." 



Lehr Bros. — "Quite satisfied. Up to 

 or beyond the mark of other years." 



Edward Kress — "Very satisfactory 

 business. Sold out." 



John Berl — "Ii\illy up to the average." 



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