January 5, 1097 



/lORTICULTURE, 



15 



VICTORY HAS MADE GOOD 



Place your orders early for rooted cuttings. Prices $6 per lOO, S50.00 per lOOO. DISCOUNT FOR CASH WITH ORDER 



CUTTMAN & WEBER 



The Wholesale Florist Grower 



ofNewYork Lynbrook, L.I.,N.V. 



43 W. 28 St., 



CUT FLOWER MARKET REPORTS 



Market very quiet in 

 BOSTON Boston this week. There 



is no great superfluity of 

 anything, but demand is so light that 

 prices are receding on all lines. Re- 

 tailers are settling down on pre-holi- 

 day figures and resist paying more. 

 Still trade can be fairly stated as fully 

 up to the average January standard. 



Remarkable flourishing 

 BUFFALO condition in trade this 

 season. While the weath- 

 er has not been so conducive to shop- 

 ping as last year at this time, florists 

 say the volume of Christmas business 

 in some respects doubled in the plant 

 line. Ardisia, poinsettia. araucaria, 

 Gloire de Lorraine, azalea and cycla- 

 men sold well. It may be said that the 

 severe cold day on Monday before 

 Christmas caused much worry in the 

 delivery of plants. Reports were that 

 a considerable amount were frozen. 

 Pine, holly, wreathing, laurel, box- 

 wood sprays and Christmas trees were 

 in good supply and everything cleaned 

 up well. In the cut flower line busi- 

 ness was also brisk. Flowers were 

 somewhat scarce up to Saturday, when 

 stock came in quite abundantly and 

 shipping trade was excellent. Good 

 select stock of Liberty, Richmond and 

 Bridesmaid was scarce. Killarney 

 helped out wonderfully. Beauties were 

 in fair supply and violets were in 

 great demand and sold well and at 

 good prices. Carnations were not too 

 plentiful, but a good supply was had 

 and good stock brought satisfactory 

 prices. Red varieties as usual were 

 most in demand. Easter lilies, swaln- 

 sona, peas, lily of the valley and other 

 flowers sold well. A few thousand 

 Mrs. Jerome Jones chrysanthemums 

 were still on deck and helped out con- 

 siderable. Stevia was well in supply, 

 also other greens. The last week in 

 the old year wound up satisfactory to 

 all, and reports from the craft state all 

 well satisfied with the holiday trade. 

 At the time of mailing this report 

 (Monday, Dec. 31) flowers of all kinds 

 are to be had. Violets more abundant 

 and prices much lower than reported, 

 the atmosphere at temperature of 65 

 degrees, and an ideal spring day. 



The usual bluster 

 CINCINNATI about doing "a third 

 more business for the 

 holidays than we did last year" is 

 "not so's you can notice it." Stock of 

 every description was scarce, and con- 

 sequently high prices prevailed. Poin- 

 settias are still growing in popularity, 

 there being an unusual number grown 

 this season, and it is safe to say that 

 half as many again could have been 

 sold. In roses Beauties were exceed- 

 ingly scarce but good, while Brides- 

 maids showed the effects of the cloudy 

 weather and were off color. Vast 

 quantities of violets were sold, but 

 stUl there was not enough to satisfy 



all. Those who were fortunate enough 

 to have the stock did a great business 

 and got their own price for anything 

 that was good. The weather was cold, 

 it being 10 deg. above zero on Christ- 

 mas morning, and many a dollar's 

 worth of flowers were frozen. The ex- 

 press companies were unable to handle 

 the rush and much of the incoming 

 freight was frozen and delayed from 

 twelve to twenty-four hours. There 

 was but little complaint about pickled 

 stock, but several were the kicks about 

 stock being cut a day or so too soon. 

 Several of the craft who are wont to 

 overstock for the holiday trade will 

 likely find that to them the scarcity 

 of flowers was a blessing in disguise. 

 Plants were more popular than ever 

 l)efore, but much valuable time was 

 consumed in wrapping them to keep 

 out the fi"ost. 



Christmas, as was ex- 

 COLUMBUS peeted from advance 



indications, was just 

 about an average business of previous 

 years. All cut stock cost so high, that 

 it was out of the question to get any 

 extra trade over-the-counter. The 

 regular flower buyers bought liberally 

 as usual, but in the absence of any 

 large amount of outside buying, only 

 an average business could be expected. 

 Prices were cut some towards the end, 

 when it was seen that things were 

 going hard. As regards plants they 

 sold very "well, but not very much can 

 be said in praise of their quality; on 

 the whole plants were a poor lot. 

 Green stuff sold well and in large 

 quantity, but some of it was very poor 

 quality, especially the holly, much of 

 which was light in color and without 

 berries. Prices for greens showed no 

 change from previous yeare. On the 

 whole the business was about an aver- 

 age of past seasons. The weather was 

 against trade, being warm and stormy. 



The Christmas busi- 

 DES MOINES ness seemed to be 



satisfactory to all 

 engaged in it. Poinsettas were notice- 

 able in all the windows, and sold well. 

 First quality Enchantress carnations 

 were all cleaned up at about 25 per 

 cent advance over the price of other 

 varieties. In the plant line the azalea 

 as usual was the leader, some poinset- 

 tias in pans were in evidence, and a 

 variety of other blooming plants, in- 

 cluding a good supply of ferns and 

 palms. Bouquet green was scarce, con- 

 sequently wreathing sold at a high 

 price; in fact the supply was not equal 

 to the demand at that. There seemed 

 to be plenty of holly, fairly well ber- 

 ried. Violets, both single and double, 

 had a good sale. 



I,oziers', the Alpha Floral Co., and 

 the Iowa Floral Co. all report a record 

 trade. This is the first Christmas for 

 the Iowa Floral Co., so they cannot 

 make a comparison, but they are well 



satisfied with the amount of patronage 

 that came to them. 



Detroit florists are look- 

 DETROIT ing back to the largest 



est Christmas business 

 for many years. There was a notable 

 increase in the sale of plants and 

 plant baskets. The whole.-jale houses 

 were cleared out early and few flor- 

 ists had any flowers left Christmas 

 neon. Violets and carnations were 

 very short; poinsettias helped some- 

 what to cover this shortage. 



Business conditions 

 LOUISVILLE the previous week 

 were very good, stock 

 in almost every line being cleaned 

 out. Carnations had a very good de- 

 mand, and the supply became short. 

 The quality was excellent. Roses had 

 a satisfactory demand. They were of 

 fair quality, and in good supply. 

 Violets, lilies of the valley, and other 

 stock were in good supply, and had a 

 steady call. 



New Year's business 

 NEW YORK was very tame and 

 supplies of all kinds 

 sufficed to supply it. There were not 

 many long Beauties in the market, but 

 a few more from each grower would 

 have been surplus; as it was the price 

 fluctuated and only at the wind-up of 

 business on Tuesday morning did the 

 price steady. Of small roses there 

 were a-plenty to fill all wants and 

 some Brides to spare. Prices were 

 weak throughout all of Monday. Oar- 

 nations just cleared with many con- 

 cessions in price. The violet growers 

 kept most of their flowers at home last 

 week and sent them into a market 

 Monday that could not digest them 

 all. The few gardenias and cattleyas 

 shipped in were sold. 



Following the 



PHILADELPHIA Christmas rush 



the balance of thp 

 week was very draggy in the cut 

 flower market here. There were plenty 

 of flowers and of fine quality but no 

 life to the trading. Among roses 

 Killarney was probably the best 

 seller. Beauty was far too plentiful. 

 The flush is over on this vai-iety and 

 it will be scarce from now on. Carna- 

 tions were fairly abundant but like 

 everything else they suffered from the 

 prevailing sluggishness. If there was 

 improvement anywhere it may have 

 been in the violet market. Mignonette 

 is now coming in and selling well, it 

 is a late crop this yeax and not of ex- 

 tra quality as yet. Orchids are more 

 plentiful, with prices steady, as last 

 reported. White lilac is now arriving 

 in limited quantity. New Year's trade 

 used to cut a large figure in this mar- 

 ket but it has gradually lost its im- 

 portance and now rises little above the. 

 normal day's business. 

 For other Market Beports see pn'je 21. 



