176 



HORTICULTURE 



August 17, 191S 



BOSTON. 



Gladiolus lovers were given quite a 

 treat this week at Thomas F. Galvin's, 

 Park street store, where ^ Maurice 

 Fuld o£ New York held an exhibition 

 of blooms that reflected great credit 

 on both exhibitor and grower. 



A wind, hail and rainstorm of tor- 

 nado proportions swept over an area 

 approximating five miles in width, and 

 extending from the vicinity of Lexing- 

 ton. Billerica and Lowell, in a south- 

 easterly direction as far as Weymouth, 

 early last Wednesday evening. Hun- 

 dreds of thousands of dollars' worth 

 of property damage was done in Lex- 

 ington, Arlington, Somerville, Cam- 

 bridge, a section of Boston proper. 

 South Boston, and in Weymouth and 

 other South Shore towns, before the 

 storm spent itself at sea. The visita- 

 tion was very brief, the disturbance 

 varying from seven or eight minutes 

 in Boston to a half hour in the sections 

 north and northeast of the city. But 

 while it lasted it was a terrifying spec- 

 tacle, and gardens, shade and fniit 

 trees and even giant landmarks were 

 uprooted or leveled in a twinkling 

 Large trees on the Common and Pub- 

 lic Garden were laid low, and in other 

 streets of the Back Bay similar dam- 

 age was done. War gardens, repre- 

 senting priceless hours of labor and 

 pride, were ruined by the gale that 

 laid low standing crops and the pierc- 

 ing hailstones that rent tender vines to 

 shreds. Monster truck farms in the 

 market garden districts of Lexington, 

 Reading. Arlington and adjoining 

 suburbs were practically destroyed. 

 Great hothouses were broken and laid 

 waste, in some instances the havoc em- 

 bracing aci'es upon acres. 



PITTSBURGH. 



While business is dull the florists 

 and gardeners are festive. Last Wed- 

 nesday about 150 florists and their 

 families held a basket picnic at Wal- 

 nut Beach, Sewickley. There were 

 games, dancing, swimming and vari- 

 ous other athletic sports for which 

 prizes of thrift stamps, etc., were 

 given. The affair was given under the 

 auspices of the Florists' and Garden- 

 ers' Retail Association of Western 

 Penna., and was managed by Messrs. 

 D. Wessenauer. E. J. McCalluni and G. 

 W. Marshall. 



Fame of Mrs. E. A. Williams' 

 patriotic War Savings Stamps window 

 has traveled to Washington. H. C. 

 Sheaff, secretary for Mrs. Williams, 

 conceived the idea. Mrs. Williams 

 was commissioned by Secretary Mc- 

 Adoo and last month the individual 

 sales amounted to over $2. .500. Mr. 

 Sheaff has been enjoying a vacation 

 in the mountains. Charles Ulmer, 

 who has been in one of the training 

 camps, leaves soon for France. 



CHICAQO. 



John Enders, foreman of the ship- 

 ping department of Poehlmann Bros. 

 Co., as well as each member of his 

 family, received a letter from his son 

 Clarence, who is making . good in 

 Prance. Though only 19, Clarence en- 

 listed as soon as our gountry declared 

 war, and has won the confidence of 

 his superior oflicers till he has been 

 assigned the important position of se- 

 lecting and purchasing horses for the 

 army. 



P. J. Foley, president of the Foley 

 Greenhouse Manufact\iring Co., calls 

 attention to a report that R. C. Kerr 

 Co., of Houston, Texas, is contemplat- 

 ing the building of a range of 14 

 houses. They did so contemplate a 

 year ago; not only that, but they 

 built them, the Foley Greenhouse 

 Manufacturing Co. furnishing the ma- 

 terial, and nov.' those same houses are 

 producing roses for the R. C. Kerr 

 Co.'s many customers. When the war 

 is over they will build more. 



Miss Margaret, second daughter of 

 Mr. and Mrs. P. J. Foley was grad- 

 uated from the Chicago Normal 

 School last week, and has taken a posi- 

 tion as cadet in the Pope school for 

 the coming year. James Foley expects 

 to enter the service next week, unless 

 debarred by defective eyesight. Phil., 

 Jr.. has been at the Great Lakes Naval 

 Training Station for several weeks 

 taking a course in naval aviation. 



Poehlmann Bros are among the larg- 

 est exhibitors for the convention and 

 all the new things will be shown by 

 them. Nothing new gets by Tim 

 Waters, who will have charge of the 

 exhibit and who is manager of the 

 Poehlmann Supply Dept. 



August Poehlmann has about recov- 

 ered from a recent attack of diphthe- 

 ria. Mrs. Poehlmann has not made 

 such rapid progress and is still con- 

 fined to the house. Her many friends 

 hope for her speedy recovery. 



Some one missed the mark by ten 

 degrees last week when Chicago notes 

 reported the highest August record 

 ever made by the government ther- 

 mometer in Chicago. It should have 

 read 102 degrees instead of 92 de- 

 grees. This week is not going to be 

 far behind and those going to the con- 

 vention are praying for one of those 

 "sudden drops" the middle west is 

 noted for. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



A. W. Elder, formerly with the Lord 

 & Burnham Co., is teaching military 

 drills to colored students of the Wil- 

 berforce Normal and Industrial Col- 

 lege at Wilberforce, Ohio. 



J. W. Langenback, florist, of Albion, 

 has just received a commission of 1st 

 Lieut, and is assigned to the 14th 

 Battalion at New Orleans, La. Mr. 

 Langenback has been seven years in 

 the military service. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



If you want to see the great ship- 

 building plant at Hog Island you have 

 to apply in person for a permit to the 

 shipping board at 16th and Walnut 

 streets. Mr. B. H. Blood is the agent 

 in charge. Sunday is the only day 

 they will issue for. No weekday per- 

 mits. 



The Michell Nurseries at Andalusia 

 are particularly interesting just now 

 not only on account of the cannas and 

 other seasonable trials being in full 

 bloom and educative in value but that 

 the country round that section is 

 particularly beautiful at this season. 

 There is something interesting every 

 foot of the way for miles and miles. 

 Right on the banks of the Delaware 

 on the Philadelphia side. Many of 

 our old time visitors know only the 

 Jersey side of the Delaware. Have 

 a look at the other. Wonderful old 

 trees and fine old residences that 

 were famous over a hundred years 

 ago. 



Jack Berger is now the sole part- 

 ner in the Berger Bros, commission 

 business — his brother having taken 

 hold of the Germantown end of the 

 family business. But there is no 

 change in the push and activity for 

 which this old established commis- 

 sion house is noted. 



ST. LOUIS. 



The wholesalers are giving their 

 stores a thorough cleaning and paint- 

 ing to prepare for the S. A. F. 

 visitors. The retailers also have 

 cleaned up and were visited last week 

 by John Young, secretary of S. A. F. 



Vincent Gorly and wife have just 

 returned from their northern trip in 

 time for the Convention. 



CINCINNATI. 



Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Peterson, C. E. 

 Critchell and E. G. Gillett comprise 

 the list of Cincinnatians who, thus 

 far, plan to attend the convention in 

 St. Louis. 



Mr. and Mrs. Mayhall are spending 

 tlie early part of this week in Dayton. 



A FALSE REPORT. 



Our previous report referring to 

 Captain Alfred Rolker being "gassed" 

 has later proved to be fortunately 

 incorrect, and we hope that he is still 

 in good fighting trim and giving his 

 German opponents a real hot time. 

 The captain has many friends in New 

 England, being an Amherst graduate, 

 and the previous alarming news might 

 in a roudabout way have reached and 

 distressed some of them. These will 

 be pleased now to learn that first re- 

 ports have evidently been vastly ex- 

 aggerated. 



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