August 14, 1909 



fiOKTICULTURE 



223 



Flower Market Reports. WHOLESALE FLOWER MARKETS.- 



Wheu the wholesale cut 

 BOSTON tiower trade was invent- 

 ed, conditions such as 

 face the operator in that line today 

 were unforeseen. The dealer o£ the 

 present time has problems not dreamt 

 of twenty-five years ago when the S. 

 A. F. first displayed its banner as the 

 friend of the florist and his work. We 

 have wholesale commission men, mar- 

 kets of various brands and box-men of 

 antique design and mediaeval flavor, 

 but all have to come to the same finish, 

 when products predominate and buyers 

 are conspicuous for their inconspicu- 

 ■Qusness. At such times the truthful 

 recorder has difficulty to maiutaiu his 

 reputation for veracity and diplomacy. 

 Have you looked into the aster ques- 

 tion? Why should they sell for 25 cents 

 a hundred this year and what is the 

 matter with them, anyway? HORTI- 

 CULTURE was the medium for some 

 good advertisements last year of aster 

 seeds of the higher grades, but it looks 

 as if the growers for this market had 

 placed their orders where price and not 

 quality counted most. Not for a long 

 time have we seen the aster supply iu 

 Boston so inferior; and there are mil- 

 Jions of them. Sweet peas of good 

 quality are difficult to find. There are 

 plenty of low grade flowers and they 

 are bringing, all they are worth. As 

 to roses, the fact is that many of the 

 buds coming in are from young stock 

 and valueless for market purposes. 

 The hot weather of last week had a 

 bad effect on all, American Beauty in 

 jiarticular, but the cooler temperature 

 now prevailing is having a beneficial 

 effect. The best flowers at present are 

 Kaiserin and Maryland. The latter is 

 -growing in popularity and although 

 Killarney is still a popular favorite, 

 Maryland is to all appearances a sure 

 winner. 



This market shows lit- 

 CHICAGO tie change as the month 



advances. The conditions 

 •prevailing cannot be said to be un- 

 usual for this season of the year, un- 

 less the absence of rain is to be re- 

 garded as more trying on the outdoor 

 -stock than usual. Asters are probably 

 suffering most in this respect and the 

 market is full of short-stemmed and 

 Imperfect stock. There are compara- 

 tively few good asters here and when 

 a really good-sized order comes in it 

 is hard to fill it. Wieland & Risch are 

 bringing into their wholesale store as 

 fine stock as can be seen anywhere, 

 and in conversation with Mr. Risch, he 

 said: "The time is gone by when as- 

 ters are profitable. If a man wants 

 .to make money on asters he can best 

 do so by letting them alone. We grow 

 the best varieties under the most ap- 

 proved methods, using the best seeds 

 which can be bought, but with the high 

 price of seeds and the low price of 

 blooms we do not get our money back 

 for the seeds alone. We grow Vick's 

 Mikado and start the seeds in the 

 "house, but asters are not in the game 

 when roses and carnations can be 

 grown as they now are all the year 

 round." Beauties are improving and 

 'Other stock is about as last week, both 

 in price and quality. 



PBR IM. 

 TO DBALBRB ONLY. 



CmCINNATI 



Aug 9 



DBTNOIT 



Aug. g 



BUFFALO 



Aug. 5 



Roaes 



Am. Beauty, Fan. aDd Sp 



•' Extra 



No.i 



" Lrflwer grades 4 



Bride, 'Maid, Chatenay, F. &S.. 



" " Low.gr 



Kilbmey, Fan.SkSp 



'* Lower grades 



Richmond, Fancy & Special 



" Lowergrades 



My Maryland, Kaiserin 



PITTSBURO 



Aug. 9 



CARNATIONS . 



MlSCGLLANeoUS 



Gladioli 



Asters 



Cattleyas 



Ulies. 



3.00 

 4.00 



3.00 

 6.00 



3.00 



4.00 



6.00 



4-00 

 8.00 



4.00 to 



-75 to 



I 35.00 to 



lO.CO to 



Lily ol the Valley , 3.00 to 



Mignonette 2.00 to 



Sweet Peas 35 to 



Gardenias 



Adlomtum 



amilax 



Asparagus Plumoaus, strings (100) 

 " " & Spren. (100 bchs.) 



10. CO 

 40.00 

 so.co 



6. CO 

 1. 00 



50,00 

 15.00 



4.00 

 3.00 

 ■ 50 



1. 00 



13. CO 

 50.00 

 35.00 



20.00 to 

 15.00 to 

 10.00 to 



4.00 to 



4.00 



3.00 



4.00 



2.00 

 4.00 



2.00 



25.00 



18.00 

 15.00 

 8.00 

 6.00 

 4.00 

 6.00 

 4.00 

 6.00 

 4.00 



3.00 

 .50 



35.00 

 12. 5« 



3.00 



.50 



.25 



30.00 



15.00 

 30.00 



6.00 



1.50 



5c .00 

 13.00 

 4.00 

 1. 00 



.50 



30.00 



1.50 



20 00 

 50.00 

 50.00 



30.00 

 10.00 

 6^0 

 2.00 

 6.00 

 2.00 

 6.00 

 2.00 

 6.00 



3.CO 



35.00 

 15.00 



lO.CO 



6.00 

 8.00 

 4.00 



8.00 



6.00 

 8.CO 

 6.00 



18 00 



10. CO 



8.00 



4 00 

 6.00 

 3. CO 

 6.00 

 2.eo 

 6.00 

 2.00 

 a. 00 



2.00 

 .50 

 40.00 

 8.00 

 3.00 



2.00 



.20 



30.00 



I .00 

 15.00 



JO. 00 

 30.00 



3.00 

 9.*a 



50.0* 

 zo.*o 

 4.M 



• so 

 25.00 



1.25 



15. CO 



50. oe 

 50.«« 



We always look 

 INDIANAPOLIS for dull trade at 

 this time of the 

 year, but the past week was an ex- 

 tremely dull one, nothing doing the 

 entire week. American Beauties and 

 Killarneys are about the only roses 

 arriving in good quality. Gladioli are 

 fine and meet with a fair demand. 

 Lilies of all kinds prove to be good 

 property. The market is now prac- 

 tically divested of carnations and 

 asters are coming along in quantity, 

 although the quality is not what it 

 ought to be by any means. Green 

 goods, with the exception of fern 

 leaves, are not very plentiful. Briefly 

 stated, there is enough of almost 

 everything except business. 



Asters to right of 

 NEW YORK them, asters to left of 



them, gladioli in front 

 of them and scarcely a street fakir 

 even in sight — that's where the whole- 

 sale florists find themselves oftener 

 than otherwise this week. So rapidly 

 have the aster and gladiolus hordes 

 been rushed in upon the beleagued 

 wholesalers that sales other than bar- 

 gain lots are a rarity and the net re- 

 turns to the growers of these things 

 will not go far towards the purchase 

 of tickets to the Convention. Those 

 who have nice roses don't fare quite 

 so badly, and there is room for a rea- 

 sonable quantity of lily of the valley 

 and a few orchids, etc., but after all 

 there is very little doing in any line. 

 Dahlias have made their appearance 

 and will soon begin to crowd the as- 

 ters, while "golden glow" and) a few 

 bunches of hardy hydrangea quite suf- 

 ."ice for the thrifty retailer's window 

 adornment. 



There was a big 

 PHILADELPHIA over-supply of 



poor asters last 

 week which made the market appear 

 to be in worse condition than the slug- 

 gish summer trade recorded In our pre- 

 vious week's report. But on sizing the 

 whole situation up, trade volume was 



very little different. The rush of glad- 

 ioli has slackened up somewhat, but 

 the quality still remains excellent. 

 Roses generally are plentiful and good 

 for the season. American Beauties are 

 excellent, with clean foliage, and well- 

 colored flowers, and are in brisker de- 

 mand than any other rose. Libertys 

 are fairly good. The best white of 

 course is Kaiserin, although some 

 pretty good Brides have been arriving 

 lately, also good Killarneys. What 

 few carnations there are coming in are 

 very poor and are mostly of the left- 

 over vintage. The outdoor crop of car- 

 nations does not seem to have panned 

 out as strongly as usual this year, 

 probably on account of the drouth. 

 Very little doing in orchids. These 

 are scarce and higher priced; but the 

 demand is light also. It would not 

 take many flowers to knock the bottom 

 out of this market. Lily of the valley 

 is fine and in excellent demand. 



Trade has for the 

 ROCHESTER past few weeks been 



slack as usual at this 

 time of the year. Asters are getting 

 to be a pest around here and it seems 

 as if everybody in the trade, and out 

 of it, is growing them. The market is 

 glutted and prices are way down, even 

 for best quality. Roses are plentiful, 

 with Kaiserin leading, but quality be- 

 low standard. Sweet peas and other 

 outdoor flowers come in heavily, most 

 of them good. A novelty in the way 

 of a yellow ohryisanthemum, has been 

 in since the second week of July, but 

 the stock is limited and the grower 

 very reticent. (Probably Golden Glow, 

 Edj 



Philadelphia — Skidelskey & Irwin 

 Co. have moved their offices from 

 North Rh street to more central quar- 

 ters in the Betz Building, Broad street 

 and City Hall. 



A. L. Jones, of Pennock-Meehan Co., 

 left on the 9th Inst, for a two weeks' 

 vacation. His itinerary includes Nova 

 Scotia and other points East. 



Visitors: Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Crouch 

 and Mrs. Crouch, Jr., Knoxville, Tenn. 



