240 



horticulture: 



August 14, 1909 



U KNOW US 



LETS KNOW U 



ii 



RICE STANDARD" 



SEE OUR EXHIBIT AT THE CONVENTION OF 



Up-to-Date Florists' Supplies -Ribbons -Chiffons -Nettings and Baskets 



ALL THE NEWEST OUTIOF THE;0RDINARY8XV FORfrHE GET-THERE FLORIST 



ti win pay you to SEE OUR EXHIBIT 



The Leading Florists' Supply House 



and 

 Ribbon Speciaiists originators 



M. RICE & CO. 



IMPORTERS and MANUFACTURERS 



1220 Race Street 



PHI LA., PA. 



business achievements of Robert 

 ■Craig, as these are not so often em- 

 phasized in current literature as are 

 liis winning personality and his fame 

 as a leader and speaker in social and 

 professional movements. Men like 

 Rockefeller may take pride in their 

 vast accumulations, achieved by craft 

 and combination and the ruin of the 

 honest unwary; but men like Robert 

 Craig have done far more admirable 

 things — they have worked to beautify 

 and enrich the world and will leave a 

 sweeter fame behind them and more 

 enduring when their time comes to be 

 gathered to their fathers. 



PENNOCK BROS.— This retail flor- 

 ist house was founded forty-five years 

 ago by Abram L. Pennock. The loca- 

 tion was then en t2th street between 

 Market and Chestnut street. In 1866 

 ihis brother Joseph Liddon Pennock 

 ■was admitted and the firm name be- 

 'Came Pennock Eros., which it has re- 

 .mained ever since. On account of fail- 

 ing health J. L. Pennock retired and 

 shortly thereafter Thomas Cartledge 

 .and John Westcott became partners. 

 The present members of the firm are J. 

 Liddon Pennock. (a son of Abram L. 

 Pennock) and A. B. Cartledge, (a son 

 •of the late Thomas Cartledge). The 

 store is located at 1514 Chestnut street 

 and is a model for completeness and 

 ■up-to-date equipment. Notwithstand- 

 ing keen competition, brainy and ag- 

 gressive rivalry, this old house holds 

 its own, gettingi its full share of the 

 ■creme-de-la-creme of the flower trade 

 of Philadelphia. 



GODFREY ASCHMANN.— In the 

 ■florist business at Iflli; Ontario street 

 since 1886 — previous to that he had 

 been a jobbing gardener tor seven 

 years. His three sons — John, Howard, 

 and Edward — are now associated with 

 him in the business, which has gro^vvn 

 to considerable proportions. Mr. Asch- 

 mann makes a specialty of flowering 

 and foliage plants for Christmas and 

 Easter — particularly begonias, azaleas, 

 lilies, palms, and araucarias. He does 

 an extensive shipping trade, having 

 worked this up by unique advertising 

 methods through the trade papers. The 

 glass area is estimated at 25,000 square 

 feet. Much of the stock offered for 



sale is imported — Mr. Aschmann mak- 

 ing frequent trips to Europe for the 

 purpose of selecting the best bargains. 

 DINGEE & CONARD CO.— "The 

 home of the rose"; located at West 

 Grove. Pa., a-bout two hours from Phil- 

 adelphia and tributary thereto. Charles 

 Dingee at the age of 85, the original 

 head of the firm, founded in 1850, is 

 still hale and hearty and while inter- 

 ested is not now engaged in the active 

 management of the company. The con- 

 cern is now conducted by younger men 

 who grew up under Mr. Dingee's able 

 training. Probably the most widely 

 known of these younger men to the 

 commercial trade is P. Joseph Lynch, 

 the financial man of the company and 

 its general manager. This company 

 has the unique distinction of being the 

 first to grow roses on their own roots 

 and, when these had developed into 

 sturdy little plants, to offer them by 

 mail at popular prices. They are the 

 original mail order house as far as the 

 rose is concerned. The establishment 

 has 70 greenhouses devoted almost ex- 

 clusively to growing roses. Hardy 

 shrubbery and other outdoor stock is 

 also grown at West Grove and Char- 

 lotte, N. C. The Charlotte nursery is 

 devoted mainly to the production of 

 large two, three and four-year-old 

 roses for which the demand has been 

 rapidly increasing — although the mail 

 order trade for smaller plants shows 

 no signs of waning. Mr. Lynch when 

 interviewed on this subject of larger 

 or smaller roses, had this to say. 



"We are often asked the size of roses 

 most preferable, and our invariable re- 

 sponse is that that is a matter that can 

 only be decided by the purchaser. One- 

 year-old roses give splendid results, 

 and the only difference between them 

 and the older plants, is in the compar- 

 ative yield of flowers. The two-year-old 

 roses, of course, produce a larger quan- 

 tity of flowers the first year, while the 

 three and fcur-year-old are more de- 

 sirable for immediate effect. Owing to 

 the reasonable price at which we sell 

 one-year-old plants it is possible, for 

 a small sum, to purchase quite a col- 

 lection and we find the demand for the 

 one-year-old roses has in no way di- 

 minished." 

 On being asked if the "little slips" 



that were sent through the mails gave 

 much satisfaction, Mr. Lynch was quite 

 emphatic in denying that the term 

 "little slips" described the roses they 

 sent out. Continuing, he said, "Wliat 

 we do sell are strong and sturdy, 

 grown in Nature's own way, backed by 

 halt a century's experience of knowing 

 how — no dark secrets — just plain, or- 

 dinary common-sense methods, a little 

 brains and the consciousness of a repu- 

 tation for square and honest dealing to 

 sustain." 



PEACOCK DAHLIA FARMS.— This 



is the incorporated title of the greatest 

 dahlia enthusiast of the present gen- 

 eration, Lawrence K. Peacock. Al- 

 though located across the river at Wil- 

 liamstown Junction, in New Jersey, the 

 establishment is essentially within the 

 business zone of Philadelphia. Away 

 back in 1884 while yet in his teens L. 

 K. Peacock started in an amateur way 

 with a collection of a dozen varieties 

 such as Arabella, A. D. Livoni, Frank 

 Smith and others of what he now calls 

 "the old guard" but which, notwith- 

 standing all the improvements of the 

 past 25 years, he still considers worthy 

 of a place. To him more than any 

 other man the dahlia in America owes 

 its popularity in this generation. Fifty 

 or sixty years ago it had its day as 

 now; but the revival of the present 

 only began about fifteen years ago — 

 and Peacock was its prophet, priest, 

 and king. The Peacock Dahlia Farms 

 cover about 115 acres — 50 of which are 

 entirely devoted to dahlia culture. For 

 twenty-five years, hardly a flower show 

 has taken place within hundreds of 

 miles during dahlia season but what 

 Mr. Peacock has attended with exhibits 

 of his favorite— showed them lovingly, 

 talked about them to everybody enthu- 

 siastically, lectured about them until 

 the whole world and his wife simply 

 had to sit up and take notice. He has 

 written books about them, compiled 

 catalogues and penned articles in- 

 numerable for magazines, newspapers 

 and trade journals. Today he is still 

 at it as enthusiastic as ever. His two 

 latest sensations: Jack Rose, crimson, 

 and Virginia Maule, light pink, he con- 

 siders the best cut-flower sorts yet in- 

 troduced. 



