518 



HORTICULTUPE 



April 2, 1910 



ORCHID PEAT-Osmunda Fibre 



The best material for Orchid Potting. The grade which we offer 

 is of the best material, well cleaned and sold in chunks or hand 

 picked. Leaf Mold, Rotted Peat and Baled Sphagnum also 

 in stock. 



The C. W. BROWNELL COMPANY 



WALDEN, N. Y. 



CHICAGO NOTES. 

 The Easter Trade. 



Easter in Chicago had its special fea- 

 tures to make it differ from the usual 

 Easter. Lilies, the central figure in 

 the flower world at this time, did not 

 come forth from all sorts of stowaway 

 places in the greenhouses as they so 

 often do, and surprise the dealers tow- 

 ards the end of the week. On the 

 contrary, many were greatly surprised 

 at their scarcity and those who had 

 predicted the usual appearance of 

 plenty of lilies and low prices at the 

 last had to admit their mistake. The 

 large plant growers had been turning 

 away customers for over a week, and 

 the many small growers did not appear 

 this year with the held-back stock 

 that generally depresses the price on 

 lilies at the last. The totals will not 

 foot up so high as anticipated, even 

 with the advance price, for the plants 

 averaged less blooms than usual, many 

 buds having fallen off before they were 

 two inches long, owing to the dark 

 weather earlier in the season. The 

 large retail stores had their stock safe- 

 ly assured long before Easter week, 

 and the one who failed to do this found 

 nothing to console himself with, for 

 there was nothing to sell to the cus- 

 tomer who had set his mind on an 

 Easter lily plant. Prices received by 

 the retailers were high enough to se- 

 cure them a good profit, and the grow- 

 ers have nothing to complain of as 

 they practically fixed the price them- 

 selves. Fifteen cents per bud and 

 bloom was probably the average price 

 for perfect stock. The department 

 stores used thousands of the smaller 

 plants with from one to four lilies, 

 many of them somewhat imperfect, 

 and sold them at 35 cents a plant. 



Not a Beauty from lowest grade to 

 highest was left over, is the statement 

 of the growers of American Beauty 

 roses. Some think the absence of the 

 tall lily plants turned the demand to 

 Beauties, while others think it was 

 simply a case of having just enough. 

 The quality of Beauties in general was 

 first class, the early Easter being fa- 

 vorable rather than otherwise. Other 

 roses were not quite so fortunate. If 

 there was too much of anything at 

 Easter, it was roses. Perhaps it would 

 be more correct to say, too many open 

 and weak-stemmed roses, the result of 



the hot sunshine of the week previous. 

 These roses brought one-half the price 

 of good carnations in some cases. 

 Even good stock was too plentiful. 



Park Notes. 



Active steps have been taken to 

 beautify the schoolhouse grounds of 

 Chicago by Superintendent of Streets 

 Fowler and City Forester Prost. Con- 

 ferences between the Superintendent of 

 Schools Mrs. Young and District Super- 

 intendent Miss English have resulted 

 in getting the work under way. Con- 

 gressmen have been appealed to for 

 flower and vegetable seeds for seven- 

 teen school yards, though it does not 

 seem to the writer that this is the 

 best way to obtain them. Chicago 

 should be able and willing to pay the 

 small sum required for seeds, and give 

 the dealers the little profit there is in 

 handling them. 



The small parks of the city are un- 

 der consideration as the proper home 

 for the "nickel theatre," where it can 

 be properly controlled and made of 

 real educational value to all, and espe- 

 cially to the children. It looks like 

 a good idea. 



The Park Commissioners of Chicago 

 last week declared themselves in favor 

 of further changes in street names 

 on the West Side. This will change 

 all the boulevards to drives, giving an 

 Anglo-Saxon word for the French one, 

 which means bulwark, and is not so 

 fitting as parkway or drive. The re- 

 quest for the change was presented by 

 the Municipal Art League. 



An appeal to the City Council to 

 establisli a municipal greenhouse and 

 nursery on the city's Riverside prop- 

 erty, known as Gage Farm, is made 

 in the Special Park Commission's re- 

 port for 1909. The report, which will 

 be sent to the Council tomorrow, em- 

 phasizes the point that the city is 

 losing money on the operation of Gage 

 Farm and claims that a nursery for 

 street-planting needs would soon pay 

 "handsome returns to the city." 



Considei-able diversity in selling 

 prices existed in various parts of the 

 market owing largely to the quality of 

 stock and the extent of the shipping 

 trade. White carnations reached $5.00 

 or $6.00 and sold out clean on first- 

 class stock, while overheated, weak- 

 stemmed blooms, in pink especially, 

 sold as low as $1.00 per hundred. Sweet 

 peas had a similar experience. There 

 were thousands of short-stemmed ones 



that would move slowly at half price, 

 while the prime stock sold at sight for 

 full figure. Violets are not much of 

 a factor for Easter in Chicago, but the 

 orchid dealers report sales of that 

 flower very satisfactory. 



Losses from Gas. 



Defective gas mains have caused loss- 

 to a number of Chicago growers dur- 

 ing the past four years. The difficulty 

 of carrying on a suit successfully 

 against a large company by a single 

 individual is easily understood, but 

 by forming an alliance in the shape 

 of a law or claim department in con- 

 nection with the Florists' Club, it is 

 believed that much better results would 

 follow. P. M. Broadbeck of Evanston 

 has three times this winter lost every 

 leaf and bud. The gas escapes from 

 the man-holes and when the ground is 

 soft, escapes outside the houses; but 

 when the ground is frozen the gas 

 finds escape in the electric conduits 

 nearby and travels along till it finds 

 the unfrozen ground of the green- 

 houses. During its passage of forty 

 or more feet through the soil it loses 

 its odor and its presence is unknown 

 till results are seen in the plants. Ef- 

 forts are being made for peaceable set- 

 tlement, but so far the Gas Company 

 has ignored his just demands. John 

 Lange of Robey street, four years ago 

 had similar loss of plants and em- 

 ployed a professor from Chicago Uni- 

 versity to assist him in locating the 

 cause, which he attributed to escaping 

 gas. Herman Boski of Bowmanville, 

 has not reached a settlement yet in hia 

 suit against the Gas Company for $5,- 

 000 for loss of plants one year ago and 

 two years ago. Some special insur- 

 ance against gas similar to hail in- 

 surance has also been suggested. 

 There is money enough invested In 

 greenhouses in Chicago and vicinity to 

 make the matter of protection an Im- 

 portant one. 



Personal. 



Mrs. Edwin Kanst has the sympathy 

 of the trade in the loss of her mother, 

 Mrs. Alice Hastings, who died March 

 23rd in Minneapolis, Minn. 



Miss Josepha Then has accepted a 

 position with the Masonic Temple 

 Floral Co. Miss Then has been for 

 several years in charge of her father's 

 stock at the Flower Growers' Market, 

 which was recent'y given up. 



O. P. Bassett took his friends by sur- 

 prise and word comes that he has ven- 

 tured for the third time upon the sea 



