August 13, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



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(PHILADELPHIA SECTION) 



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Why You Should Buy in Philadelphia 



SHORT ACCOUNT OF HER PROGRESSIVE FIRMS— ALL STRONG SUPPORTERS OF THE S. A. F. 

 —AND THEIR ENTICING OFFERS OF SEASONABLE AND UP-TO-DATE HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS 



HORTICULTURE was greatly 

 pleased with the cordial way in which 

 the trade in Philadelphia supported 

 the special section for that locality 

 last year, in reading matter and ad- 

 vertising, and therefore feels justified 

 in devoting a liberal part of its pages 

 again this year to that important 

 centre of the horticultural interests of 

 the country. We quote from our last 

 year's introductory as follows: 



"Philadelphia is conspicuous in the 

 florists' trade first in its loyalty to 

 the Society of American Florists, un- 

 swerving from the day of the 

 Society's birth to the present twenty- 

 fifth anniversary. In the second an- 

 nual report of the Society almost one- 

 half of the recorded membership was 

 from Pennsylvania. Second, the many 

 important horticultural firms in that 

 neighborhood who do a continental — 

 many of them a world wide business 

 with the trade — and who have been 

 large factors in the development of the 

 present high standing of our profes- 

 sion as compared w'ith what it was a 

 quarter of a century ago. Third, the 

 extensive offerings these firms present 

 in this is.sue of up-to-date horticultural 

 products which every florist in the 

 country is interested in. It is another 

 demonstration that the Philadelphians 

 are not slow in putting their best foot 

 forward, and they deserve all that is 

 coming to them. We have pleasure in 

 noting herewith some salient features 

 of a few of these concerns a perusal 

 of which will, we believe, speedily 

 emphasize the points referred to." 



JOSEPH HEACOCK CO.— Founded 



in 1875 by Joseph Heacock. the pres- 

 ent head of the corporation. From a 

 small beginning of two 12x80 houses, 

 heated through flues and utilized for 

 the production of bedding plants most- 

 ly, the concern has grown until it now 

 lias 90,000 sq. ft. glass area at Wyn- 

 cote and 33,000 thousand at Edgewood. 

 About ISSO, the bedding plant era was 

 out-grown and carnations were more 

 the feature. This continued to about 

 1SS8, when quite a large addition was 

 made and other crops undertaken. 

 Nearly every year since then, there 

 has been a new house or two going up, 

 or some old ones being modernized. 

 American Beauty roses became a spe- 

 cialty. So did other roses and so did 

 palms. Today the Heacock establish- 

 ment is recognized as one of the lead- 

 ing palm and rose emporiums in the 

 country — the former for plants, the 

 latter for cut. American Beauty rose 

 is not now so strong a feature here 

 as it used to be when the leading 

 prizes of the country were gathered 

 under the Heacock banner. The pro- 



duction of that universal favorite be- 

 came so immense that commercial 

 prudence called for a change and to- 

 day Killarney, My ilaryland and other 

 roses of that type are given more at- 

 tention. Another great specialty here 

 is the orchid. Anywhere from twenty- 

 five to fifty thousand dollars would be 

 a moderate estimate on the amount in- 

 vested in this line. Cattleya Trianae, 

 Mossise, labiata, Gaskelliana, Schroed- 

 erae, Harrisonii and gigas, Oncidlum 

 varicosum and splendens, Dendrobium 



Joseph Heacock 



I'nsiilciit I-"lor:sts' Club of Philaileliihin 



;iinl 11 Celebi'nted Palm aurl Rose 



Grower. 



formosum, and Cypripediums are the 

 most conspicuous items grown. The 

 0|)inion is expressed that the orchid, 

 too, like the American Beauty, is in 

 danger of being overdone and brought 

 by competition down to a point where 

 the price realized will not cover the 

 cost of production. Perhaps this may 

 be a well-founded fear; but it is hoped 

 the demand may be so stimulated that 

 a vastly larger amount can be ab- 

 sorbed by the market than is now 

 thought possible. Such affairs as the 

 recent show in Boston, and other 

 agencies are it seems to us, bound to 

 greatly enlarge the market and we feel 

 that the anxiety of the present com- 

 mercial grower is more pronounced 

 than the sitisation warrants. Of course 

 if eveiybody goes into orchids quicker 



than the public are educated up to 

 absorb them there will be disaster. 

 But if the new movement is widely 

 distributed and not too concentrated 

 in any one market, it would seem that 

 the situation is hopeful rather than 

 the reverse. 



The Heacock plant at Edgewood is 

 on a level (as the old idea of a hill- 

 side slope — as at Wyncote — is now 

 generally discredited) and Is so 

 planned as to be capable of extension 

 — the heating arrangements being on 

 a scale indicating large developments 

 in the near future. White and pink 

 Killarney roses are the principal crops 

 there at present. Robert Jamison is 

 in charge and has had good success 

 so far. 



The palms at Wyncote this year are 

 in grand shape and in all sizes from 

 thumbs to specimens eight feet high. 

 Some palm seeds have been in the 

 seed beds three years and are still 

 sprouting. A lot of 12.5,000 seeds are. 

 on the way from Australia now and 

 are expected to arrive in a week or 

 two. Beds all ready for them, appar- 

 ently. That ever popular fern, Cibo- 

 tiuni Schiedei, finds the demand 

 growing all the time and the great 

 difficulty is to propagate fast enough. 



Dorothy Gordon carnation, originat- 

 ing here, has come to stay. An im- 

 mense space is devoted to it for next 

 season's cut, and at present writing 

 field-grown surplus is almost all 

 booked. There may be some in the 

 hands of the growers, but here the 

 bookings have about reached the 

 limit. 



Mr. Heacock is president of the 

 Florists' Club of Philadelphia this 

 year (the pioneer club of America) 

 and his portrait fittingly adorns the 

 initial page of this Philadelphia sec- 

 tion. 



DUNN, STEER & CO.— (Xee Jno. 

 Dunn, Jr., & Co., mentioned in our 

 last year's convention number). E. B. 

 Morris, Jr., who has been with the 

 firm for the past six years, has been 

 taken into partnership, and the title 

 changed as noted. Mr. Steer had al- 

 ready been a partner for some time. 

 The company has moved from the 

 Bourse to more commodious quarters 

 in the Brown Building, 4th and Chest- 

 nut streets. This is one of the leading 

 firms of customhouse brokers, estab- 

 lished 1902, by John Dunn. They do 

 nearly eighty per cent of the. horticul- 

 tural brokei-age of the port of Phila- 

 delphia — which tells the story better 

 than any words of ours. Mr. Dunn 

 continues the active head of the firm 

 and is to be congratulated on well de- 

 served success. 



