656 



HOETICULTUEE 



May 19, 1917 



NEWS ITEMS FROM EVERYWHERE 



NEW YORK. 



Philip F. Kessler has been elected a 

 director of the Cut Flower Exchange. 



George W. Strange is just starting 

 out on a trip lor Stunipp & Walter Co. 

 A. M. Henshaw has turned over the 

 management of the Henshaw Floral 

 Company to his employees and "joined 

 the colors." 



Charles Millang has a field of Dar- 

 win tulips, Pride of Harlem, Clara 

 Butt and Gretchen, which give promise 

 of being just right for Memorial Day 

 flower orders. 



Consideraljle excitement was caused 

 in 28th street last Monday morning by 

 the descent of a truck loaded with 

 flowers from a Winfleld florist tor Phil 

 Kessler, into the subway excavation at 

 the corner of Seventh Ave. Luckily 

 the driver escaped unharmed. 



Leonard Barron is justifiably proud 

 of the fact that E. H. Wilson's smooth 

 seeded peach, Jrunus Mira, from China 

 has flowered in his garden for the first 

 time in the United States. The flowers 

 are white, one and one-eighth inches 

 in diameter and with the fragrance of 

 honey. 



There was no evidence on the thor- 

 oughfares or street cars in New York, 

 BroolUyn or nearby New .Jersey places 

 last Sunday that "Mothers' Day" was 

 being outwardly observed. Five gen- 

 tlemen wearing white carnations, one 

 with a pink carnation, one lady v,fith 

 a pink carnation and one wearing scar- 

 let geraniums was the sum total of 

 corsage or lapel adornments observed 

 during the entire day. Some florists 

 said there was considerable demand 

 tor small boxes of cut flowers, while 

 others had noticed no special call 

 whatever. 



Herman Weiss has got nicely settled 

 in his new place at 130 West 28th 

 street. Mr. Weiss was born into the 

 flower business at Mt. Vernon, N. Y., 

 where his father, Charles Weiss, has 

 conducted a prosperous greenhouse es- 

 tablishment for many years and where 

 the young man got his training until 

 he joined the 28th street wholesale 

 community eight years ago. During 

 that time he has been on the progres- 

 sive list and the opening of the spac- 

 ious and up-to-date outfit at 130 is the 

 culmination of a persistent and well- 

 directed industry. The fixtures, ice 

 chest and general furnishings of the 

 new place are strictly "up to the 

 minute." 



PITTSBURGH. 



Frank Steinald has been engaged as 

 accountant tor G. P. Weaklen & Co. 



Miss Sophia Duglass has assumed 

 charge of the bookkeeping department 

 of the Ludwig Floral Co. 



Next Thursday, May 24th, which was 

 appointed as Good Roads Day by Gov- 

 ernor Brumbaugh last February, will 

 instead be celebrated as Farm and 

 Garden Day. 



CHICAGO. 



J. E. Pollworth, of Kennicott Bi-os, 

 Co., is taking another business trip 

 through the South, this time with 

 Houston, Tex., as the objective point, 

 but making stops along the way. 

 When he returns we shall undoubtedly 

 hear more of the peony outlook, 



A. L. Vaughan states that his trade 

 on Mothers' Day was double that of 

 any previous one and that in his opin- 

 ion this day is destined to become one 

 of the big holidays for the florists. He 

 noticed a welcome change in the old 

 custom of placing the exclusive carna- 

 tion order. 



Wm, K. Palmer, a graduate of the 

 horticultural department of the Uni- 

 versity of Illinois, who is well known 

 in Chicago retail circles and who has 

 been for some time with the Fleisch- 

 man Floral Co., has been accepted at 

 the officers' training camp at Fort 

 Sheridan, and is awaiting his call. 



The garden movement has been a 

 boon to the growers of vegetable 

 plants, some of the largest growers 

 being completely sold out of what they 

 had planned for the entire season. A 

 new supply is under way and instead 

 of the usual limited time for doing a 

 season's selling, this year trade prom- 

 ises to occupy two or three times the 

 usual number of weeks. "It's an ill 

 wind that does not blow somebody 

 good," 



It is safe to conclude that a great 

 amount of seed has been wasted by 

 the would-be gardeners, in the vacant 

 lots and back-door yards. For several 

 weeks the campaign of "doing your 

 bit" by planting has been in full 

 swing and the temperature still near 

 the overcoat zone. Forsythias have 

 struggled into bloom along with early 

 tulips and these with the faint show- 

 ing of coming leaves on the trees and 

 the green grass are all the indications, 

 so far, of nature's awakening. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



S. J. Koester, of Lord & Burnham 

 Co., has returned to Pittsburg, Pa, 



F. B, Bohnke reports business last 

 week far ahead of last year, Rochester 

 Floral Co, had a telegraph window, 

 which brought good results, J, B, Keller 

 Sons had an attractive window of 

 orchid blossoms and fancy baskets and 

 boxes of pansies to which trellises were 

 attached. Edwin C. Kaelber, Inc., had 

 the decoration for the opening of the 

 new Dental Dispensary, the building 

 being the gift of Geo. Eastman. 



Kansas City. — Samuel Murray re- 

 ports an increase of over 80 per cent. 

 Mothers' Day business as compared 

 with last year. In this the P. T. D. 

 was a big factor and parcel-post busi- 

 ness also contributed largely. The or- 

 ders individually were small, however, 

 but the volume large. Besides carna- 

 tions there was an extra good demand 

 for other flowers, also for plants such 

 as hydrangeas, gloxinias, caladiums, 

 etc. 



BOSTON. 



Tuesday night. May 15th, was very 

 cold in this section. Two degrees of 

 frost and half an inch of ice on small 

 pools is reported from Lexington with 

 considerable damage to field crops. 



The proceeds on the opening day, 

 .June 1, of the open-air flower show of 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety, on the land opposite the Museum 

 of Fine Arts, will be devoted to the 

 needs of the Boston-Metropolitan 

 Chapter, American Red Cross, whose 

 officials will be in charge of the show 

 on that occasion. To get the greatest 

 possible returns from the generous 

 offer of the managers of the exhibition, 

 the Red Cross officials have placed the 

 price of admission tickets at $5. 



NEWS NOTES. 



Albany, N. Y. — Mothers' Day here 

 was about the same as last year, ex- 

 cept that the call for carnations was 

 better distributed among the colors, 

 and there was a better call for roses, 

 daffodils, tulips and in fact all other 

 flowers instead of carnations. Busi- 

 ness has been good right along, in 

 spite of war exigencies and if every- 

 one will only go on with work as usual 

 and not preach hard times, business 

 will undoubtedly be 0. K. 



Hartford, Conn. — Dr, George C. F. 

 Williams was elected to succeed 

 Charles Welles Gross as president of 

 the board of park commissioners at 

 the annual meeting on Monday, May 7. 

 The appointment is subject to confir- 

 mation by the board of aldermen. Pro- 

 fessor Edwin Knox Mitchell was 

 chosen to succeed himself as a mem- 

 ber of the board for a term of ten 

 years, having acted since May 9. 1914, 

 as a member filling out an unexpired 

 term. 



St. Paul, Minn. — Holm & Olson re- 

 port a 50 per cent, increase in Moth- 

 ers' Day business over that of last 

 year, the business really amounting to 

 a holiday patronage. They had no 

 complaint against the high prices they 

 were forced to charge for carnations. 

 Other flowers sold well but red carna- 

 tions took the lead. Mr, Olson writes 

 as follows: 



I believe th.it Motlier's Pay is now firm- 

 ly estiitilislierl, anrl tli.it ttie demand for 

 flowers Is going to lie mueh greater each 

 year, Bnt we must use earo in exploiting 

 the eommercial side of it so as not to 

 create In the minds of the puhlic the 

 thought that we are appropriating the 

 tieautiful sentiments of Mother's Pay for 

 gain and thereby cnnse them to resent be- 

 ing "held up" for flowers. This I consider 

 of much Importance, and trust that a plan 

 along these lines can be carried out for 

 iM'xt year, with everybody cooperating. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Henry Schmidt, North Bergen, N, J, 

 — Trade price sheet of Primulas, Cal- 

 ceolarias, Cinerarias, etc, 



Alexander McConnell, New York.— 

 List of New Hybrid Tea Roses and 

 miscellaneous collection of pot-grown 

 roses for garden culture. Attractively 

 illustrated. 



