January 1, 191 T 



li E T I C U L T U R E 



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To the Florists of America 



A MAI=»F»Y IMENA/ YEAR 



We hope that you will all have a Happy and Prosperous Year all through 



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We shall do our part to make it so. The goods we offer are new, original and profitable for = 



the up-to-date florist. Many of them we handle exclusively ; of the rest we handle more = 



than any other supply house in this country. ^ 



Send for Our SHent Salesman = 



THE FLORISTS' SUPPLY HOUSE OF AMERICA B 



112 9 Arch Street, M 



m H. BAYERSDORFER & CO., PHfLAOELPHiA 



ill 



, PA. g 



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Flower Market Reports 



Boston's Christmas was 

 BOSTON a record breaker in many 

 respects. Everything of 

 acceptable quality that was available 

 was taken with avidity at prices which 

 have seldom been reached. Carnations 

 were far below the requirements, and 

 this not only assured the sale of every 

 decent carnation at top figures, but left 

 the rose men the control of the mar- 

 ket, and they, having a good cut, cer- 

 tainly had a good Christmas. Ameri- 

 can Beauty roses were sold at a lower 

 figure than they might have been had 

 the large operators in this specialty 

 realized the situation. The plant trade 

 was enormous, showing that people 

 were feeling the impulse of rapidly im- 

 proving business conditions, and al- 

 though the local retail trade devoted 

 all their advertising to the interests of 

 the plant department and practically 

 ignored the cut-flower lines in tlieir 

 publicity campaign, yet the cut flower 

 had its innings in the end, as the plant 

 supply gave out and the cut flower end 

 then loomed up big. The result was 

 an empty market for this week and 

 everything that comes in is easily sold 

 at prices not much below those of 

 Christmas. There are Roman hya- 

 sinths and freesias now on sale, as 

 well as yellow jonquils and even tulips. 

 Business from the wholesale stand- 

 point continues excellent, but New 

 Year's is not a great occasion in Bos- 

 ton, and with brighter weather the 

 market value of most things will sure- 

 ly fall to normal. Sweet peas are en- 

 joying an exceptional call. 



The Christmas business 

 BUFFALO by all reports was uni- 

 versally good. The sale 

 of decorative greens and dried mate- 

 rial began earlier than usual and was 

 larger than ever before. The supply 

 of plants was heavy and the sales fell 

 off a trifle. Prices were lower, espe- 

 cially on begonias, which were over- 

 plentiful. The poinsettia was the best 

 seller. Cyclamen of good quality and 

 well bloomed were rather scarce, and 

 ferns, araucarias, etc., had only a light 

 demand compared with previous year. 

 Cut flowers sold about the same as 

 other years. Beauties were of good 

 quality, but even at a 2h% reduction 



the sales were smaller. Scott Key, 

 Richmond. Milady and choice colored 

 Killarney had good sales. The demand 

 was excellent on lily of the valley, 

 violets, mignonette, sweet peas and 

 lilies. The supply of carnations was 

 rather light, especially on red and col- 

 ored; there were enough white. All 

 had good sales. Orchids and corsage 

 roses sold exceptionally w-ell. All in 

 all it was good holiday business and 

 the trade is well satisfied. 



The last week of the 

 CHICAGO year opens with splendid 



opportunities for the 

 grower who has any stock left to cut. 

 Prices are almost as high as during 

 Christmas week. Orders began coming 

 early Monday from out-of-town cus- 

 tomers, showing that their trade had 

 been good, and there was a lively scur- 

 rying around to get the stock for ship- 

 ping. Carnations are still selling at 

 the same price as roses and, even so. 

 stock is scarce. As one dealer put it. 

 anything that looks like a carnation 

 brings five and six cents, and good 

 ones are eight cents. Roses are only a 

 little less than a week ago. Funeral 

 work demands flowers and all kinds 

 are selling well. Lily of the valley 

 sales hold up well and there is no good 

 stock left over. American Beauties left 

 from late shipments designed for 

 Christmas were ready for Monday and 

 sold at once. Lilies, jonquils. Roman 

 hyacinths, paper whites, calendulas, 

 stevia, freesia, marguerites, delphini- 

 ums and sna]Jdragons give a good va- 

 riety. Orchids are not moving so well 

 as could be desired. 



The early Christmas 

 CINCINNATI business was very 



good and exceeded 

 the anticipatiouM of the most optimis- 

 tic. The supply was large and able to 

 take care of most all needs. On the 

 first of the year the new officials at 

 City Hall and in the Municii)al Court 

 take their places and this is resulting 

 in a good demand for the better grades 

 of stock. Roses are in a good sup- 

 ply. Carnations, however, are rather 

 scarce and as a whole are not of a 

 very high quality. Most of the grow- 

 ers supplying this market seem to be 

 off crop comi)letely. Lilies are excel- 

 lent and plentiful. Paper white nar- 



cissus has been cleaning up regularly 

 Poinsettias sell fairly well. The mar- 

 ket for lily of the valley, orchids and 

 violets is not any too good. Callas, 

 magniflcum lilies, stevia and sweet 

 peas may be had. Greens are plenti- 

 ful. 



One wholesale flower 

 NEW YORK dealer in New York 



advises us that we 

 should head this column with "New 

 York Boasts of a Howling Success." 

 Surely if the clean-up of every sale- 

 able plant in the vicinity and the dis- 

 posal of the greater part of the cut 

 flowers sent to the wholesale markets 

 for Christmas constitutes a howling 

 success, then that is what it was. In 

 the plant line the stores were fran- 

 tically telephoning orders to growers 

 who were unable to respond with any- 

 thing whatever. Just why the plant 

 supply ran short is not quite clear. It 

 is said that owing to overstock con- 

 ditions at Christmas a year ago, the 

 output of plants had been materially 

 reduced by many growers. It is prob- 

 able that this was true and that, 

 coupled with a larger demand than 

 heretofore, the result was a bare mar- 

 ket. One direct result was that the 

 retail stores, being completely sold out 

 on plants and unable to get any more 

 were compelled to fall back on cut 

 flowers to supply an almost insatiable 

 demand. -\nd thus it came to pass 

 that the flower men "got by" with 

 their entire stock, with very few ex- 

 ceptions, at the inflated prices put into 

 effect in advance — something that has 

 not happened in many a year. Of gar- 

 denias, at no time were there enough 

 at from ?6.00 to $12.00 a dozen to sat- 

 isfy repeated and persistent calls. 

 American Beauties of faultless form 

 were eagerly grabbed up at $15.00 to 

 $18.00 per dozen — a tremendous busi- 

 ness in these being done and the 

 shorter grades of this rose, as well as 

 the other varieties of bright color 

 brought almost unbelievable prices, 

 special Hadleys, for instance, touching 

 7hc. and $1.00 each. At the close 

 nothing was left in the way of roses 

 at any of the fifty wholesale places 

 catering to the city store trade. 

 Moosier Beauty did not bring as good 



(Continued on pagi'^si) 



