May 15, 1915 



HOETICULTDEE 



665 



Flower Market Reports 



Mothers' Day business 



BOSTON came up to all expecta- 

 tions and all parts of the 

 trade are quite satisfied. Prices be- 

 gan to rise about Wednesday, espec- 

 ially on carnations. Very ordinary 

 stock secured $6.00 per 100, the better 

 quality and specials reaching $8.00 and 

 $9.00. White stock of all flowers was 

 in greatest demand. The efforts of the 

 retailers to induce the public tn buy 

 other flowers besides carnations 

 brought about a noticeable demand for 

 roses, sweet peas, marguerites, pan- 

 sies, etc., as well. Since Sunday busi- 

 ness has fallen off and at the present 

 writing, Thursday, the stalls are over- 

 crowded and goods move but slowly. 

 The only stimulating feature of the 

 week has been a few large decorations 

 secured by prominent retailers. 



The market was brisk 



BUFFALO and the supply good up 

 to Thursday last, with 

 only a slight price advance on any- 

 thing. Mothers' Day was certainly a 

 success here but the price on carna- 

 tions was not notched up as high as 

 in other cities. The $5.00 mark was 

 reached for the best white carnations. 

 Enchantress and other varieties bring- 

 ing $3.00 to "$4.00. The supply was 

 just about enough to go around. Roses 

 had a good demand and cleaned up 

 well. The end of the week saw the 

 best cleanup the market has had in 

 some time. 



Mothers' Day made the 



CHICAGO history of the market 

 during the past week. 

 The supply of stock for that day was 

 the chief thought during the week 

 previous and predictions of a scarcitj' 

 of carnations were fulfilled. The ex- 

 periences of other special days were 

 reversed and instead of selling below 

 quotations, carnations sold at ad- 

 vanced prices and good stock easily 

 brought eight cents. White was tlie 

 first choice usually, but soon it be- 

 came evident that the retailer would 

 be fortunate to secure enough carna- 

 tions of any color for his trade, and 

 then the demand reached to almost 

 any kind of a flower. So completely 

 was the market sold out that growers 

 were urged to bring in everything that 

 could be cut, and carnations half open 

 were sold to anxious customers. Roses 

 were sold out so close that Monday 

 found ice boxes empty and no stock to 

 fill them. Tuesday, there was a return 

 to something more like normal condi- 

 tions, but stock was still very scarce 

 in some lines, and not too plentiful in 

 any. The early peonies are coming 

 from southern Illinois and are fair in 

 quality. Southern gladioli Mrs. Fran- 

 cis King are selling well hero. 



The cut flower mar- 



NEW YORK ket here is very, very 

 far from satisfactory. 

 Neither growers nor wholesale dealers 

 can contemplate the present situation 

 with any feeling of comfort. The 

 product is not finding anything like 

 adequate distribution and anyone with 

 any knowledge of the business must 

 view with alarm the tremendous heavy 

 receipts that come daily to the whole- 

 sale district in quest of a sale. Added 

 to the general lethargy which is no 

 doubt partly due to the abundance of 



PEONIES 



The prospects are we will have a 

 splendid lot of choice Peonies for 

 Memorial Day, local stock, very 

 much superior to cold storage 

 blooms. 



$6.00 to $8.00 per 100. 



A few Novelties at $10.00 



to $12.00 per 100. 



Plenty coming in now, all colors. 

 DAGGER FERNS, new crop, ready 

 May 20th, $2.50 per 1000; 10,000 lots 

 $2.00 per 1000. 



S. S. PENNOCK-MEEHAN CO. 



The WTiolesale Florists of Philadelphia 



PHU-iDELPHI.*, 1608-1620 Ludlow Street 

 XEW YORK, 117 West 38th Street 



B.ALTIMORK, Franklin and St. Paul Sts. 

 WASHINGTON, VUG H St., N. W. 



WHOLESALE FLOWER MARKETS 



TRADE PRICES — Per 100 



TO DEALERS ONLV 



Roses 



Am. Beauty, Special 



*' " Fancy and Extra 



" No. 1 



Killamey, Richmond, Extra 



" *' Ordinary. 



Hillingdon, Ward, Sunburst, Extra. . . . 

 " '* " Ordinary.. 



Maryland, Radiance, Taft, Extra 



" •' *' Ordinary .. . 



Russell, Hadley, Ophelia, Mock 



CarnatioDS, Fancy 



*• Ordinary 



30.00 to 

 6.00 to 



Cattleyas 



Lilies, Longif lorum • 



" Rubrum 



Lily of the Valley 



Daisies 



Stocks 



Snapdragon 



Iris ■ 



Gladioli 



Calendulas 



Sweet Peas 



Com Flower 



Gardeaias 



Adiantum 



Smilax 



Asparagus Plumosus. Strings ( 100) 25.00 



" •' & Spren. (100 Bchs.) I 25.00 



BOSTON 



May 13 



15.00 

 10.00 

 4.00 

 4.00 

 1. 00 

 6.00 

 2.00 

 6.00 

 3.00 

 4.00 

 3.00 

 1.50 



2.50 to 



.50 to 



1. 00 to 



2.00 to 



I. GO to 



2.50 



to 

 .25 to 

 .50 to 



10.00 to 

 .50 to 



10.00 to 



20.00 

 12.00 

 10.00 

 10.00 



3.00 

 12.00 



4.00 

 12.00 



4.00 



I2.00 



4.00 

 2.00 



50.00 

 8.00 

 6.00 

 3.00 



1.50 

 1.50 



4.00 

 2.00 



3.00 



1. 00 

 x.oo 



.75 



15.00 

 1. 00 

 12,00 

 50.00 

 40.00 



ST. LOUIS 



May 10 



PHILA. 



May 10 



20.00 



JO.OO 



5.00 

 4.00 

 1. 00 

 4.00 

 2.00 

 4.00 

 2.00 

 5.00 

 1. 00 

 .50 



to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 



35-00 

 15.00 

 8.00 

 6.00 

 2.00 

 8.00 

 3.00 

 6.00 

 3.00 

 10.00 

 2.00 

 •75 



I.OO 



10.00 



35.00 



15.00 



1.25 



15.00 

 50.00 

 20.00 



15.00 



12.00 

 10.00 

 4.00 

 I.OO 



4.00 

 2.00 

 2.00 



I.OO 



4.00 

 2.00 

 1.00 



40.00 

 5. 00 



2.00 

 •SO 

 T.50 



I.OO 



2.00 

 5.00 



■50 



I.OO 



4.00 



■75 

 15.00 

 50.00 

 25.00 



to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 

 to 



25.00 

 15.00 

 12.00 

 6.00 

 41.00 

 6.00 

 4.00 

 5.00 

 2.00 

 10.00 



3.00 



2.00 



6.00 

 6,00 



I. CO 



1.50 



15.00 



I.OO 



20.00 



75.00 



50.00 



outdoor flowers and the auto facilities 

 for seeing them, is the almost total 

 cessation of the steamer trade which 

 in normal times is quite a factor in 

 the business of tlie high class stores. 

 These stores and those of medium 

 class are doing very little business 

 this month although the wholesale val- 

 ues of flowers are so low that the busi- 

 ness would be extremely profitable if 

 there were any call. The cheaper class- 

 es of retailers are doing all right as 

 they buy for a song and expenses are a 

 small item with them. On Saturday 

 the "Mothers' Day" pressure from out- 

 of-town places was responsible for a 

 large advance in the price of carna- 

 tions also for the appearance of quan- 

 tities of "pickled" blooms, and much 

 subsequent upbraiding and bad feeling. 

 The net effect upon the public and its 

 estimate of the florist business could 

 not be other than bad, and permanent- 

 ly injurious. The recklcsnoss and ut- 

 ter disregard of consequences liy some 

 growers was well exemplified in the re- 

 ceipts from two parties who, together, 

 sent in on Saturday morning 25,000 



carnations which is just about the size 

 of one week's normal cut for these two 

 places. From one-half to two-thirds 

 of this stuff — mostly colored — was un- 

 saleable. No observance of "Mothers' 

 Day" was noticeable in New York, 

 On the streets and cars and among 

 the countless myriads that thronged 

 the accessible points to see the great 

 warship assemblage, scrutiny failed to 

 disclose a single buttonhole carnation 

 white or colored. Lilacs and dogwood 

 flowers are very abundant in the mar- 

 ket and of unusual quality. Orchids 

 are very difficult to dispose of and 

 lily of the valley of best quality goes 

 slowly at the price of culls. Sweet 

 peas are beautiful but difficult to move. 

 Darwin tulips of glorious color and 

 form are seen and the old fashioned 

 varieties are practically outclassed by 

 these splendid flowers. 



Judging from 

 PHILADELPHIA what the commis- 

 sion men say last 

 week was quite an improvement — 



{Cotitinueti on page 6O7) 



