December 29, 1906 



/iORTICULTURE 



727 



VICTORY HAS MADE GOOD 



Place yourorders early for rooted cuttings. Prices $6 per lOO, $50.00 per lOOO. DISCOUNT FOR CASH WITH ORDER 



CUTTMAN & WEBER 



1 he Wlioleaair Floriat Grower 



of New York L.nbfook, 1. 1 , N.« 



43*. 28 St., 



CHRISTMAS MARKET REPORTS 



Boston's ChristmaH trade 

 BOSTON was undoubtedly the 



heaviest on record. It 

 was not so conveniently handled as 

 on some past occasions for the weather 

 all through the preceding week was 

 such that buyers put off ordering until 

 the last, and Monday saw an unpre- 

 cedented crush in the various retail 

 stores. On the other hand the whole- 

 salers found the moderate temperature 

 conducive to simple packing and com- 

 plaints of frozen flowers were rare. 

 The demand for all classes of material, 

 colored flowers particularly, was much 

 greater than that of a vear ago and, 

 as predicted by HORTICULTURE, 

 prices were higher on some things 

 than for many years — so much so that 

 out-nf-town florists could not do much 

 more than get the cost out of flowers 

 purchased on the wholesale markets. 

 Naturally there was more or less pro- 

 test but it availed not. Carnations in 

 colors sold all the way from |4 to $10 

 per 1110 according to quality, while the 

 whites brought from $3 to $0. Ameri- 

 can Beauty roses ranged all the way 

 from $S to $100, and the market was 

 very strong on Brides and Brides- 

 maids which brought from |4 to ?25, 

 and Richmouds which ran from $S to 

 JGO, the latter rivalling American 

 Beauty in size and finish. Violets 

 were strong on Saturday, but on Mon- 

 day experienced a setback. The mar- 

 ket was unexpectedly good on Harrisii 

 lilies and lily of the valley, and very 

 weak on smilax, adiantum, slevla and 

 chrysanthemums. The trade on ever- 

 greens far surpassed that of other 

 years, holly especially finding an enor- 

 mous sale. Plants made a record also. 

 Poinsettias, Lorraine begonias and 

 azaleas were the main stock but there 

 was a fair sprinkling of other things. 

 Very little adornment was attempted, 

 but pot covers and baskets sold well. 

 When the smoke had cleared away It 

 developed that there were many violets 

 left' over in the retailers' hands and 

 white carnations in the wholesalers' 

 stock and that azaleas, in large sizes 

 especially, were still to be found in 

 auantity in most of the stores. 



The market up to to- 

 BUFFALO night (.Monday) is 

 pretty well cleaned up on 

 everything. Flowers of all kinds sold 

 at a rapid rate and good prices pre- 

 vailed all along the line. Holly and 

 all greens sold out clean. Full report 

 next week. 



At this writing it is 

 COLUMBUS only possible to fore- 

 cast the outcome of 

 our Christmas business, but I feel safe 

 to sav, that if the craft here as a 

 whole call it, after Monday's business, 

 an average holiday trade that every- 

 bodv under the combined uni.avorable 

 circumstances will be fairly well sat- 

 isfied. The greatest clog to a large 

 business has been the very high rates 



of ih? growers for evcrvlhiug in ihf 

 line of cut flowers; when the retailer 

 must demand up to $24.00 a dozen for 

 American Beauty roses, $2.00 a dozen 

 lor carnations, and everything else at 

 a proportionate price, the great rank 

 and file buy very sparingly. .Again, 

 the weather the past week has been 

 simply atrocious. And still again, 

 potted plants of all kinds are only fair 

 in quality. I will report fully next 

 week. 



The usual dull 

 INDIANAPOLIS business the week 

 preceding Christ- 

 mas prevailed. A few transient orders 

 constituted about all the business 

 done. All the stores made big prepa- 

 rations for Chiistmas trade. Theri> 

 are certainly two or three times the 

 number of azaleas to be seen and 

 many more poinsettias than in pre- 

 vious years, while all the varieties of 

 ferns and decorative plants are very 

 prominent. So far, trade in Christ- 

 mas greens has been brisk, nothing 

 scarce up to the present time. Holly 

 is especially fine and selling well. 



The volume of Curist- 

 NEW YORK mas cut flower .sales 



at wholesale in this 

 market were very large but it is doubt- 

 ful if the total equalled that of Christ- 

 mas, 1905. As a whole the cut flower 

 business was disappointing to many 

 who looked for a complete sweep, as 

 only a few lines were entirely ex- 

 hausted by the demand. A convincing 

 explanation is not easy to find; the 

 uncomfortable weather may have con- 

 tributed; it may be that the medium- 

 priced buyer, who is really the great 

 consumer, was scared off until too 

 late by the prices quoted by dealers 

 just previous to the holiday: also there 

 is no doubt that the retailer bent his 

 best energies to the disposal of plants, 

 of which all had an enormo\is stock, 

 and look advance orders for cut flow- 

 ers only when such were proffered or 

 when a plant sale could not be manipu- 

 lated as a substitute. The predic- 

 tions made last week that the supply 

 of roses would he light were not veri- 

 fied. It is true that the growers ship- 

 ping American Beauty roses regularly 

 to the New York market were able to 

 supply only a very small cut but the 

 high "local quotations attracted large 

 shipments from Pennsylvania and by 

 Monday it became evident that there 

 would be more than a sufficiency of 

 roses of all kinds and top prices were 

 not maintained in all cases. Brides 

 and Bridesmaids lingered and, finally, 

 as the day wore on concessions from 

 opening prices were freely offered but 

 buyers were wary and a considerable 

 number remained unsold in the hands 

 of the wholesale dealers. Brides, 

 particularly the higher grades, were 

 not in request but this was to have 

 been expected. Killarney was the 

 great leader In the pink rose class 



and good priitw prevailed except on 

 stock where color was lacking. 

 Liberty and Uichmond also enjoyed 

 an excellent call but there were 

 i-nough for all. The cut of tarnations 

 was not exceptionally heavy, but. 

 though the quality was very fine, they 

 did not move readily as a rule. Of 

 course, the bright reds were well 

 cleaned up at top quoted figures but 

 Knchantress did not prove a good 

 seller and many of these were left 

 unsold — in fact, some of almost every 

 variety were represented among the 

 left-overs. Caltleyas and gardenias 

 sold well at good figures. There were 

 few violets on hand at the close of 

 busine.ss, Tuesday and, considering 

 the cold weather, may be said to have 

 done well, owing probably to the 

 moderate selling price, which kept 

 them moving. Poinsettias, hyacinths, 

 narcissi, green stock, stevia, migno- 

 nette, etc., were all too plentiful. 



The plant trade was tremendous, 

 it began in earnest several days 

 ahead of Christmas and never before 

 has the material been of so choice a 

 ( haracter. It may also be said, truth- 

 fully, that never before has it been 

 offered in such artistic and altogether 

 attractive shape. There was a notice- 

 able falling off in the quantity of 

 primulas, cyclamens and other small 

 plant stock and an increase in size 

 and inimber of cattleyas, orange trees, 

 ilrac;rnas and crotons. Many things 

 such as Draca-na Godsefflana, for in- 

 stance, heretofore seldom seen in 

 commercial abundance were used iu 

 the makeup of fancy hampers and 

 jardinieres. F.ricas were magnificent; 

 so were Lorraine begonia.s. Poin- 

 settias from three inches to three feet 

 were everywhere. Azaleas were 

 hardly in the same abundance as last 

 year but, as a rule, they were of UK- 

 irregular branched type, preferable to 

 the "flat-topped style of past seasons 

 and were well-flowered. The most 

 favored receptacles for plant arrange- 

 ments were braid hampers and Vene- 

 tian zinc lined boxes, made of plaster 

 of paris in g<iod imitation of old dis- 

 colored marble. Combinations such 

 as papilio cyclamens and pink Japan 

 lilies, cvpripediums and violets, UH>k.vl 

 beautiful in the.se receptacles, with 

 a sash of ribbon of appropriate color. 

 Practically nothing was sent out with- 

 out more or less ribbon and lace 

 adornment but the artificial decoration 

 was usually done with exquisite tasle 

 and th.- leading stores were thronged 

 with people many of whom were at- 

 tracted simply to admire, by the 

 gorgeous display of trimmed planis 

 which tilled the windows and lowered 

 from Iloor to ceiling on temporary 

 stagings which filled every available 

 foot of space. A good many plants 

 are still in retailers' hands but they 

 are mostly standard stock and do not 

 represent any proportionate loss, 

 (/or olAtr morieli iec fa^e JJJ) 



