isr, 



HORTICULTURE 



March 6. 1920 



variety to grow, Wells' Late Pink is 

 very desirable. This tomes in some 

 seasons iu good shape for Thanksgiv- 

 ing, but it can be had later. Ham- 

 burgh Late Pink is being introduced 

 this year and gives promise ot being 

 a good commercial sort. It is a sport 

 of Hamburgh Late White, which means 

 the same blood as Maud Dean, but the 

 ori.a;inators claim that Hamburgh Late 

 Pink does not show the center If taken 

 from very late buds. We think about 

 Oct. 1st is what they recommend. 



Of course there are any number of 

 other varieties that can be mentioned, 

 some of which will do better than these 

 with some growers, but generally 

 speaking I believe those I have men- 

 tioned are the ones which are grown 

 heavily and with the most satisfaction 

 to all. I will take up the pompon.s 

 next week. 



St. Patrick's Day is almost here, 

 and apparently there is going to be a 

 widespread call for shamrocks. For 

 many years John F. Rupp at Shire- 

 manstown. Pa., has been a very exten- 

 sive grower. A few years ago he was 

 considered the second largest grower 

 of shamrocks in the country, William 

 K. Harris, of Philadelphia, being the 

 largest. Whether this is the fact now 

 or not I am not sure, but Mr. Rupp 

 tells me that he now has about 150,000 

 plants on his benches. He also tells 

 me that the seeds are imported every 

 year from Cork, Ireland, and planted 

 out of doors in cold frames, where 

 they are left until in November, when 

 the plants are potted up into 2% and 3- 

 inch pots. He believes that plants 

 grown indoors all the time, that is, the 

 seeds sown in a greenhouse, do not 

 give as good results. Mr. Rupp ships 

 his plants all over United States and 

 into Canada. Even Southern florists 

 take a considerable number. 



The plant which is grown for sham- 

 rock is Trifolium minis; at least that 

 is what the florists call it, and it is 

 under that name that A. Blanc, of 

 Philadelphia, introduces the "only 

 genuine shamrock." It is really a 

 variety of our common white clover, 

 Trifolium repens. WTiether this is the 

 true shamrock of not. nobody really 

 knows, and nobody probably ever will 

 know. It is simply a matter of differ- 

 ence of opinion at the present time, 

 for a great many people claim that the 

 wood-sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella) is the 

 real shamrock. W. M. in the Cyclo- 

 pedia of Horticulture has this to say 

 about it: "Moreover, according to 

 Sowerby the wood-sorrel is in perfec- 

 tion on St. Patrick's Day. while white 

 clover is not. The wood-sorrel is sent 

 in great quantities from Ireland to 



Ivondon for St. Patrick's Day. On the 

 other hand, it is said thai clover is the 

 plant most commonly used in Ireland. 

 Half a dozen other plants have their 

 followers, and these are all plants 

 with three leaflets. Nevertheless, 

 there are those who deny that St. 

 Patrick used the shamrock as a sym- 

 bol of the Trinity. These declare that 

 the water cress is the true shamrock. 

 The question will always remain an 

 open one." 



WHOLESALERS' NIGHT 



Important Meeting of the Boston 

 Florists' Association. 



Tuesday night's meeting of the Bos- 

 ton Florists' Association wao very 

 largely attended, and the discussion 

 which was carried on largely by the 

 wholesalers aroused much interest. 



Mr. Charles Robinson, chairman of 

 the wholesalers, led the discussion. 

 Mr. Robinson laid the falling ofl; in the 

 demand for flowers to high prices. He 

 said that the florists in the smaller 

 |)laces outside of the city limits felt 

 that the high prices must drop because 

 they cannot continue to do business 

 unless they do. Mr. Robinson said 

 that the wholesalers were trying the 

 hardest of anybody in the trade to 

 move flowers, and were paying higher 

 prices in proportion than any other 

 line. He also said that he believed 

 that when out of town florists tele- 

 phoned in for goods, their orders 

 should be given to the wholesalers 

 alone. 



Mr. William Thurston, manager of 

 the Cooperative Market, made a reply 

 to some of the charges made at the 

 last meeting. He spoke in par' as fol- 

 lows: 



I have been invited to attend this 

 meeting and was informed that I 

 should have an opportunity to make 

 a few remarks in reply to the state- 

 ments made about myself and the 

 Boston Flower Exchange at your last 

 gathering. 



At the last National Florists' Con- 

 vention in Boston, there were dele- 

 gates from our largest American cities 

 who were instructed to study the sys- 

 tem and methods of the Boston Florist 

 Exchange, to see if our practical ways 

 could be successfully copied in their 

 native cities. 



We have the reputation of having 

 the largest and the best market for 

 the growers benefit in America, and to 

 publicly publish a series of false, dis- 

 crediting and untruthful statements 

 about an institution which is so ad- 

 mired by other cities, is little short of 

 a crime. 



Now to get down to details, I want 



to answer the charge of retail selling 

 in the marliet. This is one thing I 

 have always opposed and fought un- 

 successfully. We have had r\iles 

 against it and at different times I have 

 started out on campaigns to stop it, 

 but the trouble is that no rules yet 

 made had the necessary teeth in them, 

 or in other words there has not yet 

 been devised a way to inflict a penalty 

 on the offender that would positively 

 and effectively stop this practice. My 

 efforts, whether persuasive or threaten- 

 ing, have been ignored and on occa- 

 sions where the offenders have been 

 given attention by the Board of Direc- 

 tors, they have e.vplained that the buy- 

 er was a relative, wife, sister, or 

 uncle's wife or sister's chum, or that 

 the buyer was a wholesale cigar or 

 clothing dealer who had sold them 

 goods and had been invited to drop in 

 so they could return the favor. 



What can be said in cases like that? 

 How can a legitimate case be made 

 out against an offender and how can a 

 penalty be inflicted? The Board ot Di- 

 rectors have not discovered a remedy 

 so why not have those retailers who 

 complain make suggestive corrective 

 criticism and give us some intelli- 

 gent and effective plan to produce the 

 desired results. But let us take a 

 broad view of this subject and stop 

 and consider that everyone of us, soon- 

 er or latter, will have things happen 

 that will put us under obligations and 

 favors to our neighbor and fellow-man. 



Now a florist is particularly fortu- 

 nate in being in a line of business 

 where he can nicely return these said 

 favors and obligations by gifts of 

 flowers or selling at wholesale prices. 



But you may say that the party you 

 saw in the market was your customer. 

 Of course it was your customer — but 

 because he or she does favor you with 

 their trade, do you think you exercise 

 a control over their acts or the acts 

 of their friends who may happen to be 

 some salesman or grower or myself, 

 one who may be indebted to your cus- 

 tomer and who is repaying that men- 

 tioned indebtedness in our own private 

 way. 



Then again some of our growers get 

 an order to be delivered in Boston or 

 the suburbs. His greenhouses may be 

 25 miles away and owing to lack of 

 material, uncertainty of express de- 

 livery and handling, he simply tele- 

 phones to me for assistance and I 

 have the piece made up for him and 

 delivered as he instructs. Also flowers 

 for hospitals the same way. 



Being a stall holder and paying rent 

 for his otC'ii place of business in our 

 market, it does seem he has the right 

 and privilege to attend to this part of 

 his business without interference from 



