HORTICULTURE 



VoL XXXI 



MARCH 13, 1920 



No. 11 



THE TALK OF THE TRADE 



Some time ago I wrote about the 

 popularity of forced lilacs in Pliila- 

 cielphla. I find that they are also In 

 favor In parts of the west. Possibly 

 they are not quite so common In 

 the stores as In Philadelphia, but 

 florists make generous use of them. 

 Samuel Murray said to me recently: 



"We have grown lilacs tor many 

 years. It is tnie that we do not sell 

 a great many plants, but we use the 

 flowers in corsage bouquets with 

 cattleyas, and in general floral work. 

 We have always been able to work 

 them up to good advantage. Unfor- 

 tunately they have been rather poor 

 this year." 



It 



Mr. Murray is very proud of hi.s 

 splendid group of nectarines. Alto- 

 gether he has eighteen good sized 

 plants in tubs, and they attract much 

 attention, as they are now in full 

 bloom. It is easy to see that Mr. 

 Murray finds great enjoyment in 

 growing these plants. He said with 

 enthusiasm: 



"It does my heart good to look at 

 them, and they are worth all their 

 cost and care." 



Last year the crop of nectarines 

 produced were excellent in flavor, as 

 several of the store's good customers 

 have reason to remember. Mr. Mur- 

 ray is liberal in distributing the fruit, 

 and says that the nectarines prove an 

 excellent advertisement for him. 



Apparently Easter lilies are more 

 abundant in some parts of the West 

 than in many eastern cities. Mr. Mur- 

 ray, in any event, says that while they 

 were very short last year, ho will 

 have plenty of lilies this season, and 

 that they are the best he has grown 

 for years. Altogether Mr. Murray, 

 this veteran florist of Kansas City, de- 

 serves the congratulations of his 

 friends, for he says that he has never 

 been In better health and that busi- 

 ness up to Lent this year was the best 

 In his history. 



An advertisement from the Horti- 

 cultural Advertiser (England) con- 

 tains a possible pointer for growers In 

 this country who have novelties or 

 improved varieties to put on the mar- 

 ket and want to let people know 



about them \vithout much trouble 

 reads: 



"The king of early forcing daffodils 

 is coming to show himself to the 

 British nurserymen and seedsmen." 



It then goes on to say that on cer- 

 tain days a representative of A. Phll- 

 ippo & Sons, of Hillegom. Holland, 

 will be at Covent Garden Market and 

 also in Williamson's Hotel to intro- 

 duce this new flower, which is de- 

 scribed as the best of all good varie- 

 ties. How easy it would be for Ameri- 

 can growers to announce that a sim- 

 ilar exhibit would be given at a state:! 

 time at any wholesale market in Phil- 

 adelphia. Boston. New York, Balti- 

 more, or Washington, or at similar 

 places in other cities. 



Apparently florists are not |)lantinK 

 nearly so many gladiolus bulbs as 



usual for forcing this season. No 

 doubt this is due to the high prices 

 being charged for the bulbs. After 

 all, though, these prices seem higher 

 than they really are because of the 

 sharp contrast to those which pre- 

 vailed while the war was on. It Is 

 only a tew years ago that florists paid 

 fifty cents apiece for bulbs of America, 

 although of course they did not grow 

 them in any extensive way. After 

 awhile America was selling tor fifty 

 cents a dozen, then dropped to thirty 

 cents, and before the end of the war 

 could be bought tor ten to fifteen 

 cents a dozen. There Is every rea- 

 son to believe that the growers will 

 get their money back, for the blos- 

 soms will come at a time when they 

 will be needed. 



It is well that the list of florists' 

 varitties is being somewhat extended. 

 Of course the old time favorites con- 



Madiiin Moiiillere, On** of the Rent Freiit-li H^tlrangeas 



