472 



HORTICULTURE 



June 12, 1920 



HORTICULTURE 



li.\ >\ lllliiiil .1. sl.'Uiirt III lUOl 



Vol. XXXI 



June 12, 1920 



No. 24 



1MI5I.IS11KI> WKF.KI.Y IN 



HORTICULTRE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

 78 Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor. 



Trlrpliunr Kurt Hill 3«»4 



ADVEKTlJSINO KATES: 



IVr Inch, 30 Inches to piMfc $I.M 



l>lt4Count on t'onlructw for conHCCutive Innertlons, as foIIowN: 



One month (4 tlmew), 5 per cent.; tliree months (13 tlme»,». io 

 per cent.; six monthH V-6 tinie»), 20 per cent.; one year (53 timet.), 

 30 per cent. 



Pag;e and half page space, not consecutive, rates on application. 



SCBSCRIPTION RATES: 



One Year, in advance, $1.00; To Foreign Countries, »2.U0; To 

 Canada, $1.50. 



Entered as secondelaes matter December S, 1904, at the Post OfBce 

 at Boston, Mass., under the Act of Congress of March 3. lst)7. 



To buy or not to buy? That is tlie question 



The coal which confronts every florist who has to put 



outlook in a stock of coal. Opinions differ widely. 



In some cities the impression seems to pi'e- 



vail that the quicker growers can get in tlieir coal the 



better it will be for them, and that price alone will not be 



the only matter to be considered later, as possibly they will 



not be able to get coal at all. On the other hand, the point 



of view is expressed that conditions will ease up. 



In Boston, a number of coal dealers who have been 

 consulted by florists have advised them to wait until the 

 middle of July, assuring them that the prospects point 

 towards a more plentiful supply and at least no advance 

 in price up to that time. For that reason a number of the 

 larger growers in New England are accepting this advice 

 and acting accordingly. The dealers tell them that with 

 the fires going out in all the big office buildings and apart- 

 ment houses more coal will be released for the trade and 

 that shipping conditions are likely to be more favorable. 

 They claim that in any event nothing will be lost by wait- 

 ing a few weeks longer. 



There Is a certain feeling of doubt, however, regard- 

 ing freight rates. There seems to be a disposition in 

 Washington to grant the demands of the carriers of the 

 railroad companies who say that rates must go up in 

 order to keep the companies solvent. If the increase is 

 given It is inevitable that florists will have to' pay more 

 for all material which goes over the rails. This is in- 

 terpreted in some localities to mean a probable raise of 

 about ono-third in the rate for transporting coal, and with- 

 out much doubt the increase would be passed on to the 

 consumer. As Senator Walsh of Massachusetts pointed 

 out In a recent speech to Congress, a very large amount 

 of coal has been and is being shipped across the water 

 to other countries. If this coal can be kept at home where 

 most of us think it ought to be kept, there would be a 

 very much larger supply for home consumption. Florists 



have a vital interest in this question and any action they 

 can take which will keep American coal for American 

 users will be for the benefit of all concerned. There seems 

 to be a pretty good reason to believe, however, that there 

 will be coal enough to meet the needs of the commercial 

 growers for the winter. 



.'\fter all, it is largely a matter of transportation and 

 that fact is being given very close attention. Probably 

 many of the iirivate greenhouses will be hard hit as there 

 is a tendency all along the line tor owners to figure on 

 closing up their greenhouses in part. This of course is 

 unfortunate, but it seems to be inevitable under present 

 conditions. 



Wherever one goes he finds the spirit of 

 Optimism optimism among the trade. This Is a matter 

 of comment and has been spoken of frequent- 

 ly. In spite of all the hard knocks which they have had 

 the past two or three years, the florists of the country 

 find that tliey are entering upon an era of prosperity and 

 that they have little to fear in the immediate future. To 

 be sure they are embarrassed by diflSculties of many kinds, 

 including those associated with fuel, help and high rents; 

 still there seems to be a growing disposition on the part 

 of the public to consider flowers in the home a necessity, 

 and the whole situation in the florists' trade is far in ad- 

 vance of that which existed before the war. 



With these facts in mind, all florists who are at all 

 progressive and are alert to take advantage of opportuni- 

 ties as they present themselves see a bigger future than 

 was ever dreamed of in the olden days. The help problem, 

 bad as it is, is by no means of a nature to cripple the 

 business. There are plenty of men who can be obtained. 

 To be sure, many of them are not experienced but if the 

 grower is willing to take some of his own time in order to 

 teach these men the business, he can often develop very 

 creditable helpers. Perhaps there never was a time when 

 the employer had to be on the ground so continuously or 

 had to do so much of the work himself, but that is one 

 of the things which has to be reckoned with on such occa- 

 sions. Everything considered, florists throughout the 

 country have reason to feel happy over the outlook. 



Probably there never has been a time when 

 The Arnold so many people have visited the Arnold 

 Arboretum Arboretum in Jamaica Plain as the present 



season. This is encouraging as it shows 

 a greater appreciation of this wonderful institution and a 

 disposition to use it to a greater extent. It is pleasant 

 to fine nurserymen showing special interest In the Arbore- 

 tum because it offers to them remarkable opportunities 

 for increasing their own knowledge of new plants and in- 

 cidentally extending their own business. We find gradu- 

 ally creeping into commerce many of the plants which 

 have been neglected altogether too long. It is to be hoped 

 that there will be a still greater development along this 

 line, for there are unlimited chances for enterprising nurs- 

 erymen to develop new garden subjects which will in the 

 end become of the greatest value for American gardens. 

 The very fact that the public is visiting and using the 

 Arboretum to such an extent is proof in itself that it is 

 feeling an interest in the newer things and will be ready 

 to purchase them when they are offered by the nursery- 

 men. 



