HORTICULTURE 



Vol. XXXII 



JULY 31, 1920 



No. 5 



THE TALK OF THE TRADE 



Latest advices from (.'alifoniia re- 

 garding tlie freesia crop bear out in 

 every way my statement of some weeks 

 ago that tliis crop would be short. 

 From what I can understand now. it 

 has turned out to be a smaller crop 

 than was to be expected, predictions ot 

 as short a supply as 40 to 50 per cent. 

 Tliis of course, means a general hold- 

 up for a short time in the taking' of 

 orders at set prices. As It is, advance 

 orders are located and some definite 

 knowledge is obtained as to further 

 supply, new prices to be expected, but 

 everyone is up in the air and orders 

 are taken subject to crop and market 

 price. 



Growers who are preparing for crops 

 of sweet pea blooms the coming sea- 

 son are getting started now, and I find 

 that Quite a number are considering 

 favorably Australian-grown seed. This 

 is said to produce blooms in a shorter 

 space of time, successful growers find- 

 ing it possible to cut in six to eight 

 weeks. It is also said that the Aus- 

 tralian sweet pea crop besides produc- 

 ing earlier blooms has a longer bloom- 

 ing season and stands the hot sun 

 better 



Mr. H. H. Barrows of Whitman, 

 Mass., has his houses well fiUeii with 

 ferns, and I was mighty well pleased 

 In hear his favorable comments on the 

 new fern Macawii. He has a large 

 stock, but is increasing just as fast as 

 he can, and says that it is one of the 

 best ferns that he has ever had any- 

 thing to do with. He has Macawii in 

 all stages, from runners up to six and 

 seven-inch pots, and his houses from 

 one end to the other hold a fine lot of 

 stock, in spite of the handicaps he has 

 gone through in the way of labor. Of 

 course, Mr. Barrows' own fern. Whit- 

 man!, is always a leader with him and 

 deservedly so. Besides these sorts, he 

 goes heavily into Boston and Teddy, 

 Jr. I am not sure, but he has either 

 discarded Scottii or grows very little 

 of it, but he like many other fern 

 growers has come to the conclusion 

 that Macawii is hard to beat, is here to 

 stay, and is bound to be one of our 

 leading sorts. 



The Shoe and Leather Show held at 

 Mechanics Hall, Boston, last week 



would have been a mighty interesting 

 place for any florist to visit. I went 

 without any thought of seeing flowers 

 or decorations of any kind which 

 were natural, but I can tell you that I 

 received a pleasant surprise and I for 

 one feel grateful to Chester I. Camp- 

 bell for the way the decorations were 

 carried out. One stand after another 

 had either flowers or plants displayed, 

 in fact, I don't remember seeing one 

 stand in the whole show that didn't 

 have a palm, hydrangea, fern, vase of 

 j,ladioli, roses or some flower; and the 

 general appearance all through the 

 building was very pleasant indeed. 



Thousands of gladiolus blooms were 

 used, and great quantities of roses and 

 carnations. Christie Miller rose was 

 strongly in evidence on the night I 

 was there, and it showed up very 

 nicely. • At this time of the year, this 

 rose shows up particularly good. At 

 the Style Show, armful after armful of 



carnations were thrown out into the 

 audience. 



Thomas F. Galvin, Jr., had the 

 florist concession at the show and han- 

 dled it in a thorough manner. Thomas 

 F. Galvin, Inc., had about 300 plants 

 and many other decorations, including 

 three electric fountains. 



Indications at present are not very 

 bright for a heavy crop of violets this 

 coming season, and if the grower can't 

 expect any better prices than he got 

 last season then he is entitled to dis- 

 card this crop entirely. It is not for 

 me to say who Is responsible for these 

 low prices or who can make it pos- 

 sible to get better prices, but if the re- 

 tailers expect violets and want them 

 for their trade, they certainly are go- 

 ing to be obliged to stand for a higher 

 market than was gone through last 

 year. 



Very few, excepting those who have 

 had actual experience in bunching, 

 realize what that item alone means. It 

 is not easily done, is necessarily slow 

 and hard on the eyes, and the labor on 

 this crop, so far as picking and bunch- 

 ing goes, is probably higher than most 

 any other crop of cut flowers. With 

 wages where they are now and have 

 been for some time past, that point 

 alone adds materially to the cost of 

 production. 



Rose Frank H. Dunlop is showing up 

 ir, fine shape from early plantings. To 

 say the least, it is a quick grower, and 

 shows a vigor that promises well for 

 this as a paying variety. There was 

 some fear as to its tendency to mil- 

 dew, but this trouble showed up mainly 

 on the young plants in small pots, and 

 from personal observation, as soon as 

 the small pots were benched and grow- 

 ing well, they threw off the mildew and 

 jumped right ahead. Here's hoping 

 that it will turn out as well as indica- 

 tions now point. 



Burp4.4>'H Hybrid (iluilioU 



A visit last week to Halifax Gar- 

 den Company shows this place fast 

 whacking into shape. Mr. Holmes de- 

 serves credit for the good work he has 

 done in the short time that he has 

 been in charge, and it is but a short 

 time now when he will start cutting 

 roses; and the various houses of 

 young stock are in such condition that 

 I believe you will see good crops com- 

 ing from this place. Carnations and 



