TRADE NOTES FOR PROFESSIONAL FLORISTS 



Tihe past month was a busy one for the pro- 

 fessional florists in Canada's leading cities, as 

 trade was brisk, the demand being steady and 

 the prices realized profitable. N<n\' that The 

 Canadian Florist has given up the ghost The 

 Canadian Horticulturist, being the only paper 

 in Canada through which the professional flor- 

 ists may expect to be able to keep in touch with 

 eacih other, has codlected a few ohatty letters 

 for the trade. 



Montreal Notes 



The bedding trade is practically ended for this 

 season. It has been the best season for some 

 years for quantity sold and prices obtained. 

 Most of the florisits report being cleaned out. 

 Geraniums were the leading plants, especially 

 scarlet, A. Ricard ibeing the favorite. S. A. 

 Nutt was a good second, whilst La Favorite 

 (white), Beautie de Pontevin (salmon) and J. 

 Viaud (pink) all sold. Good plants in four- 

 inch pots brought $1.50 per dozen without even 

 a murmur. Petunias had the next best call, 

 and deservedly so, either for hanging baskets, 

 window boxes, or for bedding. Other staple 

 varieties of bedding plants soid equally well. 

 Although bedding plants are very remunerative 

 we are all glad to see the last of them so as to 

 give us a chance to clean out the houses. We 

 are now busy planting roses, 'mums, etc. 

 Trade has been brisk ilately, weddings and 

 funeral ordei-s taking the lead. Roses and car- 

 naitions are in steady supply, but the hot 

 weather is injuring them slightly. Hardy 

 flowers are coming in in quantity now. Valley 

 is over, but while it lasted there was a great 

 demand for it. Peonies are coming in in great 

 quantities and of extra fine quality and sell on 

 sight. A few of the new Jaipanese varieties 

 exhibited before the Gardeners' and Florists' 

 Club were superb. — (Geo. Robinson. 



A Newsy Letter from London 



The season when store trade is any consider- 

 able feature in the general business is past, 

 wedding and funeral orders being the only ones 

 that are being executed. In the greenhouses 

 we are jusit between two rusihes. The Ibedding 

 plant trade is about finisihed, a few belated 

 window boxes, vases and baskets are all that 

 are called for. The coming rushes are rose and 

 carnation, and chrysianthemum planting and 

 getting general stocks ready for the fall trade. 



The bedding season has been an extra brisk 

 one. and all good plants — especially geraniums — 

 have sold out. There are still quite a few on 

 the market, but these are the second or third 

 rate stock, being brought in by the small grow- 

 er who grows or tries to grow eveiTthing in ex- 

 tremely limited space. 



In London, in geraniums, S. A. Nutt is the 

 reigning favorite, but in Gueiph a local man 

 told me recently that SK:arlets were the only 

 sellers. "We can dispose of quite a few good 

 scarlets here, also a few pink and white, but 90 

 per cent, of the demand is for crimson. Coleus, 

 Verchaffeltii, Golden Redder and Chicago Red- 

 der are all popular. Lots of people want the 



big leaved, coarse growing kinds, but it won't 

 do to encourage this demand, as these varieties 

 seldom or never stand the sun outside. A few 

 cannas, say half a dozen different kinds, a cou- 

 ple of crimsons, a yellow, Madam Crozy, a spot- 

 ted variety, and a good dark foliaged variety, are 

 all the market demand. Caladium Esculentum, 

 in limited quantities for damp situations, a few 

 heliotrope, for lovers of the old fashioned flow- 

 ers, a batch of alternanthera, cordyline and 

 mesembryanthemum for an occasional formal 

 bed, a big lot of vinca variegata for a 

 trailing plant, and piles of the old German ivy 

 for the same purpose will about cover the prin- 

 cipal lines of the bedding trade here. To all 

 this there is but one string, the same that is at- 

 tached to every line in floriculture: the plants 

 must all be of the very best quality. Buj'ers 

 will willing'ly stick any old scrags they may 

 have had in the house all winter into their beds 

 and boxes and enthuse on the beautiful plants, 

 but they invariably fail to become enthusiastic 

 on anything but the very best when they visit a 

 g- eenhoi'se, and if this Ls not present, woman- 

 like, they have 40,000 excuses for not taking 

 what you have got. If you have extra quality 

 stuff they vi!! take it even at double price^. 



Insects and fungous diseases are trou- 

 blesome as ever. An encyclopedia would be 

 necessary to tell all the troubles they develop. 

 Growers are rapidly getting the plants into the 

 benches. The commercial varieties are looking 

 well. The list of those grown for this purpose 

 re?mT to >e smaller than ever, notwithstanding 

 the iTimense number of varieties introduced 

 each year. Gammage & Sons will have eight 

 houses devoted to chrysanthemums this year, 

 seven to commercials and one to exhibition 

 blooms. The big house devoted to the latter 

 is in charge of Roy Winslow, the medalist of 

 the Gueiph Agricultural College, who has got 

 his chemical laboratory in working order and 

 promises us something extra. He certainly 

 has got them moving — 'but more of this later. 



What we want to hear a lot about through 

 The . Canadian Horticulturist is the coming 

 Canadian Horticultural Association convention 

 at Montreal. I hope, Mr. Editor, you will per- 

 suade all your readers possible to take in the 

 old city during the meeting of that body. It is 

 not by any means necessary to be a florist or a 

 gardener to enjoy a couple of days with the 

 craft in old Montreal in August. Any horti- 

 culturist will find there is plenty to interest him 

 in his own line down there and lots to see be- 

 sides Mount Royal. In conclusion I would say 

 that it gives me much pleasure to send these 

 few notes to The Canadian Horticulturist, and 

 sincerely hope it will be successful in its efforts 

 to secure the interest and patronage of the pro- 

 fessional floriculturists of Canada.— (Fred. Ben- 

 nett. 



Toronto Trade Notes 



" Trade has been brisk," reports Mr. H. G. 

 Dillemuth, of J. H. Dunlop's retail establish- 

 ment on King street. "So far it has been bet- 

 ter than last year. American Beauty roses are 

 still of fine quality and almost up to mid-winter 



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