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APBIL 8. 1920 



The Rorists^ Review 



19 



The Retail Florist who Handles Nursery Stock Can Afford to Carry Nothing but the Best. 



not in good shape until the middle or 

 end of January. If Dutch bulbs arrive 

 earlier than has been the case the last 

 two or three years, there should be no 

 trouble in getting a fair proportion of 

 these in bloom for the holidays. All 

 hyacinths need a certain time to fill 

 their pots with roots and it is useless to 

 try to force them when they have only a 

 few roots. C. "W. 



NEW YORK. 



The Market. 



The Easter business was heavy and, 

 on the whole, satisfactory to growers 

 both of plants and of flowers for cut- 

 ting. The plantsmen were all practi- 

 cally sold out of flowering plants many 

 days in advance of the holiday and the 

 indications that cut flowers this year 

 would also enjoy a good demand were 

 entirely fulfilled, a general clean-up 

 being experienced; the little surplus 

 covered only the poorest stock, such as 

 usually is moved only with difficulty. 



There was no dearth of lilies and im- 

 mense quantities were handled within 

 a price range of 12 cents to 20 cents per 

 bud and bloom. Pot lilies brought some- 

 tliing more, selected stock bringing as 

 much as 30 cents, or even better, per 

 bloom. Carnations were available in 

 large quantities early Saturday, but 

 moved quickly at $5 and $6 per hun- 

 'Ired, mounting later in the day to $8 

 and $10 per hundred, as they became 

 'scarce. Roses were not so plentiful as 

 "light have been expected, but there 

 ^vere sufficient to go around, and at 

 moderate prices, since spring flowers, 

 ■^uch as tulips and daffodils, of which 

 ^he supply was enormous, were in great- 

 •"st demand; this tended to minimize 

 the demand for more staple flowers. 

 There was a good supply of cattleyas, 

 which included the first of the crop of 

 ^ossiae, the best flowers of which 

 brought $3 each and were moved quick- 

 ly- Gardenias were plentiful, the best 

 stock moving at a top price of $6 per 

 dozen and the remainder dragging some- 

 what at lower figures. Violets were 



quite abundant and the best brought 

 $2 per hundred, with selected stock at 

 $2.50. Large supplies of callas came in, 

 the best moving off at $3 to $6 per 

 dozen. Lily of the valley found good 

 sales at from $4 to $10 per hundred 

 sprays and sweet peas moved freely at 

 $1 to $5 per hundred sprays, some espe- 

 cially long-stemmed and large-flowered 

 stock bringing as much as $8. 



Stormy weather throughout Friday, 

 usually considered the retailers' banner 

 day, curtailed business considerably for 

 that day, but ideal weather Saturday 

 seemed to compensate for the curtail 

 ment and a heavy business resulted 

 All through Saturday night the whole 

 salers were busy with receipts and sales 

 Easter Sunday was dreary, with show 

 ers, so that business was a little quiet, 

 although wholesale stores were open 

 until midday. Little complaint as to 

 prices was heard and there seemed to 

 be nothing to mar the pleasure of a big 

 business, except, perhaps, a shortage of 

 help. 



Now that Easter is past, the market 

 has gone below normal, as might be ex- 

 pected. There is plenty of everything 

 to meet the rather small demand exist- 

 ing. American Beauty roses, in the 

 special grades which brought $1.25 each 

 last week, are scarce, but there is a 

 sufiiciency of hybrid teas, within a price 

 range of $3 to $25 per hundred, accord- 

 ing to variety. Short grades are now 

 in the ascendancy. 



Carnations are not in heavy supply. 

 The price has gone down to from $3 to 

 $5 per hundred. 



The cattleya supply is mainly covered 

 by the left-overs of Saturday, with few 

 first-grade flowers available. Lily of 

 the valley is also on the short side, ex- 

 cept for the lower grades. There are 

 plenty of fresh cut gardenias, but their 

 movement is slow, even at reduced 

 prices. There are few arrivals of sweet 

 peas, since rain and dark weather fol- 

 lowed the big cut of Saturday. Few 

 bulbous flowers also have followed last 

 week 's supply. 



There is an abundance of miscellane- 

 ous flowers, among which the latest to 



appear are Spanish irises, quantities of 

 which may be expected from now on. 



Betail trade is quiet, with the excep- 

 tion of wedding and funeral work, which 

 is quite good. 



Various Notes. 



The Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety is joining with the Horticultural 

 Society of New York and the New York 

 Florists' Club, in a call for a meeting 

 of all interested in a protest against 

 Quarantine No. 37 as now enforced. 

 This meeting will be held, on dates to 

 be announced later, at the American 

 Museum of Natural History, under the 

 direct auspices of the Horticultural 

 Society of New York. 



The sympathy of his many friends in 

 the trade is extended to Benjamin Ham- 

 mond, of Beacon, N. Y., whose wife, 

 Laura Anthony, died at the family 

 home in Beacon, Wednesday, March 31, 

 of pneumonia. Further notice of her 

 death is given in this week's obituary 

 column. 



There was little interest taken by 

 growers in the opening of the flower 

 markets projected by the department 

 of parks, Monday, March 29. Three 

 were present in the early hours at Union 

 Square and one at Columbus Circle 

 stayed throughout the day. The object 

 of the markets — to supply the poor with 

 flowers at reasonable prices — seemed to 

 have gone astray, as most of the cus- 

 tomers were persons in automobiles. 



This week is Fifth avenue week, and 

 floral decorations along the avenue are 

 abundant. The traffic signal towers be- 

 tween Thirty-fourth street and Fifty- 

 ninth street are gaily decorated with 

 wild smilax and other greenery and the 

 store windows have taken on a floral 

 dressing. The arrangements for a pag- 

 eant to be held Tuesday, April 6, in- 

 cluded the presentation of roses to 3,000 

 school children taking part. Charles 

 Thorley is on the committee in charge 

 of the festival. 



A marriage fever is raging in and 

 around New York. No one seems to 

 recollect a time when weddings were so 

 numerous as this moath. All levels of 



