30 



The Florists^ Review 



Mahch 1, 1917. 



Mention The BeTlcw when yon write. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



The Market. 



There are lots of flowers coming into 

 town now — so many that prices have 

 fallen. Everything is plentiful eJccept 

 Beauties and asparagus. Beauties are so 

 scarce that they are hard to secure, 

 while asparagus, though procurable, is 

 quite unequal to filling the wants for it. 

 Opinions differ as to the reason for the 

 complete change in market conditions 

 of a week ago, when flowers were so 

 scarce. Some people say that Lent has 

 come; many more say that flowers are 

 coming in much more freely. Probably 

 both are right. 



The difference between flowers that 

 are grown in great numbers and those 

 of rarer culture is marked. For instance, 

 Killarney and White Killarney, still the 

 leaders in their colors, are so plentiful 

 that the quantity buyers at times can 

 get them at absurd prices, while the re- 

 tail stores pay much lower figures for 

 them than they did a week ago. Such 

 roses as Ophelia, on the other hand, 

 bring nearly, often quite, as much as 

 they did in the pre-Lenten season, be- 

 cause there is a good demand for them 

 and a much smaller supply. 



Carnations have fallen in price; so 

 have sweet peas, and violets even more 

 so. Most of all the bulbous flowers have 

 suffered. Daffodils, tulips, yellow nar- 

 cissi, freesias and Paper Whites can be 

 purchased at extremely low prices where 

 a good many of them are wanted. Taken 

 all in all, the market is no worse than 

 usual during the first week of Lent, 

 •when values are apt to tumble, soon to 

 become stable on a lower level. 



The Plant Growers' Meeting. 



Sixty of the leading plant growers of 

 I lis district met in the Florists' Club's 

 n.om in Horticultural hall Wednesday 

 ovoning, February 21, to discuss the 

 ^ufldtiin of higher prices on plants for 

 faster zn\ in the spring. Fifteen more 



BERGER BROS. 



DAFFODILS 



Extra Good Value Fine Golden Spur 



Sweet Peas Violets Daisies 



These are Spring Specialties 

 We can offer very well grown 



Carnations Lilies Roses 



In fact, everything choice in Cut Flowers at most attractive prices 

 SHIPPING ORDERS FILLED WITH CARE 



1225 RACE ST. PHILADELPHIA 



Mention The Titritw whea yon write. 



growers signified their intention of 

 standing by their associates' action at 

 this meeting. Fred Hahman presided. 

 For three hours the question of whether 

 a higher price could be asked and ob- 

 tained for pot plants was discussed, pro 

 and con. 



While the sentiment of the meeting 

 from the outset appeared to be in favor 

 of a moderate advance in price, there 

 were objections. No one disputed the 

 fact that labor, coal, pots and many other 

 things made the cost of production 

 greater this season than it had ever been, 

 but some doubted — there always will be 

 some who doubt— whether a proportion- 



ate increase in the price of the finished 

 product could be obtained. It is perisha- 

 ble, they urged, and if not sold for what 

 it will bring the stock is lost. It also 

 was urged that it was not possible to 

 compel the growers to stand by the ac- 

 tion of the meeting and ask the price 

 agreed upon. One speaker said that he 

 was not going to allow a table of plants 

 to spoil because the buyers would not 

 pay the price asked. To this Chairman 

 Hahman replied by asking whether the 

 speaker would rather sell 100 geraniums 

 at 7 cents each or 70 geraniums at 10 

 cents each. This argument proved con- 

 clusive to many of those present. No 



