32 



The Florists' Review 



NOVEMBEE 16, 1910. 



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COAL SHORTAGE WILL 

 CLOSE MANY GREENHOUSES 



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TRADE HIT BY FUEL FAMINE. 



Some Smaller Places Closing. 



Already, before severe weather 

 makes the need for fuel great, there 

 are reports that greenhouses are being 

 closed for the winter because of the ex- 

 cessive cost of coal and the great diffi- 

 culty of maintaining a supply. 



Apparently the larger places are safe, 

 at least for the present, as they all 

 take in a considerable quantity of fuel 

 during the summer and are in position 

 to get along for a number of weeks 

 without further "deliveries on their con- 

 tracts. But the big growers are on the 

 anxious seat, the same as the small 

 country florists, the feeling being one 

 of much insecurity. "It does not do 

 a grower much good to have a contract 

 for coal at a fair fixed price unless he 

 can get deliveries," said one man who 

 has 200,000 feet of glass, in discussing 

 the situation. "We have a month's 

 supply of coal in the sheds, but deliv- 

 eries have virtually stopped. The mine 

 representative tells us he could deliver 

 the coal if he could get the cars. In 

 the meantime he has a little free coal of 

 a different character and much inferior 

 quality he can let ns have at a price 

 more than twice that named in our con- 

 tract." To accept such an offer is vir- 

 tually to cancel the contract and the 

 grower is in a quandary. 



Big Users Have Support. 



Serious as is the problem confronting 

 the large growers, they will get along. 

 Their business is so valuable to the peo- 

 ple who furnish their coal that nothi.ig 

 but a complete failure of the supply 

 will stop deliveries; the coal man knows 

 that if he lets his big gn-enhouse cus- 

 tomer freeze up he has lost forever a 

 business worth thousands of dollars a 

 year and he will give the grower the 

 coal in preference to anybody else. 



The small man, liowovor, Avho buys 

 from a local yard, getting wagon de- 

 livery, is in a diffenent position. In the 

 first place he probably has been split- 

 ting up his orders among several deal- 

 ers, so that the business is of no Spe- 

 cial value to anyone and he can com- 

 mand no support on that account. He 

 has no contract and must pay the day's 

 price. Also, he has on the place no re- 

 serve supply and must meet the emer- 

 gency at the moment. With coal more 

 than double what it was a couple of 

 months ago, with the mums nearly all 

 cut, with the place about half empty, 

 the decision of more than one man has 

 been to close up one house, two houses, 

 or the whole place until better times, 

 or until spring. These reports began 

 coming in more than a week ago and 

 seem likely to increase in number as 

 the weather becomes more severe, for 

 there seems no prospect that the fuel 

 famine will be less severe or that prices 

 will decline to any worthwhile extent. 



East Harder Hit than West. 



Not only the reports from florists but 



the statement of facts in the coal trade 

 indicate that the east has been harder 

 hit than the middle west. The in- 

 creased demand for coal has been large- 

 ly in the east and it is there, also, that 

 the freight car situation is most acute. 

 But these things affect the whole coun- 

 try. In the cities of the middle west 

 the West Virginia smokeless coals are 

 largely used by florists and anything 

 which increases the eastern demand and 

 prices or which slows up the car move- 

 ment is felt immediately at Chicago. 

 The coal trade insists the big influence 

 of the week has been the car shortage, 

 but consumers have difficulty in under- 

 standing how a shortage of cars could 

 boost the price of coal at the mine. 



The. Prices of Coal. 



It is reported by growers and in the 

 coal trade that the big producers of 

 smokeless coals have been doing their 

 best to live up to their contracts, but 

 that they have not been able to make 

 deliveries as expected. The big people 

 are said not to be selling coal to 



strangers, but to be delivering their en- 

 tire supply to those who contracted for 

 it. The free coal that is being sold to 

 the highest bidder is said to come from 

 small producers. Most of the growers 

 who contracted for coal in the spring 

 agreed to pay $1.35 per ton at the mines 

 in West Virginia for Pocahontas or New 

 Eiver smokeless. In some cases the 

 price went to $1.50 on deliveries after 

 a certain autumn date, to conform to 

 the general "circular." Last week 

 that same run of mine coal was worth 

 $4 to $4.50 at the mouth of the mine^ 

 or $6.05 to $6.55 at Chicago. Consider- 

 ably higher prices have been reported 

 from the east. 



Growers in the middle west who are 

 located where they do not encounter 

 smoke regulation usually use one of the ' 

 Indiana or Illinois bituminous coals nor- 

 mally selling at the mine for $1.35 to 

 $1.50 on a contract basis. Last week 

 Franklin county mine run was quoted 

 nominally at $3.25 to $3.50 at the mine, 

 or $4.30 to $4.55 at Chicago, but the 

 principal operators are out of the spot 

 market. One man said: "We have a 

 fifty per cent car supply, have sold be- 

 tween sixty-five and seventy-five per 

 cent of our rated capacity on contracts, 

 and hence are from fifteen to twenty- 

 five per cent behind obligations. In 

 addition the demand upon us has grown 

 to 125 per cent of normal if not more." 

 This means that any one who has any ' 

 free coal can about name his own price. 



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SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS 

 FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS 



CARNATIONS IN THE SOUTH. 



Preparation of the field for next 

 spring's planting of carnations should 

 receive due attention at this time. Plow 

 the field deeply and work it as finely 

 as possible with the disk and other har- 

 rows. To improve the fertility of the 

 soil, provide a good cover crop; there is 

 nothing better than crimson clover. 

 When a good stand of this crop is se- 

 cured there is virtually no need for 

 ■more fertilizer in the spring, although a 

 light application of commercial guano 

 will be a benefit. 



It is none too soon to start putting 

 cuttings in the sand now, so that as 

 soon as the holiday rush is over and 

 there is bench room you will have the 

 young carnation plants to fill in. 



Before filling the propagating bench 

 with clean sand, see that the bench has 

 been thoroughly washed and has re- 

 ceived a good coating of hot lime wash. 

 Then spread a layer of coarse ashes on 

 the bottom, two inches thick, for drain- 

 age, and have three to four inches of 

 sand on top, so that when it is properly 

 firmed it will be two to three inches 

 deep. Select the best cuttings from the 

 flowering stems. These will not require 

 to be touched by a knife. In inserting 

 the cuttings in the sand do not try to 

 see how many you can put in a. given 

 space, but give them a little breathing 

 room. Many a promising batch is ruined 

 by overcrowding. 



After a good watering when inserted, 

 it will depend on the texture of the 



sand just how much water will be re- 

 quired. Sand of a coarse texture will 

 require much water, while a fine sand 

 may require only a watering two or 

 three times a week. A light dewing 

 with the hose every bright day will 

 keep the plants in good shape. They 

 also will require a little shade during 

 the bright hours of the day, but do 

 not overdo this. In a night tempera- 

 ture of 50 to 52 degrees the cuttings 

 should be rooted sufficiently in four or 

 five weeks to be potted off. Bottom 

 heat is not essential to secure a good 

 strike. L. 



AZALEAS IN TilE SOUTH. 



Azaleas wanted in bloom for Christ- 

 mas in the south require at least six 

 weeks in a night temperature of 60 

 to 65 degrees, with the possible excep- 

 tion of Mme. Petrick, which often will 

 come into bloom one to two weeks 

 earlier. It is always well to have aza- 

 leas in flower before the holidays, as 

 they are easily held in a cool house at 

 that season of the year. Azaleas seem 

 to find more favor at Christmas than 

 at Easter, and it will pay to bear this 

 fact in mind when bringing them into 

 bloom for these two occasions. The 

 varieties suitable for Christmas forcing 

 are Mme. Petrick, Simon Mardner, 

 Deutsche Perle, Vervasneana and Ver- 

 vajneana alba. 



Left-over plants can be carried 

 througli the summer by plunging them 

 in a frame in a lath house, or by plac- 



