36 



The Florists' Review 



Dbcbiibbb 14, 1816. 



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THE FUEL SITUATION 



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TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE. 



Next Year's Contracts. 



Tlie coal trade considers it highly 

 significant that the Cambria Steel Co. 

 has signed a contract to run one year 

 from January 1, 1917, calling for 30,000 

 tons of coal per month at $li.60 per ton 

 at the mines for mine-run coal. This 

 compares with a price of $1.40 paid by 

 the same concern for a smaller tonnage 

 of the same grade of coal for a year 

 from January 1, 1916. 



Within two weeks, contracts are said 

 to have been signed by users in a va- 

 riety of trades calling for the delivery, 

 during 1917, of more than 2,000,000 tons 

 of coal at a price better than $1 a ton 

 above the contract figure of 1916. 



Today's Market. 



"The situation has not changed," 

 says- the Black Diamond, the coal 

 trade's paper, "but people think it has 

 and prices are a trifle softer." 



The mild weather up to December 9 

 has been a large factor in the feeling 

 of ease in the coal market, as it made 

 the consumption of fuel less than nor- 

 mal for the season, but winter came 

 almost at the same moment as did an- 

 nouncement of embargoes on the prin- 

 cipal railroads east of Chicago, with 

 the result that demands promptly in- 

 creased. The indications lead to the 

 belief that the country is in the midst 

 of the worst car situation it has ever 

 seen. Reports indicate a slight easing 

 of cars in the high volatile district of 

 West Virginia and at the mines of 

 eastern Kentucky. However, the cars 

 in the smokeless district, in the anthra- 

 cite field, in western Pennsylvania, in 

 Ohio, in Indiana and Illinois are shorter 

 than they were two weeks ago, when 

 the market was at the climax of its 

 rise. 



While prices eased off a little last 

 week the coal trade felt that it was 

 only a temporary softening in keeping 

 with the weather and $4 to $4.25 was 

 asked for mine-run smokeless at the 

 mine, which means a price of $6.05 to 

 $6.30 at Chicago. Mine-run of Frank- 

 lin county has been held at $3.25 to 

 $3.50 at the mine, which means $4.30 to 

 $4.55 delivered in the Chicago district. 

 Other Indiana and Illinois bituminous 

 coals are about the same price. 

 Florists' Experiences. 



The mild weather, as long as it lasted, 

 was distinctly in favor of the growers. 

 It reduced their requirements and eased 

 up the demands others made, with the 

 result that deliveries have been a little 

 more in accordance with contracts. 

 Some of the best companies have been 

 delivering on contracts every pound of 

 coal that came out of their mines, re- 

 gardless of the fact that at least twice 

 as much money was to be had by divert- 

 ing a part of it to the open market. 

 Such concerns should have no trouble in 

 getting business in the future. It has 

 been the experience of others, however, 

 that it was possible to get deliveries 

 only by paying a premium of about $1 



per ton above the contract. It seems 

 cars can be had for coal at a price. 



The smaller florists, and the larger 

 ones who did not make contracts last 

 spring, are the ones who are hardest 

 hit, as they not only must worry about 

 a possible inability to secure fuel as 

 fast as needed but must pay the 

 straight market price. There are many 

 who, with the cost of coal at least dou- 

 ble what it was last year, will do a hard 

 season 's work and be lucky to break 

 even. 



The effect of the new demurrage rules 

 is as yet an unknown quantity. Grow- 

 ers have been notified that if they do 

 not unload cars immediately they must 

 pay demurrage up to $5 per day, or 

 about 10 cents per ton. The coal trade 

 asserts it will make it more difficult to 

 get coal on the open market, which per- 

 haps will be a distinct gain for the man 

 who contracts. 



INJT7BI0US MINERAL IN WATER. 



I am compelled to use mineral water 

 for my plants or pipe other water a 

 long distance. Is there anything that I 

 can put in the water to counteract th« 

 effect of the mineral? The water ia 

 extremely hard and seems to injure tke 

 plants, especially the ferns. 



C. E. S.— Wash. 



Without knowing just what minerals are 

 contained in the water, and the amount 

 of each, we are not able to give any 

 definite advice. We would suggest re- 

 ferring the matter to your state experts, 

 in the chemical department of the State 

 Agricultural College, Pullman, Wash. 



While it would not be feasible to pro- 

 cure other water for supplying ^all of 

 the plants in the greenhouses, , it woul4 

 be possible to collect the drip water, if 

 a steam heating system is used, and 

 thus secure enough for watering the 

 ferns and other plants that are particu- 

 larly susceptible to injury. We would 

 suggest that when using the alkali 

 water, the intervals between waterings 

 be made as long as possible without in- 

 jury to the plants, and that about once 

 a month or six weeks the soil be watered 

 liberally, so as to wash out the alkali. 



T. 



SUPPLY DIMINISHING. 



Demand Increasing. 



In common with practically every- 

 thing else the grower uses, fertilizers 

 have advanced in price, but unquestion- 

 ably they are going much higher. 



Cattle manure, formerly the easiest of 

 fertilizers to obtain, and still without an 

 equal for florists' use, long has been be- 

 yond the reach of many growers. Years 

 ago cattle manure was to be had for 

 the asking at any of the large stock- 

 yards of the country. All the florist 

 need do was to indicate his willingness 

 to pay the freight on any number of 

 carloads. Gradually the demand in- 

 creased until it became easily possible 

 to get good prices for the material, and 

 at the same time freights went up to 

 the point where the delivered cost be- 

 came a serious item for the grower. This 

 made the opening for the commercial or 

 processed fertilizers, which now are the 

 chief reliance of thousands of florists. 



In the last few months there has been 

 a steady increase in the prices of all 

 fertilizer ingredients, natural and chem- 

 ical. It is another case of the war — all 

 the ills we are heir to nowadays are laid 

 to Europe's imbroglio. It is the fact, 

 however, that large quantities of Ger- 

 man fertilizers now are cut out of the 

 American market, while freight space 

 from South America, the principal other 

 source of SHpply of nitrates, is hard to 

 get and high in price. The result has 

 been a largely increased demand for the 

 slaughter-house fertilizers originating in 

 this country and for which formerly flo- 

 rists had little competition. 



Manufacturing Costs Rise. 



For instance, raw ground bone now is 

 quoted at New York at from $33 to $38 



per ton. Dried blood is $3.40 in the 

 New York market, but the quotation is 

 nominal, there being no offers. Tank- 

 age at Chicago is $2.65 to $2.85. The 

 stocks on hand have diminished mate- 

 rially of late and higher prices are prac- 

 tically certain. 



Scarcity of raw material is only one 

 of the troubles the fertilizer manufac- 

 turers have encountered in the last few 

 months. One of their principal difficul- 

 ties lies in the increased manufacturing 

 cost; some of them assert it has doubled 

 during 1916. For instance, laborers who 

 were getting $1.75 per day now demand 

 $3 per day and are extremely independ- 

 ent in their attitude. Commercial fer- 

 tilizers nearly all are shipped in bags 

 and this is another of the items that 

 have jumped clear out of sight. 



All these factors combined have re- 

 sulted in a material advance in the cost 

 of fertilizers to florists and it is an item 

 of expense which cannot be eliminated. 

 A plant is like a horse; if "you do not 

 feed it, it will cease to work for you. 



A point to be borne in mind is that 

 wherever possible it will be well to lay 

 in a supply of fertilizers now, before 

 further advances are made. 



La Fayette, Ind. — H. Roth is planning 

 to leave for California immediately 

 after Christmas, with the intention of 

 spending the winter there. 



Leavenworth, Kan. — The opening of 

 the Custom Flower Shop last month, in 

 its new location on South Fifth street, 

 was successfully conducted by Mist 

 Katherine Dicks, the proprietress, who 

 presented to each customer a carnatioB 

 bloom. The larger floor space will per- 

 mit a greater expansion of business, bet- 

 ter handling of orders and the stocking 

 of a larger and more complete line •! 

 baskets and other supplies. 



