22 



The Florists^ Review 



Adgost 1G, 1917. 



SCRAPS FROM MONTANA. 



Great Falls. 



The Electric City, as Great Palls is 

 generally called in Montana, is well 

 represented in the trade. "While on a 

 visit there a few days ago the writer 

 had the pleasure of visiting a number 

 of hustling workers. M. Kranz, the 

 proprietor of the Montana Floral Ex- 

 change, was my first host, and his store 

 on Third avenue is one of the leaders 

 in the city. This is in charge of W. 

 Hill, a live wire, lately of Seattle, and, 

 like so many of the brethren, an Eng- 

 lishman. A visit to the Kranz green- 

 houses was next in order, where I 

 found Mr. Kranz hard at work in the 

 carnation range. He reports business 

 good for the summer season, his worst 

 difficulty being, as is also the case with 

 the other florists, a shortage of good 

 help. Mr. Kranz has a good promise of 

 fine mums for the fall and winter, 

 though some of them seem late in plant- 

 ing. 



From the Kranz place, under the hos- 

 pitable guidance of Mr. Kranz, and in 

 his "buzz wagon," we motored to the 

 store of John Feiden, on Central ave- 

 nue. From there to the Feiden green- 

 houses, on the west side, where we 

 found Mr. Feiden hard at work prepar- 

 ing his range for the winter business. 

 He is placing a new steam trap in op- 

 eration, just getting it connected. The 

 stock of mums here was in fine condi- 

 tion. 



The writer then was taken on a sight- 

 seeing trip back to the city and through 

 it out on Fifth avenue, to the hand- 

 some store of the Electric City Con- 

 servatory. This store is located in the 

 residence district, and the proprietor 

 reports a sixty per cent increase in the 

 July business over that of July, 1916, de- 

 spite the fact that commencing with the 

 first of that month he has been doing 

 business on a strictly cash basis. This 

 fact should do much to refute the fre- 

 quently repeated statement of many 

 that it is impossible to handle this 

 business without an almost unlimited 

 line of credit, something that has done, 

 and is doing, more harm to the trade in 

 many places than almost any other one 

 thing. 



Taken all in all, the trade in Great 

 Falls is prosperous and has a great fu- 

 ture before it. 



Butte. 



Butte is well supplied with florists, 

 and all report that business is good in 

 the great Copper City. The Butte Floral 

 Co. does a good business in its hand- 

 some store, and is always busy. One of 

 the chief things that attract the atten- 

 tion of a visitor is the generous supply 

 if good stock always on hand in the 

 ,ool rooms. 



Manlove's Flower Store, which, dur- 

 ing the last year, or until July 1, has 

 been under the guidance of J, W. Hol- 

 low, has been taken over by B. T. Man- 

 love again. Both report business good, 

 and under the management of Mr. Hol- 

 low the business has shown a decided 

 increase. 



The Englewood Floral Co. reports a 

 good increase in business. It has some 

 good contracts on hand this season for 

 landscape work out of the city. 



One of the main points of interest to 

 a visitor in Butte is the Columbia Gar- 

 dens. These gardens, almost the only 

 place of recreation in the city, are under 



the capable direction of V. Siegel. The 

 large beds of pansies are perhaps the 

 finest to be seen anywhere and the 

 place is noted for pansies from coast to 

 coast. The greenhouses show some 

 stock, especially in summer carnations 

 and tuberous begonias. 



Billings. 



The Billings Floral Co., L. Poitras, 

 proprietor, reports a good business for 

 a new firm. Unfortunately, at the pres- 

 ent time Mr, Poitras is confined to his 

 home by a serious illness, but Mrs. Poi- 

 tras is ably attending to business in the 

 store on Broadway. 



Helena. 



The capital city of the state has one 

 of the largest ranges to be found in the 

 northwest, that of the State Nursery & 

 Seed Co. A commodious seed store, lo- 

 cated on Fuller avenue, combined with 

 a cut flower store, some 200,000 feet of 

 glass, ample grounds for outdoor nur- 

 sery stock and a large new seed ware- 

 house, place the company in the front 

 rank in this territory. A visit to the 

 range found a large area devoted to 

 roses, mums, poinsettias, hardy peren- 

 nials and other general stock. One 

 range of fourteen houses is devoted to 

 carnations. J. P. Ring, the genial fore- 

 man, informs us that part of the heat 

 for the houses is supplied by means of 

 natural hot water, something that many 

 of our brother florists will envy during 

 the present high prices of coal. J. W. 

 Jackson, who is in charge of the whole- 

 sale department at the range, reports a 

 steady demand for all the cut flowers 

 that the houses can produce. T. E, 

 Mills, the president and general man- 

 ager, has been on the sick list for some 

 months, and is now recuperating on the 

 coast, in Oregon. During his absence 

 his brother, E. W. Mills, of Wenatchee, 

 Wash., is at the nursery. At the store 

 Walter Card reports a good summer 

 trade and a great demand for fall seeds 

 for farm use, winter wheat and rye be- 

 ing especially in demand. 



NASHVILLE, TENN. 



The Market. 



During the last two weeks business 

 has been exceptionally heavy for mid- 

 summer. The dull season began later 

 this year than usual, and probably the 

 fact that there have been several thou- 

 sands of soldiers here a good part of the 

 time has helped much, though soldiers 

 are not as a rule considered large pur- 

 chasers of flowers. 



Until ten days ago we had an abun- 

 dance of rain, and outdoor stock has 

 come on well. There never before has 

 been so wide a range of flowers offered 

 to the summer trade as this season. 

 Annuals and perennials in quantities 

 have come in for a share of the popu- 

 larity, and had it not been for these 

 there would have been a decided short- 

 age of flowers much earlier in the sea- 

 son. At present flowers are decidedly 

 scarce, roses being almost out of the 

 market, and carnations, of course, nil, 

 so the trade has to be content with 

 gladioli, lilies and asters. Fortunately, 

 lilies and gladioli ar^ abundant. 

 Gladiolus Lily Lehman is the best white 

 to date for this climate. It must be 

 picked before it has had time to burn, 

 however. It is predicted that this va- 

 riety will in time largely displace Au- 



gusta, especially as it is earlier inS 

 blooming. I| < <1 



Various Notes. 



The question asked on all sides the 

 other day was. Have you heard any- 

 thing about the bulbs? All the growers 

 are trying to be in a position so that it 

 will be possible to get along without 

 serious handicap should the bulbs not 

 arrive. Valley will be missed most, 

 but, fortunately, there was more valley 

 put in storage by our growers last fall 

 than ever before, and valley will be in 

 evidence for some time, possibly until 

 spring, even though no pips come 

 across the water. There are enough 

 home-grown daffodils to be had here to 

 tide over if none should Come in the 

 fall. Calliopsis and hunnemannia have 

 been tested in a small way, have pro- 

 duced exceedingly well and they have 

 sold on sight. Both are grown from 

 seed in a short time and flower for a 

 long time. 



There is practically no new building 

 in progress here this summer. Much 

 repair work had to be done as a result 

 of the hail some two months or more 

 ago, and a little remodeling is being 

 done, but no one seems to be enlarging 

 his place. 



The Joy Floral Co. now has been 

 operating its store in Chattanooga for 

 more than six weeks and is highly 

 pleased with the success of the venture. 

 It has paid expenses from the first and 

 the trade is on the increase, even during 

 the dull season. The company planted 

 several thousand roses outdoors this 

 spring, in order to increase its summer 

 cut, and has a larger acreage of gladioli 

 than ever before. The company also 

 constructed a large lath house for grow- 

 ing asters. This has proven a success. 



Oscar Geny has had rather a hard 

 time this summer in the matter of 

 health, hardly being able to attend to 

 business. He is improving slowly and 

 goes to the greenhouses every day long 

 enough to be sure that things are going 

 as they should. At the store they are 

 having a good run of business, but they 

 are extremely short on roses. They 

 have built a large cooler that is cooled 

 by their own refrigerating machine, so 

 that they can do most of their own cold- 

 storing. 



Mclntyre Bros, have had plenty of 

 diversion this summer in repairing the 

 damage done by the spring hail 

 Things are in good shape again and the 

 crop is coming on nicely for another 

 year. They have a good cut of gladioli 

 and some excellent roses at present, as 

 well "as the line of general stock. 



Haury & Sons have been doing a 

 steady plant business during the sum- 

 mer and even now are selling pot plants 

 for boxes and bedding at a fair rate. 

 This certainly has been an unusual sea- 

 son. 



J. F. Corbett has a nice lot of roses in 

 the field, and, as usual, they are produc- 

 ing well. He is shipping cut gladioli to 

 St. Louis. F. B. 



Chippewa Falls, Wis. — F. S. Weigand, 

 who recently sold his place at the corner 

 of Bay street and Grand avenue, is 

 tearing down the five greenhouses there. 

 Four will be erected on his farm outside 

 the city limits, and the other will be 

 put up in the rear of his new home on 

 Columbia street, where the family will 

 live and where Mr. Weigand will con- 

 tinue the retail business he established 

 seventeen years ago. 



