28 



The Florists^ Review 



Fbbbuabt e, 1919. 



Regiment Engineers. Home again, Mr. 

 Langhaus is delighted with Uncle Sam 's 

 treatment of the boys in khaki. He 

 also says he cannot give enough praise 

 to that wonderful institution, the Y. M. 

 C. A., as a military cooperative. He is 

 junior member of the firm of McGrath 

 & Langhans and is a cousin of Secretary 

 Theodore P. Langhans, of the Pitts- 

 burgh Cut Flower Co. E. E. S. 



BOSTON. 



The Market. 



With the exception of roses there is a 

 better supply of flowers available now. 

 Roses remain in short supply, but a few 

 days will see larger arrivals. Prices 

 hold well up compared with recent 

 quotations. Carnations have averaged 

 $6 per hundred for a week past, but 

 now show signs of weakening, with 

 heavier arrivals. The quality is supe- 

 rior. Violets remain scarce. Pansies 

 are coming in more abundantly. Sweet 

 peas are in heavier supply and prices 

 have declined. There is a good supply 

 of lilies and they are cheaper; the same 

 is true of callas. 



Freesia is in good supply and of ex- 

 ceptional quality. Guernsey Golden 

 Spurs, Paper Whites and Iris tingitana 

 complete the bulbous offerings. Iris has 

 sold at $6 to $8 per dozen. Calendulas 

 are more abundant and nice snapdrag- 

 ons are arriving. There is a good sup- 

 ply of Cattleya Trianae and Oncidium 

 splendidum. Some nice gardenias are 

 seen. Asparagus is in only moderate de- 

 mand. Flowering plants continue in 

 short supply. 



Various Notes. 



Leonard Barron, of Garden City, 

 N. Y., was the lecturer at Horticultural 

 hall February 1. His subject was ' ' Gar- 

 dening Conditions After the War. ' ' He 

 spoke thoughtfully and with a spirit of 

 optimism. He made reference to the 

 quarantine on plants from abroad and 

 this brought out considerable discussion, 

 all the speakers being antagonistic to 

 the action of the Federal Horticultural 

 P>oard. Among those taking part in the 

 discussion were J. K. M. L. Farquhar, 

 W. H. Elliott, C. Van der Voet, Robert 

 (.'ameron, George N. Smith, W. N. Craig 

 and Arthur E. Horton. February 8 

 Mr. Horton will lecture on "Land 

 Drainage, Its History, Problems and 

 Possibilities. ' ' 



Every gardener and commercial grow- 

 er should plan to attend the lecture at 

 Horticultural hall February 15 by Dr. 

 B. T. Galloway, of Washington, on 

 "Protecting American Crop Plants 

 Against Alien Enemies." The lecturer 

 stands close to the Federal Horticultural 

 Board and will unquestionably receive 

 a warm welcome. 



The flower show to be given under the 

 auspices of the Gardeners' and Florists' 

 Club in Horticultural hall February 18, 

 the only exhibition of its kind scheduled 

 for Boston this season, promises to be a 

 fine one. Carnations will be a promi- 

 nent feature, but there will be groups 

 of choice orchids and other attractive 

 exhibits. The judges will be William 

 Anderson, W. H. Judd and Henry Penn. 



Peter Anderson, one of James Wheel- 

 er's employees, was awarded the first 

 prize of $25 in the Boston American 

 competition for war garden reports. 



Iris tingitana from Frank P. Putnam, 

 of Tewksbury, and J. K. Chandler & Son 



has been in the local market since Jan- 

 uary 15. The latter firm also has ex- 

 cellent sweet peas and freesias. 



L. J. Renter, late of Westerly, R. I.; 

 and now of Waltham, Mass., is doing 

 an excellent business as a plant broker 

 and is much gratified at the success of 

 his venture. 



January proved to be an abnormally 

 warm month here. There was an excess 

 of 363 degrees in temperature over the 

 same month in 1918. The lowest tem- 

 perature was 2 degrees above zero. Rain- 

 fall amounted to 3.66 inches, which is 

 below normal. Ground hog day, Feb- 

 ruary 2, was clear and brilliant and, if 

 this adage holds good, there shpuld still 

 be winter weather ahead. 



B. A. Snyder & Co. report increased 

 business since moving to their present 

 commodious quarters. They will make 

 the manufacturing of wire frames a 

 special feature. 



Peirce Bros., of Waltham, are having 

 excellent success with the Columbia rose. 



The death of Mrs. E. M. Gill removes 

 a faimiliar figure from local horticul- 

 tural circles. The writer remembers 

 Mrs. Gill as an exhibitor for some 

 twenty-five years. She was undoubtedly 

 one of the most active and intelligent 

 lady florists in the United States and 

 until the last two or three years visited 

 all of our local exhibitions. 



Duncan Finlayson showed a finely 



flowered plant of cymbidium, a cross of 

 Queen Alexandra, at Horticultural ball 

 January 25, which received a silver 

 medal. 



Prof. A. G. Heeht, of Amherst, haf- 

 been discharged from the service and 

 is busily engaged in his floricultural 

 duties. He is now arranging the horti- 

 cultural program for Farmers * week, 

 commencing March 17. 



As illustrating the open nature of the 

 winter here, snowdrops are blooming 

 in warm localities and other spring 

 bulbs are well advanced. W. N. C. 



Herbert Sloane, who is widely known 

 in the east as a salesman for florists' 

 supplies, has joined the Boston Florists' 

 Supply Co., permanently, he says. 



Thomas Galvin has spent thirty-three 

 consecutive summers at Nantucket. He 

 says there has never been a day when 

 he was there that he has missed going 

 into the water for his daily swim. He 

 has had some exciting experiences, also. 

 During the big storm of 1898, when a 

 heavy sea was running, he caught sight 

 of a man in the water, a long distance 

 from the shore, in distress. Mr. Galvin 

 rescued the distressed swimmer in this 

 instance, and in other cases he has saved 

 the lives of bathers who were in danger. 

 Sconset, the part of the coast where 

 Mr. Galvin 's cottage is located, has one 

 of the roughest beaches on the New 

 England coast, moreover. 



MOTT-LY MUSINGS 



^f^8vir^r7iiivit^t^ty8?i!^rirsvifi^rys<ir)^ri^h^ry^ 



**The problem of the future for the 

 grower," observed John Bertermann, 

 of Bertermann Bros. Co., Indianapolis, 

 ' ' will be the most complex in our whole 

 experience. Fortunately, the popularity 

 of the basket in funeral work provides 

 opportunity to grow a larger assort- 

 ment of stock than otherwise would be 

 expedient." Our veteran confrere was 

 hurrying out to keep an appointment 

 and was caught on the wing, so to speak. 

 He springs a surprise on the boys when 

 he drops in at the store now and then. 

 A stranger would not recognize him as 

 the head, in view of his youthful ap- 

 pearance. 



• • » • 



John V. Laver, of Erie, Pa., deplores 

 the shortage in roses and is undecided as 

 to adding a couple of houses, each to be 

 235 feet long, for their culture. Wflbn 

 he reads the following we feel positive 

 he will decide to go ahead and build. 

 The story is told of a soldier, home from 

 France, having faced German bullets 

 and gas unflinchingly. On his way over 

 he decided he would propose to the girl 

 of his choice as soon as he was dis- 

 charged. But when he arrived at the 

 home of his charmer, with a box of 

 candy under his arm and a rose in his 

 buttonhole, he almost repented of his 

 resolve. The young woman, noting his 

 embarrassment, divined the cause and 

 decided to help him out. "I'll give you 

 a kiss for that rose," said she softly. 

 The exchange was quickly made. Then 

 the returned soldier dashed for the door. 

 The girl reached him as he opened it 

 and tearfully inquired the cause of his 

 haste. "I am going for more roses," 

 he answered firmly. 



Anthony Wiegand's Sons Co., of In- 

 dianapolis, conceived the idea of forming 

 a subtropical scene in part of the show 

 house. George Wiegand had a number 

 of alligators sent up from his home in 

 the Everglades, and undoubtedly the 

 collection is the finest of its kind ever 

 shown under similar conditions. All 

 have names, from Big Anthony, a hoary 

 old saurian of uncertain age, to Tiny 

 Tim, the pet of the crowds of young- 

 sters who spend hours watching their 

 antics. As Homer Wiegand observed, 

 "while the names of some of them are 

 as Greek to the uninitiated, it is the 

 effect that is sought, and that is ac- 

 complished. ' ' This season, owing to the 

 phenomenal rush of business, all hands 

 will keep closely at work and not allow 

 time, even, to be slack — a firm resolu- 

 tion. 



• • • • 



W. W. Horlacher, Dayton, O., has a 

 bed 3x54 feet of Eucharis amazonica, 

 which is believed to be the largest size 

 known commercially on this continent. 

 Three crops of the waxy, ivory-white 

 blooms are cut in the year, the crop at 

 Christmas being the heaviest. The 

 plants have not been disturbed for sev- 

 eral years; just dried off and mulched 

 after starting up, following a short 

 period of rest. Mealy bug is their only 

 enemy, and it is kept down easily. 

 Stephanotis floribunda growing in the 

 same house recalls the time when this 

 plant was seen in every conservatory. 

 With other revivals, it will again be 

 popular in these days when the public 

 taste is tending toward the choicer 

 flowers. W. M. 



