APRIL 24, 1919. 



The Florists^ Review 



23 



W. T. League. 



A prominent citizen of Hannibal, Mo., 

 d'ed April 6 in the person of W. T. 

 League, a member of the florists' trade 

 all of his life. The end came suddenly, 

 while Mr. League was working in the 

 office of his establishment on a design 

 f )r a funeral. 



Mr. League was 61 years old, having 

 been born in Hannibal, October 20, 1857. 

 He spent his entire life in the city of 

 lis birth and begun his career as a flo- 

 rist when only a boy, by growing flowers 

 jn a small greenhouse in the rear of his 

 liarents' home. 



The deceased's first business venture 

 vas made in 1872, when he opened a 

 ilower store. In 1885 or 1886 he en- 

 larged this business and at the time of 

 his death was one of the best known 

 tlorists in northeastern Missouri. 



Great interest was taken by Mr. 

 League in church work. He was a mem- 

 ber of the Park Methodist Episcopal 

 church, of Hannibal, and for more than 

 twenty-two years was superintendent of 

 the Sunday school of that church. He 

 served on the board of directors of the 

 Hannibal Y. M. C. A.; on the board 

 of directors of the Hannibal Chamber of 

 Commerce from 1911 to 1913, and was 

 on the civic improvement committee. He 

 took an active part in chautauquas 

 which were held at Hannibal and it was 

 he who designed the street illuminations 

 for various outdoor festivals. 



Surviving Mr. League are the fol- 

 lowing: His mother, Mrs. J. H. League; 

 two sisters, Mrs. James E. King and 

 Miss Nettie League; two nieces, Mrs. 

 W. J. Hilland, Miss Virginia Hixson, the 

 latter of Chicago, and a nephew, Ken- 

 neth L. King, now in the American army 

 of occupation in Germany. All the rela- 

 tives reside in Hannibal, with the ex- 

 ception of Miss Hixson. 



The funeral was held at the Park 

 Methodist Episcopal church, Hannibal, 

 April 8, and burial was made in Mount 

 Olivet cemetery. A memorial service 

 was held at the Park Methodist church 

 April 13, at which many glowing trib- 

 utes were paid to the dead florist. 



Harlow N. Higlnbotham. 



It was Harlow N. Higinbotham who 

 financed the Chicago Carnation Co., at 

 Joliet, 111., and, although the manage- 

 ment now is in other hands, the estab- 

 lishment stands on land once part of the 

 Higinbotham country place, still the 

 property of Mr. Higinbotham 's children. 



In the days when the Higinbotham 

 place was one of the famous ones of the 

 Chicago region, J. D. Thompson was the 

 farm superintendent. It was perhaps 

 twenty years ago that Mr. Thompson in- 

 duced his employer to build a large, mod- 

 ern range of greenhouses for the grow- 

 ing of carnations under the practical 

 charge of the late James Hartshorne. 

 In the course of time the parties agreed 

 to disagree and Mr. Thompson with- 

 drew and started a carnation growing 

 business under his own name, but which 

 later passed out of his hands and now is 

 being wound up by the bankruptcy 

 court. 



With advancing years, Mr. Higin- 

 botham turned the Chicago Carnation 



Co., including the Chicago wholesale 

 store which had been established under 

 the management of Aaron T. Pyf er, over 

 to his children, of whom there were 

 four. When the greenhouses reached a 

 stage calling for considerable repair, the 

 Higinbotham family, rather than make 

 a necessary additional investment, 

 rented the place to Peterson and asso- 

 ciates, who are conducting it under the 

 name of the Chicago Carnation Co. The 

 Chicago store was turned over to A. T. 

 Pyf er & Co., a corporation in which Mr. 

 Pyfer and Miss Nettie Parker, both 

 former Higinbotham employees, hold the 

 chief interests. 



For many years Mr. Higinbotham was 

 in close touch with trade affairs, not 

 only in Chicago but through the carna- 

 tion world. He was a liberal supporter 

 of flower shows during the days when he 

 was active in all the larger affairs of 

 Chicago, where he was at . one time 

 counted among the wealthiest citizens. 



Mr. Higinbotham was struck by an 

 army automobile on the streets of New 

 York April 18, and died in the United 

 States hospital, which now occupies the 

 Grand Central Palace. He was 81 years 

 of age, born October 10, 1838, on the 

 farm on which the greenhouses stand 

 near Joliet. 



Joseph C. Craig. 



Joseph C. Craig, a native Chicagoan 

 and engaged in the retail florists' busi- 

 ness there since 1874, died April 17, at 

 his home at 738 South Oakley boulevard. 



Mr. Craig was 62 years* of age. He 

 was only a boy when he began selling 

 flowers in downtown Chicago, having 

 been engaged in that business longer 

 than anyone else now identified with it. 

 He was a member of the Chicago Flo- 

 rists' Club and the Chicago Betail Flo- 

 rists' Association. 



Mr. Craig leaves three sons, Joseph A. 

 and Arthur A., who have been associ- 

 ated with their father in the business 

 since boyhood, and Kaymond G., who is 

 in France with our army. A daughter, 

 Irene, also survives. Mrs. Craig pre- 

 deceased him by some years. 



The funeral was held April 19, from 

 the residence to the Church of Precious 

 Blood, thence to Mount Carmel ceme- 

 tery. 



The sons will continue the business, 

 now and for some years located at 120 

 South Wabash avenue. 



James M. Buist. 



James M. Buist, for nearly forty years 

 a florist in New York, died April 18 at 

 Milford, Pa., in his ninety-fifth year. 

 Mr. Buist was born in Scotland, where 

 he studied for the ministry. He married 

 Miss Euphemia Paterson and, when 25 

 years old, came to America with his 

 wife. His first and only employment 

 was with Andrew Beid, a florist, who had 

 a shop on Fourteenth street. Upon Mr. 

 Reid's death Mr. Buist bought the busi- 

 ness. Successively he owned flower 

 stores at 807 Broadway, 429 Broadway, 

 691 Broadway and at Broadway and 

 Thirtieth street. He retired several 

 years ago. Mr. Buist 's wife died about 

 fifty years ago. His second wife was 

 Miss Catherine Lacey, who died several 

 years ago. He leaves three sons, James 

 M. Buist, Jr.; A. R. Buist and Olyphant 

 Buist, and one daughter. Miss Annie 

 Buist. For several years he had made 

 his home at Milford, Pa. 



BUSINESS IS GOOD. 



Business seems to be booming in all 

 parts of the country if one may judge 

 by the mail coming to The Review. Here 

 are extracts from some of this week's 

 letters received in the Classified, ad de- 

 partment: 



stop the feverfew ad. The Review can sell 

 anything. — Brnst Mantliey, Jr., St. Bernard, O. 



Coleus is sold out; the little liners certainly do 

 the work. — J. A. Famworth & Son, Gallon, O. 



The ad sold the pansles. — Beaver Avenue Floral 

 Co., Des Moines, la. 



Please stop my rose geranium advertisemei^, 

 as I am all sold out. — George B. Morrell, Forrw- 

 dale. Pa. 



Have sold 86,000 2'^-inch roses from our Classi- 

 fied advertisement in the last five weeks; please 

 discontinne ad. — G. M. Bebum & Co., Chi- 

 cago, 111. 



Please discontinue my advertisement of pe- 

 tunias, as I have sold out for the present. — E. V. 

 Myers, St. Joseph, Mo. 



We are sold out of Easter Greeting; please 

 discontinue our Classified ad. — William S. Lobr, 

 Ottawa, 111. 



Please cancel our asparagus advertisement, as 

 it has done its work wel}. — Berno Floral Co., 

 Orlando, Fla. 



Cut out our geranium ad.; also Sprengeri ad. 

 All sold. — Daut Bros., Decatur, 111. 



We are all sold out of snapdragons, verbenas 

 and pelargoniums. Please discontinue our Classi- 

 fied advertisement. — Addems, Morgan & Co., Pax- 

 ton. 111. 



Entirely sold out of fuchsias; please take ottt 

 the Classified ad. — Trultt's Greenhouses, Ohanute, 

 Kan. 



There seems to be a demand for 



everything that anyone ever grew in 1ft 



greenhouse. ^ ^ >■ >\ 



■frS^ 



CHIOAQO. «;,-•«* I 



I 



The Market. rf 



The Easter business in the Chica^ 

 wholesale flower market did not in all 

 cases produce the results which had been 

 expected, but the failure to materialize 

 the record business in individual cases 

 seems to have been due solely to the 

 shortage of stock. It is, of course, a 

 question how much more stock could 

 have been sold without affecting the 

 values, but the general opinion is that 

 large additional quantities might have 

 been sold at the prices asked and that 

 the Easter business fell short of break- 

 ing all previous records only because the 

 flowers to beat Christmas were not here. 

 It certainly was the biggest Easter ever 

 known. 



In a market as large as the Chicago 

 market has become, with the sales of 

 individual houses running up to $50,000 

 for the week, it is impossible that every 

 flower should be sold. The market rare- 

 ly, and certainly not in recent years, has 

 cleaned up so thoroughly as it did last 

 week. The demand was so strong that 

 prices stiffened as the week progressed 

 and the late buyers on Saturday paid 

 higher rates than were charged at any 

 other time during the week. There was 

 not one item on which the market weak- 

 ened. The shortage was general; it in- 

 cluded all the big staple items. While 

 the sales of individual houses in prac- 

 tically every case exceeded the record 

 of last year, they fell slightly below 

 the total for Christmas. 



The shortage of lilies and bulbous 

 stock represented a huge hole. The 

 supply of lilies proved to be larger than 

 had been expected. In addition to one 

 or two large and several smaller local 

 lots, considerable quantities of lilies 

 came in from the east and from Canada. 

 But the demand took all those that were 

 not absolutely green, though one or two 

 shipments arrived in the market on 

 Monday. The price of lilies started 

 at $25 per hundred; it was $35 Sattir- 

 day night. The results for the growers 

 probably were more favorable than 



