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DucauBEB 19, 1918. 



The Florists^ Review 



21 



Word has reached A, Miller's many 

 Detroit friends that he has a daughter 

 at his home in Chicago. Robert Baha- 

 ley sent a basket of Beauties. 



Philip Breitmeyer spent a day in Chi- 

 cago this week. 



BBIDOEPOBT, CONN. 



The Market. 



Chrysanthemums are about gone, 

 though several of the local growers re- 

 port that they still have Chadwicks on 

 hand. Due to the cloudy weather of the 

 last week, carnations are blooming 

 slowly. Local dealers who depend on 

 the wholesalers for their stock say that 

 they are obliged to pay such high prices 

 for carnations that they have raised the 

 retail price to $1,50 per dozen. A good 

 cut of Easter lilies is proving a great 

 help in meeting the demand for flowers 

 for funeral work. Calendulas and bou- 

 vardia are plentiful and stevia and 

 callas help out wonderfully. Violets are 

 scarce. 



Most of the florists are having trouble 

 in obtaining enough flowers to supply 

 the demand, for, in spite of the fact 

 that they have been obliged to raise 

 their prices, people are buying heavily. 

 Business shows a decided improvement 

 over that of recent years. 



Everyone is preparing for a large 

 Christmas trade, although some are 

 wondering where they will obtain 

 enough Christmas greens, as holly, 

 laurel, etc., are so expensive and scarce. 

 They will of necessity ask a much high- 

 er price than ever before for roping, 

 wreaths, etc. Some of the florists say 

 that they will not sell 25-cent bunches 

 of holly, as in former years. Effective 

 novelties in the form of baskets, small 

 window boxes, etc., have been used to 

 decorate the florists' windows, with 

 plants in attractive combination. Cro- 

 tons, primroses, cyclamens, Jerusalem 

 cherries, poinsettias, ferns, begonias, 

 etc., are used in these pieces. 



Various Notes. 



The windows of the New York Flower 

 Store are attractive with a variety of 

 Christmas novelties. This has been a 

 busy week with this concern. 



The demand for funeral designs con- 

 tinues heavy at the establishment of 

 Julius Beck. Some splendid sweet peas 

 and Easter lilies are being cut here. 



Funeral work has kept all hands at 

 the store of James E. Beach busy. He 

 has some splendid poinsettias ready for 

 the Christmas trade. A plentiful crop 

 of callas is on hand to help out in the 

 present carnation shortage. Some fine 

 Easter lilies also are being cut. 



G. F. Herthal, the West End Florist, 

 is making great preparations for the 

 Christmas trade, which he expects will 

 be excellent. 



Many people are attracted by the 

 striking window decorations seen at the 

 conservatory of George Pflomm, which 

 include handsome baskets filled with 

 combinations of crotons, flowering 

 orange trees, etc. He is well stocked 

 with all varieties of Christmas plants. 

 Floral designs are reported in great de- 

 mand here, due to the increasing num- 

 ber of deaths. 



The report from Eobert H. Hawkins 

 is that business in general is splendid, 

 the bulk of the trade, however, being 

 composed of funeral orders. He has a 

 large variety of potted plants on hand 

 for the Christmas trade. 



Chadwick mums are still being cut at 

 the greenhouses of the Park Floral 

 Shop, also a heavy crop of callas. A 

 splendid shipment of holly and boxwood 

 has been received. 



James Horan & Son report that cut 

 flowers are more plentiful with them 

 than for some time. Their chrysanthe- 

 mums are gone, but a good crop of car- 

 nations, stevia, narcissi, etc., is being 

 cut. However, they are having trouble 

 to get enough violets to meet the de- 

 mand. This firm has so many orders 

 for wreaths, Christmas greens, roping, 

 etc., that it is having trouble in obtain- 

 ing enough to fill them. 



A number of large pieces were de- 

 signed for the BuUard funeral at the 

 store of John Beck & Son, which called 

 for quantities of American Beauty roses. 

 This firm has opened a branch store at 

 the corner of Main and Golden Hill 

 streets. 



The writer extends Christmas greet- 

 ings to the local trade and the trade in 

 general. I. L. B. 



CINCINNATI. 



The Market. 



Business continues good, but the prob- 

 lem remains, to get stock. The shortage 

 is the same as last week. Prices con- 

 tinue high. Plant growers are doing a 

 tremendous business. 



The supply of roses is far short of 

 actual needs and all that come into the 

 market sell quickly at prices the highest 

 this market has ever known for this 

 flower. Carnations, too, are short and 

 clean up quickly at top prices. Poinset- 

 tias are plentiful and are proving a wel- 

 come addition to daily supplies. Easter 



lilies are coming into the market. Snap- 

 dragon sells readily. Callas clean up 

 quickly from day to day. Stevia is in 

 fair supply and sells well. Single and 

 double violets meet with a good market. 

 Calendulas sell well. Among other offer- 

 ings are lily of the valley, orchids, baby 

 primrose and forget-me-not. 



Greens of all kinds are meeting with 

 a good market. Supplies are selling 

 well. 



Various Notes. 



Bay Eeinstatler, for G. Brunner's 

 Sons, put up the decorations for the 

 farewell banquet to ex-Mayor Julius 

 Fleischmann, at the Hotel- Gibson De- 

 cember 16. 



C. E. Critchell has returned to his 

 desk after his recent attack of the 

 "flu." Mr. Critchell is selling and 

 handling more supplies and greens than 

 ever before at this season. 



E. G. Gillett received another large lot 

 of boxwood last week. It moved out as 

 fast as he could get it packed. 



Among recent visitors were Miss Fan- 

 nie D. White, Lexington, Ky., and Frank 

 Winans, Petoskey, Mich. C. H. H. 



The business of the late D. Rusconi is 

 being continued by Mrs. Joseppina Bus- 

 coni, administratrix of the estate. Jap- 

 anese lily bulbs have been one of the 

 principal items handled and as these did 

 not arrive this year, the business is 

 marking time until normal conditions 

 are restored. 



Bochester, Minn. — Emil Rieple is put- 

 ting up 10,000 feet of glass, using Mon- 

 inger material. He intends to open a 

 store before Easter. 



FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 



FOBCINQ ASPAEAGUS. 



A Continuous Crop Indoors. 



Crisp, fresh asparagus tips can be ob- 

 tained in a continuous supply this win- 

 ter by forcing. For a large supply 

 crowns of the plants may be forced in 

 the field or in greenhouses, while the 

 small gardener may bed a few crowns 

 in the cellar to furnish tips for his own 

 use. Specialists of the Department of 

 Agriculture describe this winter garden- 

 ing practice as at present not a general 

 one in this country, but of considerable 

 importance in Europe. 



Method of Forcing. 



Lifting the crowns from the field and 

 placing them under greenhouse benches, 

 in hotbeds or in cellars is the commoner 

 method of forcing. The crowns are 

 plowed or dug up late in the fall when 

 the soil is moist, so as to have as much 

 soil as possible adhere to them. They 

 are then left exposed in the field until 

 frozen, when they are covered with lit- 

 ter or removed to a shed in order to 

 prevent alternate freezing and thawing, 

 which is harmful. The crowns then are 

 stored in a cool cellar or pit and bedded 

 as needed to supply a succession of 

 shoots. 



When ready for forcing, the crowns or 

 roots should be brought to the green- 



house and bedded on two or three inches 

 of loose soil on the floor under the 

 benches. The clumps should be placed 

 close together, the spaces between the 

 clumps filled with loose soil, and the 

 crowns covered to the depth of about 

 an inch. The soil should be moistened 

 thoroughly and kept moist all the time, 

 but never allowed to become drenched. 

 For white shoots the light should be ex- 

 cluded by boarding up the sides of the 

 benches or hanging old carpets, burlap 

 or canvas over the openings. 



The Temperature Needed. 



For the first ten days after the crowns 

 are placed for forcing, the temperature 

 should be kept rather low, 45 to 50 de- 

 grees. After this period a temperature 

 of 55 to 60 degrees is most satisfactory, 

 although a higher temperature will not 

 be injurious. A temperature as high as 

 75 to 80 degrees produces a rapid, soft 

 growth, while a low temperature pro- 

 duces a slow growth, but gives shoots 

 of good quality. 



In about six weeks after bedding, the 

 cutting can begin and will continue until 

 the crowns are exhausted. As soon as 

 the crowns become exhausted they 

 should be removed and a new supply 

 put in. With a little care in timing the 

 bedding of the crowns, a continuous 

 supply can be had all winter. 



