January 9, 1919. 



The Florists^ Review 



17 



PITTSBnRQH. 



High Prices for Flowers. 



Following the holidays, prices in all 

 varieties of stock have come down from 

 thirty to fifty per cent. Never in the 

 history of the local trade has there been 

 so much discussion regarding the unpar- 

 alleled high prices of flowers as during 

 the last few months. Samuel Mc- 

 Clements, of Eandolph & McClements, 

 says: "Owing to the exorbitant 

 charges necessitated for cut flowers, the 

 plantsman is coming into his own. Eec- 

 ognizing this fact from our experiences 

 last year during both the Christmas and 

 Easter seasons, and in a measure dur- 

 ing the holidays just past, we kept away 

 from the cut flower business, handling 

 plants instead, with the result that 

 we disposed of twice as many plants as 

 a year ago, five baskets only remaining 

 of our entire stock. Another factor 

 which has discouraged us with the cut 

 flower end is the condition in which 

 some of our shipments have arrived this 

 season, owing, undoubtedly, to their 

 having been held back too long. " Ean- 

 dolph & McClements have the most 

 fashionable clientele of the east end 

 section of Pittsburgh. 



Mr. Weaklen, representing G. P. 

 Weaklen & Co., says: "Considering 

 every phase of the present cost of pro- 

 duction, the high prices of floral prod- 

 ucts are more or less justified, the short- 

 age of home products and the tardy 

 receipts of lilies and other bulbous im- 

 portations all militating against low 

 prices." 



De Forest W. Ludwig, of the E. C. 

 Ludwig Floral Co., is one of the most 

 radical opponents of the current high 

 prices. "The high prices counteract 

 all the results of judicious advertising 

 and, unless they come down, people are 

 going to substitute candy for flowers," 

 Mr. Ludwig says, and, as a counter 

 measure, urges the cooperation of the 

 grower, middleman and retailer. 



"Eeasonable increases in the prices 

 of cut blooms and plants are just and 

 necessary," says Edward L. McGrath, 

 of McGrath & Langhans, downtown 

 florists. 



Theodore P. Langhans believes that 

 the florists would be only too glad to 

 reduce wholesale prices if fuel, labor 

 and other incidental growing expenses 

 would decrease in proportion. He adds: 

 "We are now paying $4.50 a ton for 

 coal, which previously was $1,05, while 

 the cost of labor has increased more 

 than fifty per cent, as men who were 

 formerly drawing $12 per week, now get 

 $25, and all other expenses are propor- 

 tionately increased." 



Edward J. McCallum considers that 

 if cut flower prices had increased grad- 

 ually in the same proportion and at the 

 same time as other commodities, the 

 higher prices would have been accepted 

 without comment. However, during the 

 season of 1916-17, when the prices of 

 everything went up in other lines of 

 business, often carrying huge profits, 

 the cut flower growers sold their prod- 

 ucts at the old prices, and instead of 

 making big profits, did not make a cent 

 above running expenses, which jumped 

 higher than those of any other business, 

 owing to coal going up three or four 

 hundred per cent. Apropos of this fact, 

 the fuel administration is authority for 

 the statement that in estimating the 

 value of greenhouse products, coal is 

 the largest item of expense. It took the 



influenza epidemic to create a demand 

 large enough to lead the growers to ask 

 prices which would enable them to make 

 even their former profit. We are the 

 only industry, moreover, for which the 

 f ael restriction of fifty per cent is prac- 

 tically in effect until summer, owing to 

 the fact that the ban was lifted too 

 late to do the majority of us any good 

 until planting time. Thus the unwrit- 

 ten law of supply and demand would 

 entitle us to ask 100 per cent more for 

 what we produce to recompense us for 

 our sacrifice; instead, we are not asking 

 more than fifty to 100 per cent more 

 than in the old days. 



Various Notes. 



The death of Barton W. Elliott, of 

 which his family has just been notified, 

 is recorded on another page of this is- 

 sue. 



James J. Higgins returned to Pitts- 

 burgh January 4, having spent Christ- 

 mas with Mrs. Higgins 's sister, Mrs. 

 Hine, of the Winona hotel, Winona, 

 Minn. He also attended in Chicago the 

 annual convention of the traveling 

 salesmen of the A. L. Eandall Co. Eay 

 J. Daschbach, formerly of this city, now 

 of Los Angeles, Cal., also attended the 

 Eandall convention. 



Mrs. Victor Bergman and her son, 

 Victor Bergman, Jr., have returned to 

 their home in Chicago following a ten 

 weeks' visit with Mr. and Mrs. Gustav 

 Ludwig, the parents of Mrs. Bergman. 



Gustavo Eeising is scheduled to be in 

 the city tomorrow representing L. Bau- 

 mann & Co., Chicago, 111. ^ 



Walter Bopp has temporarily severed 

 his relations as bookkeeper for the Har- 

 ris Bros., expecting to return some time 

 later. Mr. Bopp has been in the service 

 of this firm for the last two years. 



Theodore P. Langhans has been spend- 

 ing the last week on a business trip to 

 Columbus, O., and a visit with his son, 

 Sergeant Oliver H. Langhans, who is 

 now at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, O., 

 following a year or more with the Aero 

 Construction Service Squadron, A. S. S. 

 C, at Vancouver Barracks, Vancouver, 

 Wash., and Clatsop, Ore. 



Eandolph & McClements have inaugu- 

 rated a card system for Christmas and 

 Easter deliveries. The flowers or plants 

 are sent a few days before the holiday, 

 aicompanied by a card which states 

 that "card with duplicate number will 

 be mailed Good Friday" (if the holi- 

 day happens to be Easter). The second 

 card states who the purchaser was and 

 to whom delivered. E. E. S. 



INDIANAPOLIS, IND. 



The Market. 



The market has broken! This, how- 

 ever, was no surprise, as such unusual 

 prices could not continue long. Then, 

 too, the supply has increased, while the 

 demand has decreased. Some of the 

 growers just missed the Christmas mar- 

 ket, their crops coming in too late. Thus 

 a crowded condition has arisen. From 

 $12.50 and $15, the price has fallen to 

 from $4 to $8. It is predicted, however, 

 that within two weeks the supply will 

 be normal again and prices stiffen. 



Eoses are more plentiful, but are in 

 good demand and clear readily. Short 

 stock continues rare. Prices on this 

 class of stock also have dropped, the 

 range being from $5 to $25. 



Any and all lilies clear immediately. 

 Easter and rubrum varieties are limited. 



Callas are in fair supply at $2.50 and $3 

 per dozen. Poinsettias are gone. Nar- 

 cissi are adequate at $6 per hundred. 

 All small flowers are hard to procure. 

 Stevia is over, while violets, peas, calen- 

 dulas, pansies and valley are short. 

 White buddleia is an addition to the 

 market. 



New Year 's business was poor. Prac- 

 tically the only demand was that made 

 for corsage work and, owing to the 

 scarcity of all small flowers, it was diffi- 

 cult to do business along this line. So- 

 cial functions were not so numerous as 

 on former New Year's eves, owing, per- 

 haps, to the fact that the state has 

 gone dry. various Notes. 



Notice: Do not forget the meeting 

 of the State Florists' Association of 

 Indiana to be held January 14, at 2 p. m., 

 at the Claypool hotel. Competition will 

 be held at this time for the carnation 

 and rose trophies. Novelties in all lines 

 will be displayed. J. F. Ammann, presi- 

 dent of the S. A. F., will be a guest on 

 this occasion. 



O. E. Steinkamp will go to Pittsburgh 

 to exhibit the new carnation, Euth Baur, 

 before the Pittsburgh Florists* Club. 



Hartje & Elder are cutting excellent 

 Purity freesias. 



Albert Warner is assisting at the Cir- 

 cle Flower Store during the absence of 

 C. C. Thomas, who is in Chicago on his 

 vacation. 



Word has been received from Corporal 

 Oscar Carlsteadt that he has returned 

 from overseas and is at Newport News. 

 He expects to be home shortly. 



Corporal Morris Mayer has been mus- 

 tered out of service. 



Baur & Steinkamp are cutting fine 

 white buddleia. They are beginning 

 now to ship out carnation cuttings. 



A new commission house wiU be 

 opened in Indianapolis January 10 at 

 105 East Ohio street. S. T. Hitz will 

 be sole owner and Fred Kiel manager. 

 The busineife will be known as the Flo- 

 rists' Supply House. Messrs. Hitz and 

 Kiel have just returned from a stock- 

 buying trip and state that they will 

 have a full line of florists' supplies. Mr. 

 Hitz is well known throughout the state 

 and Mr. Kiel was formerly with Smith 

 & Young, commission merchants. Both 

 will be glad to meet their friends in 

 their new place of business. 



Mr. Fachman, the wire worker, has 

 broken his leg. Always a hard worker, 

 seldom laying off, he is now forced to 

 do so and is receiving much attention at 

 St. Vincent's hospital. His place of 

 business on Massachusetts avenue is 

 closed, as his assistant, Miss Tillie, is 

 taking her vacation. Notwithstanding 

 his needed vacation, the local tradesmen 

 will all be glad to see Mr. Fachman back 

 on the job again. 



Harry Miesse, secretary of the local 

 war garden board, has purchased a 

 90-acre tract of land east of the city, 

 where he intends to engage in growing 

 herbaceous plants. 



John Eisner has been reappointed a 

 member of the war garden staff. 



T. D. Heplar recently went to Chicago 

 to investigate a manufacturing proposi- 

 tion. E. E. T. 



Albany, N. Y. — The annual dinner of 

 the Albany Florists' Club is to be held 

 the evening of January 9. Fred Danker 

 is chairman of a special committee on 

 place and attendance. The entertain- 

 ment features will be in charge of 

 Thomas F. Tracey. 



