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19 



. BOSTON. 



The Market. 



Summer arrived June 21 and it found 

 the cut flower business in a more or less 

 comatose condition. Hot weather does 

 not encourage flower buying and there 

 are now hundreds of gardens ablaze 

 with roses, herbaceous perennials, flow- 

 ering shrubs and early annuals, the own- 

 ers of which have no occasion to pur- 

 chase flowers while they have such a 

 wealth at home. A few weddings help 

 to relieve the dullness now creeping over 

 business and, this week, more school 

 graduations, with the war-time ban on 

 flowers removed, will use considerable 

 material. Most of the growers are busy 

 throwing out, refilling or replanting 

 chrysanthemums or carnations and are 

 well satisfied with the season now end- 

 ing. It has surely been a most satisfac- 

 tory one and, unless all signs fail, even 

 better days are ahead of us. 



Roses are small and of inferior qual- 

 ity in the main. At present there is a 

 good call for short-stemmed stock, which 

 has improved prices. Some nice Ameri- 

 can Beauties, are coming in and the best 

 sell at $20 per hundred. At one time 

 outdoor roses were a big market feature; 

 now few are seen here, but they are fine 

 everywhere, thanks to the mild weather, 

 and entirely discount greenhouse roses. 



Carnations are small and poor. Some 

 varieties like Pink Delight are of little 

 value, but Good Cheer, Matchless, Lad- 

 die and Roper continue of good quality 

 for late June. Few good sweet peas are 

 seen. The best sell readily. Lily of 

 the valley is scarce and sells at fancy 

 prices. The few lilies coming in sell at 

 $15 to $20 per hundred. Gladioli are 

 less abundant and such flowers as mar- 

 guerites and snapdragons are practi- 

 cally done. 



In outdoor flowers there is an ample 

 supply of fine material, such as gail- 

 lardia, coreopsis, digitalis, delphinium, 

 campanula, etc., and these are used ef- 

 fectively in the store windows. Cat- 

 tleyas are in shorter supply and gar- 

 denias are mostly short-stemmed. 



Kose and Stxawberry ExUbitioii. 



"While smaller in extent than in for- 

 mer years, the exhibition June 21 and 

 22 proved interesting, more especially 

 when the small money premiums are 

 considered. That the summer shows 

 have a strong hold on the public was 

 attested by the crowds that attended, 

 and those who contemplate cutting out 

 the summer shows in favor of one or 

 two large exhibitions a year might have 

 a change of heart if they could attend 

 and see the enthusiasm manifested for 

 all flowers which can be grown out- 

 doors. The date was a trifle early for 

 hybrid perpetuals, but suited hybrid 

 tea roses well. It was refreshing to 

 note that all the rose prize-winners this 

 year were amateurs. 



For twenty-four hybrid teas, distinct, 

 John B. Wills won with nice, fresh 

 blooms of Lady Ashtown, Kaiserin 

 Augusta Victoria, Mme. Jules Grolez, 

 William Shean, Florence Pemberton, 

 George Dickson, Mme. Maurice de Luze, 

 Mme. Melanie Soupert, Lyon rose, J. L. 

 Mock, Chateau de Clos Vougeot, Lau- 

 rent Carle, Mme. Caroline Testout, Mrs. 

 Theodore Roosevelt, Gustavo Gruner- 

 wald, Edward Bohane; Mrs. Wemyss 

 Quinn, Mme. Segond Weber, White Kil- 

 larney, Mrs. J. H. Welch, Betty, May 

 Kenyon Slaney, Mme. Abel Chatenay 

 and Edward Mawley. 



Fine flowers were shown by Robert 

 Beaver, A. L. Stephen, Hillcrest Farm 

 and David Tyndall. For twelve sprays 

 of rambler roses A. H. Fish, of New Bed- 

 ford, won with splendid samples of Sil- 

 ver Moon, Dr. Van Fleet, Mary Lovett, 

 Zepherin Dronhin, Francois Guillot, 

 Sanders' White, Gardenia, Goldfinch, 

 Climbing American Beauty, Baroness 

 Ittersum, Bess Lovett and Christine 

 Wright. The same exhibitor received a 

 silver medal for a large and compre- 

 hensive collection of rambler roses, 

 showing excellent culture. Others, in 

 addition to those already named, which 

 were pleasing, were LeMexique, Electra, 

 Petite Jeanne, Oriole, Prof. C. S. Sar- 

 gent, golden yellow in color; Climbing 

 Lady Ashtown and Mrs. Wm. E. Egan. 



T. C. Thurlow's Sons Co., Inc., had a 

 grand display of peonies in over 100 

 varieties. Specially fine were some of 

 the Richardson seedlings, including 

 Walter Faxon, Milton Hill and grandi- 

 flora, also Solange, Therese, La Perle, 

 Mrs. Carew, Marie, Mons. Dupont, Eu- 

 gene Verdier, Mme. Boulanger, Aval- 

 anche and Alfred de Musset. W. N. 



The Edttor U pleased when 

 a Reader preacnta his Ideas 

 on any sol^ect treated In 



As experience is the best 

 teacher, so do we Icam 

 f a stest by an exchange of 

 experiences. Many valuable 

 points are brought oat by 

 discussion. 



Good penmanship, spellinc and 

 grammar, thouch desirable, are not 

 necessary. Write as you would talk 

 when doing your best, 



WE SHALL BE GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM YOU 



Craig received first pr|z^ for liw^nl^-five 

 varieties-' of hardy hferbaceoift' peren- 

 nials. Henry Eaton, gardener to R. M. 

 Saltonstall, had handsome vases of digi- 

 talis and Campanula persicifolia. 



There was a nice display of vege- 

 tables and strawberries. Among the 

 latter Marshall easily stood supreme 

 over all competitors, Golden Gate, Bar- 

 rymore and Judith coming next in point 

 of merit. 



Horticultural Club Has Outing. 



The members of the Horticultural 

 Club, on the invitation of R. & J. Far- 

 quhar & Co., visited that firm's Cape 

 Cod nurseries, located at West Barn- 

 stable, Mass., June 18, making the 75- 

 mile journey in five large automobiles 

 over splendid roads. R. & J. Farquhar 

 & Co. own about ninety acres of land 

 there and nearly all of it is now 

 planted with thrifty nursery stock. 

 Great blocks of seedling rhododendrons, 

 azaleas and kalmias were noted, also 

 large quantities of conifers, including 

 many of the new Chinese spruces and 

 firs. A good number of plants which 

 winter indifferently near Boston come 

 through unscathed on Cape Cod. Lilies 



are grown in quantity, including regale, 

 Henryi, speciosum, auratum and Sargen- 

 tise, and make splendid bulbs in the 

 sandy soil here. After an inspection of 

 the nursery a splendid shore dinner was 

 enjoyed and Boston was reached on the 

 return journey at 10 p. m. 



Among those in the party were J. K. 

 M. L. Farquhar, E. H. Wilson, C. W. 

 Hoitt, Will Castle, James B. "Shea, M. 

 A. Patten, Peter Fisher, William P. 

 Rich, Frank R. Pierson, F. A. Wilson, 

 Patrick Welch and J. S. Scorgie. 



Club Meeting. 



The meeting of the Gardeners' and 

 Florists' Club June 18, kept as ladies' 

 night, attracted an attendance of over 

 150 and proved to be one of the most 

 enjoyable ever held. Three new mem- 

 bers were elected. It was reported that 

 arrangements were progressing for the 

 annual picnic at Cunningham park. 

 East Milton, July 24, and Mr. Bartsch 

 promised that it would prove to be the 

 best ever. The subject of daylight sav- 

 ing came up. After a short discussion, 

 the club voted unanimously in favor of 

 its continuance. A letter of thanks was 

 read from the Societe Nationals d' Hor< 

 ticulture de France, thanking the club 

 for its generous donation toward the re- 

 habilitation of horticultural sufferers in 

 the French war zone. 



George N. Smith, of Wellesley, dis- 

 played on the stage a grand collection of 

 choice peonies. Other members dis- 

 played roses and other seasonable flow- 

 ers. After a short business session, a 

 fine entertainment was furnished by 

 Miss McPherson, Miss Sadie Campbell 

 and Mr. Clarke, all selections being vig- 

 orously encored. Following the colla- 

 tion. Holmes' orchestra furnished music 

 for dancing until midnight, in which 

 nearly all participated. 



Various Notes. 



Frank J. Wheeler, son of James 

 Wheeler, of Natick, is recovering from 

 a delicate eye operation performed at 

 the New England Eye and Ear In- 

 firmary, Boston. 



Robert Montgomery, of Natick, has 

 been quite sick for several weeks, but 

 is now, improving and hopes soon to be 

 able to go to his summer home at Bus- 

 tins Island, Me. 



June temperatures are in excess of 

 those enjoyed a year ago and we now 

 have a total excess of temperature for 

 1919 of 700 degrees, with rainfall prac- 

 tically normal. 



Entries are already coming in for the 

 annual sweet pea show to be held in 

 Boston July 5 and 6. Sweet peas in 

 this locality are most promising and 

 many have been flowering for some 

 time. 



Invitations are being extended to the 

 American Peony Society and the Ameri- 

 can Sweet Pea Society to hold their an- 

 nual exhibitions and conventions in 

 Boston in 1920. 



The W. W. Edgar Co. has a grand 

 batch of 10,000 cyclamens. Mr. Bartsch 

 says the demand for young stock beats 

 all records. Begonias also are in great 

 request. Sales of bedding plants have 

 been heavy. 



Among some twenty-five varieties of 

 philadelphus now flowering in the Ar- 

 nold Arboretum, the best of the Le- 

 moinei type are Rosace, Conquete, Nor- 

 ma, Virginal, Banniere, Mer de Glace, 

 Manteau d' Hermine and Albare. 



W. N. C. 



