20 



The Florists^ Review 



Septbmbbb 18, 1919. 



BALTIMORE. 



The Maxket. 



There was a big oversupply of stock 

 of all sorts on the market last week, 

 especially roses and gladioli; in fact, as 

 I looked at one particularly large lot of 

 the latter, I made the remark that the 

 street men would have a harvest and 

 was told that even with their help the 

 gladioli could not be handled. This I 

 found later to be the case, for I saw 

 quantities of them ready for the dump. 

 Boses are fast improving in quality, but 

 there are entirely too many for the de- 

 mand, and when a buyer comes along 

 these days he can afford to be particular 

 and look over a large stock to select the 

 best. 



Dahlias are beginning to arrive in 

 good supply, and there are some of fine 

 quality to be seen. Asters are not so 

 plentiful as they have been, but there 

 is still plenty for the demand. There 

 is an abundance of miscellaneous stock 

 of all kinds. In greens, smilax is sel- 

 dom seen on the market at this time, 

 but a good supply of asparagus is al- 

 ways to be had. To sum up, there are 

 perhaps more sales of stock than in past 

 years-, but there is more stock on the 

 market than the retailer can handle at 

 this season of the year, and the result 

 is that a great deal goes to waste. 



Club Meeting. 



One of the liveliest meetings of the 

 Florists' Club was held September 8. 

 The following officers for the ensuing 

 year were nominated: President, Wil- 

 liam F. Ekas; vice-president, Robert L. 

 Graham, Jr.; secretary, Robert Tate 

 Paterson; financial secretary, C. Harry 

 Wagner; treasurer, Albert Fiedler, and 

 librarian, C. M. Wagner. As there were 

 no contests, the nominations are equiva- 

 lent to election, but as the by-laws of 

 the club require that officers shall be 

 elected by ballot, on the next meeting 

 night, the second Monday of October, 

 the secretary will cast the vote of the 

 club. This will not be done in a regular 

 business meeting of the club, but at one 

 of the grandest banquets this club has 

 ever held. 



This will be a Victory banquet, for 

 so it is in every sense of the word, 

 and as the florist in these days medi- 

 tates on the last two years, he can re- 

 joice not only with the country at large 

 over the victory that has been won in 

 France, but with his fellow members of 

 the trade, for they have come through 

 more than victorious, first through one 

 of the hardest winters in history on 

 short coal rations, and then, when every 

 available man was in the service and 

 help was not to be had, many of them 

 were able to work only half their 

 ranges; and yes, many of them, after 

 years of faithful toil, were in a posi- 

 tion to close down entirely, but, to their 

 everlasting credit, there was not a man 

 among them that showed a "yellow 

 streak. ' ' 



As the new president, who is now the 

 chairman of the entertainment commit- 

 tee, William F. Ekas, and his co-work- 

 ers, Robert L. Graham, Jr., G. M. Wag- 

 ner and Isaac H. Moss, discussed the 

 annual banquet, they each one felt that 

 the club should do something large this 

 year; that is, they wanted someone to 

 share their joys with them, and I hope 

 I am not telling secrets outside of the 

 lodge when I say it was Mr. Ekas who 

 first thought of the ladies, who were so 



ready to jump into the breach and fill 

 the men's places. But this was not 

 enough; a good speaker was wanted for 

 the evening, and what was more nat- 

 ural than that the committee's first 

 thought should be of the "silver- 

 tongued orator of Philadelphia," 

 Charles H. Grakelow? Many of our 

 members have enjoyed the hospitality 

 of the Philadelphia Club in the past, 

 so it is now our turn to have them, their 

 wives and sweethearts, with us. Then 

 to the south of us is another club, which 

 has among its membership ^Qme of the 

 most wide-awake florists in the coun- 

 try — Washington. Thus it will be 

 Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washing- 

 ton — sounds like a newqJsoy crying his 

 Sunday papers. 



But who ever heard of florists getting 

 together for pleasure only? There will 

 be business, too, at this feast, for after 

 the "eats," publicity is going to be 

 the subject of the evening. As at Bal- 

 shazzar's feast, there will be the hand- 

 writing on the wall, but instead of 

 "Thou hast been weighed in the bal- 

 ances and found wanting" (this could 

 not be said of any man who will be 

 found at that table), on this occasion 

 it will be the slogan that is so dear 

 to every florist's heart, "Say It with 

 Flowers. ' ' 



Prof. S. B. King, of the Maryland 



Agricultural College, was on hand to 

 boost the Hagerstown exhibition of the 

 Maryland Horticultural Society, which 

 will be held during the week of Octo- 

 ber 27. 



Richard Vincent, Jr., & Sons Co., had 

 on exhibition a fine vase of dahlias, 

 among which were several especially 

 fine ones, which everyone thought, at 

 first glance, were King of Autumn, but 

 on closer scrutiny it was found that they 

 were not, for they had even better 

 stems, better foliage, incurved petals and 

 a deeper color. Mr. Vincent said it was 

 a seedling of King of Autumn and could 

 withstand anything, including wet 

 weather and the beetles that are so de- 

 structive to some varieties, and was a 

 free bloomer. Many of the boys wanted 

 him to name it Richard Vincent, Jr. 



John L. Wagner had a fine vase of 

 Lady Hillingdon roses, with stems three 

 feet long. This is a variety with which 

 Mr. Wagner is especially successful. 

 James De Groot had a fine display of 

 gladioli. One that attracted special 

 notice was Mrs. Francis King. 



Then Thomas Stevenson, I. H. Moss, 

 Fred Bauer, R. Vincent, Jr., and W. J. 

 Johnston all told of their experiences 

 at the Detroit convention. They all 

 agreed it was the largest and best con- 

 vention since the one held in Chicago. 



Tate. 



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MOTT-LY MUSINGS 



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Already there are whispers of the 

 attractions to be offered to visitors at 

 the S. A. F. convention at Cleveland in 



1920. 



• • • • 



Aaron M. Shive, of the Flick Floral 

 Co., Fort Wayne, Ind., was topping the 

 newly planted rose plants, on the theory 

 that one top taken off now means three 

 shoots later. Shawyer has been replaced 

 to some extent by Columbia, which, 

 with Ophelia and Premier, will be the 

 main kinds grown the coming winter. 



• * • • 



The Loveland Floral Co., Madison, 

 Wis., observes that, owing to the scar- 

 city of outdoor flowers and the smallness 

 of the new cut of roses, the high prices 

 necessary forbid a large profit, but so 

 long as business continues as good as it 

 has been, larger compensation later on is 



expected. 



• • * • 



The Wisconsin state fair, at Milwau- 

 kee, as usual brought in a large crowd 

 of sight-seers from the country towns. 

 Aside from the horticultural exhibit at 

 the grounds, the trade made especially 

 attractive window displays, particularly 

 the M. A. McKenney Co., the Edlefsen- 

 Leidiger Co., William Zimmerman and 

 J. M. Fox & Son. The Fox store being 

 on two streets affords excellent oppor- 

 tunity for a fine setting. 



• • • • 



James Matthewson, Sheboygan, Wis., 

 was one of the judges at the state fair 

 held at Milwaukee last week and re- 

 ported that the drought sadly affected 

 the exhibits of outdoor flowers, which 

 have become an important factor at this 

 annual event. 



Noting a sign in the window of a 

 barber shop, "Shaving without pain or 

 whiskers cheerfully refunded," I. Bay- 

 ersdorfer, of H. Bayersdorfer & Co., 

 Philadelphia, observed that there was 

 more in this than appeared on the sur- 

 face. In other words, the barber 

 adopted this means of inspiring aspir- 

 ing manhood to put confidence in his 

 performance. "It is exactly so with 

 us; once we get a line on a new pur- 

 chaser on the same principle as the 

 barber's, we are sure to hold him." 



• • • * 



Harkett's Floral Nursery, Dubuque, 

 la., is keeping pace with the growth of 

 the city. Miss Harkett has charge of 

 the flower store. The veteran founder, 

 W. A. Harkett, has retired from active 

 management, but keeps an eye upon the 

 daily routine. 



• • • • 



The Andrew Bather Co., Clinton, la., 

 has had a good run of general business 

 through the entire season. Stock is in 



fine shape. 



• • • • 



The John A. Bather Co., of Clinton, 

 la., anticipates a prosperous season 

 based upon the general impetus which 

 business is enjoying in this section. 



• • • • 



"We pulled through the summer very 

 nicely," observed L. E. Metcalf, of the 

 Flower Shop, La Crosse, Wis., "and 

 look for a busy fall; we can take care 



of it." 



• • • • 



The New York Floral Co., of Madison, 

 Wis., has an automobile in blue and 

 gold that attracts attention as it dashes 

 through the streets. W. M. 



