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JVVX 22, 1920 



The Florists' Review 



23 



Edwin Hicks. 



Edwin Hicks, head of the Hicks Nurs- 

 eries, at Westbury, N. Y., died at his 

 home, in Westbury, Saturday, July 17, 

 in the eightieth year of his age. For 

 fifty years he had been active in the 

 business founded by his father, Isaac 

 Hicks, in 1850. In his youth he was a 

 teacher of mathematics in the Brooklyn 

 Polytechnic Institute, and during his 

 business career at Westbury he served 

 for many years on the school board of 

 his district. He was the inventor of 

 many appliances used in the business of 

 tree-moving, and was really the pioneer 

 in this now important branch of the 

 nursery business. J. H. P. 



Jolin A. Bruce. 



John A. Bruce, head of the seed house 

 of John A. Bruce & Co., Ltd., Hamilton, 

 Ont., died recently at his home at Ham- 

 ilton at the age of 91. The firm of 

 John A. Bruce & Co. was established 

 in 1850 and has been known as the 

 pioneer seed house of Canada. Mr. 

 Bruce was widely known and was looked 

 upon as one of the leaders in the trade 

 in the Dominion. 



NEW YORK. 



The Market. 



The market has now entered a period 

 when demand is small indeed. This con- 

 dition is apparent year after year at 

 the same time, heretofore attended with 

 a great deal of waste. Most of the 

 wastage now to be noticed might have 

 been avoided with a little discretion. 

 For instance, one or two growers of 

 gypsophila evidently believed that the 

 market could absorb immense quanti- 

 ties of this material, and it came in 

 most liberally, some sending in one 

 shipment as many as nearly a thousand 

 bunches. Probably the thought never 

 occurred to these shippers that such 

 material was purchased largely for 

 gratuitous disposal, just as a retailer 

 would throw in a little green stuff. It 

 was not even in the stevia class, used 

 largely for the same purpose, but always 

 fragrant. Consequently, huge, smelly 

 masses of gypsophila taxed the garbage 

 barrels of many commission men. Del- 

 phinium gfrowers have also sufferedj not 

 because of the quality of their stock, 

 but for the reason that their choice of 

 varieties was not of the best. Growers 

 of herbaceous stock should always re- 

 member that color counts for a good 

 deal. Outdoor gladioli are arriving in 

 good quantity, with the usual possibility 

 of more than half of the florets not 

 opening. While about three weeks late, 

 nobody has mourned the tardiness of 

 the gladiolus season. 



Roses are not particularly abundant, 

 but the demand for them, as for every- 

 thing else, is light. American Beauty 

 is plentiful enough to go around, with 

 $25 per hundred top price in the spe- 

 cial grades. Hybrid teas, also in quan- 

 tity, meet the demand, with prices 

 varying from day to day according to 

 the call. Monday, July 19, the range 

 was about 50 cents to $8 per hundred, 

 with movement fair. Much open stock 

 is moved at minimum figures. 



Few carnations are available, and 



most of the arrivals have little value as 

 far as quality is concerned. The price 

 range is 50 cents to $15 per hundred.- 



Easter lilies are somewhat plentiful, 

 and the quality of arrivals is quite good 

 for the time of year. About $8 to $12 

 is the range of prices. Lily of the val- 

 ley has shortened up, but there is quite 

 sufi&cient to meet the ordinary demand, 

 at $2 to $8 per hundred sprays. 



Cattleya orchids in supply seem to 

 break evenly with the demand, and 50 

 cents to $1.50 per flower is about the 

 range for the better grades, with culls 

 down to 25 cents. A few cypripediums 

 are coming in, but seem to be kept at 

 an asking price without sign of move- 

 ment. 



Sweet peas are plentiful at 25 cents 

 to 75 cents per hundred, with outdoor 

 stock largely in evidence. Snapdragons, 

 calendulas, delphiniums, cornflowers 

 and bouvardia are offered at various 

 prices, according to quality. 



Various Notes. 



Recent news from C. H. Totty, of 

 Madison, N. J., is to the effect that he 

 is enjoying his visit in France. The 

 roses at Bagatelle evidently have not 

 escaped his observation. 



Edwin Hicks, head of the Hicks Nurs- 

 eries, Westbury, L. I., died Saturday, 

 July 17. Fuller notice appears in the 

 obituary column. J. H. P. 



INDIANAPOLIS, IND. 



The Market. 



Summer business has been holding up 

 fairly well. The last week, however, it 

 has dragged a little and caused a sur- 

 plus of roses. These can now be pur- 

 chased at $2 to $6 per hundred, which 

 is the lowest they have been in over a 

 year. Carnations have deteriorated un- 

 til they are now practically gone. A 

 few inferior ones are available at $2 and 

 $3 per hundred. 



Gladioli are usually plentiful at this 

 time of the year, but this year fewer are 

 seen. The dark colors predominate and 

 the prices are $10 and $12 per hundred. 

 Easter lilies are in evidence and sell at 

 $1 to $2.50 per dozen. These are in fair 

 demand for funeral work. Strawflowers 

 are conspicuous at 25 cents per bunch. 

 Various miscellaneous flowers are seen, 

 but are in little demand. In this class 

 are zinnias, marigolds, pansies, daisies, 

 early phlox and foxglove. Baby's 

 breath is in bloom and, as usual, is in 

 good demand. 



Various Notes. 



All Indianapolis flower stores are clos- 

 ing on Sunday. The florists are proud 

 of the fact and hope that it can be ob- 

 served not only during the summer, but 

 all the year. The public seems perfectly 

 satisfied with the idea and business has 

 not suffered. 



Lee Rickenbach and John Grande are 

 cutting good gladioli. 



The local aster crop has been a fail- 

 ure. 



O. E. Steinkamp and Mr. and Mrs. 

 E. E. Temperley are home from their 

 trip west with the Murat Shriners. 



Theodore Kuebler, Jr., is in the hos- 

 pital, undergoing an operation. 



The heavy rains are causing a splen- 

 did growing season for carnations. 



Baur & Steinkamp are busy shipping 

 poinsettias. Their new greenhouse is 

 progressing well. 



From all report**, near and far, L. E. 



Hitz, Madison, Ind., is unequaled when 

 it comes to knowing how to entertain. 

 He had charge at the meeting of the 

 Indiana State Florists' Association, 

 July 14, at Madison. E. E. T. 



DENVEB, COLO. 



The Market. 



There is not much change in the mar- 

 ket since last week. Prices are about 

 the same and there is practically enough 

 of everything to go around. Carna- 

 tions are rather poor and are approach- 

 ing a scarcity. Roses are smaller, due 

 to the hot weather. A better grade of 

 sweet peas is coming in now. Gypso- 

 phila, cornflowers and gladioli make up 

 the list of outdoor stock. 



Various Notes. 



The parking in front of Fred Maler 's 

 place is a delight to all who see it. The 

 entire length of a city block has been 

 thickly planted with young _ spruce. 

 Passing there in the early morning, one 

 has the impression of being in the 

 mountains. 



The Elitch Gardens Co. has started 

 an addition to the boiler room. A new 

 boiler is to be installed and the whole 

 steam system in the rose range over- 

 hauled. An 80-foot brick stack will be 

 built. Harry Harlow, foreman of the 

 company, is spending a two weeks' va- 

 cation on the Gunnison. 



N. A. Benson recently purchased a 

 new residence in the Washington park 

 district. 



Conrad Lengenfelder has commenced 

 cutting from his young carnation 

 plants. R- E. H. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



The shipping demand continues un- 

 usually strong for the time of year and 

 every now and then there is a spurt in 

 city trade, which shows that the people 

 are still buying flowers upon occasion. 

 Of course average prices are much lower 

 than last month, the quantity of stock 

 handled is less and the aggregate of 

 sales is small compared with a winter 

 month, but on the whole business is good 

 for July. This is particularly true of 

 the out-of-town demand. The shipping 

 orders are not so large as during the 

 winter, but they are much more numer- 

 ous than in any previous summer. The 

 trade is a little more spasmodic than 

 when the use of flowers is not so largely 

 for funeral work, but the out-of-town 

 demand continues to be, as in times of 

 most active business, the mainstay of 

 the market. 



The weather has been a favorable in- 

 fluence. Except for an occasional brief 

 hot spell, the trade in the Chicago ter- 

 ritory has been enjoying cool weather, 

 highly beneficial to stock in the green- 

 houses and fields and an aid to its satis- 

 factory distribution. It is the general 

 opinion that roses are of better average 

 quality than at this time in any pre- 

 vious year. A part of this is due to the 

 now general use of the newer varieties, 

 which are all-the-year-around roses 

 rather than croppers or short-season va- 

 rieties. The result, however, is another 

 demonstration of the old saying, "Pro- 

 duce the goods and the demand will 

 come." It is coming, daily. During the 

 last week there has been some reduction 



