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The Florists' Review 



31 



NEW YOKK. 



The Market. 



The cut flower market continues dull 

 and uninteresting, with the supply 

 light and the demand far from normal. 

 Last year at this time the supply was 

 heavier, and prices in many lines were 

 higher than they are today, but the de- 

 mand was fairly active. A number of 

 reasons are volunteered for the condi- 

 tions now existing, but none seems to 

 fit the case. If, as many say, the high 

 prices retailers are compelled to ask for 

 flowers is the cause, why was business 

 good last year under similar condi- 

 tions? 



Boses appear to be about the only 

 staple flowers which have not declined in 

 price. American Beauty is light in 

 supply, and special grades have ad- 

 vanced to $100 to $150 per hundred. 

 Hybrid teas are not in better supply, 

 as it was expected they would be, and 

 values of the last two weeks are con- 

 tinued. Growers say there is a pros- 

 pect of an immediate increase in the 

 rose cut, which, when it materializes, 

 will be welcomed by all distributors as 

 bringing with it a period of lower 

 prices. 



Carnations are in good supply and 

 move well at $4 to $8 per hundred 

 flowers, with Laddie bringing as much 

 as-$15 to $20, according to the quality, 

 the general run of which is wonderfully 

 fine. 



Orchids appear to be in larger supply 

 than the market can absorb. Evidently 

 the use of orchids is not being pushed. 

 Gardenias are in light supply and the 

 quality is nothing to boast of. White 

 lilies seem to be more plentiful as the 

 demand for them becomes less, owing 

 to the quantity of other white flowers 

 available, and the price range has de- 

 clined. Lily of the valley has short- 

 ened up a little and arrivals move 

 slowly. 



Bulbous flowers are plentiful and the 

 market for them drags at times. Lilacs, 

 acacias, bouvardias and freesias seem 

 to be among the principal offerings of 

 miscellaneous flowers, and meet with a 

 fair demand. Other flowers are calen- 

 dulas, snapdragons, pansies, buddleias, 

 myosotis, mignonette, sweet peas and 

 stevia. 



Various Notes. 



It has been arranged to hold the next 

 meeting of the New York Florists' Club 

 in the same place as usual, the En- 

 gineering Societies' building, 25 West 

 Thirty-Ninth street, Monday evening, 

 February 14. The second annual recep- 

 tion and dance will be held the same 

 evening, in the same room, the social 

 function to be staged immediately after 

 the business meeting, which will be 

 made as short as possible. 



Theodore Hengstenberg, of Hemp- 

 stead, L. I., ia preparing to build two 

 greenhouses. 



The Greek American Florists' Asso- 

 ciation will hold its fourteenth anniver- 

 sary entertainment and ball at Hotel 

 Commodore, Forty-Second street and 

 Lexington avenue, Wednesday evening, 

 March 2. A vaudeville program will be 

 * P'^ominent entertainment feature. 



The humorists were busy again last 

 week with the slogan, "Say It with 

 blowers." The New York Sun printed 

 the following: "Budd.— 'Who origi- 

 nated the phrase, "Say It with Flow- 

 ers 1 Judd.— ' I guess it was the man 



who put "oral" in "floral." ' In the 

 Evening World February 3, the noted 

 humorist, Eay L. McCardell, used for 

 his syndicated story of "The Jarr 

 Family," the theme, "Say It with 

 Flowers," the whole story depending 

 upon it for its interest. 



John P. Mallon, the veteran retail 

 florist, of Brooklyn, died suddenly 

 Sunday, February 6, the death being 

 particularly sad at just this time. On 

 the previous day he was around the 

 flower markets, a welcome visitor, after 

 a long absence. He was happy in the 

 fact that his only daughter was to be 

 married the next day. The daughter 

 was married as was planned, but Mr. 

 Mallon died before night. Further de- 

 tails regarding Mr. Mallon 's death will 

 be found in the obituary column of 

 this issue. 



The death of Thomas Boothe De 

 Forest, of the Lord & Burnham Co., 

 Irvington, N. Y., occurred Sunday, Feb- 

 ruary 6, at the Dobbs Ferry hospital. 

 Mr. De Forest was a prominent member 

 of the New York Florists' Club, and 

 greatly esteemed by the trade in gen- 

 eral. 



Edward Brenner, of the Eighteenth 

 Street Flower Market, was married 

 Sunday, February 6, at Eockaway 

 Temple, Eockaway Park, to Miss Ida 

 Black. After the ceremony a reception 

 was held at the home of the bride, at 

 which many florists were present. The 

 couple are spending a short honeymoon 

 in Atlantic City, N. J. 



A meeting of cut flower growers is 

 called for Friday afternoon, February 

 11, in the Engineering Societies' build- 

 ing, to discuss the organization of 

 growers, in connection with the forming 

 of the Allied Florists' Trade Associa- 

 tion of New York. The advisability of 

 local advertising, and other important 

 matters will be taken up at this meet- 

 ing. J. H. P. 



NEWPORT, R. I. 



S. S. Smith's Sons Win Suit. 



Samuel Smith's Sons, Jamestown, won 

 their case in Superior court here, Mon- 

 day, January 31, before Judge Barrows, 

 in which they were the defendants. The 

 suit was brought by K. van Bourgandian 

 & Sons, Babylon, N. Y., to recover $79.52, 

 alleged to be due on a case of Golden 

 Spur narcissus bulbs, shipped by them 

 to the defendants October 27, 1919. The 

 court charged the jury briefly, saying 

 that if the ease were in doubt, the ver- 

 dict sliould be in favor of the defendant. 

 After being out less than half an hour, 

 the jury returned a verdict for the de- 

 fendant. 



Two members of the plaintiff concern 

 testified, one stating that he was a 

 packer of bulbs of long experience, and 

 that the bulbs shipped to the Smiths 

 were first-class in every respect and 

 were properly packed^ but said that their 

 catalogue stated that the firm was not 

 responsible for the successful growing 

 of the stock. He claimed that he vis- 

 ited the Smiths' greenhouses at James- 

 town, during the February following 

 the shipment, and was shown the plants 

 by the defendant, who claimed they 

 were not flowering properly, but said 

 that the bill would be paid. A brother 

 of the witness corroborated his testi- 

 mony, and said that the growth of the 

 plants showed they were of good stock. 



Samuel Smith, senior member of the 

 defendant firm, testified that the case 



contained 2,500, not 1,800, as claimed 

 by the plaintiffs, and that it was found 

 that the contents were rooted, sprouted 

 and rotted. He said that from a quarter 

 to one-third of the bulbs were sound and 

 these were planted immediately, but 

 when they came up they showed that 

 they were diseased and were not usable, 

 making only four inches or so in growth. 



Various Notes. 



Carl Jurgens has been cutting ice the 

 last week six inches thick, which is 

 heavy enough for his uses, and has his 

 houses about filled. 



John S. Martin reports an unusually 

 large number of ^bookings for early land- 

 scape work this spring. 



Mr. Vanicek, of Jamestown, and B. A. 

 Bohuslav, of this city, attended the an- 

 nual meeting of the Rhode Island Nurs- 

 erymen's Association, at Providence, 

 last week. W. H. M. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market^ 



Business was good, in the first week of 

 February, by every standard of compari- 

 son except that of last year. Compared 

 even with 1919, business still is excel- 

 lent, but the first part of February, 1920, 

 brought high-water mark for our trade 

 records to date. For a great many grow- 

 ers and wholesalers, February, 1920, is a 

 time to be held in fond remembrance, to 

 be talked about as a pleasant memory, 

 an experience of a lifetime, something 

 once enjoyed, but not likely soon to be 

 known again. In addition to all the 

 other uses for flowers, the flu was with 

 us then. 



There has been little change in market 

 conditions since last report, except prog- 

 ress along the lines then indicated. 

 Production has continued to increase; 

 demand has been good, but not strong 

 enough to maintain prices, which have 

 sagged. Prices still are good, except by 

 comparison with those of last year and 

 the year before, but the total of sales 

 shows a sharp falling off — almost for the 

 first time in over two years. 



Rose crops have not come on quite so 

 fast as many persons had expected, nor 

 so fast as crops of other flowers, with 

 the result that rose prices, particularly 

 on the medium grades, have held up 

 rather better than have the prices of 

 carnations and bulbous stock. There are 

 big crops of roses in sight, but the plants 

 are not moving as fast as weather condi- 

 tions would seem to warrant. The qual- 

 ity of roses is excellent and there is a 

 good demand for the medium lengths. 



Carnations have come along quite rap- 

 idly and the supply has become the 

 largest of the season to date. Prices, 

 which eased off last week, are firming 

 up again in expectation of increased 

 demand for St. Valentine's day. 



The weather has not been cold, but 

 there have been a number of dark days, 

 not at all favorable for sweet peas, with 

 the result that neither supply nor quality 

 has held up. The popularity of the sweet 

 pea increases as winter passes and the 

 demand is good; prices for first-class 

 peas have been maintained better than 

 for most other flowers. 



Bulbous flowers now are in full supply 

 and prices have melted in a way distress- 

 ing to the small army of bulb salesmen 

 now in our midst. In addition to the 

 considerable quantities of cut stock in 



[Continued on paire 38.1 



