Dbcbmbeb 22, 1921 



The Florists^ Review 



29 



NEW YORK. 



The Market. 



The cut flower market last week was 

 poorly supplied with stock and there 

 was really an insufficiency for the light 

 demand usually apparent during the 

 pre-Christmas season. The green goods 

 men have seemed to enjoy a monopoly 

 of business and vast quantities of green 

 material arrived and departed. Pros- 

 jjccts for holiday business furnish the 

 principal topic for discussibn in both 

 markets, but prognostications vary as 

 to whether it will be good or bad. The 

 plantsmen, so far, appear to be satisfied 

 with their sales, although admitting 

 that they have not fared so well as they 

 did last year at this time. Chrysanthe- 

 mums continue to arrive, but the 

 quality betokens the end of the crop. 

 A good many pompons come in and they 

 sell fairly well at prices running from 

 35 cents to $1.25 per bunch, the latter 

 for the best flowers of the button va- 

 riety, Christmas Gold. 



Eoses are in fairly good supply, with 

 an excess of special grades in the 

 hybrid tea varieties, which move 

 slowly, grades No. 1 and extras meeting 

 the best demand. Premier is arriving in 

 exhibition form, showing what may be 

 expected for the holidays. American 

 Beauty is in good supply, but prices up 

 to December 19 were unchanged. «- 



Carnations are on the short side of the 

 market, with every prospect of a light 

 Christmas crop. The range of prices for 

 December 17 for ordinaries was $10 to 

 $12 per hundred, while sales were made 

 December 19 at $12 to $15, with good 

 clearances. 



The orchid supply has not increased 

 to any extent, and prices of cattleyas 

 have advanced materially; they are now 

 bringing $50 to $100 for Percivaliana, 

 and as much as $200 for the best 

 Trianse. Spray orchids move fairly well 

 and there is a moderate demand for 

 cypripediums. 



The supply of white lilies is larger, but 

 prices are unchanged. Lily of the valley 

 was up and down during the week, but 

 was strong December 19 at $3 to $8, 

 with a light demand for the best grade. 

 Eubrum lilies are in fair supply at $8 

 to $15 per hundred. 



Violets are fairly plentiful, the best 

 bringing $1 per hundred. Sweet peas 

 are in only moderate supply, with a top 

 price of $4 per hundred sprays. 



In miscellaneous stock there ig a wide 

 selection. Paper White narcissi bring 60 

 cents per bunch, and the quality is good. 

 A few tulips are coming in, and meet a 

 small demand at $1.25 to $1.50 per 

 dozen. Bouvardia is plentiful, but 

 moves slowly. Cornflowers, mignonette, 

 pansies, stevia, lilac and calendulas form 

 the bulk of other offerings. 



Various Notes. 



J. K. Allen, of the Eighteenth street 

 flower market, was receiving poinsettias 

 last week with heads measuring eight- 

 een inches across and unusually long 

 stems, the largest seen in New York for 

 a long time. 



Roman J. Irwin, president-elect of the 

 New York Florists' Club, is busy form- 

 ing his committee slates for the com- 

 ing year. 



Joseph S. Fenrich, the Eighteenth 

 street market wholesaler, is receiving a 

 splendid holiday crop of roses from the 

 Duckham-Pierson range, at Madison, N. 

 J. The variety Premier is even finer than 



the cut of last Christmas. He is also 

 receiving good shipments of the new 

 rose, Mme. Butterfly, which is becom- 

 ing a popular variety among retailers. 



The bowlers in the trade are awaiting 

 the announcement of the appointment 

 of the New York Florists' Club's com- 

 mittee which will have power to select a 

 team to enter the proposed bowling 

 league. This league is expected to fur- 

 nish the chief event in the bowling 

 tournament, to be a feature of the 

 S. A. F. convention in Kansas City next 

 August. J. H. P. 



Fleischman has leased the small store 

 on the Forty-sixth street side of the new 

 Straus building, adjoining the corner 

 store Recently rented to the Postal Tele- 

 graph Co. The lease is for a term 

 of years, and the aggregate rental is ap- 

 proximately $75,000. Fleischman will 

 occupy his new store about February 1, 

 and will close his store at 500 Fifth 

 avenue May 1. He has four stores in 

 New York at present. 



HARTFORD, CONN. 



Club Meeting. 



At a lively meeting held at the Hotel 

 Bond December 12, twenty-six members 

 of the Hartford Florists' Club enjoyed 

 the venison dinner which Wallace Pier- 

 son so generously prepared. 



It was the annual meeting and the 

 following ofiicers were elected to serve 

 for the ensuing year: President, W. W. 

 Thomson; vice-president, J. E. Andrews; 

 treasurer, J. A. Brodrib; secretary, 

 George Marchant. Joseph McManus 

 was elected as a new member of the 

 executive committee. 



It was with deep regret that all of 

 the members present heard of the sad 

 accident at the range of A. N. Pierson, 

 Inc., Cromwell, where one of the oldest 

 employees on the place was injured by a 

 large truck and died. A second catas- 

 trophe at this place was the killing of 

 eighty-nine fine, sleek cattle, which 

 failed to pass the tuberculosis test of 

 the state. The sympathy of the trade is 

 with Wallace Pierson and everyone at 

 the dinner was disappointed at not 

 being able to have him say a few words. 



W. D. Howard, president of the 

 American Carnation Society, was the 

 guest of the evening and spoke highly 

 of the good work which the florists of 

 Hartford were doing for the coming 

 show and convention, to be held in Hart- 

 ford. Joseph Coombs, chairman of the 

 finance committee, said that it would 

 take approximately $2,000 for advertis- 

 ing and other expenses in connection 

 with the coming flower show, appor- 

 tioned on a scale equal to the size of the 

 business of each florist and grower in 

 the city. John Coombs is to be assessed 

 $350; A. N. Pierson, Inc., $600; Spear & 

 McManus, $250, and so on down to the 

 smallest contributor, who would be 

 assessed $5. Everyone was pleased with 

 the assessment and thought that the 

 advertising feature of the show would 

 well repay them for the initial outlay. 

 Great coiiperation between all the 

 growers and retailers is noted here. 



Complimentary tickets for the coming 

 show, transcribed by George F. Lane, 

 chairman of the publicity committee, 

 were ready for the members of the club 

 so that they could be used with ad- 

 vantage in giving one to each customer 

 who purchased cut flowers and plants 



during the Christmas holidays and could 

 also be mailed out in the monthly state- 

 ments. 



Four members were admitted to the 

 club, bringing the total membership to 

 sixty. 



Various Notes. 



All of the florists here are busy pre- 

 paring for the holiday rush and many 

 have been working until midnight pre- 

 paring wreaths and novelties. F6ur 

 experts at George F. Lane's have beea 

 busy making up everlastings, arrang- 

 ing large, medium and small-sized 

 baskets and bowls, which find a ready 

 sale. 



The full crew at John Coombs' is busy 

 making wreaths and arranging other 

 novelties, for which this firm has large 

 orders. A miniature merry-go-round in 

 full operation attracts the attention of 

 the crowds who pass the store on Main 

 street. 



George F. Lane and other florists fur- 

 nished several pieces for the funeral of 

 George Solby, president of the Connecti- 

 cut State Fair Association, who died 

 recently. 



John McDermitt, of Windsor, is sup- 

 plying the local trade with laurel rop- 

 ing and other greens for the holidays. 

 Paper Whites and other bulbs are be- 

 ginning to flower at his place, for which 

 he finds a good demand. C. B. M. 



CHJCAGO. 



The Market. 



Growers were low in their spirits last 

 week; the weather at the critical time 

 was enough to explain either murder or 

 suicide. For three days in succession no 

 greenhouse near Chicago caught so 

 much as a glimpse of the sun and then 

 Old Man Winter jumped on the glass 

 with both feet — snow and a 30-mile gale 

 of all-night duration. But the next day 

 nature and the growers smiled again; it 

 was cold apd clear, ideal weather for 

 bringing on the Christmas crop and put- 

 ting color and crispness into the flowers. 

 It often is Chicago's portion to have 

 dull, dark weather just before Christ- 

 mas, but we are hoping for the best. 

 Such conditions as those at the end of 

 last week would be disastrous; such 

 weather as that at the start of this 

 week, if continued, will be worth thou- 

 sands in dollars and unreckonable sums 

 in satisfaction. 



Business last week showed the usual 

 pre-holiday conditions. There was not 

 much stirring, activity being principally 

 in anticipation of the holiday, but even 

 with the light demand prices began to 

 advance. While the weather was not 

 favorable to the production of flowers, 

 there were evidences that growers were 

 accumulating stock against the holiday 

 demand. No amount of preaching, ad- 

 monition or experience will stop this 

 practice. Of course everybody knows 

 that a little stock must be held back if 

 Christmas orders are to be filled, but to 

 ship no carnations for a week after 

 December 12, as one or two growers are 

 reported to have done, is sheer folly. The 

 ciirnation supply last week was so short 

 that good prices were obtainable and 

 flowers a week old will not be sent out 

 on orders by any wholesaler in his right 

 mind. Consequently the grower who 

 pickles his stock might just about as 



(Continued on page 34.) 



