Januaky 19, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



41 



OBITUARY 



Ammi Whitney. 



Ammi Whitney, president and treas- 

 urer of Kendall & Whitney, Portland, 

 Me., well known in the seed trade and 

 at Portland considered one of the most 

 prominent business and financial men, 

 died at his home, 365 Spring street, 

 Portland, at 2 a. m., January 10. Had 

 Mr. Whitney lived until February 13, he 

 would have been just 89 years of age. 

 For scores of years he was closely asso- 

 ciated with the business and civic life of 

 his home city. 



Mr. Whitney was born at Cumberland, 

 Md., February 13, 1833. He was the 

 son of Ammi E. Whitney and Hannah 

 Hall Whitney, and his father was a suli 

 stantial citizen, member of an old fam- 

 ily near Portland. 



Mr. Whitney was educated at Cum- 

 berland, Md., and Falmouth, Mass., and 

 then went to Boston, where he entered 

 the seed store of Parker, White & Gan- 

 nett. He learned the business in all its 

 branches and in all its details. Hence, 

 he was well prepared to embark in an 

 enterprise of the same general nature 

 when he went to Portland. 



In 1855 Mr. Whitney became a part- 

 ner of Hosea Kendall, the firm being 

 Kendall & Whitney, which was incor- 

 porated a number of years ago. They 

 conducted the seed and agricultural im- 

 plement store in the old city hall, and 

 there are few firm names of business es- 

 tablishments in the retail district of 

 Portland that extend back farther into 

 the past. 



This old building was torn down about 

 thirty years ago. Kendall & Whitnev 

 removed to the corner of Federal and 

 Temple streets, and three floors and a 

 basement are required to house the big 

 stock and furnish offices and salesrooms. 



Mr. Whitney was identified with manv 

 business enterprises during the last half 

 century. Not only as president and 

 treasurer of Kendall & Whitney, but 

 as director and vice-president of the 

 Casco National bank and director of the 

 Mercantile Trust Co. before its merger 

 with the Casco, director and vice-presi- 

 dent of the Casco Mercantile Trust Co.. 

 director of the Union Safe Deposit & 

 Trust Co. and director of the Cumber- 

 land County Power & Light Co., the 

 Saco Biddeford Railroad Co., Harps- 

 well & Casco Bay Line, Union Mutual 

 Loan Association, Oxford P.aper Co., 

 Fitzgerald Land & Lumber Co., Casco 

 Loan & Building Association, Portland 

 Loan Co. and .Jefferson theater, he was 

 extremely helpful to his associates. He 

 was also long a director of the Home for 

 Aged Men and a trustee of the Maine 

 Eye & Ear Infirmary. He was a mem- 

 ber of the Bramhall League and First 

 Parish Church parish. Mr. Whitney w;is 

 a Domorrat, but never aspired to public 

 service and his interests were commev- 

 cial, his diversion being attendance Jit 

 the theater, of wliich he was a steady 

 patron many years. 



He owned a farm and was long a 

 meml)er of the Portland Farmers' Club, 

 applying the knowledge that he ac- 

 quired when a farmer's boy in his na- 

 tive town of Cumberland. ^ He was a 

 naturalliorn buyer and salesTiian and ex 

 tended liis acquaintance to an exce]i 

 tional degree. Few could believe he had 



attained such a rare old age. His activ- 

 ity was always unusual and this con- 

 tinued until a short time before his death. 

 He took great delight in doing business 

 and was a competent salesman who saw 

 to it that the stock included everything 

 his customers could ask for or think of. 



Mr. Whitney married Emily S. Has- 

 kell, daughter of Samuel and Adaline 

 S. Haskell, October 10, 1860, and she died 

 several years ago. Five children were 

 born of this union and four survive, 

 Alice Prince, Kate Dunlap, Samuel H. 

 and Joseph W., all of Portland. 



One who was perhaps as close to him 

 as was anyone outside of his own fam- 

 ily said of him, "I never knew a more 

 self-effacing and kindly considerate man 

 where the convenience and comfort of 

 others were concerned." So ])rominent 

 was he at Portland that 2-column head- 

 lines at the top of the first page of the 

 Portland Evening Express & Adver- 

 tiser for January 9 announced his death. 



WiUiam H. Cass. 



William H. Cass, 67 years of age, died 

 at his home at Geneva, N. Y., Monday 

 afternoon, January 9. Death was due to 

 a stroke received Sunday evening, Jan- 

 uary 8, from which the deceased never 

 regained consciousness. 



For many years the deceased had been 

 a member of the firm of Cass Bros. 

 Nursery Co., Geneva, N. Y. He was a 

 popular figure at Geneva and was promi- 

 nent in the business affairs of the city. 

 He was dean of the common council at 

 the time of his death. He was the oldest 

 member of the board of aldermen in 

 point of service, having served on that 

 body for the last twenty years. He was 

 a prominent Mason, being a member of 

 the Blue Lodge chapter, and the Com- 

 mandery and the Grotto. He also was a 

 member of the Geneva Lodge of Elks. 



He leaves his widow and four sons, 

 Fred T. Cass, Thomas J. Cass, Lewis H. 

 Cass and Charles H. Cass, all of Geneva; 

 two daughters, Mrs. Albert Kron, of 

 Livingston Manor, and Miss Elizabeth 

 Cass, of Geneva, and one brother, 

 Thomas Cass, of Geneva, X. Y. 



The funeral took place Wednesday 

 afternoon, January 11. 11. .1. H. ' 



Walter D. Ross. 



Walter D. Ross, president and treas- 

 urer of the seed firm of Ross Bros., Inc., 

 Worcester, Mass., died at his home of 

 pneumonia, January 9, in his sixty-sev- 

 enth year. Mr. Ross was born in West 

 Boylston, Mass., and educated in the 

 public schools of that town. At an early 

 date he entered the employ of Williniii 

 IL f]arle, grain dealer of Worcester, 

 which business he took over in 188S with 

 his brother, incorporating it under its 

 present name. Twenty-two years ago 

 this firm furnished the seeds and agri- 

 cultural implements to the .lapanese gov- 

 ernment for the establishment of an 

 agricultural college at Sai>poro, Japan. 



Mr. Ross was a well known man 

 among the county farmers and was 

 l)residcnt of the Worcester County Agri- 

 cultural Society. He was a member of 

 the following masonic organizations: 

 Athelstan lodge, A. F. and A. M.; 

 Worcester Royal Arch chapter; Hiram 

 Council, Royal and Select Masters; 

 Worcester County Commanderv No. 5, 

 Knights Templor; Massachusetts Con- 

 sistory, thirty-second degree, and Ale- 

 theia (Jrotto, M. O. B. and P. E. R. 

 Other organizations in which he was 

 both ])r((iMiiient and active were: New 

 England Agricultural Society, Worces- 



ter County Harvest Club, Worcester 

 Chamber of Commerce, United Commer- 

 cial Travelers' Club, Worcester County 

 Club, Worcester Grange and Kiwanis 

 Club. 



The funeral was held January 12 and 

 was largely attended. Floral tributes 

 were numerous, a masonic emblem being 

 among them. The Worcester County 

 Horticultural Society, of which he had 

 been for many years a trustee, sent 

 Columbia roses. The deceased is sur- 

 vived by a widow, Mrs. Mary E. Ross, 

 and two daughters. Hazel A. Ross, of 

 Plymouth, and Eloise E. Ross, of 

 Worcester. He was a cousin of Luther 

 Burbank. 



A. J. Eurt. 



A. J. Burt, pioneer florist of Spokane, 

 Wash., died suddenly January 13 at his 

 apartments in the Eiler building. Mr. 

 Burt was apparently in good health 

 when he went home after cb sing his 

 store, about 7 p. m. He was taken ill 

 in the elevator and died before a physi- 

 cian reached him. 



Mr. Burt was one of the pioneers in 

 the landscape gardening profession in 

 Spokane. He o])ened a florist 's estab- 

 lishment in a humble way, but busi- 

 ness grew and a few years later he 

 moved to a larger store, at Riverside 

 and Lincoln, where he continued to build 

 up his business until it was bought by 

 the late Adolph Donart, in November, 



1916. Mr. Burt then took a few 

 months' rest, going to California. Re- 

 turning in the spring, he engaged in 

 landscape gardening until the fall of 



1917, when he opened the flower store 

 in the Clemmer theater building, which 

 he conducted till his death. 



He is survived by his widow, Mrs. 

 Clara Philips Burt; a brother. Jack 

 Burt, of Spokane, also a florist, and two 

 sisters, of Toronto, Can. The funeral 

 was held .Tanuarv 17. H. H. 



CHICAGK). 



The Market. 



There are numerous buyers who assert 

 that last week 's market was the tightest 

 ever known in Chicago and that roses 

 cost them more than at any previous 

 time of scarcity. The wholesalers, how- 

 ever, say this is not true, that their 

 records show growers ' returns were al- 

 most precisely the same per flower in the 

 corresponding week of 1921 and that the 

 scarcity then was at least as great as 

 this year. Wholesalers, moreover, ]ioint 

 out this difference: That, whereas in 

 1920 the market continued tight until 

 February 14 and in 1921 until about 

 February 1. in 1922 there were by .Fanu- 

 ary 14 signs of the approach of easier 

 conditions. In other words, if the Janu- 

 ary squeeze is as sharp as ever, it each 

 year is of less duration. 



There was no unusual demand last 

 week, but many buyers who never are 

 heard of except in times of scarcity 

 came into the market. The shortage of 

 roses proved to be so great it carried 

 prices to unusual heights for a few days 

 and all the other items were carried up 

 by the call for substitutes for roses. The 

 economists tell us price governs all, and 

 so it was in this case. The rise served, 

 not only to limit demand, but to dr.'iw 

 increased supiilies of flowers other than 

 roses. Sweet iien growers, rejoicing in 

 several days ot' ide;il weather, picked 



'Co'itiniieil nn paee V'.) 



