16 



The Florists^ Review 



V 



January 7, 1915. 



final vote on the proposed spring flower 

 show will be taken. 



This month 's display at the, Missouri 

 Botanical Garden will be in charge of 

 Max Schiller and should prove a great 

 attraction for growers. 



Carl F. Giebel, son of Philip Giebel, 

 read an important paper on "Tropical 

 Insects" last month at a meeting of 

 the entomological section of the Acad- 

 emy of Science. 



In the constitution and by-laws of the 

 Florists' and Nurserymen's Employees' 

 Union, Local No. 44, we noticed the 

 following scale of wages: Nursery- 

 men, $18; helpers, $10 per week. De- 

 signers, $25; helpers, $15. Store sales- 

 men, $15; helpers, $8. Women help is 

 governed by the state labor law. No 

 reference is made to florists or helpers 

 in greenhouses, but some of them are 

 expected to join the union. 



J, J. 1?. 



MOTT-LY MUSINGS. 



Wood Bros., Fishkill, N. Y., have 

 rounded out a satisfactory year and 

 are preparing for another equally flour- 

 ishing. 



Benjamin Hammond, Beacon, N. Y., 

 initiated the new year with an indi- 



vidual message to his employees, full of 

 optimism and of promise, to be fulfilled, 

 under certain conditions, before its 

 close. 



Percy Herbert, of Yuess Gardens Co., 

 Newburgh, N. Y., is of the opinion 

 that the demand for flowering plants 

 for holiday sales has come to stay. 

 There was no trouble in disposing of 

 well grown stock this season. 



George H. Chadborn, of Schaefer's, 

 Inc., Newburgh, was sufficiently recov- 

 ered to assist through the holiday rush 

 and was congratulated by his patrons. 

 He has had a long siege of sickness, 

 following an accident early in the sum- 

 mer. 



Mark Crawshaw, West Newburgh, 

 found little change in the holiday de- 

 mand, which was highly satisfactory. 



A sequel to the severe storm last 

 March was the suit, tried last week, of 

 Dr. Wesley Wait, of the Newburgh 

 Floral Co., against the Postal Tele- 

 graph Co., whose poles snapped, falling 

 through some of the greenhouses, de- 

 molishing them and ruining the stock. 

 Through a technicality the suit was 

 dismissed, but may again be entered 

 for trial. 



The old year saw the filing of a pe- 



tition in bankruptcy against Gottlieb ' 

 F. Knauss, violet grower, Hyde Park, 

 N. Y., as the result of connection with 

 a construction company at Poughkeep- 

 sie. 



Saltford Bros., Poughkeepsie, N, Y., 

 are looking for the usual prosperity 

 following the reopening of Vassar and 

 ether schools, which favor them with 

 a large share of first-class patronage. 



Conrad C. Gindra, Poughkeepsie, sees 

 in the new year reasons for optimism 

 and, with careful planning, expects 

 satisfactory business. 



Ley & Bro., Highland, N. Y., will 

 continue to grow Adiantum hybridum, 

 which has proved so remunerative. Their 

 entire plant is devoted to the culture 

 of this fern. 



Valentin Burgevin's Sons, Kingston, 

 N. Y., are much pleased with the new 

 addition to their range of glass. The 

 season will find them prepared with 

 their usual extensive, select stock. So 

 far they have no kick coming. 



William Williams, Kingston, has had 

 a good season, but believes that the 

 signs of the times denote the survival 

 of the fittest and that the conservative 

 buyer is the one best able to meet the 

 bills when they fall due. W. M. 



TRADE REPORTS ARE GOOD 



Great Falls, Mont.— The Electric City 

 Conservatory reports Christmas sales as 

 far ahead of last year, due to the new 

 store opened five months ago. 



Mendota, HI. — B. Katzwinkel says: 

 "Christmas and New Year's business 

 was excellent, both in plants and cut 

 flowers. ' ' 



Lawrence, Kan. — A. Whitcomb & 5on 

 report a ten per cent decrease in 

 Christmas business. The increase in 

 the demand for flowering plants keeps 

 up. 



Great Falls, Mont. — M. Kranz, of the 

 Montana Floral Exchange, says sales 

 for the holidays exceeded those of last 

 year, in spite of stagnation in the cop- 

 per industry. 



Boulder, Colo. — Charles F. Fawcett 

 says Christmas was ahead of last year. 

 He pushed plants because he grows 

 them, whereas he would have had to 

 order cut flowers from a distance. 



New Iberia, La. — The ' ' sunny south ' ' 

 is a misnomer at this time of year; C. 

 W. Outhwaite reports only two days of 

 sunshine in three weeks. Rain and 

 cold made Christmas business light. 



Mitchell, N. D. — After making prepa- 

 rations for a twenty per cent larger 

 business than the year before at^Christ- 

 nias, the Newburys had doubts as to 

 the wisdom of the move, but by adver- 

 tising sold out completely. Wreaths 

 and plant baskets brought the best re- 

 turns. 



Benton Harbor, Mich. — E. S. Thomp- 

 son says his second Christmas as a 

 retail florist brought double the sales 

 of the first Christmas the store was 

 open. 



Anderson, Ind. — Stuart & Haugh say 

 Christmas business turned out better 

 tLan expected; the largest number of 

 orders ever filled, but many of them 

 not large. 



New Haven, Conn. — That fancy bas- 

 kets and artificial flowers are displac- 

 ing holly wreaths and the like, is the 

 opinion of John N. Champion & Co. His 

 Christmas sales were about as usual. 



Columbus, O. — Christmas sales made 

 the best total ever known here, being 

 far better than expected. John R. Hel- 

 Icnthal comments on the number of or- 

 ders for the shipment of cut flowers 

 by parcel post for gift purposes. 



Oconto, Wis. — J. Sylvester says -it 

 was the best Christmas yet, with col- 

 lections fine. He reports cut flower 

 sales increased 100 per cent; holly 

 and wreaths, fifty per cent; whole- 

 sale plant trade, twenty-five per cent; 

 retail plant trade decreased ten per 

 cent. 



Faducah, Ky. — No wonder Schmaus 

 Bros, are optimistic. They say general 

 business has been better than ever this 

 fall, that the florists' has been better 

 than that in other lines, and that 

 Christmas trade was better than last 

 year. They carried a general line of 

 stock, all of which cleaned up well. 



Little Bock, Ark. — Tipton & Hurst 

 say they could have sold more plants 

 and cut flowers if they had had them 

 Christmas day. Business in general is 

 good and for the holiday was better 

 than last year. 



Watertown, N, Y. — The poor business 

 this fall lessened the Christmas sales, 

 and Fred E. Avery had only about 

 three-quarters of last year's trAde. 

 Baskets of evergreens and red iBunor- 

 telles were his best sellers. 



Chattanooga, Tenn. — ^The flower bmi- 

 ness here has suffered badly under tfre 

 severe financial strain, and Christmas 

 sales were behind, though not so far as 

 the unfavorable situation would lead 

 one to expect. The Chattanooga Flo- 

 ral Co. did well with wreaths. 



Topeka, Kan. — James Hayes noted 

 that people who previously have bought 

 cut flowers this year chose plants and 

 says the lesson of the Christmas trade 

 is that cut flowers must be offered 

 cheaper to bring them back to favor. 

 Holiday sales were the largest ever. 



Meridian, Miss. — The automobile and 

 flower trade are the only lines holding 

 up, according to J, W. Marshall, Jr. 

 His Christmas trade certainly was good, 

 running twenty-five per cent ahead of 

 last year. He says he cannot get 

 enough carnations for the holidays; the 

 southern grown, although better keep- 

 ers, cannot compare with those from 

 the north in quality and are not grown 

 in sufficient quantity. 



