Jamdabx 7, 1915. 



The Florists' Review 



17 



FayettevUle, Ark.— The Southwestern 

 Seed &. Floral Co. found trade was 

 stronger in plants than in cut flowers 

 this season. ^ The company experienced 

 its largest Christmas business. 



Eau Claire, Wis.— Although the below 

 zero weather was a hindrance, says O. 

 R. Demmler, holiday trade was quite 

 satisfactory. Azaleas and other potted 

 plants sold well, as did baskets. 



Hutchinson^ Kan.— t^Beauties were in 

 increased demand this year at Kline's 

 Flower Shop. E. H. Kline reports bet- 

 ter business this Christmas than for the 

 last two . years. John Stamm and 

 Yerkes Bros, also report a good trade. 



Nashua, N. H. — Orders came later and 

 were smaller this Christmas than they 

 were a year ago; the volume was about 

 the same. The florists' business is bet- 

 ter off than most other lines, thinks 

 August Gaedeke & Co., although trade 

 is much the same as usual. 



Ida, Eau. — Only three days of sun- 

 shine in the four weeks preceding 

 Christinas was a drawback to trade, in 

 the estimation of J. W. Primmer. The 

 cloudy weather seems to have extended 

 over the greater part of the southwest. 

 Holiday business, says Mr. Primmer, 

 was satisfactory. 



Providence, R. I. — As the flower trade 

 has felt the financial depression about 

 the same as other lines of business 

 this fall, it was to be expected that 

 Christmas trade would fall off. William 

 Chappell reports his to have been one- 

 half of last year's, and bad in compari- 

 son with the year before. 



Hartford, Conn. — "There seems to be 

 a growing demand for medium-sized 

 and medium-priced plants of all kinds, 

 good, sturdy stuff," report Spear & 

 McManus, whose Christmas business, 

 say they, was better than that a year 

 ago. For poinsettias, valley and vio- 

 lets there was not so great a demand 

 as formerly. 



Fargo, N. D. — Together with some 

 other merchants of Fargo, the Shotwell 

 Floral Co. signed an agreement to close 

 the store at -7 p. m. December 24. Ac- 

 cording to the company, probably not 

 a sale was lost by this action, and it 

 gave an opportunity for preparation 

 for a good business Christmas morn- 

 ing. The cold and complaints of hard 

 times hurt trade. 



Birmingham, Ala. — Cheap plants were 

 moat called for at Christmas, for busi- 

 ness has been dull and money tight. 

 Skimmias found favor, and fancy bas- 

 kets filled with plants sold well. Hugh 

 Seales reports his trade satisfactory, 

 in view of existing circumstances, al- 

 though the receipts were thirty per 

 dent less than last year's. As his rose 

 and carnation crops were good, he 

 bought only Beauties, Kichmonds and 

 valley, and went home, sold out, at 

 noon. 



Alliance, O. — Cut flowers must be put 

 upon the samg. price basis as plants and 

 not raised to exorbitant figures for 

 special occasions if the wholesalers and 

 growers do not wish to suffer a greater 

 slump than they did this year, is J. F. 

 Zimmerman's view. Plants are pro- 

 gressing fast in favor, and cut flowers 

 are not keeping pace. Under present 

 conditions the retailer finds it to his 

 decided advantage to push plants, so 

 that, unless there comes a change, cut 

 flowers are likely to suffer still more. 



Charleston, W. Va.— The J. W. Alex- 

 ander establishment had a fine cut of 

 carnations and djjd a better Christmas 

 business than ever before. Pot plants 

 made another gain in favor, as offer- 

 ing better value than cut flowers. 



Fort Wajme, Ind. — The Doswell Flo- 

 ral Co. had a full crop of carnations 

 and scored a ten per cent increase in 

 Christmas sales. There was no change 

 from usual Christmas conditions ex- 

 cept that prices in general were a little 

 lower. 



Norristown, Pa. — Wm. H. Catanese 

 says the Christmas business all cai^ in 

 two days and sums up the same «s in 

 1913. Medium priced wreaths .and 

 plants were most in demand, the prices 

 of cut flowers being too high for con- 

 ditions of the year. 



Pueblo, Colo. — Cold, sunshiny weath- 

 er Christmas day aided sales and de- 

 liveries. G. Fleischer reports business 

 for this occasion about the same as 

 that of the last two years. Small 

 plants had the heaviest sale, but be- 

 gonias do not sell any more. 



Minot, N. D. — George E. Valker says 

 general business conditions have been 

 about the same as a year ago, there not 

 having been the increase that was ex- 

 pected. Christmas sales increased only 

 ten per cent, as against thirty per cent 

 in 1913. He pushed plants, owing to 

 the uncertainty of getting cut flowers 

 at prices that will permit their sale at 

 a profit. 



Kansas City, Mo. — The Alpha Floral 

 Co. says luxury buyers turned from the 

 jeweler to the florist this year, so that 

 Christmas sales increased. There was 

 a greater demand for plants, and a cor- 

 responding decrease in cut flower buy- 

 ing. The lesson of the cold weather 

 was that more careful preparations 

 should be made for the protection and 

 delivery of plants. 



Charleroi, Pa. — ^The store opened here 

 something -over a year ago by the 

 Kinder Floral Co. has given such good 

 results that another was opened a few 

 weeks ago at Monessen, Pa. I. V. Kin- 

 der says the business depression has 

 been felt keenly throughout th# dis- 

 trict, but holiday business was helped 

 by the special effort employers made to 

 pay off before Christmas. 



Hartford, Conn. — "Use art in ar- 

 rangement and charge for it," is the 

 suggestion of G. W. McClunie for a 

 profitable Christmas trade. He found 

 the more expensive wreaths, of statice 

 and barberry, more profitable than 

 azaleas and begonias, because the lat- 

 ter have been cheapened by being sold 

 at too low prices. An increase in the 

 number of charges was the only effect 

 he could see of abnormal business con- 

 ditions. Sales were better than last 

 year. 



Savannah, Ga. — John Wolf says 

 Christmas was just as good as 1912 

 and better than in 1913 in spite of the 

 worst general business situation in 

 twenty years. He found made-up bas- 

 kets of plants at frqpi $2.50 to $10 

 the best sellers. "As long as good 

 roses wholesale above $15 per hundred 

 they will not sell well here," he says; 

 "we can retail a few at $3 per dozen, 

 but no big business can be done above 

 $2 per dozen. It is the same with 

 Beauties; we can sell a lot of them at 

 from $5 to $10 per dozen, but not many 

 at $12 and $15." 



OBITUARY 



John Bichardson. 



John Eichardson, aged 33 years, in 

 business as a retailer ^t Scranton, Pa., 

 died December 25, after a brief illness. 

 He is survived by his wife and a 

 daughter, Hilda; also by his mother, 

 three brothers and two sisters. The 

 funeral took place the following after- 

 noon, with services at the residence. 

 Burial was at Dalton. 



John Monson. 



John Monson, proprietor of the Min- 

 neapolis Floral Co., Minneapolis, Minn., 

 died at his home Monday night, Decem- 

 ber 28, after a brief illness. He was 

 taken sick a few days before the holi- 

 days, but was reported better about 

 Christmas day; then the sudden report 

 of his demise came as a distinct shock 

 to his many friends. 



Mr. Monson was 48 years of age. He 

 came to this country twenty-two years 

 ago from his native country, Sweden, 

 where, except for a short time spent in 

 Denmark, he learned and practiced his 

 profession. After he had spent only a 

 short time with August S. Swanson, at 

 St. Paul, the Smith Floral Co., of Min- 

 neapolis, tendered him the position of 

 foreman and manager of its extensive 

 range. After three years of success 

 there, he started out for himself as 

 proprietor of the Minneapolis Floral 

 Co., seventeen years ago. He showed 

 what may be accomplished when skill, 

 energy, perseverance and thrift are as- 

 sociated and properly directed, for he 

 built up his business from nothing to 

 the largest in the state. 



One of his greatest pleasures was 

 raising roses, and he brought out a 

 nugiber of these which are well known 

 locally. Two, at least, are well known 

 to the entire trade, Kate Moulton and 

 Minnetonka. 



Mr. Monson was married about four 

 years ago, and leaves his wife and an 

 adopted daughter, Beatrice. The re- 

 gard in which he was held by the local 

 members of the trade was witnessed by 

 the , large number of them who, al- 

 though it was in the midst of the busy 

 holiday season, gathered at his funer- 

 al December 31. He was buried in 

 Lakewood cemetery. 



LILIES FOB EASTEB. 



What is the best variety of Easter 

 lily to grow commercially? How soon 

 ought the bulbs to be potted to bloom 

 for Easter? H. A. B. 



Lilium longiflorum giganteum is the 

 favorite lily commercially. Bulbs 

 should have been potted in October or 

 early November, and the plants should 

 now be several inches high. C. W. 



SPIB.S:A GLADSTONE. 



Kindly give the culture of Spiraea 

 Gladstone. , H. A. B. 



Pot at once. For Easter-blooming 

 start nine to ten weeks in advance, in 

 a night temperature of 60 degrees. 

 You can hardly overwater them. Feed 

 liberally when the pots are filled with 

 roots. The foliage is easily injured by 

 smoke from tobaccp stems. C. W. 



