March 4, 1915. 



The Florists' Review 



17 



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the wholesale markets than in any 

 similar period of the past; also, the 

 prices have been good considering the 

 quantity of stock moved. 



Old Freesia refracta alba still is 

 more or less in evidence, showing the 

 experience and diligence of the bulb 

 grower in the color of the flowers, 

 some fairly clear, many quite yellow. 

 But Purity has become so moderate 

 in cost of bulbs that it almost Inonop- 

 olizes the attention of the growers. 

 Here and there other colors are of- 

 fered. For instance, ' Alois Frey, pro- 

 prietor of Rose Lawn Nurseries, 

 Crown Point, Ind., for several years 

 has been at work on a set of bright- 

 colored freesias of which he now has 

 worked up considerable stock, a part 

 of which was distributed last season. 

 The colors run through almost the en- 

 tire sj)ectrum and are bright and clear 

 enough so that retailers find the cut 

 flowers extremely useful. There are 

 light pinks and good reds, light lav- 

 enders and deep purples, but perhaps 

 the best of all is a deep yellow. Mr. 

 Frej'^ 's varieties have all the ordinary 

 freesia qualities, plus something new 

 in color, an,d have added more than a 

 little this season to the popularity of 

 the flower. 



Plenty of Window Space at this Duluth Flower Store. 



watering every day &nd the frequent 

 changing of the groups and the color 

 scheme, thus facilitating the sale of 

 the various plants which, one after 

 another, take their places in the show 

 groups. All too often the plants are 

 aieglected; after they have been put 

 ■f-on dis^i|(j^, when, indeed, thej' need just 

 as much or perhaps more care, because 

 subjected to the drv heat and intense 

 light. 



Making Old Things New. 



Accessories should be inventoried 

 every few months. Baskets that are 

 not salable should be given a coat of 

 fresli paint and made to look bright 

 and new; then they should be filled 

 with" material which will make these 

 cast-offs attractive and salable. For 

 instance, at Christmas there are bas- 

 kets that can be bronzed or tinted red, 

 ^filled with ruscus, statice and ever- 

 greens and disposed of at a profit, 

 whereas these same baskets would be 

 relegated to the storeroom and event- 

 ually would find their way to the rub- 

 bish heap, had they not been worked 

 with and made attractive. For St. 

 Patrick's day all sorts of receptacles 

 can be utilized for holding shamrock, 

 and so on all through the year; old 

 stock can be worked off with a little 

 planning and hard work. E. C. A. 



sold splendidly and growers felt en- 

 couraged to go in stronger for next 

 season. And their confidence was not 

 misplaced. In the last two months 

 more freesia has been sold in most of 



Davenport, la. — Forber & Bird, 323 

 Brady street, designed and executed 

 the floral decorations and furnished all 

 the cut flowers, including 1,000 carna- 

 tions and 500 roses, for the banquet at 

 the opening of the Blackhawk Hotel. 

 In the edition of the Davenport Demo- 

 crat and Leader celebrating this event, 

 Forber & Bird carried a 3-column ad- 

 vertisement. 



RENASCENCE OF THE FEEESIA. 



The freesia has enjoyed a wonderful 

 return to popularity the last couple of 

 yiears. The advent of Purity gave the 

 flower a boost, but after a year or two 

 its favor seemed to wane; it was less 

 seen in the markets and bulbs were 

 in lighter demand. Last season, how- 

 ever, there was a pronounced upturn 

 in both supply and demand; at St. 

 "Valentine's day, especially, freesias 



E. P. Kretmer. 



