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Apbil 8, 1915. 



The Florists^ Review 



19 



TOLEDO, O. 



The Market. 



The 1915 Easter week trade will be 

 noted as the record-breaker for the 

 ilower business. Never in the course of 

 the last twenty years has there been a 

 time when flowers in all grades and 

 quantities were in such demand as this 

 vear. Easter business began to over- 

 whelm the florists Tuesday, March 30, 

 and several of the larger stores worked 

 continuously through the nights of April 

 2 and 3. The stock may have been the 

 main reason for the great demand for 

 flowers, for it was as perfect as could 

 be grown, in every greenhouse in the 

 city but the fact that the florists of the 

 city' advertised more than ever, in news- 

 papers and with folders and by having 

 fine displays in their windows and 

 stores, seems to have been the principal 

 factor in increasing the sales for Easter 

 at least seventy-five per cent over the 

 amount of business at Christmas time. 

 Choice rhododendrons, azaleas and 

 hydrangeas were the leaders in potted 

 plants, and then, in the less expensive 

 class, came tulips, hyacinths and daffo- 

 dils, in all colors. Cut flowers, though 

 the prices advanced, met with a fine 

 sale, and wholesalers were well pleased 

 with the demand. 



The weather was the finest ever had 

 for handling Easter trade in the last 

 fifteen years. The sun shone beauti- 

 fully every day during the week, giv- 

 ing the trade the buying fever, and at 

 the same time enabling the florist to get 

 stock in fine condition. 



Another factor that helped greatly to 

 increase the volume of business and the 

 sale of cut flowers for the week was the 

 demand for fancy baskets of cut flow- 

 ers, and the many corsage bouquets 

 ordered for Easter Sunday. 



Due to the many deaths in the city 

 during the week, the florists were handi- 

 capped to some extent in preparing 

 orders by the immense quantity of 

 funeral work that was ordered during 

 the last three days of the week. 



Lilies of the valley, violets and sweet 

 peas were in fine shape, and the demand 

 exceedingly surprising to the florist. 

 Roses were also excellent, with good 

 color and yield. Carnations and bulbous 

 stock were plentiful. 



Various Notes. 



Harry Heinl, expert lily and hy- 

 drangea grower, is wearing a big smile 

 these days, due to the fact that he was 

 fortunate enough to have an extra sup- 

 ply of potted plants, especially lilies, 

 and disposed of them all. 



Mrs. Freeman reports an extra heavy 

 call for fancy baskets for the Easter 

 trade, probably due to the splendid ideas 

 she has in the arrangement of them. 



Schramm Bros, had a record-breaking 

 week. It was necessary to have the help 

 of three extra machines for the delivery 

 of plants and cut flowers. Schramm 

 Bros, are consistent advertisers in the 

 daily papers and with folders, and at- 

 tribute the remarkable increase in sales 

 to the fact that "it pays to advertise.^' 



The Toledo Florists' Club, which is 

 noted for its readiness to fight any 

 cause for the interest of the trade in 

 general, and particularly for its part 

 in the recent agitation over the taxa- 

 tion question and the firemen 's law, will 

 now come in contact with the State In- 

 dustrial Commission of Ohio in regard 

 to the validity of a tax on a certain 

 loledo florist to the amount of $500, 



following the death of an employee last 

 summer. After paying his regular 

 amount to the commission, because of 

 the death of the employee during work- 

 ing hours, although accidentally killed 

 while delivering a box of plants across 

 a railroad track several blocks from the 

 establishment, the florist is obliged to 

 pay the amount of $500. The florists of 

 the city, after thoroughly investigating 

 the workings of the commission, can 

 find no reason for the extra taxation in 

 this regard, and a special meeting of the 

 Florists' Club has been called to con- 

 sider the matter and draft resolutions 

 to send the commission. G. B. S. 



BAIiTIMOBE. 



The Market. 



The Eaater business, considering the 

 weather conditions, was up to the aver- 

 age and exceeded the expectations of 

 many. There was an ample supply of 

 nearly all varieties of stock and fairly 

 good prices prevailed. In roses, long- 

 stemmed specials and firsts were in no 

 large demand and prices declined on 

 these, but the shorter sizes found a 

 ready sale. Carnations cleaned up well 

 at a good figure, with Ward as a leader, 

 the lighter colors selling slightly cheap- 

 er. There was the usual demand for 

 the smaller varieties of stock, such as 

 peas, valley, violets, orchids and gar- 

 denias. Double violets ran ahead of sin- 

 gle in sales. There was an unusual de- 

 mand for asparagus, which was scarce. 

 Bulbous stock was in poor demand, daf- 

 fodils especially so. Plant sales were 

 about as usual, although only a few 



stores were able to clean out. The 

 weather up to April 3 was clear and 

 cool, but then a snow storm blew up and 

 put quite a damper on what would 

 doubtless have been a record-breaking 

 sales day. In the markets large quan- 

 tities of stock were without buyers and 

 greenhouses all over town are still half 

 full of plants, especially bulbous stock. 

 The storm practically closed the outlet 

 through the street venders. 



Various Notes. 



Stevenson Bros, report roses in good 

 crop for Easter, their Killarney Bril- 

 liant being especially fine. 



Halliday Bros, had something novel 

 for this season of the year, two large 

 bowls of Spanish iris in blue, bronze 

 and gold. 



Two florists made a special effort to 

 advertise telegraph delivery of flowers. 

 E. A. Seidewitz had two miniature tele- 

 graph poles strung with wires from each 

 side of the display window and a tele- 

 graph instrument attached to each end 

 of the line, one end to represent Balti- 

 more, the other, San Francisco. C. 

 Campbell's display was on the same 

 order, only Chicago was the western end 

 of the line. 



The Leo Niessen Co., in addition to 

 some good valley and cattleyas, had 

 some of the finest orchid-flowering peas 

 seen in the local market. 



James Hamilton was well pleased with 

 the business in his new store and among 

 the many fine plants he had were some 

 beautifully flowered rambler roses 

 trained to a basket shape outside two 

 English hawthorn bushes in flower. 



W. F. E. 



Boonville, Mo. — E. C. Stammerjohn 

 is erecting an addition to his green- 

 house on High street. 



Buffalo, N. Y.— C. Letchworth has ob- 

 tained a permit to erect a greenhouse at 

 176 Summer street. The cost is set at 

 $2,000. 



Lincoln, Neb. — The greenhouse at the 

 state penitentiary is to be rebuilt in a 

 new location and will be enlarged at 

 the same time. 



Clinton, Conn. — Nelson Anderson will 

 add a greenhouse 100 feet long. The 

 contract for the masonwork has been 

 awarded, and work will start shortly. 



Fort Madison, la. — Plans are being 

 made for a new greenhouse at the prison 

 here. The old one is to be torn down 

 and replaced with one as up-to-date as 

 possible. 



Virginia, Minn. — Alfred Johnson, 

 proprietor of the Virginia Greenhouses, 

 on South Central avenue, has purchased 

 five acres near the city limits, on which 

 he will erect additional greenhouses. 



Independence, la. — J. B. Stein metz 

 and Jonathan Bland are planning the 

 erection of a greenhouse on East Main 

 street. Mr. Bland has been landscape 

 gardener and florist at the State Hos- 

 pital for the Insane here since 1897, 

 and was in the flower business before 

 he left England. 



Kankakee, HI. — John Faber has just 

 completed two greenhouses. He has 

 now 62,000 square feet of glass. The 

 new houses will be devoted to sweet 

 peas and gladioli. Mr. Faber plans to 

 put up another house, 28x85 feet, this 

 spring. Roses and carnations, he re- 

 ports, are doing finely. 



Durand, Mich. — Adolph Bohr, proprie- 

 tor of the Durand Greenhouses, expects 

 to build a house this spring, to be de- 

 voted entirely to roses. It will be 42x 

 135 feet. Of the four houses he has at 

 present, one, 28x125, is devoted to carna- 

 tions; one, 17x80, to sweet peas; one, 

 24x60, to calla lilies, and one, 18x75, is 

 occupied by miscellaneous stock. His 45- 

 foot chimney is built of cement bricks, 

 3x3 feet. Mr. Bohr graduated from the 

 agricultural college at Kostritz, Thu- 

 ringia, Germany, in 1888. 



Ithaca, N. Y.— Albert A. and Joseph 

 A. Thomas, proprietors of the Bool 

 Floral Co., are making plans for the 

 erection of three large greenhouses on 

 Humboldt street. The company re- 

 cently purchased a 5-acre tract on that 

 street from Fred D. Van Order. The 

 greenhouses will be 200 feet long. Work 

 will not be started until June. After 

 Easter, however, a small nursery will 

 be opened on the same tract. The com- 

 pany also conducts a flower store in 

 Oswego and built a large greenhouse 

 there last summer. 



