> '■ V ■ 



14 



The Florists' Review 



JDNE 3, 1015. 



satiny violet; the falls are a velvety 

 purple-crimson. 



Perfection is tall and kingly and a 

 prolific bloomer. The standards "are 

 shaded blue; the falls are velvety, dark 

 violet, with a glistening reflex. 



C. S. Harrison. 



EXPRESS BATES GOING UP? 



A hearing was held last week at 

 Washington, before the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission, on the application 

 of the express companies for permis- 

 sion to rearrange the factors making 

 up their rates so as to procure an in- 

 crease in operating revenue, it is 

 figured that the increase asked for 



The express companies request first 

 that the present terminal allowance of 

 20 cents on each package weighing 100 

 pounds or less be increased to 25 cents; 

 secondly, they request that the weight 

 allowance, which is now 25 cents, be 

 reduced to 20 cents. A representative 

 of the express companies explained that 

 the first effect will be to increase the 

 charge on all packages 5 cents. The 

 effect of the second change is to take 

 one-twentieth of 1 cent per pound from 

 that 5 cents, so that the addition is 

 gradually cut down until it reaches 

 eighty-five pounds, when there is no 

 increase at all. On fifty-pound pack- 

 ages the increase would be 2% cents. 



If the changes proposed by the ex- 



Bride's Bouquet of Valley and Adiantum by S. A. Anderson, Buffalo. 



would be $5,062,534, or 3.86 per cent 

 of their operating revenue for the year 

 ending January 31, 1915, which is the 

 first full year under the rates now 

 prescribed by the commission. 



During the year the Adams, Amer- 

 ican, Southern, United States and 

 Wells-Fargo, which do ninety-five per 

 cent of the business and receive ninety- 

 two per cent of the total operating 

 revenues, collected from the public 

 $131,173,669, as compared with $144,- 

 854,480 in the preceding twelve months. 

 Notwithstanding they cut their operat- 

 ing expenses from $70,011,535 to $65,- 

 835,^30, their loss in operating income 

 was $2,380,894. 



press companies are permitted to be- 

 come effective, there will be added to 

 the average package weighing less than 

 100 pounds, shipped on first-class rates, 

 3.932 cents and 1.79 cents on the aver- 

 age shipment on second-class rates, 

 which include nearly all shipments, ex- 

 cept cut flowers, of florists, nursery- 

 men and seedsmen. The figures are 

 based on the total number of packages 

 carried during the year ending Jan- 

 uary 31, 1915, divided by the actual 

 transactions on two selected days for 

 each of the companies. 



At the hearing an agent for the ex- 

 press companies frankly admitted that 

 the charges, on the small packages will 



be increased, if the changes are al- 

 lowed, the increase on a five-pound 

 package at the $1 rate amounting to 

 twenty per cent. A news agency re- 

 port says: "That admission in an 

 ordinary rate case would have caused a 

 lifting of the eyebrows, but in this one 

 the testimony seemed so overwhelming 

 in behalf of the companies that no one 

 paid any attention to it." 



S. A. F. REPRESENTED. 



At last week's hearing on express 

 rates, before the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission at Washington, Attorney 

 A. Leftwich Sinclair was present, 

 ready to qualify on behalf of the So- 

 ciety of American Florists should the 

 hearing produce any unusual feature 

 that would enable him to take up the 

 matter of the classification on growing 

 plants. It was, however, confined en- 

 tirely to the matter of the readjust- 

 ment of the express rate structure and 

 no effort was made to go into the sub- 

 ject of classification. To the represent- 

 ative of The Eeview, Mr. Sinclair 

 stated that it would be necessary to 

 secure a separate hearing by the com- 

 mission should it be the desire of the 

 association to push the matter. Wil- 

 liam F. Gude, the national representa- 

 tive of the organization, who is devot- 

 ing considerable attention to plant 

 rates, expressed himself as being of 

 the same opinion. C. L. L. 



VINES TO COVER WIRE FENCE. 



Will you give me information in re- 

 gard to some suitable vine to be used 

 for covering a wire fence 300 feet longt 

 I wish to get one that would be hardy 

 in this part of the country and which 

 would grow fairly fast. Please state, 

 also, how many plants I shall need. 



C. C. N.— Me. 



The only evergreen climber which 

 would be suitable for your purpose is 

 Euonymus radicans. This will with- 

 stand a temperature of 20 to 25 degrees 

 below zero. If used, plant twenty-four 

 inches apart. In good soil it makes 

 rapid growth. A top-dressing of old 

 manure each fall will assist it. Among 

 fiowering deciduous climbers. Clematis 

 paniculata is one of the best and makes 

 rapid growth after the first season. It 

 needs pruning back close to the ground 

 each spring. These need not go closer 

 than four feet apart. Other creepers 

 you could use are Ampelopsis quinque- 

 folia, which is a rapid grower, and Celas- 

 trus scandens. Place the ampelopsis 

 three feet apart and the celastrus four 

 feet. 



The rambler roses, wistarias, actinidi- 

 as, bignonias, lonieeras and some other 

 good climbers would not prove hardy 

 with you. A number of nursery firms 

 carry the plants named in pots, so that 

 you can plant them any time duriilg the 

 summer, but the earlier they are set 

 out now, the better. C. W. 



Joplln, Mo. — The second annual rose 

 show of the Country Club, May 23, was 

 far ahead of that of last year in spite 

 of the rainy weather. Three times as 

 many roses were entered for competi- 

 tion. H. A. Hall made a non-competi- 

 tivo display of Mrs. Bussell roses. The 

 jury of awards consisted of William L. 

 Rock, of Kansas City; William P. 

 Stark, of Neosho, and H. A. Hall, of 

 Joplin. 



