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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



May 26, 1904. 



(Biibts must have been dispelled long be- 

 fore the train reached Strafford, a sta- 

 tion on the main line of the Pennsyl- 

 vania railroad, lying between Wayne and 

 Devon. 



The greenhouses are built on a piece 

 of ground admirably adapted for the 

 purpose, situated within easy walking 

 distance of the station. The visitors 

 were met by the proprietor, Edward A. 

 Stroud, who conducted them through his 

 houses. They are three in number, each 

 30x300, fourteen feet high at the ridge 

 and about six feet at the sides, even-span, 

 two top and two side ventilators. Each 

 house has four five-foot benches and is 

 divided at right angles through the cen- 

 ter by a broad pathway, with double 

 doors at the sides of each house. The 

 framework of the houses is of iron, the 

 glass 16x24 inches, double thick. The 

 roof bars and benches are of cypress. 

 There is also a smaller propagating 

 house, very light. The total area of glass 

 in the four houses is nearly 30,000 square 

 feet. 



The entire place is devoted to carna- 

 tions grown for high-grade cut flowers. 

 Mr. Stroud's idea is to grow only the 

 best varieties, giving them all possible 

 encouragement. He does not believe iu 

 forcing crops for special occasions, pre- 

 ferring to keep the plants iu perfect 

 health, taking uo chances on injuring 

 them through undue exertion to produce 

 a heavy crop at a given time. Most of 

 the prominent commercial varieties of 

 carnations are grown aud ^nd favor 

 here. May Naylor, while not generally 

 grown, is a great favorite. Viola Allen 

 has not proved a worker. Harry Fenn, 

 crimson, a fine, robust grower, is thought 

 promising. The plants are supported 

 by strings tied to two rows of wires 

 stretched the length of the bench, one 

 over the other. When we saw the prop- 

 agating house it was filled with as pretty 

 a lot of young plants as any carnationist 

 could desire. 1 think we were told 40,- 

 000 of them, all in pots. Since then 

 they have been planted outside, as shown 

 in one of the accompanying photographs. 

 Enough for four benches, or about 3,600, 

 will be kept in pots to be benched next 

 month. It takes about 22,000 plants to 

 fill the houses. 



Three large boilers, built by Hitchings 

 & Co., heat the place by hot water. They 

 are located in a neat, stone stoke hole, 

 light and well ventilated. The fuel used 

 is pea coal. At the opposite end of the 

 plant from the stoke hole is tfie building 

 devoted to oflSce, cooling and packing 

 rooms, which are commodious and ex- 

 ceedingly well appointed. 



The enterprise and judgment dis- 

 played in the construction and arrange- 

 ment of the place reflects credit on the 

 proprietor, as does its condition on him 

 and on his foreman, Thomas Beattie. 

 The plans were drawn and executed by 

 Hitchings & Co. The cut flowers are 

 distributed by Samuel S. Pennock. 



The impression created by the Straf- 

 ford Flower Farm is distinctly favora- 

 ble. A modern plant, costlv in construc- 

 tion, very light, durable, with little like- 

 lihood of repairs proving a serious item 

 for many a day. Near by is the old 

 Eagle Hotel, used by Mr. Stroud as a 

 sort of fish house, where he entertains 

 the good florists with great, big, hot pie? 

 with true country hospitality. 



Various Notes. 

 M. Rice sailed from Hamburg on the 



steamer Moltke May 18. B. Eschner 

 and Eugene Weiss expect to meet him 

 next Sunday. 



Edward Reid shipped an order for 

 1,500 roses to go up the state to the 

 Knights Templar reunion. 



C. F. Edgar & Co. are receiving ship- 

 ments of cape jasmine from the south. 



J. Henry Bartram, of Lansdowne, has 

 been sending some fine Beauties to Ed- 

 ward Keid. 



Albert M. Herr, of Lancaster, is send- 

 ing exceptionally nice Prosperity and 

 Roosevelt carnations to S. S. Pennock. 



Considerable comment was' caused last 

 week by entire shipments of carnations 

 going to sleep the day after their arrival 

 in the commission houses. Inquiry among 

 the dealers brought out the opinion that 

 this trouble is due partly to the high 

 temperature in the greenhouses and ship- 

 ping boxes, partly to the plants being 

 out of condition, and partly to excess of 

 moisture in the air. The dealers are 

 taking special pains to keep the flowers in 

 cool, dry cellars. They suggest that per- 

 fect ventilation and picking the flowers 

 tipht will do much to avert this evil. 



H. Bayersdorfer and wife sailed for 

 Europe last Tuesday. 



The well-known carnation grower, L. B. 

 Eastburn, of Kennett Square, will con- 

 tinue to lease his greenhouses to a tomato 

 grower. 



Joseph Heacock has a nice lot of Areca 

 liitesoens in all sizes. His large plants 

 are fine for decorating. Phil. 



BOSTON. 



.The Market. 



Conditions have not materially changed 

 during the past week. A spell of cool, 

 cloudy and showery weather, which ter- 

 minated on the 21st, considerably short- 

 ened the output of flowers, but the de- 

 mand was not suflBciently strong to cause 

 any advance. Prices have not varied 

 mucS from a week ago. Carnations con- 

 tinue abundant and of fine quality. A 

 few fancies bring $2 to $2.50 per 100, 

 but good blooms sell at 50 cents to $1 

 and inferior ones for anything they will 

 bring. Fortunately fewer poor flowets 

 are coming in each year. 



Bulbous stock is now about over, ex- 

 cept for Narcissus poeticus and a few 

 bunches of Gesneriana and other late tu- 

 lips. Lilac is abundant, but as almost 

 every one grows it there is no money in 

 it. An immense quantity promises to be 

 available for Memorial day trade. Out- 

 door lily of the valley is of unusually 

 fine quality, entirely outclassing indoor 

 stock, the latter looking wretched in 

 comparison. , 



Bedding plant trade has been late^^iir 

 getting wnder way, but is now extremely 

 active. All the florists who grow this 

 titcck are very busy. A very large quan- 

 tity is being used this week in the ceme- 

 teries. 



Everything at the time of writing 

 points to a record breaking Memorial 

 day trade. Although more outdoor ma- 

 terial than usual will be available for 

 the cheaper bouquets and wreaths, the 

 demand will use up every greenhouse 

 flower. Roses and carnations promise to 

 be abundant and of much better quality 

 tlian usual. There are the usual large 

 contributions of antirrhinum, candytuft, 

 spiraea, eallas, Lilium longiflorum, L. 

 oandidum, geraniums and other season- 

 able flowers. 



Club Meeting. 



There was an, excellent attendance at 

 the- regular monthly meeting of the 

 Gardeners' and Florists' Club on May 

 17 to listen to Carl Blomberg's paper on 

 alpine plants. Mr. Blomberg is an en- 

 thusiastic botanist and lover of hardy 

 plants, and spoke very entertainingly. 

 Being unable to give a complete list of 

 suitable rock plants in one evening he 

 promised to continue the subject on some 

 future occasion. An animated discus- 

 sion followed the reading of the paper. 

 Robert Cameron protested against the 

 term alpine plants being used to desig- 

 nate the plants named by the lecturer; 

 not over a dozen kinds named were really 

 such and most of them were excellent 

 subjects in the herbaceous border. Rock 

 plants should have been the title of the 

 lecture. With this view Mr. Blomberg 

 concurred. The lecturer had no faith in 

 the finer hybrid aquilegias, as they are 

 too short lived. They are best treated 

 as biennials, a view concurred -in by 

 others present. 



In regard to the culture and propa- 

 gation of the pretty and popular Daphne 

 ciieorum, Julius Heurlin stated that he 

 had the best success in rooting this sub- 

 ject in August in frames with a bottom 

 heat of 110 degrees; keep frames shaded 

 and close, syringed once or twice a da^•. 

 but not very damp at the root. Treate I 

 in this way, out of a batch of 12,000 cut- 

 tings inserted last August he only lost 

 200. 



An interesting exchange of experiences 

 in regard to the losses in trees and 

 shrubs during the late severe winter 

 bi ought out the fact that gardens in and 

 around Boston generally suffered less 

 than those a few miles inland. J. W. 

 Duncan gave a long list of plants in- 

 jured in the Boston park system. 

 Among others not yet named in this 

 column Were Berberis vulgaris, quite 

 badly cut down; cornus in many cases 

 cut to the ground, and all flower buds 

 killed; Ligustrum amurense and L. regel- 

 iunum stood the winter poorly. Among 

 the loiiiceras, Tj. fragrantissima was cut 

 down, as were Eiseagnus longipes, kerrias, 

 bignonias and rhodotypos. Prunus mari- 

 tima was killed and P. Americana cu*^ 

 back severely. Rosa Wichuraiana was 

 also badly hurt and R. multiflora killed. 



Experiences as to injury were also 

 furnished by President Pettigrew, Dun- 

 can Finlayson, W. J. Stewart, W. N. 

 Craig, James Wheeler, Wm. Downs, 

 Charles Sander, .L Westwood and others 

 and it -was generally agreed that the 

 late winter was the most destructive 

 ever experienced. 



Presid^t Pettigrew announced the 

 following committee on prizes for the 

 chrysanthemum show next November and 

 the rose show in March, 1905: Messrs. 

 Cameron, Wilde, Montgomery, Craig and 

 Wheeler. Several new members were 

 elected. 



The exhibits included a collection of 

 hardy plants from Carl Blomberg, in- 

 cluding Cypripedium arietinum, C. pubes- 

 cens and C. parviflorum, Dodecatheon 

 Meadia, D. integrifolium, etc. Robert 

 Cameron showed a grandly flowered 

 si>ecimen of Dendrobium tortile, an old 

 orchid, introduced nearly sixty years ago, 

 but not often seen in good condition. 

 The flowers are of a very pale yellow 

 color suffused into purplish rose. 



W. N. Craig shotted a collection of late 

 flowering tulips, including Didieri, re- 

 troflexa, Gesneriana major ar.d Gesneriana 



