274 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



June 30, 1904. 



PACIFIC COAST. 



Elmhurst, Cal.— Paul W. A, Grallert 

 is prepariBg to put up two carnation 

 houses 22x100 using King's roof con- 

 struction. He will also put up three as- 

 paragus houses 15x100 with old material. 

 These are not ''the largest houses on the 

 <oa8t, " as a local newspaper recently 

 «tated. 



Santa Cruz, Cal. — Thos. Thompson 

 has had a two weeks' siege with malaria 

 but is now convalescent. He has about 

 400 plants of Richardia Elliottiana that 

 he has raised from seed. They are 

 growing vigorously, planted out of doors 

 and the "bed of yellow callas" is 

 quite an attract! jn. Geo. Butler & Son 

 have secured a good piece of land near 

 the Odd Fellows' cemetery upon which 

 they will soon erect two houses 20x150 

 each and later add numerous other 

 bouses. The new range will be man- 

 aged by Geo. Butler and the old plant 

 •will be cared for by the son, but flowers 

 •will be abandoned and both ranges will 

 be devoted to cucumbers. 



SEA WATER. 



Our water supply is inadequate and, 

 as we are located near a tidewater river, 

 I have been trying to demonstrate 

 ■whether the salt water would be injurious 

 to grass and hardy plants. So far I have 

 seen no ill effects but you will confer a 

 favor by stating what proportion of salt 

 such plants will stand. Napa. 



The ordinary varieties of hardy plants 

 and grasses do not need any salt fertiliz- 

 ing although a small quantity occasionally 

 ^does not seem to injure them. In ordin- 

 ary salt water the percentage of salt is 

 about twenty pounds to the hundred gal- 

 lons of water. It is, of course, out of the 

 Question to use water of this description 

 regularly and it must be that the cor- 

 respondent takes his water from the river 

 at a higher point than where the salt from 

 the bay impregnates the fresh water that 

 flows down the river and if no ill effects 

 fcave resulted from the use of the water it 

 is because there is not a superabundance 

 of salt in it. He is therefore perfectly 

 safe in continuing to use it freely. 



There are many varieties of salt and 

 marsh grasses that thrive only where they 

 receive frequent bathings in sea water 

 but they are not used usually in gardens 

 and their scope is confined entirely to 

 waste and boggy places. 



Rock salt as a fertilizer is used exten- 

 sively on the Pacific coast for various 

 kinds of vegetables and especially aspara- 

 gus- ' G. 



LOS ANGELES. 



Trade and Market 



The summer is now on in full blast 

 and it is beginning to have its effect 

 upon the flowers. The florists are hav- 

 ing great diflSculty in obtaining enough 

 decent stock to fill their stores or orders. 



Business has been very good, owing to 

 the numerous June weddings and gradu- 

 ation exercises and the demand for flow- 

 ers for the past week has far exceeded 

 the supply. The prices are low, but 

 are high enough for the quality of the 

 flowers. 



This condition is not surprising to 

 the. dealers, as they have this same trou- 



ble to contend with every summeir. How- 

 ever, it came on about a month earlier 

 this season than usual and has been a 

 great drawback to the June trade. It 

 is very hard to explain to the average 

 customer the reason for not having bet- 

 ter flowers, for as a rule they fail to 

 realize that plants need a rest in Cali- 

 fornia as well as in the east. 



Carnations, the most popular and all 

 around useful flower, are the ones that 

 are missed the most, but it will not be 

 long, about three or four weeks, I think, 

 before they will be in again in sufficient 

 quantities to supply the summer de- 

 mand, and I have every reason to believe 

 that the quality will be much better and 

 the price more steady. 



The month of May was a record- 

 breaker in the output of carnations, and 

 it is believed that for the first time in 

 the history of Los Angeles, carnations 

 were used as the general decorating 

 flower on Memorial day. The supply was 

 enormous and the price low enough to be 

 within reach of all. Ever since May 23 

 carnations have been selling at 25 cents 

 per hundred, wholesale, and for Memorial 

 daj' purposes they retailed at from 20 to 

 25 cents per bunch of fifty. 



Roses are scarce and the quality poor. 

 Sprengeri and plumosus in strings arc 

 plentiful, but plumosus sprays are hard 

 to get. Centaurea is quite plentiful and 

 has been resorted to by the florists, in 

 absence of better flowers, for founda- 

 tions of floral designs. They are now 

 wholesaling for 50 cents per hundred. 



Sweet peas are bringing from $1 to 

 $1.50 per thousand and the supply is 

 holding out quite well, although they are 

 beginning to get scarce now. 



Various Notes. 



T>. R. Woods, of Wilmington, has pur- 

 chased a half interest in the nursery of 

 the Ingleside Floral Co., located at the 

 corner of Adams and Main streets. 



E. R. Meserve is making some exten- 

 sive additions to his lath houses and ex- 

 pects to fill them with plumosus and 

 smilax. 



Morris Goldensen is contemplating a 

 trip east in the near future and will visit 

 the World's Fair before his return. 



E. J. Vawter, president of the Ocean 

 Park Floral Co., informs me that the 

 carnation output of the gardens at Ocean 

 Park for the week prior to May 30 

 amounted to over 250,000 blooms and that 

 the fields have recently been extended 

 several acres. He is also enlarging his 

 propagating house to a considerable ox 

 tent. R. B. H. 



SAN FRANC3SCD. 



The Market 



Business has reached the stagnation 

 stage. A very few weddings are still on 

 tapis, but the schools are all closed 

 and everyone with money to spend has 

 gone to the country, so the florists are 

 having a quiet time. Funerals are out of 

 fashion also. Flowers, except good 

 roses, are not plentiful although we prob- 

 ably have enough to supply the small de- 

 mand. We have had very cool weather 

 for the past two weeks, so that stock docs 

 not exhibit that washed out appearance 

 that we were getting used to during the 

 recent warm spell. Carnations, except such 

 varieties as Joost, Scott and Portia, are 

 not over-plentiful and still bring about 

 $2 per hundred. The varieties I have 

 just mentioned can be had at from 75 

 cents to $1 per hundred. The street 



TRUE 



I icui. 



QSPARAGUS 



Plumosus Nanus 



2-inch. $8.00 per 100 ; 925.00 per lOOO. Ex- 

 press prepaid. 



VEW OSOP VAVST 



per oz. ; >i-oz. at 1 oz. rate. 



-$4.00 



J00,000 



galla Bnlbs 



WHITE FOS PRICES. 



California 

 Carnation 

 Company, 



• LOOMIS, CAL. J 



M<»ntlon The ReTlew when yon write. 



Qraocaria Excelsa, 



From 2M-inch pots, extra stronsr plants, 

 with 2 and 8 tier, 6 to 8 inches bigta, 



at 916 per 100. 



Qraacaria Imbricata, 



From 2-inch pots, 4 to 6 Incbes hiKta, 

 910 per 100 and from 2>^-incb pots 

 6 to 8 inches high. •18.60 per 100. 



F. LUDEN3NN, 



3041 Baker StlrMt, 



San Francisco, Cal. 



Mention The ReTlew when yoo write. 



lurbank's Shasta 

 Daisy Seed 



19 



New crop, 



20c per 100; 

 $1.25 per 1000; $9.00 

 per ounce; >^-ounce at ounce rate. 



LOOMIS FLORAL CO. 



LOOMIS, CAL. 



Mention Tlie B«Tiew when jon writ*. 



peddlers take advantage of these low 

 prices and one sees on the sidewalks great 

 quantities of indoor red and pink sorts 

 with fair blooms and good stems. Great 

 quantities of outdoor Gen. Jacqueminot 

 roses are being used to fill up the •win- 

 dows. Valley and lilies are in fair sup- 

 ply. 



Variotts Notes. 



Alexander Craw, state quarantine offi- 

 cer against insect pests, has accepted the 

 similar position offered him by the gov- 

 ernment of Hawaii at a salary of $5,000 

 a year. The deal was closed by cable. 

 His good work in the quarantine depart- 

 ment of the state horticultural commission 

 has been seconded ably by his assistant 

 E. K. Carnes. Q. 



No. Hampton, Mass. — Chas W. Loomis 

 is just starting in the business here. 



