612 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



AuQuax 18, 1904. 



PACIFIC COAST. 



SAN FRANCISCO. 



The Market 



We have hardly seen the sun during 

 the past week and the prospects are for 

 continued cool weather. I think, on the 

 whole, that such a season favors both 

 retailers and growers, as the quality of 

 the stock seen the past few weeks has 

 been superior to that we generally have 

 during the month of August. Business 

 is fair, considering the time of year, and 

 flowers are being bought up in good 

 shape. Boses are either very good or 

 very poor. Many of the wholesalers are 

 drying up their houses preparatory to 

 getting ready for another season's busi- 

 ness, and those that are not are 

 cutting some well colored stock. Beau- 

 ties are scarce. With carnations, 

 the fancy varieties sell at about 

 three dozen for a dollar, but the bulk 

 are not worth much over half that price. 

 Lilium album and rubrum are still in 

 market, also a few longiflorum. Val- 

 ley has not sold extra well for the past 

 few weeks. Pink amaryllises are being 

 handled in big bunches. Sweet peas are 

 getting scarcer and shorter of stem. 



Death of John Rock« 



I regret to have to chronicle the death 

 of John Eock, at Niles, on Tuesday last. 

 iMr. Eock was one of the pioneer nurs- 

 erymen of .this coast, starting early in 

 the sixties, near San Jose. He had for 

 twenty years the largest fruit and orna- 

 mental place in California. In 1884, to- 

 gether with B. D. Fox, Thomas Meherin, 

 Wm. J. Landers and the late James 

 Hutchison, he organized the Califor- 

 nia Nursery Co., at Niles, which was 

 then and still is the largest firm on the 

 Pacific coast in the general nursery busi- 

 ness. Mr. Bock at the time of his death 

 was general manager and his loss will 

 be irreparable to the trade here. Mr. 

 Bock had been suflFering from paralysis 

 for several years and his health had been 

 delicate for some time, but his death was 

 nevertheless unexpected. ' He was a na- 

 tive of Germany and in his sixty-seventh 

 year. He leaves a daughter. Miss Flor- 

 ence Bock, who has the sympathy of 

 every florist and nurseryman on this 

 coast. 



Various Notes. 



Attorney George T, Wright appeared 

 before the Board of Works to urge that 

 permits to sell flowers on the sidewalks 

 at points designated by an ordinance of 

 the supervisors be granted to applicants 

 in view of the Superior Court decision 

 that the ordinance is legal. President 

 Schmitz informed him that the board was 

 considering the regulations prepared by 

 L. M. King, to govern the sale of flow- 

 ers in the free markets. Schmitz stated 

 that the Board would be ready to grant 

 permits next Monday. G. 



PANSIES. 



Compared with other flowering an- 

 nuals, I have found the pansy to be the 

 best paying plant of all. We do not 

 grow them for flowers to any extent, 

 but they are purchased by the thousands 

 in the early spring for garden planting 

 and, as the first part of August and, in 

 fact, all through this month is the 

 proper time for planting the seeds, I 



think a few suggestions are in order. 

 In the first place, the selection of vari- 

 eties is all important. I have tried many 

 strains here on the coast and each of 

 the important ones have some advan- 

 tages. Trimardeaus are by far the eas- 

 iest to raise and they make big, showy 

 plants, and, as many of our dealers sell 

 thousands of young seedlings during the 

 winter season, several months before they 

 are in bloom, this variety is the best 

 to handle, as they make strong plants 

 much sooner than any of the other kinds. 

 They are not, however, as good sellers 

 when in bloom as some of the higher 

 colored sorts, and the grower will find 

 that they run almost exclusively to blues, 

 purples and light colored flowers and 

 to make a good assortment of shades is 

 out of the question. The flowers, how- 

 ever, are of large size and are borne on 

 good stiff stems. The Gassier strain is 

 not of such fast or hardy' growth and 

 there is a great difference in the foliage. 

 The flowers are much higher colored, 

 having an abundance of blotched, mar- 

 bled and striped blooms that are eagerly 

 bought by the public. The Bugnot strain 

 is also of a dwarfer growth than the 

 Trimardeau, but the flowers are beauti- 

 fully stained and generally run to plenty 

 of light colors, a fact that will be appre- 

 ciate by all growers. Odiers, especially 

 the large-eyed strain, are splendid sell- 

 ers and come in the showiest of colors, 

 both plain and blotched. I generally 

 plant a mixture of the Odier, Bugnot, 

 and Gassier strains together and plant 

 a batch of Trimardeau by themselves. 



I sow the seeds in flats on soil not 

 over two inches deep, with a light cov- 

 ering of sand and they are large enough 

 to transplant in the open ground by the 

 first of November. There is no advan- 

 tage in keeping them in boxes after that, 

 as they grow up very spindling during 

 our winter season. The outside beds in 

 which they are transplanted should have 

 been previously dug up several times 

 during the fall and plenty of well rotted 

 manure mixed with the soil. See that 

 the bed is located in such a position that 

 it vrill not hold a superabundance of 

 water, for, although pansies like plenty 

 of moisture when they are growing, they 

 do not want to have too much of it at 

 the root.^and if we are to have another 

 wet spell such as we had last season 

 they must be on high and dry ground to 

 save them. They are gross feeders and 

 do not do their best on sandy soil. Al- 

 though they are perfectly hardy here, a 

 mulching of light straw I find always 

 advantageous, and then there will be no 

 difficulty in having a succession of 

 blooming plants beginning about the 

 first of Febniary and continuing for 

 three or four months until our planting 

 season is over. G. 



PRIMULA POISONING. 



I noticed an article in the Review of 

 .Tuly 28 regarding Primula obconica 

 poisoning. I have always considered my- 

 !»elf immune from plant poisoning; even 

 handling Rhus toxicodendron had no ter- 

 rors for me. But last winter the tide 

 changed and every time I came in con- 

 tact with the Primula obconica I was 

 certain of losing a couple of nights' 

 sleep on account of the itching. It even 

 got into my face, causing my eyelids to 

 swell. T would bathe my hands and 

 face before retiring with a solution of 

 baking soda and warm water and then 

 I would be obliged to get up dt.ring the 

 night to repeat the application. T do 



100,000 EXTRA STRONG 



Asparagus 

 Plttmosas Naotts 



2-INCH, $20.00 PER 1,000 



Oaah, Bzprasa Prepaid; 

 98.BO at 1,000 Bate. 



CALIFORNIA CARNATION CO., Loomls, Cal. 



MentlcMi Hie B«t1cw irbtn 70a write. 



—7500^^ 



iberty 



StronflTi low taadded, 

 field-grown plants, Jnet the 

 thinff for forointr. 



$15.00 per (00; $125.00 per 1000 



F. O. B. bere. Caah with order. 



EOII I WEST BERKELEY, 

 I UILL9 CALIEORNIA. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



Qraocaria Excelsa, 



From 2K-inch pota. extra Btrongf pisnta. 

 wltb 2 and 8 tier, 6 to 8 Inches high, 

 St fie per 100. 



Qraocaria Imbricata, 



From 2-inch pots, 4 to 6 Inches biKb, 

 910 per 100 and from 2^inch pots 

 6 to 8 inches hish, 918>B0 per 100. 



r. LUDENSNN, 



3041 Baker Street, 



San Francisco, Cal. 



Mention The Berlew when yon write. 



A 



SPARAGUS 

 PLUMOSUS NANUS. 



From flats, 11.75 per 100; $15.00 per 1000. 

 Strong; 2-in. plants. 2.00 *• '^.00 



New Crop Shasta Daisy Seed, 



Trade packet.... 25c; loz. ..$5.00; llb...tGO.0O. 

 Charges prepaid. Terms cash or C. O. D. 



Loomis Floral Co., Loomls, Gal. 



Mention The Reriew when yon write. 



not think the poison deadly, but very an- 

 noying. I will discontinue growing 

 them, not for fear of a suit for damages, 

 as suing and getting judgment for dam- 

 ages are far apart. It does not affect 

 everybody that handles it. for my son 

 can handle it, even rubbing the plant 

 and flowers over his hands and face, and 

 it has no ill effects. 



John C. Mulder. 



Ik the advertisement of the Metro- 

 politan Material Co., on page 636, the 

 sizes 16x18, 14x20 and 12x16 double 

 strength glass should be quoted at $2.88 

 and not $2.28 as we had it. 



