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668 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



August 25, 1904. 



PACIFIC COAST. 



SAN FRANCISCO. 



The Market. 



The triennial conclave of Knights 

 Templar for which preparations have 

 been in progress for the past several 

 weeks is almost at an end and the town 

 presents a gala appearance. The major- 

 ity of our stores are splendidly decorat- 

 ed for the event and thousands of yards 

 of garlands are used along the principal 

 streets. 



But business is almost at a standstill 

 at present. Flowers, outside of roses, 

 are plentiful enough and there is very 

 little demand for anything. Quantities 

 of outdoor amaryllis and tuberoses are 

 being received and bring only what the 

 retailers feel_4ike paying. Asters are 

 being offered bj^ the thousands and the 

 prices remain low except for some fancy 

 stock. A few /chrysanthemums are be- 

 ing handled bn^ we do not look for any 

 quantity before next month. Sweet peas 

 are getting short of stem. Lilium album 

 and rubrum are not as plentiful as they 

 have been. They sell wholesale at from 

 $1.50 to $2.50 per dozen stems. Smilax 

 is coming in slowly and is very soft. A 

 goodly quantity of it is being used in 

 window decorations. Carnations are not 

 very plentiful and the price remains the 

 same as it has been for several weeks. 



Various Notes. 



The Frank & Parodi Co. has consoli- 

 dated the old store formerly located on 

 the comer of Brooks and Geary street, 

 with the new establishment opened sev- 

 eral months ago on Geary street near 

 Grant avenue. 



The Art Floral Co.. of Sutter street, 

 has entirely remodeled the store and it 

 presents a very handsome appearance. 



The Misses Kretman have opened a 

 retail place at 239 O'Farrell street. 



The will of the late John Rock, of 

 Niles, has been admitted to probate. It 

 disposes of $20,000. which is left in 

 equal portions to his son and daughter. 



J. Seulberger. of Oakland, has just 

 returned from a trip to the Yosemite 

 valley and his son. Frederick, has de- 

 parted on a month 's outing to Lake 

 Tahoe. 



T. K. Love, of the Piedmont Floral 

 Co., is rusticating at Kenwood. Shasta 

 county. 



J. T, Cochran has purchased the Gould 

 greenhouses at Fruitvale, and is remod- 

 eling them preparatory to replanting 

 carnations. 



Joseph G. Lewis, for many years em- 

 ployed as an expert budder at the nurs- 

 eries of James O'Neill, at Haywards, 

 has taken charge of the season's rose 

 budding for Gill's Floral Depot at Oak- 

 land. G. 



CONVENTIONS AND TRADE. 



I had a conversation a few days ago 

 with one of our principal florists in San 

 Francisco. He has conducted one of the 

 largest stores in his line in the city for 

 over twenty years and the subject of the 

 Knights Templar celebration was spok- 

 en of and its influence on the business 

 done in the retail stores during the en- 

 campment. "The general pub^Jiafr-A_ 

 highly erroneous inipres8io9,>*said he, 

 "that all that has to ^je^done in this 

 city or other large towns to bring an 



extra amount of business to the stores 

 is to have some sort of a national cele- 

 bration for a week or two. But in my 

 experience I have yet to notice any in- 

 crease in my store receipts during such 

 a period. Of course we always rent a 

 few dozen palms and generally make up 

 a lot of cheap garlands, but the commit- 

 tee ha\ing the entertainment of the vis- 

 itors in charge usually expects the florist 

 to donate his stock or else give it to 

 them at half price, or sometimes they 

 contract bills and when the time comes 

 for the retailer to present his account 

 it is found that the committee spent all 

 the money they had collected to enter- 

 tain the visitors and the poor florist gets 

 left. It seems to me that the majority 

 of the visitors who come to California 

 on tiiese excursions have just enough 

 money on hand to live on while they are 

 here and pay their passage back and, 

 although they always make a round of 

 the florists' stores they never buy any- 

 thing and have a tremendous capacity 

 for inquiring the names and prices of 

 everything in sight. During the last 

 encampment we had here I had numer- 

 ous callers during the day and when I 

 told the price of our roses or carnations 

 the inquirers got very indignant and re- 

 marked that they could get flowers just 

 as good in Omaha or Pittsburg for the 

 same price. They evidently thought that 

 free bouquets should go with the other 

 favors that are visited on the strangers 

 within our gates by Califomians. Of 

 course it is right and proper that we 

 should entertain all the travelers that 

 visit our shores, and that we do so is 

 well known to anyone who has been 

 here, but that it is a money making 

 time for the florists I positively deny, 

 in fact we are always well satisfied when 

 the assembled hosts take their depart- 

 ure. ' ' 



Several other retailers whom I ap- 

 proached on the same subject were all 

 of the same opinion, so I think it will be 

 perfectly safe to say that although our 

 state and city no doubt receive much 

 permanent benefit from the thousands of 

 visitors we meet yearly on various ex- 

 cursions sent here, the money is spent 

 principally in hotels, restaurants, places 

 of amusement, street cars and almost 

 everjrwhere else except in the florists' 

 stores. G. 



GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. 



^Ve have had a very trying dry spell, 

 broken at last by copious rains, assuring 

 good carnation plants, as they are now 

 making a very rapid growth. All aie 

 planting, and at least half the entire 

 stock is housed. By September 1 nearly 

 all planting will be finished. Roses are 

 gaining length of stem, and are improv- 

 ing in quality. Mum stock is everywhere 

 looking fine. Harrisii are all potted up 

 and stowed away in frames. 



The violet orop is not as much of a 

 success as last winter. One grower in the 

 outskirts has lost all his plants. It is 

 doubtful if he will leplant, as he has a 

 fine field of good carnation plants, and 

 thinks they will be a safer crop for this 

 season. Another grower thinks he will 

 throw out part of his crop, they are so 

 poor, nothing like what they were last 

 year. But two violet growers, Eli Cross 

 and Crabb & Hunter, are having all 

 around success with their stock to date. 



Crabb & Hunter are cutting some very 

 fine long-stemmed Kaiserins. They grow 

 one large house for summer bloom. Car- 

 nations are very scarce and the demand 







100,000 EXTRA STRONG 



Asparagus 

 Plumostts Nanus 



2-INCH, $20.00 PER 1,000 



Oasli, Bzpresa Prepaid; 

 ia.60 at 1,000 Bate. 



CALIFORNIA CARNATION CO., Loomis. Cal. 



Mention The Berlew when yoa write. 



— 7500— = 



Biberty 

 I strong', low budded, 



fleld-ffrown plants, Jnst tbe 

 tUng for forolng^. 



$(5.00 per 100; $125.00 per tOOO 



F. O. B. here. Cash with order. 



E. GILL, 



WEST Bf RKELEY, 

 CALIFORNIA. 



Mintlon The Review when you write. 



Qraocaria Excelsa, 



From 2^-lncb pots, extra stroDK plant!, 

 with 2 and 8 tier, 6 to 8 incbes high. 



at f 16 per 100. 



Qraocaria Imbricata, 



From 2-iiich pots, 4 to 6 inches biRb, 

 910 per 100 and from 2^-incb pote 

 6 to 8 incbes blsb, 918.60 per 100. 



F. LUDENSNN, 



3041 Baker Street. 



San Francisco, Cal. 



Mention The Rerlew when 70a write. 



3 



SPARAGUS 

 PLUMOSUS NANUS. 



From flats, $1.75 per 100 : $16.00 per 1000. 

 Strong 2-in. plants, 2.00 " 20.00 



New Crop Shasta Daisy Seed, 



Trade packet.... 25c: loz...$5.00; lib. ..$60.00. 

 Charges prepaid. Terms cash or C. 0. D. 



Loomis Floral Co., Loomis, Cal. 



Mention The Berlew when jon write. 



far in excess of the supply. Asters have 

 in a measure taken their place. There 

 has been an unusual amount of funeral 

 work all summer that has kept flowers 

 pretty thoroughly cleaned up. Shipping 

 trade has also kept up steadily, making 

 it altogether a busy summer, so much so 

 that it made it impossible for several to 

 attend the S. A. F. 



Mr. Diedrich, foreman of the Grand 

 Rapids Violet Co., is out of the hospital 

 and attending to his duties as usual. His 

 arm was so bad at one time it was 

 thought necessary to amputate it, but a 

 strong constitution pulled him through. 



G. F. C. 



