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Mabch 16, 1005. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



943 



flowers are shipped into the Chicago 

 market a very convenient box is one 

 thirty-six inches long, fourteen inches 

 wide and ten or twelve inches deep, 

 with egg case cover. The ends are made 

 of 1-inch and the bottom and sides of 

 ^/^-inch lumber dressed down. 



. WORLiyS FAIR FLOWER SHOW. 



At a meeting in Chicago March 10, 

 the books of Treasurer Rudd were 

 audited and the affairs of the World's 

 Fair Flower Show Association wound 

 up, with the exception of mailing divi- 

 dend checks to guarantors who paid the 

 assessment. This will be done as soon 

 as a printed statement of receipts and 

 disbursements can be prepared to go 

 with the checks. The statement shows 

 a profit of $1,457.35, equivalent to a 

 dividend of twenty per cent, with $15.35 

 balance to defray cost of printing and 

 postage. All things considered, it is a 

 very favorable outcome. A brief sum- 

 mary of the statement follows: 



Receipts. 



From 20 per cent assessment $1,442.00 



Admissions 7,720.00 



Mlscellunoous 727.55 



Total $9,889.55 



Disbursements. 



Assessment returned $1,442.00 



Premiums •. 4,476.00 



Miscellaneous expense 2,514.20 



Dividend, 20 per cent 1,442.00 



Reserve for printing and postage 15.35 



Total $9,889.55 



A RARE CATTLEYA. 



We reproduce in this issue a good 

 photograph of Cattleya Trianae var. 

 Backhousiana which is at present in 

 bloom in the orchid collection of E. 

 (t. Uihlein, Chicago. This is not only 

 a very handsome variety but also very 

 rare. Flowers are well shaped, sepals 

 and petals blush pink flaked at the 

 tips with bright magenta; lip round 

 with a large blotch of deep purple; 

 throat intense yellow. While the ordi- 

 nary Cattleya Trianaj can be purchased 

 at from $2 to $5 for good pieces, Mr. 

 Uihlein has declined an offer for this 

 plant from one of the largest orchid 

 dealers in England of $250. It is cer- 

 tainly a gem. 



WATCH THE GAS MEN. 



It is worth while to keep your eye on 

 the gas company's employes when you 

 see them working on the mains near 

 your place or near your water supply. 

 Closely following the report that Gus- 

 tavo Knoch, at Woodmere, Mich., has 

 started suit against the Detroit Gas 

 Light and Coke Co., as a result of its 

 careless dumping of poisonous matter 

 taken from its mains, comes the story 

 of an almost parallel case at Cincin- 

 nati, where Critchell's lost a big lot 

 of cuttings. The water which accumu- 

 lates in the gas mains and requires to 

 be pumped out seems to contain most 

 injurious- elements and water should 

 not be used which contains the slight- 

 est trace of the poison. The follow- 

 ing letter from B. P. Critchell tells 

 what happened in his case: 



On account of a bad accident that we had 

 in our propagating houses we had to discontinue 



the rooted-cutting ! nlvertisom ent. During^ Jhe_ 



seve r v ' w t n ihv v In January tBe Has Company 

 dumped some gas water Into the creek, which 

 Is our water supply, and It stopped at our 

 pond, and before we knew anything about the 

 poisonous nntiiro of It. we had used It for 

 several days In the propagating house. The 



Gittleya Trianae Var. Backhousiana. 



result was that we lost the entire bench of be- 

 tween 20.000 and 25,000 cuttings. 



Have cleaned out the house and are in shape 

 again and will send you an advertisement in 

 time for next week's issue. We had very 

 good results from the advertisement, and have 

 had to return quite a number of orders with 

 the money for the reason that parties wanted 

 the stuff Immediately. 



ILLINOIS STATE ASSOCIATION. 



The prospect of securing a state ap- 

 propriation for experiment work for 

 floriculture under the direction of an ad- 

 visory committee of the Illinois State 

 Florists' Association has awakened great 

 enthusiasm in that organization. At a 

 meeting of the Chicago Florists' Club 

 on March 9 thirty new names were added 

 to the already long list of members of 

 the state society. Application to incor- 

 porate has been filed. In the endeavor 

 to secure favorable consideration by th? 

 state legislatuM, the committee in 

 charge has been surprised at the lack 

 of realization of the importance of the 

 greenhouse industry in Illinois. For 

 educational purposes it has issued the 

 following open letter: 



By an act approved March 2. 1S87, the na- 

 tional government appropriated $15,000 per an- 

 num to each state tor the purpose of establish- 



■ing and maintaining an agricultural experiment 

 station, "to aid In acquiring and diffusing 

 among the people of the United States useful 

 and practical Information on subjects connected 

 with agriculture and to promote scientific In- 

 vestigation and experiment respecting the prin- 

 ciples and applications of agricultural science." 

 The Agricultural Experiment Station of Illi- 

 nois was placed under the direction of the trus- 

 tees of the State University as a part of the 

 university. From 1SS7 to 1901 the station was 

 maintained upon the United States fund ot- 



- $1 5 . 000. I t s spbern — BTTd Tfs activities w-ere 



necessarily limited because the above sum had 

 to be used for salaries, printing four bulletins 

 a year, as required by law, labor, supplies, etc. 

 When divided among four or five, 'departments 

 representing great agricultural Interests, such 

 as agronomy, animal husbandry, horticulture. 



dairying, together with the necessary Investlga- 

 tion In butauy, entomology and chemistry re- 

 lating to these Industries, it Is a matter of 

 wonder that the stations hare done the great 

 work they have. According to the provisions 

 of the law. none of the money can be used for 

 liulldings, as it was supposed the states would 

 make the necessary appropriations for them. 



Four years ago the various agricultural or- 

 ganizations of the state, realizing that the ap- 

 1 iiipriations received from the national govern- 

 ment were inadequate, sought and obtained ap- 

 |)roprlations. I'he past two years appropria- 

 tions were made as follows: Twenty-flve thou- 

 sand dollars for live stock Investigations; $25,- 

 (no for the soil survey of the state, $15,000 for 

 dairy investigations, $10,000 for com investi- 

 gations and $10,000 for orchard investigations. 

 I'^ach of these appropriations was expended 

 under the direction of an advisory committee 

 of five from each of following associations: The 

 Illinois Live Stock Breeders' Association, Illi- 

 nois Farmers' Institute, Illinois Corn Growers' 

 and Illinois Corn Breeders' Associations, Illi- 

 nois Dairymen's Association and the Illinois 

 Stute Horticultural Society. 



The sums mentioned are specifically appro- 

 priated for certain Investigations and have been 

 so used. The only reason the florists have not 

 liad similar appropriations Is l)ecause they have 

 not asked for an appropriation for experi- 

 mental work. 



According to the census figures for 1900 there 

 was Invested in floriculture In Illinois the sum 

 of $4.tHS.(t.')6. Of this amount $2.0!t6.6ri2 was 

 represented by buildings and $2,439,163 in land. 

 The wholesale value of the flowers and plants 

 sold in 1S99 was $1.867.8.15. There was S,414,- 

 541 square feet of glass. In addition to the 

 above figures, which relate to the commercial 

 florists, or those who derive the principal part 

 of tlieir lnc<ime from the sale of flowers and 

 plants, we find 1.199 gardeners using a total 

 area of 8.744.020 square feet in growing plants. 



Oreenliouse building firms estimate the 

 amount of greenhouse building material. In- 

 cluding stnictural work, glass and pipe and 

 heating apparatus, at $2,000,000 per annum of 

 sales in the city of Chicago alone. Informa- 

 tion obtained by builders, through the trade 

 press, from wholesale plantsmen and estimates 

 from leading members of the trade, make It 

 certain that . the value of Investment ,an d_jhe_^ 

 i imount of a n nuHl iiut i Ki t flr» tirtvr 50 per cent 



greater than the above qnoted figures for 1900. 

 Conservative estimates place the coal constimp- 

 tion of the greenhouses of Illinois at 150,000 

 Ions i)er annum. 



In Cook county we find the glass area of the 

 florists to be 5.855.612 square feet; in Du Page 

 county. 532.680 square feet; Kane, 195,563; 



