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252 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



June 22. 1905. 



wagons. They liked the way it traveled 

 but it took a good deal of time, so they 

 tried an automobile. The auto made 

 time but one day it got a hot box «nd 

 stock WftB delayed until a wagon could be 

 procured. Then, on a hot afternoon, a 

 horse gave out. And now the stuff 

 conies by train again. 



Henry Koropp has sold his interest in 

 the Sheridan Park Floral Co. to his 

 cousin and partner, Leopold Koropp, who 

 will continue the business. It is the 

 old E. Asmus & Co. place. Henry Koropp 

 has negotiations under way, and likely 

 to be closed this week, for the purchase 

 of the Albert Fuchs' place. 



Percy Jones says that at the Growers' 

 Market peonies are far and away the best 

 selling item. 



Leonard Kill is at Memphis for a few 

 days on business. 



Robert Northam is now with Joseph 

 Foerster at George Reinberg's. They 

 are handling a fine cut of Liberty. The 

 way this rose has bloomed all season 

 for Mr. Keinberg has been a great 

 pleasure. 



O. W. Frese has both bands tied up 

 as the result of poisoning with rose 

 thorns. 



Club meeting tonight. 



There have been a large number of 

 visitors in town this week, due to a rate 

 war between the western railroads, which 

 were competing for the patronage of the 

 Modern Woodmen, who have been in 

 convention at Milwaukee. Among the 

 many trade visitors were F. J. Olsan, 

 Ames, la.; Jos. Tosini, Sioux Falls, S. 

 D.; J. G. Crozier, Cedar Eapids, la.; J. 

 R. Elder and daughter, Sioux City, la.; 

 John Christiany, Sheldon, la.; A. F. 

 Beyer, South Bend, Ind. ; Peter Freeman, 

 Aurora, 111. ; W. H. Culp, Wichita, Kan. ; 

 Mr. Emmons, of the Cedar Rapids Floral 

 Co., Cedar Rapids, la.; C. S. Meek, Mt. 

 Vernon, la.; W. M. Bomberger, Har- 

 lan, la., who was accompanied by his 

 son from Lake Forest, 111. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



The Market 



Much of the locally grown stock now 

 coming into the market is of poor 

 quality, necessitating our wholesalers 

 drawing on more favored sections for 

 certain varieties of flowers. The^ hot 

 wave has hastened the downfall of tired- 

 out plants and house after house is be- 

 ing thrown out to make room for young 

 stock. Some good Kaiserins, valley and 

 a few carnations are coming in. John 

 Burton has some nice Chatenay, while 

 W. & Harry F. Evans continue to send 

 extra fine centaurea from the old Cox 

 place to the Leo Niessen Co. 



Newport and Westerly add their quota 

 of good roses. There are still a few good 

 gardenias, but orchids are about over. 

 The quantity of poor carnations. Brides 

 and Maids that are practically valueless 

 is large. Sweet peas are so plentiful 

 that the question of whether it pays to 

 pick them is a problem at this busy 

 time. Business has been good up to 

 Tuesday, but the general feeling appears 

 to be that it is over for the season. 



A Parisian Episode. 

 A young Philadelphian went abroad 

 recently. He met a very lovely lady 

 on the steamer, with whom he chatted, or 

 read, or promenaded the deck much of 

 the time during the voyage. The girl's 

 home was in Paris. When our townsman 

 arrived there he went to the florist 's shop 

 and sent her some flowers. Fancy his 



amazement when her brother immediately 

 challenged him to fight a duel on the 

 ground that his sister had been insulted 

 by having flowers sent to her. The 

 young lady prevented the duel, explain- 

 ing tnat the Philadelphians did not un- 

 derstand that it was not customary in 

 France to send flowers to unmarried 

 ladies. Many of the frequenters of the 

 "Cafe," on hearing this story, wished 



New Home of M. Rice & Q)., Philadelphia. 



fervently that such custom should pre- 

 vail here. So do not I. 



Their New Home. 



A beautifully designed building with 

 brown stone front, the air of quiet dig- 

 nity of which attracts the passerby, is 

 the new home of M. Rice & Co., at 1220 

 Race street. The moving is finished, all 

 the supplies are unpacked and in their 

 places, new importations are arriving 

 and the force in various departments is 

 working as industriously as though the 

 firm had been there a year instead of one 

 short week. 



Through the courtesy of B. Eschner 

 I am able to give the Reviiw readers an 



impression of the building and its con- 

 tents. Mr. Eschner proposed that we 

 start at the top and come down, revers- 

 ing our business axiom in this instance 

 for sake of convenience. The fifth floor 

 is 20x100 feet, with large windows at 

 each end, high ceiling, good ventilation, 

 is reached by a stairway, a freight ele- 

 vator and is connected at the rear with 

 the stairway in a fire-proof tower built 

 entirely independent of the rest of the 

 building. This general description ap- 

 plies to every floor. To it may be added 

 self-closing doors, a neat toilet room and 

 an elaborate protective system arranged 

 to prevent accident as well as burglary. 

 This floor is used as a storeroom, the 

 goods being unloaded from Quarry 

 street in the rear and run up on the 

 freight elevator. The entire floor was 

 full of supplies when I saw it. The 

 fourth is also used as a storeroom and 

 is identical with the fifth excepting in 

 the variety of stock. 



The third i!oor is used a workshop. 

 Here a force of men were busily em- 

 ployed making wheat sheaves. The 

 wheat, previously moistened, was laid on 

 a long table, each worker having a pile 

 before him from which he made up the 

 sheaves with great dexterity. Racks 

 nearby are used for drying the wheat. 

 Here also the immortelle and metallic 

 wreaths are made, as well as a variety 

 of other work at which the employes in 

 this department have become exceedingly 

 expert, the foreman having been with 

 M. Rice for sixteen years and several of 

 the other men for periods nearly as long. 

 Screens are another specialty. Some 

 that were complete were being moved to 

 the lower floor for display. 



The second floor is used as a show 

 room. Baskets in a profusion of styles 

 are a feature. Great rows of beautiful 

 fancy baskets were flanked, as the war 

 correspondents say, by staple baskets, 

 just one of each style, as a sample only, 

 orders being filled frqm the stores above. 

 The first floor is devoted to the ribbons, 

 tastefully arranged in display cases on 

 the left as yon enter, the offices on the 

 right and a great variety of supplies as 

 a main army further back. Both this 

 floor and the one above are fitted with 

 roomy lockers under the cases or shelves. 

 The offices are very convenient. A force 

 of young women were hard at work in 

 the front part, with the cashier at one 

 end and the firm 's private offices at the 

 other. Adjoining are Bell and Key- 

 stone telephones with double doors so 

 that each may be reached from the of- 

 fice as well as from the main part of the 

 store. In the basement was a Mercer 

 steam boiler, absestos covered, facing the 

 coal bin right off the sidewalk and fur- 

 ther back lots of space for packing cases. 

 An electrician was at work putting the 

 finishing touches on the electric lighting 

 system. The whole building is admir- 

 ably adapted to its purpose and is twice 

 as large as its predecessor. I cannot 

 close without telling you that both Ste- 

 phen B. Greene and William Zirkmann 

 were hard at work on the first floor. 



Various Notes. 



The Leo Niessen Co. will start the 

 summer season July 1, when they will 

 close at 6 p. m. 



The statement made in this column 

 last week concerning Robert Craig & 

 Son was an error. Part but not all the 

 creditors were paid off June 15 on the 

 fifty per cent basis. The assignee, John 

 Burton, is still in charge. 



Henry I. Faust, of Merion, received 

 the order for the children's rose festival 



