The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Decgmbeb 21, 1905. 



TELEPHONE ORDERS 



are becoming a most important feature in all lines of trade. 

 ^ A quarter of a million telephones in New York City 

 and vicinity opens up an extended field to the florist who 

 seeks telephone trade. 



^ It is a high-class trade, too, for telephones are largely used 

 by those whose time is too valuable to be wasted in time- 

 wasting trips among the florists' shops. 

 ^ See that your telephone service is adequate. 

 fl Advertise for telephone orders. It will pay you. 



NEW YORK TELEPHONE COMPANY 



15 DEY STREET 



Mention The Keview when yon write. 



NEV YORK. 



The Market 



The market for cut flowers was 

 steady last week. There were no 

 storms. The good ship had fine 

 weather and placid waters. The waves 

 were not even choppy. Monday's and 

 Saturday's prices were the same. The 

 cause, limited supplies and enough din- 

 ners and debutantes to absorb every- 

 thing that came except the violets. 

 These, even at their best, could not 

 get above the dollar mark, even for the 

 100 bunch specials, while immense 

 quantities with a temperature most 

 mild for the middle of December found 

 an outlet on the streets and at times, 

 when slightly passe, sold as low as 25 

 cents per hundred. The oldest veteran 

 in the cut flower market never saw 

 such a condition of things in the violet 

 department at this season of the year. 

 I venture to predict $1.50 as top for 

 Christmas. Fortunately pickled violets 

 are an impossibility. They "smell to 

 heaven," or the other place, and all 

 the cheap perfume those adepts of the 

 streets soak into them is of little use 

 after twenty-four hours. 



Pity the roses wouldn 't put up some 

 such natural protest at being held over. 

 I hear the pickling process is in full 

 blast. Nothing the wholesalers can say 

 or do will prevent some of the growers 

 from killing the goose that lays the 

 golden egg. Every Christmas and 

 Easter, after careful resurrection and 

 chloroformed memory of its past, the 

 same old bird is killed again. They 

 say there will be enough pickled stuff 

 this Christmas to sour the wholesalers 



and retailers for four months, and then 

 comes the Easter killing again. The 

 impossibility to stop these fellows pick- 

 ling is a proof of immortality. You 

 can't kill the practice. 



Fortunately you can't get enough 

 orchids ahead to pickle them, so wide- 

 spread is becoming the demand and so 

 many of the big cities are forced to 

 do as society in New York dictates. 

 And carnations pickled enjoy their last 

 sleep and cannot be sold at all. It is 

 hard to say how high the grand reds 

 will go next Saturday; to 25 cents sure, 

 for they were worth 10 cents all last 

 week. And Kichmonds and Liberties; 

 well, you can guess how high they will 

 soar, for red is king for Christmas. 



Mums are now a novelty. Just a 

 few stragglers come along in the wake 

 of the dead army and they can get 

 their own price if they are good and 

 healthy. There'll be a few for the 

 holidays, if anybody wants them. 



Some grand rose stock came in last 

 week and the debutante flood carried 

 them off as fast as they arrived. Prices 

 for Al stock were entirely satisfactory 

 to grower and wholesaler. The only 

 complaint was insufficiency. Beauties 

 touched 60 cents quite often and some 

 even flirted with 75 cents, but these 

 were few and far between. One dollar 

 is predicted as top for Christmas, 25 

 cents for Maids and Brides and the 

 novelties, such as Kichmond and Kil- 

 larney, are expected to demonstrate 

 the power of suitability for the great 

 festival of Christendom and beat their 

 records. 



The carnation will surely maintain 

 its enviable place this year. Never 



was finer stock seen in the wholesale 

 New York market. Among the whites 

 we have never had anything to equal 

 Alma Ward. 



The days begin to lengthen Thurs- 

 day and this is the usual time for busi- 

 ness to settle down for the winter sea- 

 son. The only fear now expressed in 

 the wholesale section is lack of supply. 

 The demand this year promises to be 

 the greatest ever known. We look for 

 the merriest and most satisfactory 

 Christinas business ever experienced in 

 New York. 



Various Notes. 



Van Praag is nicely settled in his 

 new store on Broadway, His artist has 

 a unique window decoration daily. The 

 scheme of $2 assorted boxes semi- 

 weekly has proved a big success. Some 

 days 100 of these are disposed of. 

 This is a plan any florist in the big 

 cities may very profitably consider. 

 Some of the florists put up $1 boxes, 

 but the margin after delivery makes 

 these inadvisable. 



S. S, Pennock, of Philadelphia, made 

 his yearly missionary calls on Saturday. 



C. W. Ward is expected back from 

 the Pacific coast for Christmas. He 

 has been at Detroit the past week. 



Hicks & Crawbuck, in Brooklyn, had 

 a narrow escape from a disastrous fire 

 last Thursday morning at 2 o'clock. 

 None of the members of the firm was 

 notified until 6 a. m., at which time 

 the danger had passed and all the dam- 

 age possible had been done. The fire 

 started in the basement, immediately 

 beneath the big ice-box, which was 

 destroyed. The damage by smoke in 

 the supply department was heavy, but 



