378 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Ddckmbbb 28, 19U3. 



CHICAGO. 



The Great Central Market. 



If you are an out-of-town buyer of 

 cut flowers, don't complain at anything 

 you may think a wholesaler "handed" 

 you last week: Kemember that this mar- 

 ket was "up against it" as never be- 

 fore. 



Don't complain if you get poor stock; 

 don't protest at the prices: Kemember 

 that the stock sent you, almost regard- 

 less of what it was, could have been sold 

 to clamoring city buyers at prices well 

 above advertised rates. Chicago whole- 

 salers actually lost money by filling or- 

 ders. 



Don't complain if your order was 

 cut in the effort to make short supplies 

 go around; don't complain if your order 

 was late nnd you got nothing at all. 

 Place your order early next time. 



In the wholesale way it was a wonder- 

 ful Christmas, but far from satisfactory, 

 save when one looks at nothing but the 

 money total. Ten days of cold, almost 

 sunless weather served to make supplies 

 very much shorter than had been antici- 

 pated. At the same time orders as- 

 sumed hitherto unrecorded proportions 

 and the market was thrown into a state 

 bordering on demoralization; not the de- 

 moralization of Thanksgiving, when the 

 market was overburdened with stock, but 

 the demoralization consequent upon utter 

 inability to take anything like the usual 

 care of valued customers. Supplies were 

 less than last year in most houses and 

 the money total of sales larger, which 

 speaks for better average prices, es- 

 pecially good prices for the lower grades 

 of stock. Just what the shortage was it 

 is hard to say, for many buyers, mindful 

 of recent holiday experiences, put off 

 ordering in hopes of lower values. When 

 they at length sent in an order it was 

 only to be notified that it could not be 

 filled, after which the same order showed 

 up in house after house. Probably four 

 out of five telegraphic orders turned 

 down Saturday afternoon had been pre- 

 viously rejected elsewhere. Nevertheless 

 it was a shortage more acutely felt than 

 ever before. The only word which can 

 be said in extenuation of shortcomings 

 is that all shippers were more or less 

 in the same boat. 



Naturally there are numerous protests 

 at prices. It was seldom that a regular 

 customer was charged above advance 

 quotations and most houses started out 

 to fill the orders of their everyday cus- 

 tomers before they took any of the extra 

 money offered by those who faced a ne- 

 cessity. But there is an old story of the 

 sinister fate of good intentions and, 

 finding it imperative to cut orders, it is 

 not strange that a little stock was sold 

 while the shipping was on to those who 

 bid above the already high lists. But 

 growers should not base their anticipa- 

 tions of returns on the tales of big 

 prices paid in a few cases. Harry Eowe 

 paid George Keinberg $18 a dozen for 

 four dozen Beauties Saturday afternoon, 

 and there were other sales at this rate, 

 but that is not a measure of market val- 

 ues, only an indication of the urgency 

 of the buyers' requirements. It is the 

 Fame with other tales of unprecedented 

 prices. 



A number of local retailers were more 

 grievously disappointed than were the 

 out-of-town buyers. In most recent holi- 

 days the market has been weak after 

 the shipping was over. He was not an 



exceptional retailer who thought that 

 liistory would repeat itself. As a result 

 quite a few spent Saturday taking orders 

 and came down town at night to get the 

 stock to fill them, only to find the mar- 

 ket bare and no one willing to book 

 orders against Sunday's receipts. In 

 Sunday mojning's hustle for stock not 

 plentiful enough to go around prices 

 reached their highest. Many retailers 

 found themselves in the predicament of 

 having orders they could not get stock 

 to fill. 



As to stock, quality was somewhat im- 

 paired by the principal factor in reduc- 

 ing supply. Hoses were of poor color 

 and many carnations showed the effect 

 of being brought out by fire heat. A 

 heavy shortage of carnations had been 

 anticipated but, strange to tell, in most 

 houses roses were shorter than carna- 

 tions. Beauties looked a little while ago 

 to be the most abundant item but proved 

 about the shortest; one big grower nce- 

 ports filling only about twenty-five per 

 cent of his orders. Evidences of pick- 

 ling were seen Thursday and Friday, 

 but none subsequently. Violets moved 

 as slowly as anything, but shortages in 

 other items helped them to maintain fair 

 values, $1.50 to $2 for good New York 

 stock, and clean up. Such things as 

 poinsettias, lilies, valley, Romans, mig- 

 nonette, stevia, etc., frequently lost sight 

 of at a holiday, brought good averages. 

 Quite a few mums were seen but not in 

 demand; their season passes with 

 Thanksgiving. 



In a retail way the holiday is vari- 

 ously reported. Business was certainly 

 very heavy, but the cost of cut flowers 

 hurt the stores in neighborhoods where 

 price is an object; and inability to get 

 the grade of goods required was an ob- 

 stacle in the hightoned stores. Stocks 

 of plants were larger than usual and 

 many did more business with these than 

 with cut stuff. Holly and wreaths sold 

 about as well as ever, in spite of the 

 great quantities handled by curbstone 

 dealers. The best stores made their 

 wreaths of boxwood instead of holly. 

 On Sunday the weather turned cold, 

 down to within 7 degrees of zero, in- 

 creasing the work and cost of delivery. 



Christmas Notes. 



John Poehlmann says he doesn't ex- 

 pect to hear the last of this Christmas 

 even by the next one, certainly not be- 

 fore Easter. O. W. Frese says they re- 

 fused $25 a dozen for Beauties. 



W. E. Lynch, at Hunt's, reports sell- 

 ing violets to the amount of $190 to one 

 local buyer Saturday morning. 



A. L. Eandall Co. received 80,000 vio- 

 lets Saturday and even larger shipments 

 Sunday. 



Wiet^pr Bros, were fortunate and ex- 

 ceptional in having better supplies than a 

 year ago. Christmas made a fine new 

 record for them. 



Phil Schupp, at J. A. Budlong's, is 

 in a position to say ' * I told you so. ' ' 

 He had steadily predicted a shortage. 



C. W. McKellar handled 1,500 cattle- 

 yas last week, at from $6 to $12 per 

 dozen. 



Wm. Arnold, foreman for George 

 Keinberg, lost a wager on his Christmas 

 cut. He backed his ability to cut 10,000 

 Beauties, counting all lengths, but it was 

 actually a little over 9,200. A couple 

 of bright days would have made him a 

 winner. 



This Week. 



Of course this week opened with light 



receipts — that is always the way after a 

 holiday, especially one with a shortage. 

 Business is always good between Christ- 

 mas and New Year's, with society active 

 in all parts of the territory supplied by 

 the Chicago market. Prices will natur- 

 ally hold firm but a few days of sun have 

 done much to bring along the buds and 

 it is only a question of a short time until 

 cuts will again be large. 



Chicago Rose Co. 



The Chicago Kose Co. has made a lease 

 for three years on the ground floor 

 store and basement at 56-58 Wabash 

 avenue, to get possession February 1. 

 A part of the space is to be occupied by 

 Joseph Ziska, who has manufactured 

 wire Avork for wholesalers for twenty- 

 five years, and who will continue. The 

 rear of the store will be used for the 

 cut flower department and the front for 

 supplies. The basement will be used 

 for storage of stock. John P. Degnan, 

 secretary and manager of the company, 

 is now visiting New York and Philadel- 

 phia to buy the supplies. Staples only 

 will be carried at first, novelties being 

 added as the business develops. The 

 capital stock of the Chicago Rose Co. 

 is to be increased to take care of the en- 

 larged business. The greenhouses at 

 Libertyville are devoted to tea roses 

 exclusively and consignors are looked to 

 for other stock. 



Miss Sipe to Lecture. 



The Horticultual Society of Chica- 

 go has arranged with Miss Susan B. 

 Sipe, of Washington, to deliver her lec- 

 ture on * * School Gardens and Horticul- 

 tural Training of Public School Chil- 

 dren" at Fullerton hall, in the Art In- 

 stitute at 8 p. m., January 3. Miss Sipe 

 is the lady who made so many friends in 

 the trade with her address on this sub- 

 ject before the S. A. F. convention at 

 Washington last August. No one who 

 heard her there will fail if he can be 

 present next Wednesday evening. She 

 is deserving of a hearty reception and 

 will no doubt have it. 



Silkaline. 



At the Flower Growers ' Market, where 

 they come in contact with many pro- 

 ducers of smilax, asparagus, etc., 

 Vaughan & Sperry do a steady trade in 

 green thread for stringing these climb- 

 ers; no one would think of using white 

 string or even black thread for this mar- 

 ket. There are several makes of green 

 thread for this purpose but Vaughan & 

 Sperry say that the highest priced is the 

 best seller; that after using Meyer's 

 Silkaline no one is content with the sub- 

 stitutes. 



Various Notes. 



At Chicago, 1905 was a cold year for 

 the first ten months. At times the de- 

 ficiency as compared with normal was as 

 high as 250 degrees, but since October 

 this has been steadily cut down by mean 

 temperatures above the normal. On De- 

 cember 19 the deficiency was overcome, 

 but it only lasted for a few days and 

 now it is again colder than normal. 

 Christmas day was 13 degrees colder than 

 the average. 



Robert Schenk has gone to Youngs- 

 town, 0., to take charge of the store of 

 Walker & McLean. 



E. C. Amling has been handling the 

 first tulips of the season, red, with very 

 good stems for so early. 



Peter Keinberg 's present plans con- 



