J058 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Mabch 8. 1906. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



Executive Committee Meeting;. 



The executive committee of the Society 

 of American Florists was in session at 

 the Hotel Beckel, Dayton, O., on Mon- 

 day, Tuesday and Wednesday of this 

 week. Those present were President 

 Wm. F. Kasting, Buffalo; Vice-president 

 H. M. Altick, Dayton; Secretary W. J. 

 Stewart, Boston; directors, E. V. Hal- 

 lock, Queens, N. Y.; W. H. Elliott, 

 Brighton, Mass.; F. H. Traendly, New 

 York; P. J. Hauswirth, Chicago; H. H. 

 Ritter, Dayton. Also E. G. Hill, Rich- 

 mond, Ind. ; J. C. Vaughan and George 

 Asmus, Chicago; E. G. Gillett, Cincin- 

 nati; John Evans, Richmond, Ind., and 

 from time to time a number of the Day- 

 ton people. 



Upon assembling the visitors were en- 

 tertained at a dinner tendered them by 

 the local contingent, the banquet room 

 in the Beckel hotel being lavishly deco- 

 rated. Discussion was had upon a num- 

 ber of subjects which the Washington 

 convention referred to the committee. 

 Among these was the matter of a na- 

 tional flower, a subject upon which no 

 agreement could be reached. At the 

 Tuesday evening session the committee 

 took a stand against the free distribu- 



tion of seeds by the government and ex- 

 pressed its sentiments in the following 

 telegram to Wm. W. Cocks, the member 

 of congress from New York who intro- 

 duced in the committee on agriculture a 

 resolution looking to the ending of this 

 practice : 



The directors of the Society of American Flo- 

 rists in executive session at the Beckel hotel, 

 Dayton, O., note your motion In the house com- 

 mittee on arRrlculture and congratulate you on 

 the successful stand you have made against the 

 free distritoutlon of seed. Can any of us help 

 you by coming to Washington? 



Plans were discussed for the August 

 convention at Dayton. A program was 

 outlined. 



Department of Plant Res[istration. 



Wm. Schray & Sons, St. Louis, Mo., 

 submit for registration Canna Superior; 

 height, three to four feet; foliage, green; 

 flowers, cherry red with light gold band. 

 Also Alternanthera aurea robusta, a 

 sport from aurea nana; much stronger 

 grower than the type, the leaves being 

 one-half inch wider, more highly colored 

 and retaining color better than the type. 



A. C. Zvolanek, Bound Brook, N. J., 

 submits for registration winter-flowering 

 sweet peas. Secretary William J. Stewart 

 (Christmas Captain x Countess Spen- 

 cer) ; color, blue; Mrs. W. W. Smalley 

 (Enchantress x Mrs. E. Wild), color, 

 satin pink. W. J. Stewart, Sec'y. 



GREEN CARNATIONS. 



Next week Saturday will be Ireland's 

 day, sometimes known as St. Patrick's, 

 and the occasion^ for the maltreatment 

 of a large number of white carnations. 

 Since the dyes have been freely offered 

 for coloring carnations green there has 

 been a very large business done in them 

 at each recurring St. Patrick's day. This 

 year not only will the retailers dye car- 

 nations in large numbers, but green car- 

 nations will be an item of stock in a 

 great many wholesale houses for ship- 

 ment a day or two prior to March 17. 

 Last year there was an excellent sale for 

 them and good money made, regardless 

 of what one may think of the practice 

 of coloring the divine flower. 



A NEW BEDFORD SEEDLING. 



H. A. Jahn, who is well known as a 

 raiser of seedUng carnations, has a very 

 interesting assortment at his establish- 

 ment at Clark's Point, New Bedford, 

 Mass. The writer was especially pleased 

 to see his new white variety. No. 49, 

 which scored ninety points at the recent 

 carnation convention in Boston and 

 which has attracted widespread atten- 

 tion. This variety I believe has no equal 

 in its color in America today. It has 

 form, purity of color, fragrance, a strong 

 calyx and wonderful stem, the latter 

 stronger than any other carnation I 

 have ever seen. 



It is withal a great bloomer. I 

 counted plants from which twelve flowers 

 had been picked and as many more were 

 in sight. It breaks freely and is easily 

 i-ooted. Stems are now two and a half 



to three feet long and blooms average 

 three and a half inches across and will 

 reach four inches on later flowers. We 

 failed to find a burst calyx and consider 

 this .seedling a winner in every way. Mr. 

 Jahn has had some tempting offers for 

 liis stock, but has not parted with it 

 yet. 



Quite a number of other good seed- 

 lings were notejd and quantities of the 

 new season's crop of seedlings were ger- 

 minating and in some cases were pricked 

 off. A general assortment of other 

 flowers and plants for furnishing are 

 grown. 



Mr. Jahn has a store on Purchase 

 street. Four othei- stores are located 

 near-by, those of Messrs. Haskell, Pierce, 

 E. H. Chamberlain and S. S. Peckham. 

 The only other store in town is that of 

 R. H. Woodhouse, which is quite an up- 

 to-date one and is attached to his fine 

 greenhouse plant. W. N. C. 



A PECULIAR SEASON. 



Recent months have shown many pecu- 

 liarities which have occasioned discus- 

 sion among the cut flower growers and 

 dealers. It has been a period of com- 

 parative scarcity and high prices. Not 

 in years have prices held so uniformly 

 high at the season as during the past 

 January and February. This has ap- 

 plied not only to roses and carnations, 

 but to other items of stock, although 

 generally the increased values of mis- 

 cellaneous items has been attributed to 

 the scarcity and high prices of roses and 

 carnations. 



There has not been a great increase 

 in the demand; business has shown no 

 great advance and the cause of the unu- 



sual conditions has generally been laid 

 to low production. Here and there a 

 grower has had much better than the 

 usual results this season, but on the aver- 

 age the cuts of both roses and carnations 

 have been below the norm?il. In spite 

 of material increases in glass area last 

 year, the majority of growers have cut 

 less stock through January and Febru- 

 ary than they did a year ago. Usually 

 there has been a glut at some time dur- 

 ing these two months. It has not de- 

 veloped this year. 



The reports of decreased production 

 apply to practically all varieties. Beauty 

 has been scarce and made record prices. 

 In New York and Philadelphia the best 

 Beauties wholesaled at Christmas prices 

 in the latter half of February. In west- 

 ern markets the advance was not quite 

 so great, but it was nevertheless pro- 

 nounced. Tea roses have averaged better 

 in nearly the same proportion and carna- 

 tion growers report average returns for 

 their flowers ahead of any recent years. 

 Money returns per square foot of glass 

 probably do not exceed normal because 

 of smaller cuts. 



Why should production have been cur- 

 tailed? The records of the weather bu- 

 reau show that generally in January and 

 February the proportion of sun was 

 much greater than normal, and this con- 

 dition has held good ever since the he- 

 ginning of November. At Chicago in 

 February there were seven perfectly 

 clear days. There were twelve days in 

 which the sun was clouded for a part 

 of the day and only nine days in which 

 the sun did not shine. During the entire 

 month there was no time when snow ob- 

 scured the greenhouse glass. At no time 

 this year has there been over three 

 inches of snow on the ground in the 

 great cut flower producing district north 

 of Chicago. During the month of Febru- 

 ary the mean temperature was 28 de- 

 grees, as against 17 degrees in 1904 and 

 17 degrees in 1905. The coldest day 

 was February 2, 6 degrees above zero. 

 January 1 to March 1 the excess in 

 temperature compared to normal was 322 

 degrees. These weather conditions have 

 prevailed to a greater or less extent 

 throughout the United States and it 

 might well be supposed that the season 

 was unusually favorable for cut flower 

 production, although the results have not 

 materialized. 



THE READERS* CORNER. 



More About a Roll of Carpet. 



In answering your correspondent, W. 

 D., in reference to how to go about 

 planting a bed to represent a roll of 

 carpet, I think I may have overdone 

 the length of the bed. I said twenty- 

 five to thirty feet. I have since thought 

 that perhaps fifteen to twenty feet would 

 be nearer the length of the bed I had 

 reference to. It is about ten years, 

 now, since I was in the place referred 

 to. However, the length, or width, is 

 only a secondary consideration, as any 

 one planting such a bed can plant what- 

 ever size of a bed suits the place best 

 where it is to be. 



I read the answer sent by C. H. G. to 

 the same question and it brought back 

 to my mind a thing we did in planting 

 our roll, too; that was, inserting some 

 short pieces of pipe in the top of the roll 

 to pour water in. This is to keep the 

 roll moist, as the water, leaving the 

 pipes, saturates the roll good and pre- 

 vents it from drying out. The putting 



