APRIL 10, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



1567 



'William Ehmann, Cotfu, N. Y., and a CaIIa« 



Up to six years ago there was no 

 undertaker, and little call for his serv- 

 ices, had one been numbered among 

 our business men at Corfu. Then sud- 

 denly an undertaker put out his shingle 

 and made the usual handsome window 

 displajr, and lo ! the inhabitants began 

 at onefe to die off, so that the undertaker 

 might live. The oldest inhabitants passed 

 away in bunches of four or five weekly. 

 As there are not more than 500 souls 

 in the ' corporation, including five min- 

 isters of different denominations, and 

 three doctors, the cause of the great 

 mortality must not all be blamed on the 

 poor undertaker. The trustees of the 

 village at the next meeting will consider 

 the desirability of getting rid of two 

 doctors and at least three ministers, in 

 the belief that by so doing the village 

 can be restored to its former and normal 

 healthy condition. If this is found 

 efficacious the licenses will be restored. 



The writer told a story at the Tn- 

 ilianapolis banquet of the Carnation So- 

 ciety which I think pleased some of my 

 auditors. It was founded on fact and 

 occurred in this little village. 



A man lived here fifteen years ago 

 ■who was a very successful farmer and, 

 besides, was the pillar of the Methodist 

 rhurch. His name was Nicholas Dorshi. 

 So well was he known, and so univer- 

 sally respected, that when poor old 

 Brother Nick lay at death's door they 

 thought it was proper to write upon the 

 '"hurch door bulletins of his last hours. 

 So on that sad night, George Adams, 

 liead deacon, wrote: "10 p. m. Brother 

 Dorshi very low." Another hour went 

 ^y and again he wrote, "11 p. m. Con- 

 sultation of doctors; no hope for Broth- 

 (^r Dorshi." Another anxious hour went 

 >^nd then the fateful words appeared, 

 "12 p. m. Brother Dorshi dead and 

 gone to heaven." 



Tom Doyle was then the witty and 

 ■'ible town clerk and, having business 

 that way and in cotapany with Joseph 



Canfield, added another and later bulle- 

 tin which read. "1 a. m. Great excite- 

 ment in heaven. Brother Dorshi not ar- 

 rived. ' ' 



But I have strayed away from the 

 callas. Brother Ehmann says they oc- 

 cupy a house 100 feet long and eight 

 feet wide. It is the middle bed, with 

 six inches of good rich soil on the solid 

 ground. They were planted July 1, 1905; 

 perfectly dry roots which had been grown 

 and flowered the previous winter. As 

 they were planted some fifteen inches 

 apart, 3,000 Halliday chrysanthemums 

 were grown between the callas, 2,500 be- 

 ing sold as first-class and 500 as seconds. 

 Up to April 6 Mr. Ehmann has averaged 

 six flowers to every calla plant and ex- 



pects to average nine flowers before, 

 they are dried off. 



The illustrations will show you the 

 size and number of flowers and Mr. 

 Ehmann himself. Mr. Ehmann does not 

 aim to grow any crop to superlative per- 

 fection, but grows dollars and cents to 

 every square foot. 



This establishment was built by the 

 Webb Brothers, then sold to George 

 Troup, the superintendent in our beau- 

 tiful Forest Lawn cemetery in Buffalo, 

 and purchased the last winter by Mr. 

 Ehmann, who ran it a year for Mr. 

 Troup. 



There are great hopes for the village 

 yet, as they have basket ball teams of 

 both sexes. Ed Giddings is manager, 

 Terry Kinsella oflicial umpire, William 

 Thayer chaplain and Mr. and Mrs. D. 

 Scott and Myron Johnson chief rooters. 



W. S. 



KILLED BY PRIMULA OBCONICA. 



Some of our greenhouse plants are 

 known to have poisonous properties, per- 

 haps the most widely grown variety be- 

 ing the popular Primula obconica. While 

 the majority of gardeners can handle the 

 plant with impunity, there are many to 

 whom it is poisonous. We have not pre- 

 viously, however, heard of any death be- 

 ing caused by it, but in a March issue of 

 the London Lancet, the leading English 

 medical journal, Dr. W. H. Brown, of 

 Leeds, states that a woman 29 years of 

 age was recovering from an attack of 

 influenza when she scratched her nose in 

 smelling this plant. The nose swelled, 

 became a deep plum color and inflamma- 

 tion with suppuration spread to the eye- 

 lids, the forehead and scalp. Nothing 

 stayed the progress of the disease and 

 the patient died. 



It is unfortunate that this most de- 

 sirable and useful decorative plant has 

 the faculty of poisoning anyone. No 

 doubt some timid persons may be led 

 to discard the plant from reading the 

 foregoing. This, however, seems to be 

 a very extreme and exceptional case. 

 Remedies to alleviate any irritation have 

 been given in these columns on several 

 occasions. Witch hazel and vinegar are 

 both good. The plant appears to poison 

 more when the hands are wet. 



Wm. Ehmann's Bed of Callas at Corfu, N. Y. 



