OCTOBEK 11, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



1345 



DO YOU KNOW 



that we have the finest Beautles, Cattleyas and wild Smilax 



coming into Philadelphia? We can offer you a larger assortment 

 of the finest flowers than ever before* 



The 



tft^v 



Niessen Co« 



WHOLESALE FLORISTS 



1217 Arch Street, 



Philadelphia, Pa. 



Open from 7 a. m. to 8 p. m. Our Service is Unexcelled. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



THE Florists' Supply House of America 



Violet Baskets! Violet Hampers! 



Foil! 



We have everything that the floral artist requires when presentinsT the violet. Our stock is fresh, 

 arriving almost daily and selected with full knowledge of ihe requirements of the American peo- 

 ple. Send us your orders. We can supply yuur every want. Our catalogue is free. 



H. BAYERSDORFCR & CO., 50-36 N. 4th St, PHIUDCLPHIA, PA. 



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Now, however, the vanguard of the early 

 varieties are here in force. Glory of 

 Pacific, pink, Mrs. Kalb, white. Tint 

 of Gold, and Polly Rose, white, have 

 reinforced Monrovia, making a fair as- 

 sortment. Prices, however, are high, 

 as always at the beginning of the sea- 

 son. Orchids are finer and more plenti- 

 ful than we have ever had them in 

 this market. Cattleya labiata is the 

 main factor but a general assortment 

 can readily be secured. The cooler 

 nights have done much to improve the 

 quality of roses. Both Beauties and 

 teas are rounding into form, although 

 it will take some time yet before we 

 have the best stock that our growers 

 can produce. 



It is noticeable that carnations are 

 far behind last season at this time. 

 Growers who were shipping by the thou- 

 sand are now shipping by the hundred 

 only. This is due partly to the wet 

 summer, many plants failing to mature 

 rapidly, partly to the prevalence of stem- 

 rot, and partly to the misapprehension 

 on the part of the growers as to exist- 

 ing conditions. The supply of early 

 chrysanthemums will be a week or ten 

 days later than usual, leaving a vacuum 

 in the market that the carnation could 

 do much to fill. 



A New Industry. 



Philadelphia has been accustomed for 

 so long to depend on the neighboring 

 cities of New York and Washington and 

 the tOMiis of Summit and Rutherford 



for orchids that it is difficult to realize 

 than an orchid specialist has been stead- 

 ily at work for some time supplying this 

 market. Through the courtesy of Sam- 

 uel S. Pennock Phil was enabled to 

 visit the greenhouses of Alphonse Peri- 

 cat at Collingdale in Delaware county, 

 where orchids are specialized. Mr. Peri- 

 cat, though a comparatively young man, 

 has devoted over a quarter of a cen- 

 tury to study and care of his favorite 

 flower. When only 12 years of age he 

 began his life work in France, and 

 since then he has had charge of the 

 Rothschild collection in that country, 

 and of large private collections here. 

 A few years ago he started for himself 

 and while his business is still of modest 

 proportions he feels that there is a 

 growing demand for the flowers he pro- 

 duces. 



The most striking features of an or- 

 chid establishment are the large capital 

 required to fill the greenhouses in pro- 

 portion to the cost of construction. A 

 carnation grower, for instance, who 

 spends several thousand dollars on 

 greenhouses can ordinarily stock them 

 for a comparatively small amount, where- 

 as the orchid grower, on the contrary, 

 spends far more on his stock than he 

 does on his houses. The orchids are 

 gathered by collectors in different coun- 

 tries, chiefly South American. A collect- 

 or sends natives out in the woods where 

 the plants abound. These natives gather 

 and deliver them to the packers, who 

 ship them to the grower. Great destruc- 



tion is wrought among the orchids by 

 carelessness in gathering, many imma- 

 ture and half dead specimens being sent 

 here that are worthless when received. 

 The principal varieties grown are Cat- 

 tleya labiata now in bloom, Cattleya 

 Triante, probably the most profitably, 

 as it Jalooms during the party season, 

 Cattleya Schcederiana, Cattleya Mos- 

 sise, that blooms during May and 

 June, Dendrobium formosum, white, 

 and oncidiums, yellow, and last but not 

 least ('ypripedium insigne. Mr. Pericat 

 has some specimens of beautiful fancy 

 orchids that are, alas, not appreciated 

 on this side of the water, where size is 

 a too important attribute. The orchids 

 are grown almost entirely in pots, set 

 on boards. No ashes are used, as it is 

 important that they dry quickly. The 

 stock was in very fine condition, giving 

 promise of a large cut this season. One 

 block of Cattleya labiata that had just 

 come through the custom house, was be- 

 ing potted and appeared to be almost 

 ready to flower. It is needless to say 

 that these were not freshly gathered 

 orchids. Mr. Pericat is an enthusiast in 

 his work, as all successful growers must 

 be, and his ideas were full of interest 

 to his visitors. 



An Advanced A^e. 



The rather prosaic business of selling 

 bulbs and seeds must according to mod- 

 ern ideas have some poetry in it to be- 

 come really successful. Anybody can 

 put a few bulbs in a vase but it takes 





