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The Weekly Florists' Review* 



January 17, 1907. 



Our JANIARY SPECIALTIES— 



AMERICAN BEAUTIES, the finest in Pliiladelpiiia 



CATTLEYAS and WHITE CATTLEYAS, very ciioice 

 SINGLE DAFFODILS, in quantity 

 WHITE LILAC 



THE BEST OF EVERYTHING IN THE MARKET 



The Leo Niessen Co# 



WHOLESALE PLORISTS 



1217 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



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



Mention The Rerlew when you write. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



The Rising Eastern Market. 



Conditions have slightly improved de- 

 spite the extraordinarily unfavorable 

 weather. Nearly all the crops of roses 

 and carnations are more or less off now, 

 and \vith anything like good demand we 

 should have a decided scarcity of staple 

 varieties in these flowers. While the de- 

 mand is improving it cannot yet be 

 called good. Indications point, however, 

 to greater activity during the next fort- 

 night. Roses have slightly advanced in 

 price, the ball at Horticultural hall last 

 Friday, at which great quantities of all 

 grades of Beauties were used, starting 

 the upward movement. This is chiefly 

 noted on the lower grades. It is inter- 

 esting to note, by the way, that all the 

 Beauties required on Friday were locally 

 grown, whereas at this time last year we 

 were obliged to draw on New York for 

 Beauties for a similar occasion. Violets 

 are still in rather poor demand, prices 

 being weak and irregular. Sweet peas, 

 owing to the shortage of carnation 

 plants last fall, are more abundant than 

 ever before at midwinter in this market. 

 The demand consumes all the good flow- 

 ers at excellent prices. Laelias are prac- 

 tically over, but there are plenty of good 

 cattleyas, the lavender being reinforced 

 by white. vVnite lilacs are fairly abund- 

 ant. They are greatly prized for their 

 decorative effect. Mignonette of fine 

 grade is abundant. Fancy freesia has 

 arrived in sufficient quantities to be 

 quoted. It is a welcome addition. Greens 

 are quite scarce, the smallness of the 

 plumosus bunches being suflicient evi- 

 dence. A few tulips have made their 

 appearance. La Reine being the variety. 



The Century Flower Shop. 



Several years ago there was a sign in 

 the buying room of 112 South Twelfth 

 street to the effect that "Whatsoever 

 tuou nearest in thy neighbor's house, 

 thou shalt not repeat. " I do not know 

 whether this sign still hangs there, but 

 I have often thought of it, and won- 

 dered whether it is really a Bible quota- 

 tion or only invented to sound like one, 

 something in the way that Benjamin 

 Frank r if I fooled his many friends by I 



reading an additional chapter of Gen- 

 esis, which they all admitted they had 

 never heard before. Some better Bib- 

 lical student than I am will have to 

 solve this point, but the fact remains 

 that that sign has always made me spe- 

 cially careful with regard to the merest 

 trifle that I might hear at 112 South 

 Twelfth street. There are, however, 

 some potent truths with regard to the 

 running of the Century Flower Shop 

 that even the blindest of us may see 

 from outside, and which therefore can 

 be repeated without danger of betraying 

 confidence. These truths are decidedly 

 worth repeating, because they show the 

 effect of modern business methods on a 

 modern flower shop. 



Take, for example, the second week 

 before Christmas. Then the Century 

 displayed immortelle balls, at tempt- 

 ing prices, dainty vases, with some 

 choice spray or other, the price for 

 the whole being extremely reason- 

 able; and other things to tempt the 

 bargain-hunting buyer, A week later, 

 all these things were sold, every ves- 

 tige of them cleared away, and in their 

 place were plants sold only from sam- 

 ple, hampers and more expensive Christ- 

 mas novelties, to tempt the busy shop- 

 per. Cut flowers were sold at varying 

 prices, but in every case it was dis- 

 tinctly stated that the contents of the 

 boxes Avould not be guaranteed; that 

 is, pansies, violets, sweet peas, or what- 

 ever the market would afford, at reason- 

 able prices, would be used. If the buyer 

 wanted two dozen carnations, or one 

 dozen Maids, he was politely sent to 

 No. 108, where the choicest cut flowers 

 were sold in quantities to suit every 

 purchaser. The fundamental idea of 

 the Century Flower Shop has always 

 been to establish a mart. This idea is 

 modified only at the holidays, when the 

 selling from sample and certain other 

 improvements are used to increase the 

 effective force of the workers. 



A Propagating Secret. 



It is generally recognized that among 

 florists of today there are no secrets; 

 that is, no houses kept under lock and 

 key, or methods of culture guarded from 

 publicity with Masonic-like fidelity. The 

 only exception to this rule is in the 



propagation of certain kinds of plants, 

 in which case a grower, who, after much 

 difficulty, has learned the secret of per- 

 petuating economically, certain species 

 of plants, feels that for the present, at 

 least, he must keep that secret to him- 

 self. One of these secrets is the propa- 

 gation of Adiantum hybridum, discov- 

 ered some years ago by the late John 

 H. Ley, of Anacostia, D. C. This method, 

 which was shown me recently by Robert 

 Craig, was accidentally discovered by 

 Mr. Ley. It consists in removing about 

 one-third of the bottom of a plant, that 

 is, we will suppose, in a 6-inch pot, and 

 placing this mass of roots in sphagnum 

 moss, with a little bottom heat. The 

 examples shown by Mr. Craig were most 

 interesting, a full grown piece of these 

 roots resembling a pan of seedlings, the 

 crown of each being perfect and the 

 whole lot evenly developed. It is said 

 they are as easily divided as seedlings 

 and start readily when potted off. This 

 method will render Adiantum hybridum 

 as easy a proposition as it has been diffi- 

 cult in the past. 



Various Notes. 



The Leo Niessen Co. will remove to 

 its new building at 1209 Arch street 

 about February 1. 



The second meeting of the general 

 committee in charge of the S. A. F. 

 convention to be held -here next August 

 Avas held on Tuesday evening, January 

 16. Charles D. Ball was chairman, 

 Edwin Lonsdale secretary and J. Wil- 

 liam Colflesh treasurer. 



Prof. Henry Skinner gave an illus- 

 trated lecture last Tuesday evening be- 

 fore the Pennsylvania Horticultural So- 

 ciety on "Where Insects Live During 

 the Winter. ' ' Prof. Skinner is the so- 

 ciety 's entomologist. Let us hope that 

 all florists require information on this 

 subject. 



The Philadelphia Cut Flower Co. 

 has been receiving some exceptionally 

 choice Enchantress, which I was enabled 

 to see through the courtesy of W. J. 

 Muth. Unfortunately, it is not the com- 

 pany 's policy to give out the names of 

 growers, but as Phil happened to know, 

 he took off his hat in the spirit. 



Wra. J, Moore has done so well for 

 Maull and Howell and other experts 



