10 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



June 4, 1908. 



DECORATION DAY. 



The Decoration day reports vary 

 greatly, but it is noted that there is 

 everything to indicate that the demand 

 for flowers for memorial purposes is 

 still on the increase. 



It is shown that the local retail busi- 

 ness was good nearly everywhere that 

 it did not rain May 30. 



The farther west the reports so fax 

 received came from, the better the 

 story was, the Mississippi valley hav- 

 ing certainly the largest business ever 

 experienced on Memorial day. 



While wholesale markets in many 

 cases were overstocked, the local trade 

 in the small cities and country towns 

 was greater than ever, practically 

 throughout the country. 



The principal dissatisfaction with the 

 holiday business comes from unfavor- 

 able weather conditions. Unseasonably 

 warm weather for the last half of May 

 made stock of much lower quality than 

 usual. All flowers were soft and shipped 

 poorly. In the east retailers stocked 

 up only to have heavy rain interfere 

 with their sales. 



But, on the whole, the quantity ofc 

 flowers consumed May 30 was greater 

 than it ever has been before and there 

 is every reason to believe that with 

 more favorable weather conditions in 

 succeeding years the importance of this 

 day in trade circles will continue on 

 the increase. 



It is worthy of special note that 

 there was no extra demand for white 

 and those who stored up white stock in 

 anticipation of increased prices were 

 sadly disappointed. There is no holi- 

 day at which there is an extra call for 

 white flowers. They always should be 

 marketed promptly when ready. 



CREOSOTE IN GREENHOUSES. 



I note in the Review of May 14 the 

 remarks of Thomas H. White with re- 

 gard to concrete slabs for bench bottoms. 

 He concludes : "I should think it would 

 pay to use the slabs even if wood sup- 

 ports were used, as the supports could 

 be treated with some of the creosote 

 preparations and would last a good many 

 years. It is the bottom boards that need 

 so much renewal." 



I am specially interested in the refer- 

 ence to creosote, for I always have sup- 

 posed that creosote, while a good pre- 

 servative of wood, was injurious to plant 

 life and that it could not safely be used 

 aoout a greenhouse. I should like to hear, 

 through the Review, from those whose 

 experience gives them definite informa- 

 tion on this subject. If there is any 

 wood preservative that can be safely 

 used, I think we all want to know about 

 it. 



In reply to the foregoing inquiry, re- 

 garding creosote in greenhouses, we 

 would say that we have consulted some 

 of the foremost chemists on this subject 

 and they say that it is not safe to use 

 creosote or similar preparations for pre- 

 serving wood in greenhouses. 



It is an accepted fact, known by 

 everyone, that tar is injurious to plant 

 life and none would think of using it. 

 As creosote is a product of coal tar, and 

 in view of the fact that it gives off an 

 odor containing properties very similar 

 to those thrown off by tar, we think it 

 should be excluded from the greenhouse. 

 Creosote is also made from wood and the 

 principles of it are very similar to the 

 principles of carbolic acid and tar oil. 



There is no question but what creosote 

 is a preservative of wood, for it has 

 been tried all over the country in hun- 

 dreds of ways. Blocks for street paving 

 have been saturated with it, and also 

 bridge timbers and railroad ties. For 

 uses of this kind it is well adapted, but 

 we hardly think that it would be ad- 

 visable for the florist to use it in pre- 

 serving lumber for benches. Creosote 

 would not mix with water, nor would it 

 affect the soil in the benches, but the 

 odor is dangerous. What is true of cre- 

 osote may also be said of all other wood 

 preservatives which we have heard of. 

 We say again that it should not be used 

 for greenhouses. 



JCHN C. MONINQEE CO. 



I have read the paragraph concerning 

 the use of creosote in greenhouses with a 

 great deal of interest. The Forest Serv- 

 ice of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture, up to the present time, has carried 

 on no experiments in the preservative 

 treatment of greenhouse construction 

 timbers. Such work, however, is about 

 to be undertaken in cooperation with S. 

 Jacobs & Sons, Brooklyn, N. Y., manu- 

 facturers of greenhouses and horticul- 

 tural buildings. It is probable that cre- 

 osote, mercuric chloride and zinc chloride 

 will be the preservatives employed. Cre- 

 osote, on account of its nature, will prob- 

 ably be undesirable for use in most of 

 the timbers, due to the fact that timbers 

 so treated will not take a coat of white 

 paint subsequently, which, I understand, 

 is very desirable on account of the re- 

 flected light. In the benches, however, 

 and in other portions of the buildings, 

 where conditions of warm, damp air are 

 at a maximum, and where painting is not 

 necessary, creosote will probably prove to 

 be the most eflBcient preservative. 



From past experience in other countries 

 it seems probable that neither creosote 

 nor the antiseptic salts, if properly in- 

 jected into the timber, will have any in- 

 jurious effect upon the growing plants. 



W. F. Sheefesee. 



Avon, Mass. — Embert F. Oliver re- 

 cently received a severe gash on his left 

 hand by being struck by a scythe. 



BOSTON. 



Memorial Day Market. 



While it cannot be said that Memorial 

 day trade surpassed that of its prede- 

 cessors, there was a large volume of 

 business transacted and, everything being 

 considered, growers and retailers had no 

 cause for complaint. The weather dur- 

 ing the week was hot, averaging 80 to 

 85 degrees in the shade. This brought 

 along a tremendous crop of roses and 

 carnations and the advance in prices in 

 both these lines was small. Roses, owing 

 to the heat, were generally of inferior 

 quality, excepting the better grades of 

 Richmond and Killarney. There was lit- 

 tle change in price, but better clear- 

 ances were effected. Flowers selling at 

 from $2 to $6 per hundred were in most 

 request. 



Carnations were brought in by the 

 tens of thousands. The quality had de- 

 teriorated much with the high tempera- 

 ture and prices ruled much lower than a 

 year ago. The quality also was inferior 

 on the whole. Prices varied all the way 

 from $2 to $5, colored sorts, of course, 

 selling the best. Whites were inclined 

 to be druggy. Sweet peas varied all the 

 way from 25 cents to $1.25 per hundred. 

 Stems on these are getting short com- 

 pared with those seen at Easter. 



Quite a few gladioli were seen and 

 found ready purchasers. There was also 

 a good supply of lilies, mostly longi- 

 florums. Lily of the valley from out- 

 doors was abundant and the best of it 

 was much superior to the average forced 

 product. Little Dutch bulbous stock 

 was seen, the heat having been too much 

 for them. With the exception of some 

 of the Darwin and other late tulips and 

 the double white gardenia-scented nar- 

 cissus, this class was unrepresented. Of 

 white candytuft, stocks in various colors, 

 snapdragons, Spiraea Japonica and mar- 

 guerites, there was a heavy supply, most 

 of these being sold in bunches. Lilac 

 was on the wane to a large extent, but 

 fresh samples sold well, as did sprays of 

 Deutzia Lemoinei and D. gracilis, vi- 

 burnums and Spireea Van Houttei. A 

 few peonies were seen, chiefly the old 



Office of the Joseph Heacock Co., Wyncote, Pa. 



