40 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



NOTBMBEB 12, 1908. 



MUZ'S HOOSIER HOME. 



The business of L. E. Hitz, at Madi- 

 son, In*., was established by John G. 

 Hitz, the father of the present owner, as 

 far back as. 1872. The accompanying 

 illustration shows the present range of 

 glass, which includes 15,000 feet. The 

 business is retail and in this range of 

 glass nearly all the stock is grown that 

 is handled in the store, both plants and 

 cut flowers. As is usual in a town of 

 this size, Mr. Hitz handles everything 

 in the list, clear down to vegetable 

 plants, which are a considerable item of 

 the spring trade. He also has a large 

 planting of fruit trees, selling the fruit, 

 and a nursery in which there is a large 

 variety of small fruits, fruit trees and 

 ornamentals, in which a considerable 

 business is done. 



Besides conducting his own business, 

 Mr. Hitz finds time to perform the many 

 public duties which fall to the lot of a 

 florist in a small city. He believes it is 

 the duty of everyone so located to make 

 himself generally useful and a benefit to 

 the community in which he lives. Some 

 of his outside activities are connected 

 with Springdale cemetery, of which he is 

 superintendent; the Madison Chautauqua 

 Association, of which he is director; the 

 Middleton Monument Board, to beautify 

 grounds, of which he is a member; the 

 Mite Building and Loan Association, of 

 which he is a director, and he holds mem- 

 bership in a number of fraternal so- 

 cieties. 



EXPRESS ON FLOWERS. 



Benjamin Hammond, chairman of the 

 legislative committee of the S. A. F., 

 under date of November 4, addressed a 

 strong letter to J. H. Bradley, general 

 tra£Sc manager of the American Express 

 Co., setting forth in detail the claim of 

 the wholesale florists tbat cut flowers 

 should be included with the some twenty 

 other commodities packed with ice for 

 shipment, and for which an allowance of 

 twenty-five per cent of weight is allowed, 

 to cover the ice. He offered specific 

 evidence as to the volume of the traffic 

 and the conditions. 



Under date of November 6 Mr. Brad- 

 ley replied as follows: 



"I beg to acknowledge the receipt of 

 your favor of November 4 and I will at 

 once investigate the question of ice with 



shipments of cut flowers. I had not sup- 

 posed that such shipments were being 

 made to any great extent where ice was 

 used for preservation. 



"I am today making inquiry of our 

 agents at the principal cities referred to 

 in your letter, and will give you further 

 reply later. 



"There is one point referred to in 

 your letter which I may as well say to 

 you now cannot be changed, and that is 

 the charge on returned empties. Our 

 classification always provided that re- 

 turned empties must be delivered at the 

 depot by the shipper and taken from the 

 depot by the consignee. We know that 

 our agents did not live up to the classi- 

 fication in this particular and they had 

 been picking up and delivering these 

 empties for certain patrons. Agents at 

 other points did not do so for any pa- 

 trons, and it constituted a discrimination 

 which we were obliged to overcome by 

 putting into effect a classification pro- 

 viding for an additional charge where 

 pick up and delivery service was ren- 

 dered. Shippers and consignees still 

 have the option of delivering the empties 

 at the depot, and calling at the depot for 

 them, in which case there is no addi- 

 tional charge made. 



' * We must not lose sight, either, of the 

 fact that the transportation and deliv- 

 ery of cut flowers during extreme cold 

 or extreme heat, etc., calls for extra 

 service in many cases." 



ST. PAUL. 



The Market. 



Trade has been good since the first of 

 the month. Social events are numerous, 

 and as flowers are now considered indis- 

 pensable for such occasions, the heart of 

 the florist is glad and his purse heavy. 

 There has also been a good demand for 

 funeral flowers, while shipping trade has 

 been excellent. There is no particular 

 shortage reported outside of lilies and 

 violets, which are somewhat short in 

 quantity and for which there has been a 

 heavy demand. Mums are coming in 

 quite freely and are in good demand. 

 Some 6f the growers in the Twin Cities 

 have been bothered with a green bug in 

 the buds, which has done considerable 

 damage. 



Vaiioui Notes. 



The national flower show has been the 

 chief topic of discussion in florist circles, 

 and a goodly number of Twin City root- 

 ers are in attendance at Chicago. We 

 expect to have a full report of their 

 doings at our next club meeting, which 

 will be held at Columbia hall, Merriam 

 park, Tuesday evening, November 17, at 

 8 o'clock. A. J. Smith will read a paper 

 on mums and J. P. Jorgenson will tell 

 us aU about the national show. 



O. J. Olson, of this city, and G. A. 

 Clausen, of Albert Lea, have gone d6er 

 hunting in the northern part of the state. 

 X. Y. Z. 



ST. LOUIS. 



The Market. 



Business last week was reported as 

 fairly good in all lines and all are look- 

 ing for a steady increase from now on. 

 There waa quite a lot of work for social 

 affairs with the uptown florists and in 

 the downtown district a good deal of 

 funeral work and counter trade was re- 

 ported. Now that the election is over, 

 the florists' business should take a boom 

 to last throughout the season. 



The wholesale houses were stocked up 

 pretty weU all of last week, with good 

 quality of stock in everything in season. 

 Chrysanthemums are selling well and es- 

 pecially so with fancy blooms. White 

 and Pink Ivory are good sellers. Car- 

 nations are abundant at all the houses, 

 with fair demand for all colors. Violets 

 are selling well and are looking better 

 each day. Boses, too, are plentiful, but 

 first-class stock always seUs well. Beau- 

 ties have been off crop of late. Lily of 

 the valley is of extra good quality and 

 plenty of it. Bulb stock has not yet 

 arrived, but Paper Whites and Eomans 

 should be in by next week. 



Various Notes. 



The free chrysanthemum show given 

 by the directors of the Missouri Botanic 

 Garden opened Monday, November 9, and 

 will last through the week. Superintend- 

 ent Irish and the students have been 

 busy all week preparing for the show, 

 which is being held in a big tent erected 

 for the occasion near the entrance of the 

 garden. All the plants are at their best. 



Establishment of E. Hitz, Madison, Indiana. 



