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24 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Decembeb 31, 1008. 



Niessen's 



News 

 Column 



Gardenias 



We have had a steady supply of 

 them and will continue to have 

 them in quantity regularly. If 

 Gardenias are to be had in Phil- 

 adelphia, you can usually count 

 on finding them with us. You 

 would not expect a better quality, 

 large flowers, plenty of foliage 

 and long stems. 



Richmond 



Our growers did not cut them 

 all for the holidays; we are get- 

 ting plenty of them now. The 

 quality is excellent. On account 

 of our large supply of this Rose, 

 we can give you the best value to 

 be had in this market. 



Mignonette 



We are offering an unusually 

 fine grade at $5.00 per hundred, 

 good value at the price. 



-o- 



It pays to keep up to date, and 

 buying new stock is an excellent 

 investment. If you are interested in 



Rooted Carnation Cuttings 



send for our list. All of last year's 

 introductions, varieties that have 

 been tried and proven their value. 

 We can furnish all of the standard 

 varieties. 



We Guarantee Our Cuttings 



..The.. 



Leo Niessen Co. 



Wholesale Florists 



1209 Arch Street 



PHILADELPHIA 



Open from 7:00 a. m. to 8:00 p. m. 



January Orders 



can be unusually well filled this season; 

 the stock is so fine. 



We especially recommend our fancy and 

 select grades of Carnations, which are 

 excellent value. Wild Smilax a specialty. 



W. E. McKISSICK & BROS. 



Wholesale Florists 



1619-21 Ranstead St., Philadelphia 



Open tiU 8 P. M. 



Mention The Review when you write. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



The Christmas Market. 



The demand for Christmas flowers, 

 Christmas plants and Christmas greens 

 last week was something extraordinary. 

 It really seemed as though every man, 

 woman and child in the City of Brotherly 

 Love found one or another of these 

 fruits of nature indispensable at Christ- 

 mas. That this was true in every other 

 city within reach of this market was 

 abundantly evidenced by the immense 

 shipments of all three of these commodi- 

 ties that went out. 



The cut flower business was fully equal 

 to that of any preceding Christmas. 

 While it is difiicult to measure so large 

 a market accurately, a careful survey 

 of the field leads to the belief that the 

 volume of business was larger than ever 

 before; that prices, while not so high, 

 averaged better, and that the quality of 

 stock, speaking generally, was superior 

 to that sent out in previous years. 



Taking the staple flowers on the list, 

 one at a time, the general opinion pre- 

 vails that Beauties were as plentiful 

 (probably a little more so) as in pre- 

 vious years; the average price for long- 

 stemmed flowers was $12 to $15 per 

 dozen, the lower figure being the rul- 

 ing one. Flowers of this grade were 

 equal to the demand, but those of the 

 medium grades and of the shorter grades 

 with perfect blooms were not equal to 

 the demand. Mrs. Jardine, Kichmond, 

 and Killarney came next to Beauties in 

 quality. Fancy blooms of all three of 

 these sterling varieties touched 50 cents, 

 while choice medium stock sold readily 

 at from 25 to 40 cents. Kichmond espe- 

 cially was in great demand and heavy 

 supply. Killarney far outranked the 

 pure tea varieties, and was sold in larger 

 quantities than any other pink rose. 

 Bride, Bridesmaid and Golden Gate were 

 all in demand when choice. Select blooms 

 sold readily at 20 cents, occasionally 

 higher. But none of these varieties 

 seemed in as large supply as in former 

 years. 



The feature of the carnation market 



was, as is usual at Christmas, the prefer- 

 ence shown for red, choice blooms of 

 Beacon and some of the other fancy reds 

 bringing from 12 to 15 cents, while good 

 average stock of this color sold readily 

 (this is hot a pun) at 10 cents. A fair 

 price for Enchantress and fancy white 

 was 8 cents, while 4 to 6 cents was about 

 right for fairly good stock in all colors 

 but red. Poor and held-over flowers gen- 

 erally realized 3 cents. 



Cattleyas were scarce at 75 cents each. 

 Cypripediums were decidedly in excess of 

 the demand at 12^^ cents. A fair 

 amount of Dendrobium formosum lent 

 variety to the orchid class. Violets were 

 rather scarce. Hightstown doubles 

 brought $1.50 to $2 ; choice fancy singles, 

 $1. While a certain amount of Marie 

 Louise was sold, they hardly seemed as 

 popular as the Lady Campbell from 

 Hightstown. Gardenias were in fair sup- 

 ply at prices ranging from 50 to 75 cents 

 each. 



Valley was plentiful, of choice quality, 

 generally speaking, and sold fairly well. 

 There were a good many Harrisii lilies 

 about. The demand for them was hardly 

 equal to the supply. Mignonette sold 

 well, 6 cents being obtained for the best ; 

 while bouvardia, when good, was also in 

 demand. Immense quantities of poin- 

 settias were marketed, chiefly at prices 

 ranging from $8 to $25 per hundred, 

 the latter figure buying fancy stock that 

 wholesaled at higher prices than in for- 

 mer years. 



Greens were not in especial demand. 

 The well-known propensity of the grow- 

 ers to increase their Christmas returns 

 by sending in whatever greens they can 

 scrape together demoralizes the green 

 market, which is always weak at a holi- 

 day. Smilax suffered least, a fair 

 amount being disposed of, usually at 

 $12.50 per hundred, while asparagus, both 

 bunches and strings, dragged badly. 



Summing up the cut flower situation, 

 the demand set in late, Wednesday, De- 

 cember 23, being below expectations. But 

 the following day saw a rush that was 

 continued until noon on Christmas for 

 the scarcer varieties of stock, red and 



