18 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Mat 27, 1909. 



If Randall Hasn*t Got It 

 It's Not to be Had 



Use the code word *' DANCING" on your late wires and you 

 can keep on selling — we will do the rest. 



"Dancing — If can not fill exactly as specified, you may substitute according 



to your best judgment." 



A* L. Randall Co. 



Wholesale Florists "^^^r^" 19-21 Randolph St, Chicago 



Mention The J? '^view when you -wnte. 



who buy at no other season, and from the 

 regular buyers it brings largely increased 

 demands. It is the general report that 

 orders this year average larger than ever 

 before, and most houses report they have 

 booked more advance orders than ever 

 before ; some say the advance orders even 

 exceed the total done last year. 



The orders run largely to carnations, 

 and in most cases the proportion of white 

 is limited. It is venturesome to predict, 

 but most wholesalers feel that colored 

 carnations will prove decidedly short of 

 the demand, but that there will be plenty 

 of white. 



The Beauty crops are not so heavy as 

 they were, and the quality has retro- 

 graded, so that only a small proportion 

 can be called first-class. The medium- 

 length stock from young plants is in most 

 cases the best the market affords, and 

 therefore commands a premium. There 

 is a special call for Eichmond, and doubt- 

 less this rose will be considerably short 

 of the demand, as it almost always is at 

 a holiday. The orders for other roses are 

 not especially heavy, but it is figured 

 that before the end of the week buyers 

 will be taking thousand lots of roses, the 

 "our selection" grade, because they can 

 get them as cheap as colored carnations. 



Sweet peas are in extremely heavy sup- 

 ply, and this market never has seen such 

 good stock. Dozens of growers are pick- 

 ing the Spencer varieties in half a dozen 

 colors, with stems a foot long and three 

 and four flowers to the stem. The mar- 

 ket knows these as ' ' butterfly ' ' peas, and 

 they are selling at sight at fair prices. 

 There still is a large proportion of short- 

 stemmed stuff that has little value. 



Cape jasmines are in, but are not likely 

 to be an important factor for Decoration 

 day. Their lateness is expected to help 

 the sale of white carnations, which will 

 be substituted for them, if necessary. 



This market has peonies for every flo- 

 rist who hasn't them of his own, and all 

 other cut flowers are in large supply. The 

 market affords an unusual variety of 

 stock at this time. There is little possi- 

 bility of short supply for Decoration day, 

 except of colored carnations, and every- 

 one is looking forward to the biggest 

 week the market ever has known. The 

 way orders are coming in indicates that 

 the Memorial day celebration will begin 

 Saturday and continue through Monday. 



El 



HMtdquartRTa In Uxe Gteeat Central Blarket for all kinds of 



Florists' Supplies 



Specially larsre and fine stock of 



Natural Preserved Wreaths, Moss Wreaths and Metal Designs 



Qualities always the best and prices the lowest. 



L. BAUMANN & CO., Jt&^%S^»«,^ 



?;7»w'bl1iX?:. 118 East Ghica|( Annue, CHICAGO 



• ••■»■■ rata it ttill aiiittiitd it tar tM aMrait, 7B-7I Wtbtth A«t. taii ftr tar ttaplttt ttttitut 



Mention The Review when vou write 



The bulk of the orders are to go out May 

 27 and 28, because most retailers want 

 their stock in hand for sale Saturday 

 afternoon and Sunday morning, but a 

 good many wholesalers are looking for- 

 ward to a heavy run of telegraph business 

 Saturday and Sunday morning. 



Monday, May 31, will be observed as 

 the holiday in this market. The postoffice 

 will make only two deliveries of mail, the 

 last at 9 a. m., and most of the whole- 

 salers will close at noon. Buyers should 

 get orders in early. 



The Peony Situation. 



Never in the history of this market 

 have there at this date been so many 

 peonies in storage as at the present mo- 

 ment. 



One room on the fifth floor at the 

 Western Cold Storage Warehouse con- 

 tains nearly an acre of space. It is given 

 over entirely to peonies, packed away in 

 buckets and tubs. The most venturesome 

 would not hazard a guess as to how many 

 dozens there Are. Not only this, but down 

 in the basement of the warehouse there 

 is still another patch. In addition, the 

 Booth warehouse contains quite a few 

 peonies. The man in charge of the peony 

 business for the Western Cold Storage 

 Co., who has been on the job ever since 

 peonies first were stored, says he never 

 has seen anything like these quantities 

 on hand for Memorial day. No two lots 

 are put up just alike, and each grower's 

 little patch is distinct. The largest lot 

 is that of E. E. Kennicott & Co., Carbon- 



dale, but the Kennicott Bros. Co. farm at 

 Villa Eidge is a close second. 



Where aU the peonies have come from 

 is a mystery. A few years ago the grow- 

 ers could be counted on the fingers of one 

 hand, but nowadays their name is legion, 

 and it takes a Burroughs adding machine 

 to foot up the total of their acreage. 

 There are so many people growing peonies 

 that the flowers even are coming in on 

 South Water street, packed loose in berry 

 cases. 



It will mean an enormous business if 

 all these accumulated peonies, and the 

 daily receipts, are to find a market at 

 the end of this week. Already the mis- 

 cellaneous grades are being moved at a 

 concession whenever an opportunity pre- 

 sents. There is sure to be a wide varia- 

 tion in the prices returned to growers. 

 No matter how overabundant the unskill- 

 fully handled peonies are, the stores that 

 have high class trade will pay a fair 

 price for the goods put up by men who 

 know their business, and the holders of 

 the best goods are keeping a stiff upper 

 lip. 



Schramm's Gladioli. 



Schramm Bros., Arlington Heights, last 

 week began shipping Kennicott Bros. 

 Co. some exceptionally fine gladioli. The 

 variety is Mrs. Francis King, flame pink, 

 and Frank Schramm says they will be 

 able to cut 2,500 spikes this week. He 

 planted a house with these in the last 

 week of December, following a crop of 

 late chrysanthemums. The bulbs were 

 set 4x4 inches, and the house at the pres- 



