18 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



June 1, 1911. 



BOSTON. 



The Market. 



Everyone seems well satisfied with 

 Memorial day business. There were really 

 two brisk markets: The one Saturday, 

 May 27, oaring for the out-of-town cus- 

 tomers, especially those a long distaiK'c 

 away, while Monday was more largely 

 given up to the demands of Boston and 

 suburbs. There \¥as a striking and 

 })lea8ing difference between trade at 

 Easter and Memorial day. The latest 

 holiday found all growers in excellent 

 spirits, as the market had an old-time 

 snap to it which was cheering. Memorial 

 day easily ranks as the greatest holi- 

 day for volume and value of cut flower 

 sales. 



Eoses were in good crop, but we have 

 seen larger quantities. The weather for 

 nearly a week before May 27 was ab- 

 normally cool and sunless, which re- 

 duced suppJies. 8till there was plenty 

 to go around. Prices stiffened some- 

 what, especially on the pink and red 

 varieties. The demand was, as usutii, 

 best on grades selling at $3 to $8 per 

 hundred. Short-stemmed and medium 

 Beauties, Richmonds, Rhea Reids and 

 Killarneys were in big demand. Mrs. 

 Aaron Ward also was popular. Kaiserin 

 with long stems made up to $12 per 

 hundred'. Carnations, due to heavy lo- 

 cal calls on growers, were not over- 

 abundant and sold at $3 to $5 per hun- 

 dred, some lower and higher, the scar- 

 lets and crimsons, as usual, bringing the 

 best money. Sweet peas made 50 cents 

 to $1, all good flowers selling with ease. 

 Tail ends of crops went more slowly. 

 Lilies and callas were sold at $8 to $12 

 per hundred. 



Some grand large-flowered gladioli, 

 such as Mrs. F. King and Dawn, made 

 $1.50 per dozen ; others $(5 to .$8 ])er 

 hundred. Small flowered sorts, like 

 Ppach Blossom and Blushing Bride, 

 avei-age*! $3 per hundred. Good ten 

 weeks' stocks sold in big qiiantities at 

 $3 per hundred ; inferior grades soM 

 lower and singles were iiot wanted at 

 all. Double feverfew was not over-plen- 

 tiful and sold at 50 cents per bunch. 

 Ordinary white candytuft made .$5 per 

 thousand, but some of superior quality 

 brought double these prices. Margue- 

 rites were quite popular at ^l and $1.50 

 jier iumdreil and sold in large quantities. 

 Antirrhinums sold quite well, especially 

 scarlet and pink. Bpira>a .laponica met 

 with a big sale at $3, Queen Alexandra 

 making double this price. There was 

 !in abundant supply of fine outdoor val- 

 ley, which crippled the sale of the in- 

 door article. What few tulips appeared 

 made $4 per hundred. Bunches of 

 deutzia, lilac, Spira'a Van Houttei and 

 other shrubs met with a large sale. 

 Choice flowers, such as cattleyas, long- 

 stemmed Beauty roses and gardenias, only 

 madcr a moderate sale. Asparagus Spren- 

 geri had a heavy sale, also plumosus and 

 adiahtum. 



Geraniums seem to be more popular 

 than ever. Most of the large growers 

 are almost cleaned out an<l report a 

 satisfactory season. Salvias, petunias, 

 jtansies and other varieties were all in 

 great demands Hydrangeas, rambler 

 roses and rhotlod^drons met with a 

 g0od -sale among other, flowering plants. 

 Draca?na Australis and variegated vincas 

 were two plants much in demand. 



Various Notes. 



Arnold & Petros, the new and enter- 

 prising Boylston street florists, did a 



remarkably heavy Memorial day busi- 

 ness. They received one order for 343 

 galax and laurel wreaths for the army 

 and navy from the government, whicii 

 helped to keep them busy. 



Peirce Bros, did a splendid Memorial 

 day trade. Among other flowers they 

 had a grand lot of gladioli and heavy 

 cuts of double feverfew, stocks, carna- 

 tions, Spiraea Japonica and marguerites. 



Frank T. White, the well known' Hol- 

 brook florist, is mourning the death of 

 his mother, who passed away May 24. 



P. & W. O. Jahn, of East Bridge- 

 water, had the finest Fenn carnations 1 

 noted for Memorial day, also some grand 

 Georgia, White Enchantress and Fair 

 Maid. 



J. Newman & Sons, on Tremont street, 

 had an immense Memorial day business, 

 not only in natural flowers, but in ar- 

 tificial designs, which they featured. 



A. A. Reed, of Whitman, is sending 

 in a fine lot of Cattleya Gaskelliana. 

 His crop of C. Mossia) is finished. He 

 had a heavy local trade for Memorial 

 day. 



J. M. Cohen, the popular salesman at 

 the Boston Cooperative' Flower Mar- 

 ket, is back on duty again after a se- 

 vere attack of tonsUitis, which reduced 

 his weight twelve pounds. 



William H. Tomlinson, of Dorchester, 

 is marketing the first of his tomato crop. 

 He had a heavy cut of candytuft for 

 Memorial day and cleaned out geraniums, 

 salvias and hydrangeas entirely. W. H. 

 Carr acts as Mr. Tomlinson 's salesman 

 at the Boston Flower Exchange. 



J. F. Flood, of Woburn, for Memorial 

 day had excellent l)atches of pink fibrous 

 begonias, rhododendrons and hydrangeas, 

 which met with a ready sale May 27 

 and 29. 



The Halifax Garden Co., through N. F. 

 Capers, sold an immense quantity of high 

 grade carnations for Memorial day, also 

 stocks in large numbers and 500 bunches 

 of mignonette. Their sweet peas arc 

 finished for the season. 



Ladies' night at the Gardeners and 

 Florists' Club meeting June 20 will, as 

 usual, attract a large attendance. There 

 will be an entertainment in lieu of the 

 regular lecture and an attendance of 

 300 is expected. 



The excessive heat May 23 and a tor- 

 rential rain storm May 25 ruitied many 

 late tulips, which several specialists had 

 been building hopes on for Memorial 

 day. J. J. Fee and the Sutermeister es- 

 tate, however, had small batches. 



W. C. Bowditch, of Grove Hall, Dor- 

 chester, has had a great sale lately for 

 his neat rambler roses, Tausendschon, 

 Dorothy Perkins and Hiawatha, also 

 Spirroa Queen Alexandra, of which he 

 sold a large quantity. K. B. Cobb, of 

 Canton, also had a fine lot of Queen 

 Alexandra, also Willow Hill Green- 

 houses, West Roxbury. 



H. M. Robinson & Co. far exceeded 

 all previous Memorial day records not 

 only in cut flowers but in galax leaves, 

 hardy ferns, laurel and sundries. Many 

 shipments went long distances. 



Lewis E. Small, of Tewks»)ury. hnd fiOO 

 bunches of annual chrysanthemums May 

 27, which were eagerly bought for bou- 

 quet work, also a fine lot of Spiriea 

 Queen Alexandra. 



Among shippers of yellow marguerites 

 in quantity at 2 Park street are E. H. 

 Ahern, of ' Wellesley ; W. T. Walke, of 

 Salem, and D. J. Horrigan. of Foxboro. 



W. H. Elliott had a fine holiday lot of 

 Beauties and Kaiserin, also asparagu.j 

 (Continuod on |)HKe6H.) 



NEW YORK. 



The Market. 



The coming of Memorial day on Tues- 

 day of this week demonstrated its value 

 Saturday, when shipments out of town 

 find the natural week-end demand 

 caused a pretty thorough clean-up of the 

 overstocked market, although any f'eai 

 uplift to' general prices was impossible. 



The hot wave which had been (levastat- 

 ing the west had not yet reached ^'ew 

 York Sunday, thougji it was proniiBed'for 

 the early days of this week and its con- 

 tinuance on arrival is assured by the 

 weather prophet. The weather has been 

 hot enough for comfort already, and 

 the dry spell is ])rolonged until vegeta- 

 tion is now suffering badly an<l great 

 damage must ensue if the drought is 

 not soon broken. Many cut flowers 

 show the influence of continuous sun- 

 shine and reach the city in an open con- 

 dition that renders them unsalable. Some 

 improvement is anticipated because of 

 the booking of June weddings and the 

 school commencements, and it is certain 

 that even midsummer cannot sliow a 

 greater lack of business than the month 

 of May has shown. No such May han 

 been recordetl by the oldest veteran of 

 the wholesale cut flower trade. Society 

 seems to have almost deserted the city. 

 Retailers complain of the early vanisli- 

 ing of their customers, many of the 

 four hundred having gone abroad to at- 

 tend the coronation. 



American Beauty roses are deteriorat- 

 ing rapidly. Few are worthy of the 

 name of specials. All the short-stemmed 

 stock seeks an outlet on the street. Ten 

 cents a bunch is the street merchant 's 

 asking price for all roses. There are 

 few carnations of merit arriving and 

 few get above a 2-cent top, even with 

 the expected extra demand for Decora- 

 tion day. Orchids arc abundant and 

 down to rock bottom. So are gar- 

 denias, valley and sweet peas. There 

 is a great increase in the shipments of 

 peonies, gladioli and irises and the stock 

 is exceptionally fine. The south is doing 

 its share in adding to the volume of the 

 peony supply, which is increasing also 

 daily from the local growers, of whom 

 there is no limit. Everybody seems to 

 have a lot of them this season. A dull 

 interlude after Memorial day until the 

 June weddings move is anticipated. 



The Decoration day business proved 

 excellent in spite of the hot wave that 

 arrived May 29. The cemetery and out- 

 of-town florists did a big trade. There 

 were enormous shipments of roses and 

 peonies. Top prices, realized only on 

 fine stock, were about as follows: Roses^ 

 5 cents; Beauties, 15 cents; carnations, 

 4 cents; peonies, 8 cents. Of course the 

 greater part of the receipts were sold 

 far below these rates. Orchids were ia 

 large supply and were neglected. 



Various Notes. 



Tuesday, May 3, over 1,000 visitors, 

 enjoyed the reception tendered the hor-' 

 ticulturists and others by Doubleday, 

 Page & Co., of Garden City, L. I. A 

 special train from the big Pennsylvania 

 Terminal building in New York was 

 provided for the guests and an elaborate 

 lunch followed the inspection of the' 

 firm's wonderful plant by the host of 

 visitors. Nothing more complete in all 

 its requirements seems possible in modern 

 ))ublication work. Over forty acres of 

 ground have been purchased by the com- ', 

 pany, at a cost of $250,000. Sixteen' 

 acres nre devoted to the experimental 



