. -rpjfv-'ir-^.',.t">i^ f.- 



JONB S, 1911. 



ThcWcckly Florists' Review* 



•<•■■■ 



15 



that time and experience would create 

 a demand for my special stock. My 

 aim was high, and so should it be with 

 everyone. I felt proud to think that 

 my flowers would be exhibited in the 

 leading shop windows, and was anxious 

 that those which my care and coddling 

 produced should be in demand by crit- 

 ical consumers. This and many other 

 conditions have been the means of en- 

 couragement. 



I then turned my attention to carna- 

 tions, and purchased enough plants to 

 fill my sash house, 12x40. I may have 

 been particularly careful and not suffi- 

 ciently daring in my ventures, but I 

 was Bute that I could study a few bet- 

 ter than many, so I began with Joost 

 and Queen Louise, and propagated 

 enough from these plants to fill the 

 large house by the following fall. My 

 method of propagating was perhaps dif- 

 ferent from the usual system; a sand 

 bed was prepared in one corner of my 

 violet house and the carnations took 

 nearly all winter to root, as the tem- 

 perature was only 40 degrees at night. 

 When they were rooted, they were put 

 in flats, in soil without any fertilizer. 

 My reason for doing this was to avoid 

 the young, tender plants becoming af- 

 fected by any disease. 



Varieties Grown. 



They were planted direct from the 

 flats into the open field, which had been 

 coated heavily with rotted stable ma- 

 nure and plowed under and kept culti- 

 vated through the season. The plants 

 were in fine condition to be put into the 

 house in September into solid beds. 

 After they were established they were 

 fed with ground bone. Ventilation was 

 freely given during the day. My crop 

 was good and continued to produce 

 throughout the season. I then put 

 up another house of even span, 

 35x100, and planted it with violets the 

 first year, but I now grow carnations 

 and sweet peas in it, together with 

 another house alongside which I have 

 recently built. 



I have also added a propagating 

 house, which is arranged to be con- 

 verted into a growing house when 

 wanted. The varieties of carnations 

 grown by me are: Enchantress, "White 

 Enchantress, White Perfection, Beacon, 

 Winsor, Mrs. Ward and Alma Ward. 

 After venturing largely into construc- 

 tion from my point of view, I found 

 many little drawbacks which I did not 

 experience with my first venture with 

 three and six sashes, and even the first 

 house, but with the larger boiler pits 

 I experienced the trouble of water 

 gathering around the boiler, and a pos- 

 sibility of having fires extinguished dur- 

 ing cold weather. I have since seen 

 construction which would never be af- 

 fected that way. 



Stick to Essentials. 



So with all these possible hindrances 

 I gained experience and knowledge. My 

 reason for adhering mostly to violets 

 and carnations is probably like the 

 mother who wanted her boy to be either 

 a butcher or a baker. She said, ' ' Every- 

 body eats bread and meat, hence the 

 need of the producer." I thought car- 

 nations and violets were so essential 

 among flowers that I would make no 

 mistake, and should I wish to visit 

 growers for the purpose of learning, I 

 would not need to go far away. 



I have never been backward in ask- 

 ing questions of others who know 



much more than I do; much of the in- 

 formation regarding fertilizers and 

 other necessities has been gained in this 

 way, and while there are many adverse 

 conditions, which in spite of close atten- 

 tion and hard work often cause losses, 

 yet with it all I love my plants, the 

 open air life, and I love the work and 

 everything connected with it, for when 

 I began, about nine years ago, I was 

 in very poor health, and now I am 

 well and strong. 



NEW YORK. 



The Market. 



The long drought is ended and the 

 aster and gladiolus growers have more 

 cheerful faces. The peonies also needed 

 the splendid rains of the last few days. 

 Everything was thirsty. The carnation 

 plantings were not promising, but now 

 the outlook is bright and confidence 

 is returning. 



In the cut flower market peonies dom- 

 inate everything, for the supply is un- 

 limited. Before Memorial day prices 

 for the best arrivals, especially Pes- 

 tiva maxima, were satisfactory, but 

 since the memorial demand was satis- 

 fied values have steadily fallen, until 

 now $5 per hundred buys the best, and 

 for the inferior grades even $1 per 

 hundred is accepted. Many peony 

 growers cut their stock too closely and 

 too soon. Much complaint is made by 

 the wholesalers because of this. Often 

 the stock is unsalable at any price. 

 This market will not absorb and dis- 

 pose of poor grade stock of any kind 

 when there is, as now, an abundance 

 to select from. 



There are few good American Beau- 

 ties arriving and a few perfect buds 

 last week sold at 25 cents, but there 

 were not enough of them for even one 

 store, and 15 cents seems top this 

 week for ninety per cent of the so- 

 called specials. The heads are small and 

 of poor color. Of the other varieties of 

 roses, a few top grade selections com- 

 mand a fair figure, but most of the 

 stock arriving goes at the buyer's offer, 

 much of it being sold in the original 

 boxes. The long spell of hot, dry 

 weather hastened the overflow. Few 

 carnations now touch $2 and a lot of 

 stock was cleaned up Saturday and 

 Monday at 25 cents to 50 cents per 

 hundred. Orchids were retailing at 20 

 cents at Gimbel's June 3, and the buyer 

 picked them from the box, fine stock 

 that is ordinarily worth 50 cents at 

 wholesale. Not long ago two wholesale 

 houses controlled the wholesale orchid 

 trade of this city. Now every whole- 

 saler seems to have a large supply of 

 them. Lilies still are abundant. The 

 short-stemmed stock has sold as low 

 as $10 per thousand, and 4 cents seems 

 to be the top. Valley seldom touches 

 2 cents. Most of it sells at $1 per hun- 

 dred. 



School commencements have hardly 

 begun. The only uplifts possible to the 

 market are the June weddings and the 

 foreign travel. One retail house on 

 Fifth avenue had over forty boxes of 

 flowers for one steamer June 3. This is 

 not an exceptional case. Every promi- 

 nent retailer has his share for the 

 many society people on their way to 

 Europe and the coronation. 



Various Notes. 



Monday evening, June 12, the New 

 York Florists' Club will hold its clos- 



ing session for the season. The essay 

 committee has secured two excellent 

 speakers for the occasion, John G. Es- 

 ler, of Saddle Eiver, who will speak 

 on "Hail," and L. W. C. Tuthill, who 

 discourses on "Advertising." Discus- 

 sion will follow these addresses. There 

 will be exhibits of peonies and other 

 flowers. Chairman Al. Eickards has 

 some special titbits for the inner man, 

 and the club will bowl at Thumm's 

 alleys in the afternoon. The outing is 

 only three weeks distant. June 28 is 

 the day. Interest is general and Chair- 

 man Fenrich says the sale of tickets 

 is most encouraging. 



July 6 the Greek- American florists' 

 outing takes place at Wetzel's, via 

 steamer, as usual. Tickets are $3 and 

 the committee says it will beat last 

 year's big record. Messrs. Cotsonas, 

 Lecakes, Fellouris, Nicholas and others 

 of the prominent Greek wholesalers and 

 retaUers are booming the enterprise. 



Saturday and Sunday, June 10 and 

 11, the plant and flower exhibition of 

 the Horticultural Society of New York 

 takes place at Bronx park. A goodly 

 list of prizes will reward exhibitors. 

 A meeting of the society will be held 

 in the Museum building at 3:30 p. m., 

 June 10, followed by a public lecture 

 on "The Royal Gardens of Kew, Eng- 

 land," by Dr. William A. Murrill. The 

 grounds of the garden will be then 

 visited, with Geo. V. Nash as escort. 



A. Cova, manager of the Greek-Amer- 

 ican Florists' Supply Co., leaves on a 

 two months' purchasing trip in Europe 

 on the President Grant, June 10. 



G. G. Stumpp, of the Stumpp & Wal- 

 ter Co., with Mrs. Stumpp and their 

 son, sails June 10 for a two months' 

 tour of Europe. 



C. C. Trepel is booked for the Conti- 

 nent. Mrs. Trepel, manager at the 

 Looser store in Brooklyn, leaves with 

 the family next week for the Catskills. 

 It is probable she will have charge of 

 the Trepel store at Gimbel's, in Phila- 

 delphia. 



M. C. Ebel, of Madison, president of 

 the Aphine Mfg. Co., was in the city 

 June 3, making arrangements for the 

 introduction of his latest discovery, a 

 mosquito banisher. Mr. Ebel has real- 

 ized the acute sense of smell of the 

 Jersey bird, and has invented a mixture 

 of pungent odor that acts as a skidoo. 



Phil. Einsman and one of his nine 

 olive branches sail for Europe June 27. 



Several New Yorkers will attend the 

 exhibition of the American Peony So- 

 ciety at Philadelphia June 8 and 9. 



Wednesday, June 14, the Yonkers 

 Horticultural Society will hold its 

 spring exhibition at Hollywood Inn. 



John E. Lager, of Summit, N. J., 

 is visiting his European friends. 



Alex. McConnell's new store at the 

 corner of Fifth avenue and Forty-ninth 

 street is a gem, and he is well pleased 

 with the location and the business 

 there. The immense basement mini- 

 mizes the inconvenience of smaller 

 quarters in the store. Mr. McConnell 

 contemplates a trip to the old country 

 and his old home before the season 

 wanes. 



One of the force of Bonnet & Blake, 

 Brooklyn, is in the hospital there, re- 

 covering from an operation for appendi- 

 citis. 



Nicholas Lecakes and family leave 

 next week for a summer residence on 

 his farm in Connecticut. 



Kessler Bros, report the largest bed- 



