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18 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



Januakv 4, 1012. 



WATERLOO, lA. 



The Market. 



Christmas trade was all thafe could 

 be wished for in this locality, although 

 some of tile florists claim that it will 

 not surpass last year. The week pre- 

 vious some apprehension was felt re- 

 garding weather conditions, but these 

 turned out ideal, which saved a great 

 deal of time and expense in wrapping 

 plants, etc. Advance orders were not 

 quite so heavy as in previous years, 

 the people waiting until the last four 

 or five days to do their buying. 



The call for pot plants was extremely 

 heavy; nearly all the growers say they 

 were "cleaned out." Poinsettias sold 

 exceptionally well, considering the fact 

 that this is the first year that they 

 have been grown here to any extent. 

 On5 firm disposed of several hundred 

 in pots and pans, but the cut ones 

 did not move well until the last min- 

 ute, the price being put down to $2 

 and $2.50 per dozen. Holly sold well, 

 but other greens did not move at all. 



In cut flowers roses seemed to have 

 the lead, with carnations next. Paper 

 Whites also selling well. "Violets, 

 home-grown, as well as those shipped 

 in, were fine and sold without any trou- 

 ble. Boman hyacinths were not in de- 

 mand at all. American Beauties that 

 were shipped in from out of town were 

 poor in the extreme, being bull-headed 

 and blue, while Eichmonds were extra 

 fine. There were also some poor carna- 

 tions shipped in. Azaleas and cyclamen 

 were of poor quality, although a few 

 good ones here and there were to be 

 seen. The New Year's trade did not 

 amount to much. 



Various Notes. 



Charles Sherwood filled every order 

 he received for Christmas in full, not 

 one being sent out short. Mr. Sher- 

 wood was more than satisfied with his 

 Christmas trade and said it would easily 

 surpass last year. All of the green- 

 house force was shifted to the down- 

 town store to help get out orders, while 

 four delivery rigs were kept constantly 

 on the go for two days. This is the 

 only firm in this locality that enjoyed 

 a good, all-round crop of everything. 

 Roses, carnations, Paper Whites and 

 violets were in abundance. Their car- 

 nations started flowering in October 

 and have been in heavy crop ever since, 

 and from present indications it looks 

 as though they will never be off crop 

 during the entire season. Two new rose 

 houses, 28x100 each, erected by this 

 firm last summer and planted to Eich- 

 mond, Perle, Killarney and White Kil- 

 larney, have done exceptionally well. 

 For the month of December the 3,000 

 plants gave them 8,500 blooms of good 

 quality, 2,700 being cut Christmas week. 

 Mr. Sherwood also says that funeral 

 work last week was heavy and that 

 business for 1912 is starting out well. 



Crittenden & Daniel report that they 

 did a tremendous business and that 

 they sold out everything. Their carna- 

 tions were in full crop for Christmas. 

 They have discontinued the growing 

 of roses, on account of there being so 

 much smoke in their district. 



The New York Floral Co., a Greek 

 concern, which opened up here some 

 time ago, says that business has been 

 good, and that they disposed of pretty 

 nearly everything they had on hand. 



Joseph Bancroft & Son, Cedar Falls, 

 state that Christmas trade was good. 



but that it would not exceed that of 

 last year. In addition to their heavy 

 plant aild cut flower trade, a treanen- 

 dous business was done in holly and 

 Christmas trees. Their roses and carna- 

 tions were off' crop for the holidays, but 

 at this writing are coming along pretty 

 well. L. S. H. 



A CHRISTMAS PX7MPKIN. 



An enormous pumpkin attracted at- 

 tention at the postoffice at West Grove, 

 Pa., at Christmas, not only for its size 

 but for the inscription it carried. The 

 local paper gave it this notice: ^ 



"If Harvey M. Cook, Avondale, ex- 

 pert agriculturist, would collaborate 

 with Wizard Burbank, of California, 

 and Antoine Wintzer, rose propagandist 

 of West Grove, the mind fails to con- 

 ceive of the wonderful results of which 

 the trio are capable. Mr. Cook, pro- 

 prietor of Avon-Mohr farm, Avondale, 

 has grown and now exhibits at the West 

 Grove postoffice a marvelous Christmas 

 pumpkin, across whose flaming, fat, yel- 

 low side are emblazoned the words 

 'Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, Pa.' 

 The process of growing such letters as 

 he desires on fruit and vegetables is a 

 secret owned excliisively by Mr. Cook. 



A Christmas Pumpkin. 



His compliment to the Conard & Jones 

 Co. is in recognition of their world- 

 wide fame as rose and flower special- 

 ists, and their unrivaled propagandist, 

 Mr. Antoine Wintzer." 



PROVIDENCE. 



The Market. 



The Christmas holidays are gone, but 

 in their trail they have left a general 

 satisfaction among the florists and a 

 promising prospect for continued pros- 

 perity for the next few months to 

 come. Never in the annals of flori- 

 culture in this vicinity has there been 

 such a volume of business and good 

 reports come from all sides. As at 

 Thanksgiving, practically everything 

 was sold to the limit, with prices slight- 

 ly above normal. The growing tend- 

 ency to buy potted j)lants at such 

 times was again emphasized and the 

 demand fully equaled the supply. 

 Everything red sold out at sight and 

 the demand was unsatiated. 



The week succeeding Christmas has 

 also been a busy one, because of several 



large funerals and tho unusual number 

 of coming-out functions, together with 

 other festivities. For the New Year's 

 celebration there has also been an 

 unusual demand. 



Club Meeting. 



The regular monthly meeting of the 

 Florists' and Gardeners' Club of 

 Bhode Island was held at the rooms of 

 the association, December 25, but owing 

 to the holiday the attendance was 

 small. The newly elected officers were 

 at their stations. Cornelius Hartstra 

 read an interesting paper on flowers 

 that could be used for general pur- 

 poses but which are not generally 

 grown by commercial florists. This 

 provoked a long and instructive discus- 

 sion. The committee on the annual 

 banquet of tho club reported that it 

 would be held at the rooms of the 

 association Monday evening, January 

 15, and that arrangements were pro- 

 gressing satisfactorily. 



Various Notes. 



William Jurgens, of Newport, was a 

 visitor in this city last week, following 

 a visit to New York city. 



Dexter E. Newell, of Attleboro, 

 Mass., who recently inherited consider- 

 able property from a brother, has leased 

 his range of greenhouses to J. Ockert, 

 his former foreman. 



Joseph Kopelman is cutting some 

 extra fine Killarney, White Killarney 

 and My Maryland roses at his green- 

 houses at Oaklawn. He reports the big- 

 gest business in his experience during 

 the Christmas holidays. 



James Dillon, of Swan Point ceme- 

 tery, who has been on the sick list for 

 some time, is reported as improving. 



William J. Stewart, of Boston, called 

 upon a number of his friends in this 

 vicinity recently. 



During the gale which swept across 

 this state last Thursday, a large plate 

 glass window in the front of Macnair's 

 store was blown in. 



Thomas Curley supplied a choice lot 

 of poinsettias in plants and cut blooms 

 for the local market for Christmas 

 and they found ready sale. 



Oscar J. and Charles J. Schultz, flo- 

 rists of Newport, have the sympathy 

 of the trade in tho death of their 

 father, Charles J, Schultz, in that city 

 December 23. 



Miss Florence Willard, of the Hope 

 Greenhouses, recently purchased sev- 

 eral hundred dollars' worth of orchids, 

 principally cattleyas and oncidiums. 

 Her cut of orchids during the holidays 

 was good. 



Thomas J. Johnston & Co. have been 

 driven by special decorations and large 

 funeral orders, in addition to transient 

 and store business during the last few 

 weeks. 



N. D. Pierce, at Norwood, has a fine 

 house of sweet peas which are just 

 ready to cut. 



Lawrence Hay, of East Providence, 

 had the flowers and decorations for a 

 large coming-out party last week and 

 those for a number of smaller similar 

 functions. 



M.T. Scott, of the Westminster Green- 

 houses, reports the biggest Christmas 

 since he has been in business. 



The Maplehurst Greenhouses, Will- 

 iam C. Pratt & Son proprietors, at 

 Long Meadow, are rapidly getting into 

 shape. One house, 23x120 feet, has 

 been completed and planted with carna- 

 tions and sweet peas. E. A. Mallette, 



