■■* ■ . • ■» ^ .%. .^7-'^ ' '" . 



16 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Dkcbmbbb 29, 1010. 



swelling as large as my thumb — hard, 

 solid wood. Is that what you call club 

 roott Do you think the swelling or 

 growth is injurious to the blooming of 

 the bushf Is it worth while to keep 

 on growing the bush, or should it be 

 thrown away? E. Qt. 



The swelling referred to is not club 

 root. The latter appears on the roots ! 

 of plants. Budding causes the swelling 

 you noted and you need not worry 

 about its being injurious to the plants. 

 You will find the same peculiarity on 

 all roses and other plants which have 

 been budded. In planting hardy roses 

 the bud should be covered with soil 

 about three inches. Budded hybrid per- 

 petual roses are hardier, more vigorous 

 and live longer than those on their own 

 roots. C. W. 



MBS. E. M. BASTOW. 



» 



The success of Mrs. E. M. Bartow, 

 of Chester, Pa., is taken by her friends 

 to prove that the florists' field offers 

 extraordinary opportunities for the 

 energetic and courageous business 

 woman. 



Mrs. Bartow began business in 1900. 

 Her first flower shop was a 6-foot al- 

 leyway roofed over between two large 

 buildings. In a few months it was ap- 

 parent that this box would not accom- 

 modate the business she could secure. 



reer, the renting of an entire store on 

 the main business street. 



Business steadily increased as she 

 created a constantly wider demand for 

 the better grade of cut flowers and 

 funeral designs. "When I began busi- 

 ness," she says, "I found the people 

 of Chester purchasing an inferior car- 

 nation at 25 cents per dozen. Now 

 they will not have a carnation of that 

 grade, but demand a better flower and 

 gladly pay 60 cents to $1 per dozen." 

 Her funeral designs are in demand for 

 a radius of fifteen miles beyond the 

 city limits. She built a small green- 

 house in the rear of her store, not for 

 growing purposes, but to carry her 

 stock of plants. 



Pour years ago the owner of the 

 building she occupied decided to sell. 

 To increase her difficulties, rents along 

 the main street had advanced so rap- 

 idly that they threatened to become 

 prohibitive for a small business. 

 Facing these difficulties and encour- 

 aged by past success, she did not hesi- 

 tate to purchase a large building at 

 317 Market street. Besults have prov- 

 en her good judgment. She has al- 

 ready added several hundred dollars' 

 worth of improvements to her prop- 

 erty. 



Of course her success has invited 

 competition. "There was a time when 

 I feared competition," she says, "but 

 that is past. My competitors' stores 



Mn. E. M. Bartow. 



At that early stage of her business 

 hfe she lacked the courage and self- 

 confidence which would enable her to 

 sign a long-term lease for an entire 

 store, and, accordingly, she secured a 

 fair sized basement room. She quickly 

 saw that a store below the street level 

 was unsuitable for retail purposes, and 

 necessity thus forced her to take the 

 next upward step in her business ca- 



and their advertisements help to 

 create a demand for flowers, and I sell 

 at least part of the flowers." She 

 knows how to keep trade as well as 

 to get it. 



A part of her success is due to the 

 fact that she brings a lifelong expe- 

 rience to the business. For three gen- 

 erations members of her family have 

 been the principal flower sellers of 



Chester. She was also fortunate in 

 having the assistance of her sister, 

 Miss Bebecca J. -Edwards, who, until 

 her death last January, had full charge 

 of the selling end of the business. For 

 almost fifty years Miss Edwards had 

 charge of the Chester retail stores con- 

 ducted by other members of the fam- 

 ily, and brought to the business a 

 long experience and a wide acquaint- 

 ance among the flower buyers of 

 Chester. 



Mrs. Bartow has made no attempt to 

 grow her own stock, but depends upon 

 the growers in her vicinity, principally 

 her brother, Wm. L. Edwartis, of Nor- 

 wood, Pa., and the commission men of 

 Philadelphia. 



FUNKIAS FOB MEMOBIAL DAY. 



We have received about 3,000 Funkia 

 variegata, with three or more eyes, 

 from Holland. We wish to grow these 

 in pots for Memorial day. How should 

 they be treated! Should the bulbs- be 

 divided to one eye eachf How soon 

 should they be planted to make satis- 

 factory plants by that time? A. J. B. 



It all depends on the size of plants 

 desired. If the funkias are divided to 

 single eyes they will make quite small 

 plants, which will be much less salable 

 than if left as they are. There is no 

 immediate hurry about potting or start- 

 ing these for Memorial day trade. Store 

 them in a pit or coldframe for the next 

 six weeks. Then pot singly and start in 

 a cool house; 45 degrees at night is 

 ample. A temperature such as you 

 would afford geraniums will insure nice 

 plants by the end of May. If started 

 at an earlier date, you could gradually 

 harden them off and place them in 

 frames at the beginning of May if 

 bench space were wanted for other 

 plants. C. W. 



BOSTON. 



Tbe Market. 



Business remained quiet until De- 

 cember 21, when flowers began to come 

 in more freely and business became 

 more animated. Trade was active De- 

 cember 22 and 23 and opened well De- 

 cember 24. With pleasant weather, 

 such as had ruled most of the month, 

 there would have been a good clean-up 

 and probably the best Christmas on 

 record, but about 8 a. m, the weather, 

 which was warm, 46 degrees in the 

 shade against zero twenty-four hours 

 previous, broke down first in a steady 

 drizzle, which soon turned to a perfect 

 downpour, and the rain, which was wel- 

 come to drought-stricken New England, 

 took all the snap out of the flower mar- 

 ket. While best quality flowers cleaned 

 up at satisfactory prices, there was a 

 good proportion of second rate and 

 pickled stock, which was either sold 

 cheaply or not at all. Those who held 

 back their flowers until December 24 

 were the worst hit. This has come to 

 be so common a happening now that the 

 wonder is that so many leave every- 

 thing to the last day. 



The plant trade continues to grow 

 each year. There is not the advance in 

 price in these, as with flowers, and the 

 usual big Christmas jump in flowers has 

 turned hundreds to plant buying. Cer- 

 tainly the sales of these were never 

 equaled in Boston and the plant grow- 

 ers were all well cleaned out of salable 

 stock. Poinsettias, as usual, sold well. 



