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April 3, 1913. 



The Florists' Review 



15 



Ends of the Two Wilcox lOOO-foot Houks, Near Council Bluffs, la., Worst Hit by Last Week's Cyclone. 



ported by the Skinner Irrigation Co. 

 as being almost indescribable, 



George D. Leedle reports that all 



flower stocks at Springfield, Ohio, are 



unharmed, suffering no effects of the 



flood and storm. Mail and express are 

 going forward promptly. 



Storm's Bavages in Illinois. 



The greenhouses of W. G. Thomas & 

 Son, at Sheffield, 111., were demolished 

 by the storm Easter Sunday night. 

 Everything went down before the wind, 

 €ven the cement wall on the south side, 

 and a big brick chimney and the boiler 

 house on the northeast side. The junior 

 member of the firm had a narrow 

 escape as he was sleeping in the fur- 

 nace house, which was almost entirely 

 crushed by the falling chimney, the 

 corner in which he lay alone remaining 

 untouched. They were hard hit, for 

 their greenhouses represented years of 

 hard work and saving. 



One house was put up last fall, and 

 the others two years ago. The firm 

 tore down its old houses and put up 

 others by the new model. They were 

 all filled with carnations, roses and 

 spring stock, all of which are a com- 

 plete loss, except some plants in pots, 

 which were removed to neighboring 

 cellars. Already a new house is under 

 construction, to put these plants in. 

 Thomas & Son say that if any of 

 the florists have rooted cuttings or 

 stock plants they could spare, they 

 would be very thankful for them. The 

 dwelling house was badly damaged and 

 a large number of fruit trees were 

 blown down. 



The greenhouses of Hagge Bros, at 

 Deerfield, 111., were totally destrpyed 

 by the storm, entailing a loss of $1,000 

 with no insurance. 



Storm Details from Omaha. 



The 125-mile-an-hour cyclone, which 

 destroyed the two large greenhouses of 

 J. F. Wilcox & Sons at Council Bluffs, 

 Iowa, March 23, entailing a loss there 

 of $75,000, left its trail of destruction 



to the trade in Omaha, also. L. H. Hen- 

 derson 's greenhouses in South Omaha 

 would have been directly in its path, 

 but before reaching Henderadn's range 

 the twister parted. One funnel struck 

 out east across the river towards Lake 

 Manaug, where it destroyed the summer 

 resorts and the Wilcox greenhouses. 

 Mr. Eice, an old-time nurseryman, and 

 his wife were killed at Council Bluffs. 

 The other funnel took a more north- 

 easterly course, striking between For- 

 tieth and Fiftieth streets, on Center 

 and Leavenworth streets, Omaha, bare- 

 ly missing S. K. Faulkner's range, but 

 striking that of Hans Jensen, at Forty- 

 ninth and Leavenworth, and wiping it 

 out. The residence, greenhouse office 

 and greenhouses were a total loss, the 

 damage amounting to $5,000. Mr. Jen- 

 sen and his family took refuge before 

 the blow in the basement, where he was 

 buried under a pile of cement blocks. 

 He recovered soon after his rescue, and 

 now only a few scratches on his face 

 remain as evidence of his experience. 

 Joslin's conservatory was a total loss 

 except for a few cactus which Mr. 

 Roman managed to save out of a $10,- 

 000 collection. Paul Floth 's loss reached 

 about $600, about 1,500 feet of glass 

 being broken, and the loss of Louis 

 Henderson was about $100. The older 

 Wilcox plant at Council Bluffs, and the 

 other florists there, were out of the path 

 of the storm. The Wilcox business 

 went on without interruption as soon 

 as train and wire service were reestab- 

 lished. 



Wind Plays Peculiar Pranks. 



A peculiar freak of the wind created 

 havoc with the greenhouses of the 

 Elmwood Cemetery Corporation, Bir- 

 mingham, Ala., unroofing most of them 

 and destroying many plants. The en- 

 gine room is located in the rear of one 

 of the houses. When the wind reached 

 its height the back door of the engine 

 room was wrenched open and the roof 

 of the room was lifted and blown across 

 the green for 200 feet. It was only 



stopped in its flight by two tall trees 

 in front of the greenhouses, where it 

 collapsed into a mass of wreckage. 



Easter profits were wiped out at the 

 greenhouses of George Souster at Elgin, 

 111., when the wind lifted the sashes 

 from some of the frames and dashed 

 several hundred panes of glass into 

 fragments. No flowers were damaged. 

 Repairs were made immediately. 



About 100 lights of double strength 

 glass were blown out and broken into 

 bits at the greenhouses of A. J. Wag- 

 oner, west of Columbia City, Ind. The 

 houses withstood the heavy wind storm. 



Fred Hawkins reports that one of 

 his greenhouses at I'aulding, O., was 

 blown down during the storm, but he 

 declares that he is feeling thankful for 

 getting off as easily as he did, after 

 learning of damage reports from other 

 cities. 



Florists at Kokomo, Ind., were not 

 damaged by the flood. Two places were 

 threatened with water in the boiler 

 room, but a few hours' extra work at 

 night was all that was required to 

 keep it out. The city water plant 

 was out of commission for four days 

 and other arrangements had to be made 

 to get water into the boilers. Stock 

 accumulated at the wholesale places 

 because, for nearly a week, there was 

 no way to ship out of town. 



West Chester, Pa. — Thomas McCay, 

 formery located on West Market street, 

 has opened a new shop in the Imperial 

 hotel building. 



Virginia, Minn.— Ch as. A. Whittgt, 

 formerly superintendent of parks in 

 Lowell, Mass., who accepted a similar 

 position in this city, has arrived and 

 entered upon his duties. 



Orand Eapids, Mich.— Henry Smith is 

 adding to his plant on Bridge street 

 two greenhouses, each 26x187 feet, for 

 growing roses. When completed, these 

 houses will give him a total of twenty- 

 four. 



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