56 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
own buying, as he is in the best position to know just what 
the trade demands, but if this is not possible, the buyer 
should be a conscientious employe, one who has the store’s 
interest at heart and is a good judge of values and qualities. 
Salesmanship. — Salesmanship is no small item in estab- 
lishing the success of a retail flower store. No matter how 
good the stock or how fine the location, one must have a 
good salesman in order to draw the trade. He should at all 
times be courteous and ready and willing to show the stock; 
he should be able to arrange the plants in an attractive man- 
ner, be a good judge of their appropriateness for special occa- 
sions, and he should know enough about them to be able to 
give advice and suggestions concerning their care. More- 
over, he should never sell or promise anything not in stock 
or that there is the slightest doubt about securing in time, 
for misrepresentation and unreliability do more injury to a 
business than anything else. 
Special Days. — Certain days have become very important 
in the florist’s business, and by special displays in the win- 
dow they can be brought more forcibly to the attention of 
the people. This is especially true of St. Valentine’s Day, 
and an exhibit consisting of heart-shaped boxes and baskets, 
hearts and arrows attached to basket handles, etc., is a good 
method of advertising, and can be made very decorative. 
One florist conceived the idea of using the red frieze left 
from Christmas in his Valentine display. A heart-shaped 
wire covered with the frieze, with a ring at the bottom to 
hold a plant or vase of cut flowers, made quite an addition 
to his window and gave him “something different.” 
Millions of shamrocks are grown especially for the florist’s 
trade at St. Patrick’s Day, and some very clever novelties are 
introduced every year, among which are the castle and harp, 
pottery in the shape of shamrocks, and boxes with verses 
from the Emerald Isle on the cover. The popularity of 
flowers at Easter is well known, and Mother’s Day (second 
Sunday in May) is fast becoming one of the big flower days. 
The latter needs some advertising, but window decorations 
suitable to the occasion will always bring a large number of 
orders. Decoration Day, like Easter, needs no introduction 
to flower buyers, but it 1s a good plan to arrange the window 
display early. 
During the summer, when business is dull and there are 
no special days, the florist’s attention may be turned to wed- 
dings and graduations. For the wedding display a figure 
dressed in bride’s costume, which may be rented at a small 
cost from a department store, may be used, and other figures 
