JULY 12, 11)00. 



Tlie Weekly Florists' Review* 



179 



l<s..(*^;«^i*^.(»^<*^. (»is..<*^.(*^. 



t 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



■fer»l'yr»ii^J^r»)^Sir»l'fe»)"fe»l"fe»)"4^r»)'fe»l'yr») •'yr»)'fe»'fe»)'fe*) •^5jr»)•fcir»l^yr»>•^r»)^^r*) 



Vacations. 



The prettiest thing we saw in the 

 New York windows on the 4th of July, 

 was a silli American flag. Never before 

 was the day so generally recognized; 

 most of the principal florists' stores 

 were closed, and all of them should 

 have been. The retail florists, as a 

 rule, even those who have became 

 wealthy, seem to partake of very l.t- 

 tle of the pleasures of this life. We 

 know of no other business in which 

 the hours are longer; for the greater 

 part of the year they average 14 

 hours a day, and now in summer, 

 when it is positively foolish to hang 

 around from early morn till late 

 night, we find employers begrudging 

 themselves or their help a week or 

 two away from baked streets and life 

 intolerable. 



The florists' business calls for in- 

 telligence rather than slavery, and it 

 is better to pay attention to detail 

 and please your customers than try 

 to grab every crumb that falls, which 

 often ends like that of the dog with 

 the bone and his shadow. There are 

 no millions in the business, but there 

 is, even for the poorest, sufficient to 

 enable the worker time and oppor- 

 tunity to replenish life's storage with 

 a little of the sweet to counterbal- 

 ance the weight of bitterness. The 

 old adage of being a "long time dead" 

 was never so true as it is to-day, and 

 the miser or slave can behald in the 

 mirror that which is most pitiable on 

 earth. 



Uniforms. 



In the matter of uniforms there is 

 quite a diversity of opinion among 

 employers, but only as to the quality 

 of braid and buttons. We regret the 

 tendency which swells every florist 

 able to open a store into putting his 

 boy or driver into uniform, having 

 his sweet little name plastered in 

 gold braid in front of the boy's cap. 

 We would not be surprised in the 

 least to see some florist having every 

 one working for them weir clothes 

 to match the color of their boxes or 

 wagons; what an enchanting sight 

 that would be! 



People will not patronize your store 

 because your men wear livery, no 

 matter how gorgeous it may be; they 

 prefer to be pleased in more substan- 

 tial ways. Have your delivery boys 

 neatly and plainly dressed; let their 

 intelligence and civility be the bright- 

 est element about them. 



Salaries. 



"Wanted, a bright, sober young 

 man, expert designer and decorator, 

 able to take charge, etc.. etc.; wages 

 $12 a month and board; best of refer- 

 ences required, etc., etc., etc." Yes, 

 the above or something similar can 

 often be seen in the want columns or 

 in letters. What a pity it is 

 thoughts cannot always be absolute 

 executioners, and that — well, it's no 

 wonder some never get along only on 

 lines discreditable. The convict labor 

 question might be solved if referred 

 to such people. 



Let us look at the matter as it re- 

 ally stands. A florist with a store is 

 liable at any moment to come into con- 

 tact with the wealthiest and most re- 

 flned class of people; you get an 

 order to decorate a house adorned 

 with the choicest and rarest of gems; 

 you are given the freedom of the 

 house; everything that riches and the 

 pursuits of a life can gather is placed 

 at your mercy — and here be it said 

 to the everlasting credit of the flo.ist, 

 we have never yet heard of a case of 

 the smallest robbery by a decorator. 

 But we have known of cases where 

 vases worth thousands of dollars have 

 been broken by florists or their as- 

 sistants, and this is just as bad as 

 robbery to the owner. This is one 

 of the most important reasons why 

 you should be careful in the selection 

 of help — temporary as well as per- 

 manent. Another one is that in the 

 care of stock, and even in an individ- 

 ual sale, you are liable to lose more 

 than double the wages you pay, A 

 cheap and careless man is about the 

 worst thing you can have about your 

 place. 



It requires long years of toil and 

 study to gain the polish and experi- 

 ence necessary to take charge of any 

 section of a retail florist business, and 

 the accomplishment deserves better 

 recompense than even the best paid 

 get to-day. A man may be justified 

 in trying to get help as cheap as h^ 

 can, but he has no right to insult the 

 profession by offering it what an or- 

 dinary drudge would ignore. 



Imported Supplies. 



IVIany of the supply men have gone 

 to Europe for the avowed purpose of 

 hunting up novelties for next sea- 

 son's trade. This is an annual picnic 

 from which very little results except 

 disappointment. It is given out every 

 year that this or that is the very 



latest from Europe, and the most of 

 it is pure bosh. All our best baskets, 

 ribbons, vases, wirework and general 

 supplies are manufactured in this 

 country to-day. Home manufactures, 

 like home grown flowers and ability, 

 cannot be equaled in any other coun- 

 try. 



Your Store. 



If you have a five or ten years' 

 lease of your store, or feel secure in 

 the prospects before you, try to put 

 an individuality about your place tliat 

 will be attractive, and give people 

 pleasure in dealing with you. There 

 is much doubt as to the wisdom of 

 spending every dollar you have or 

 more, in trying to surpass everyone 

 in town by the glare of your lights; 

 it is quite unnecessary to have a crys- 

 tal maze to sell your flowers in — in 

 fact, a vast majorit.v of people pre- 

 fer the unostentatious; they imagine 

 they have to pay more in the store 

 which seems to require so much glit- 

 ter and trappings to catch trade, and 

 many would rather patronize the plain 

 if the same grade of stock is procur- 

 alde, on the idea that they were be- 

 ing fairly dealt with and were assist- 

 ing the honest tradesman, than to 

 deal in the fancy store where every 

 advantage must be taken in order to 

 defray expenses. 



We believe every florists' store 

 should be beautiful, more beautiful 

 than gaudy, and we know innumer- 

 able cases where there is more money 

 wasted every year in painting and re- 

 fitting than would he required to 

 transform the store into a permanent 

 beauty. Many object to a thing be- 

 cause the first cost seems tremendous; 

 the small yet continuous drain is often 

 more suicidal. A retail florists' store 

 should at most times be clean, light, 

 cool and sweet; these elements are 

 necessary for the proper keeping and 

 enhancing of flowers and plants; a 

 dry, gassy atmosphere is ruinous, 

 therefore the ideal store should be ti'.e 

 floored and marble furnished en- 

 tirely, or at least as much as possible. 

 Imitation marble is now manufactured 

 at small cost; the color can be made to 

 suit; light green or cream colors are 

 best. If the storekeeper would look 

 at matters in the light that muny a 

 man has to when building his first 

 greenhouse the expense would not be 

 so formidable. 



In your contemplations of what 

 should be done this summer, resolve 

 tn make your store the equal of any, 

 the superior of many, by its simple 

 richness. The average store wastes 

 too much room in counters and of- 

 fices; let the people have room to walk 

 about and admire your plants and 

 flowers. A good mirror, writing table, 

 chairs, a few fine vases or pedestals, 

 etc., handsome baskets, finest flow- 

 ers, best plants, polite, well-dressed 

 men, are the essential elements con- 

 ducive to the building up and retain- 

 ing of a prosperous trade. If you 



