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The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



203 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



Keep Up Your Stock. 



It requires more tact than flowers 

 to meet the small and spasmodic de- 

 mands of summer trade in the aver- 

 age florist store. When very little 

 is coming in it is necessary to practice 

 strict economy, and yet it is never 

 wise to be without a few fresh flowers; 

 and you know the people do not and 

 will not understand seasons in flow- 

 ers, but expect to see the finest of 

 everything every day in the year. The 

 retail florist dare not too often tell 

 any of his customers he hasn't got 

 what they ask for or that such a thng 

 is not to be had, for if he does they 

 are inclined to doubt his business abil- 

 ity, and it quite frequently occurs that 

 they try some one else and often trans- 

 fer their regular trade there. Those 

 are the chances in what is usually 

 classed as transient trade. 



If you are located near hotels or a 

 depot your chances are good to cap- 

 ture many a permanent customer, but 

 this never can be done unless you 

 please, and the most important man- 

 ner of giving satisfaction is to have 

 even a small selection of choice, fresh 

 flowers continually and sell them rea- 

 sonable. Many florists imagine it un- 

 necessary to put any flowers in their 

 window during several weeks of mid- 

 summer. Perhaps they would not sell 

 an extra flower if they did so; how- 

 ever, this class are very few, for no 

 matter where you are located, so long 

 as you have a florist store or sign, 

 the people expect to see flowers and 

 plants in your window, and to see is 

 often to buy, or at least it creates a 

 wish. 



If you grow a portion of your own 

 stock it naturally occurs thai you try 

 to work off that stock on your cus- 

 tomer, and if you do this so persistent- 

 ly and with a determination that ig- 

 nores either appropriateness or the de- 

 sires of the party, it often occurs that 

 they are as persistent as you are and 

 refuse to take what you wish them to 

 unless there is nothing else for them 

 to do. We would not like it to be 

 inferred from what we write that it 

 is possible or at all necessary to keep 

 everything on hand and be always 

 able to give the people what they ask 

 for, which is not always what they 

 want, but by judicious selection when 

 purchasing your stock, and once in a 

 while exerting yourself to get some- 

 thing out of the common run. you are 

 liable to create the impression that 

 you have all that is desirable. 



Variety. 



You know for a long time past the 

 market has been confined to a very 

 limited variety of flowers. These are 

 often inadequate to the requirements 

 of the business; the excuse the grow- 

 ers offer is that retailers will not buy 

 or fail to appreciate many of the nov- 

 elties they offer. The fault lies on 

 both sides. A new thing is usually 

 propagated until its vitality is almost 

 exhausted; it is no good to the cut 

 flower market till after the first, in 

 many cases the second, year. Of course 

 if stock is not perfect, or at least 

 good, the retailer would be foolish to 

 buy it. The grower does not look at 

 it in this light; he condemns the thing 

 because it does not pay right off, and 

 throws it out. Another method is the 

 "follow the leader" way of doing 

 things. My neighbors plant a hous^ 

 of Bridesmaids or some other kind; I 

 do the same, for it must be good if 

 he does it. The consequence is that 

 almost everything coming in the mar- 

 ket is off the same tree, so to speak; 

 the only variance lies in quality. 



But there is another side, and the 

 retailer is to blame. He buys 25 Bon 

 Silenes or Cochets to-day; he doesn't 

 sell them;, he buys no more, thinking 

 they are not wanted by the public; 

 he shuts his eyes to the fact that va- 

 riety is important, that even if a 

 flower be poor it is valuable in em- 

 phasizing the quality of others, and 

 then again in box or design work it 

 is in most cases absolutely necessary 

 to use variety. 



What to Grow. 



We are often asked the question. 

 "What would it pay to grow?" and 

 we answer. Almost anything, if you 

 can grow it better than any one e'se; 

 if you cannot, then keep out or resign 

 yourself to a life of drudgery and dis- 

 content with life and the world in 

 general. There is nothing like the 

 flower or plant growing trade to take 

 the conceit out of one, for if you have- 

 not material and ability, down the lad- 

 der of disappointment you go quickly, 

 jes, hurriedly, and there is no es- 

 cape. To the young man intending to 

 go into the growing branch of the 

 trade there are two great roads to 

 choose from. 



If your wish is to build up a local 

 trade, select some manufacturing town 

 or a popular resort; if your capital and 

 experience is limited, you will be sr. fer 

 traveling such a road, for a local trad^ 

 is easier satisfied than tlie strictly 



business market. But if you have am- 

 bition to make a name and desire to 

 hob nob with the best of everything, 

 first make sure you are a specialist on 

 some popular line of goods, then try 

 to get as near a big city as you can 

 and grow stock better than the ordi- 

 nary, at least, if you cannot beat all. 

 We happen to know growers — and 

 no doubt you all do. for they are plen- 

 tiful enough — who consider their 

 stock tip top and begrudge it to the 

 retailer at a fair price. There will 

 always be differences of opinion as to 

 prices, but reason is a good balancer 

 of the scales, and a vital point in any 

 man's career is popularity. The:e 

 never was any stock too good for the 

 people, and there never was any one 

 too tall to bend or too powerful to 

 ignore even the smallest customers. 



Summer Roses. 



The present is the most trying time 

 to give satisfaction in quality of roses, 

 for very few make a specialty of grow- 

 ing roses for the erratic summer trade, 

 nor would it be wise for many to do 

 so, yet more could be grown of several 

 kinds and at fairly good profits. 

 Years ago better summer roses were 

 obtainable in the New York market. 

 The men who made a specialty of 

 them got from their sale sufficient to 

 build large establishments, but the 

 cultivation of palms and Easter stock 

 became too alluring and roses were 

 dropped; to-day there are but two or 

 three growers who specialize on sum- 

 mer roses; one of them makes a splen- 

 did success of Ulrich Brunner, which 

 he grows to (perfection in thousands, 

 right up to August. They are for a 

 month or six weeks the best roses on 

 the market, and in consequence he 

 gets a good price for them. This 

 grower is indeed a blessing to New 

 York, for he alone relieves the severe 

 monotony of things, and enables many 

 a retailer to make a dollar, give satis- 

 faction to his customer, and cause un- 

 bounded pleasure in many ways and in 

 numerous hearts. 



Another grower has fine Beauties, 

 La France and Victorias coming in, 

 and the top grades are eagerly bought 

 up. Kaiserin Augusta Victoria is by 

 far the best white rose at present on 

 the New York market. It is the best 

 shipper and the longest stemmed and 

 sweetest flower. Of course it is very 

 delicate and is easily spoiled, but 

 flowers were never intended for rough 

 handling, and care and the utmost del- 

 icacy should be used in the unpacking 

 or putting away of any flower you 

 may need. We know of very few more 

 sickening sights than to visit some 

 wholesale stores when stock is just ar- 

 riving and watch the horde" of dirty 

 peddlers maul and squeeze the finest 

 of flowers; it's enough to make a sen- 

 sitive person swear. 



We cannot blame these ignorant 

 people altogether; it is mostly the 

 wholesaler's fault; there is no divid- 

 ing line between respectable and dis- 

 reputable customers, so long as there 



