248 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



AUGUST 10, L899. 



The veteran florist, Mr. Thos. Gal- 

 vin, still continues to attend closely to 

 business, being just now engaged in 

 landscape work for Mrs. Slater, sister 

 of Miss Gammell. 



The Newport Horticultural Society 

 since its incorporation is entitled to 

 the sum of $500 per year from the 

 state to forward the purposes of such 

 incorporation. This state recognition 

 and financial aid will tend to material- 

 ly advance the objects of the society. 

 Owing to a combination of unfortu- 

 nate circumstances the last show of 

 the society was not a success; in fact 

 the weather and employers' interests 

 prevented the best results. The maxim 

 to make hay "while the sun shines" is 

 particularly applicable to this summer 

 city. 



Miss Fadden has had her store on 

 Bellevue avenue so extended that the 

 exhibits in her window are worthy of 

 note; and the many swell equipages 

 that draw up at her door evidence a 

 flourishing trade from the cream of 

 the 300. 



Mr. Frank Brunton, recently mana- 

 ger of the Newport Nursery Co., now 

 fills the position of gardener for the 

 estate of T. M. Davis, Mr. Lipps, the 

 former gardener there, having gone 

 into business on his own account at 

 New Bedford, Mass. As an enthusi- 

 astic member of the Newport Horti- 

 cultural Society Mr. Lipps bears with 

 him warm wishes for speedy success. 



Butler & Son, florists, are making 

 extensive repairs to their greenhouses. 



So far the kissing bug has not left 

 its mark on our florists or gardeners. 



M. 



ESTABLISHING BUSINESS AS A 

 GROWER. 



By W. H. Elliott. 



[Read before the Gardeners' and Florists' Club 

 of Boston.] 



(Concluded.) 



Marketing Stock. 



All flowers should be cut carefully 

 to get them in the most marketable 

 condition. They should be handled at 

 all times with the greatest care, and 

 by some system which would reduce 

 the handling to a minimum. A proper 

 place should be provided for keeping 

 them. An underground vault of good 

 size, situated on the north side of your 

 buildings, away from the heat of the 

 sun, I have found to be the best. All 

 flowers had better be cut from twelve 

 to twenty-four hours before market- 

 ing. Care in handling, packing and 

 bunching is of the greatest importance. 

 The extra labor that some of our 

 growers go to in the careful handling 

 and marketing of their stock is really 

 surprising, but it pays, and those who 

 have adopted that method seem to 

 continue it, and other growers are 

 adopting the same. Make every effort 

 to meet the demands of the business; 

 bring just as many flowers as you pos- 

 sibly can when flowers are scarce. A 

 grower who gets the reputation of hav- 

 ing a large stock of stuff when nobody 

 wants it and none when it is scarce 



will find it hard to realize a good 

 average price. This condition of short 

 supply when there is large demand 

 and a large supply when there is little 

 demand, is the greatest natural draw- 

 back in the business. 



Keeping of Accounts. 



A greenhouse business is one in 

 which an unlimited amount of ac- 

 counts can be kept. A grower will 

 have to make up his mind how far he 

 wishes to go in this line. Growers as 

 a rule do not go very far in that way, 

 and lor that reason get a reputation of 

 being very poor business men. A 

 grower selling all his flowers for cash 

 in the market and handling his money 

 himself could get along very well and 

 keep no accounts at all. Some growers 

 coming into our market do business in 

 that way, but it is hardly to be recom- 

 mended. No grower can successfully 

 carry on a business without credits in 

 some way or other. Charges must be 

 kept with the greatest of care, and 

 credits on the same with equal care. 

 A cash book and a charge book should 

 be kept, if nothing else. I believe, 

 however, in a grower keeping as com- 

 plete accounts as possible. The num- 

 ber of flowers of each kind cut from 

 the different houses, and the amount 

 of money received for these different 

 varieties is the best indication of 

 where the profit comes from, and 

 what lines it is best to increase. The 

 average price received from day to 

 day is something every grower should 

 know, but very few do know. 



Be careful to whom you extend 

 credit. To many customers it is an 

 unkindness to extend credit. Collect 

 bills promptly when due; the more 

 promptly the easier collected and the 

 better opportunity to sell more goods. 



A bank account should be opened by 

 every grower. It is the best way to 

 take care of your money, and you can 

 always have money on hand to make 

 use of in case of emergency. At least 

 once a year pay up all your bills, bal- 

 ance up all accounts, and find out as 

 well as you can just where you stand. 



Chance of Success. 

 What leads to success is what every- 

 body wishes to know. First, and most 

 important of all, is good judgment in 

 laying out a definite plan to work by. 

 I think this of much more importance 

 than it is generally thought to be. So 

 much so, that I have my plans for 

 what I intend to do laid out at least 

 two years before any new building or 

 rebuilding is done, and by that means 

 can correct many mistakes which 

 might be made by acting on in- 

 definite plans. Knowledge of growing 

 and of business is a great advantage, 

 but it is surprising how well many 

 succeed who have started in with very 

 limited knowledge. This is undoubt- 

 edly owing to their good judgment. 

 Courage is very necessary, as a dis- 

 couraged man never accomplishes very 

 much. Economy would need to be 

 practiced for the first year or two to 

 such a degree as to become a fine art. 

 Industry, or, in other words, hard 



work is indispensable. The way a 

 grower with limited capital would 

 need to work for the first year or two 

 to successfully establish a business in 

 these high pressure times would give 

 a man sentenced to hard labor an idea 

 he was simply taking a midsummer 

 vacation. It is commonly asked, "Will 

 I meet with success?" We never meet 

 with success these days but have to 

 overtake it, like Death did with the 

 Irishman, whose friend was asked if he 

 met Death bravely, when he answered, 

 "He didn't meet it, it overtook him." 

 The only grower that meets with suc- 

 cess is the carnation hybridizer. But 

 those who know the raiser of the $30,- 

 000 carnation well know he has fol- 

 lowed after success in a way that gave 

 it no chance to escape him. 



Don't worry about getting credit. 

 You will find it very easy to get more 

 than is good for you, for after a suc- 

 cessful first year you will find the coal 

 man that wanted his money for your 

 coal as it was delivered when you 

 star-ted will want to know why he 

 can't put in your winter's supply and 

 collect the bill six months later. When 

 you ask for credit be sure and ask for 

 all the time you need, and then be sure 

 to pay just when you say you will. 

 You will thereby find your credit bet- 

 ter than if you paid cash. After a 

 year or two if you are successful you 

 will find yourself where our govern- 

 ment is at the present time — consider- 

 ing the question of expansion. I have 

 concluded that when the expansion 

 idea gets fixed in a grower's mind, it 

 can only be removed by death. He will 

 always want one more house or one 

 more range of houses, as long as he 

 lives. But don't look on these ex- 

 panders as the only successful growers. 

 Who will say that the quiet, contented 

 man working along in his easy-going 

 way, bringing up a family of refined 

 and well-educated children and him- 

 self a citizen that is a credit to any 

 town, even if he does not build a new 

 greenhouse every year, is not a suc- 

 cessful grower? The number of just 

 such growers which we have in our 

 market have made it the success it is, 

 and are a great credit to the profes- 

 sion. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Samuel C. Moon, Morrisville, Pa., or- 

 namental trees, plants, shrubs, vines, 

 etc., also fruit trees and plants; New 

 York Market Gardeners' Ass'n., Box 

 2341, New York City, wholesale price 

 list of new crop of pansy and other 

 seasonable seeds; E. G. Bunyar, Inde- 

 pendence, Mo., wholesale price lists of 

 plants; Chas. D. Ball, Holmesburg, 

 Phila., Pa., wholesale price list palms 

 and decorative plants; Ellis & Poll- 

 worth, Milwaukee, Wis., wholesale cut 

 flower price list; Ellwanger & Barry. 

 Rochester, N. Y., strawberries, Hol- 

 land bulbs and specialties. 



STRATFORD, ONT.— The Stratford 

 Horticultural Society will hold an ex- 

 hibition of flowers and fruits Septem- 

 ber 1 and 2. J. P. Woods is secretary. 



