February 3, 1906 



HORTICULTURE 



137 



CARNATIONS FROM A WHOLE- 

 SALER'S POINT OF VIEW. 



(Bead before the American Carnation So- 

 ciety, i 



By A. J. Guttman. 



It is said that "some are born great, 

 others achieve greatness, and still 

 others have greatness thrust upon 

 them." It seems to me that I am 

 among the last mentioned; but I as- 

 sure you that I fully appreciate the 

 honor accorded me, in being given the 

 privilege of presenting a paper before 

 such a representative body of our 

 craft. I am glad of this opportunity, 

 however, as the growers' interests and 

 the wholesalers' interests are so closely 

 linked that it is imperative that we 

 come together occasionally and ex- 

 change views on trade interests if we 

 would have the best results from our 

 labors. 



The carnation has become of great 

 importance to the flower trade; and 

 there is no doubt in my mind that this 

 condition has been brought about 

 mainly through the work of the Ameri- 

 can Carnation Society. Although there 

 is keen competition among carnation 

 growers, the fact that they so well 

 understand the principles of business, 

 and pull together on all matters that 

 may be, or are, of benefit to the great- 

 est number — this has made the society 

 what it is. The impetus given to the 

 raising of new varieties can be justly 

 claimed as the fruit of this society's 

 work; and it is through the many new 

 and inproved varieties, well grown and 

 liberally exhibited before the public 

 throughout the country by the mem- 

 bers, that the divine flower has at- 

 tained the prominent place it holds 

 today with the people of the United 

 States, Canada, and Europe. 



Although carnations today are a 

 staple feature in the market, they are 

 a somewhat difficult crop to handle as 

 their keeping qualities are so variable. 

 Some varieties have excellent lasting 

 powers, and others as you are all aware 

 are not very good keepers; the whole- 

 saler has to familiarize himself with 

 the peculiarities of each variety, for 

 there are several of our commercial 

 sorts which, although they are excel- 

 lent for home trade, will not bear re- 

 shipping to any great distance. 



Another fact that I should like to 

 draw your attention to is, that with 

 the gradual improvement taking place 

 in carnations, it is becoming harder 

 all the time for the wholesaler to 

 handle the smaller varieties to advan- 

 tage. Therefore I would recommend 

 that growers use their very best judg- 

 ment in selecting only the best 

 varieties such as are generally termed 

 fancies, as these find quick buyers. 

 Would also recommend that the 

 wholesalers should be asked to give 

 their candid opinion of the selling and 

 keeping qualities of any new varieties 

 that are being introduced throughout 

 the country, and I think it would to a 

 great extent, prevent growers from 

 buying undesirable varieties. 



Another suggestion: See that your 

 flowers reach the wholesaler in as per- 

 fect condition as possible. You have 

 spent your time and energy in grow- 

 ing them, yet all these efforts are for 

 naught if the packing and shipping 

 are not attended to with the proper 

 care. The wholesaler wants good 

 stock fresh and carefully handled; the 

 name of the carnation is not in itself 



a salable asset. The stiff-stemmed 

 varieties should be tied as low as pos- 

 sible in bunching, so as to let the 

 flowers spread nicely, and they will 

 then show up well. The fewer flowers 

 in the bunch the better they will 

 carry for shipment to the wholesaler, 

 and twenty-five should be the must 

 put in a bunch. 



Should your facilities for shipping 

 be such that for instance, you can 

 deliver stock to the wholesaler by 

 wagon; or, when they are choice 

 varieties, then, I would advise to pack 

 the carnations in boxes, in layers; of 

 course these should not be bunched. 

 Growers should systematize their pick- 

 ing, bunching, packing, and shipping, 

 as much as possible, for it all helps 

 to give satisfaction to the wholesaler, 

 retailer, and general flower-buying 

 public. 



It is a fact that there are not so 

 many early and small grades of chrys- 

 anthemums grown through the country 

 as heretofore. For that reason I 

 should think that varieties of carna- 

 tions that could be brought in crop, 



Chari.es Weber, of Guttman & Weber. 



Introducers of Carnation Victory. 



in good shape during the fall, should 

 prove profitable to the grower, as good 

 prices can be obtained for them. 

 Fancy scarlets that can be brought in 

 heavy crop for December are profit- 

 able to grow. 



Another question which seems to me 

 very important is how best to keep 

 carnations after they are cut; and 

 in my opinion this is. an important 

 problem for the American Carnation 

 Society to solve. The wholesaler at 

 most times through the season, has to 

 display the stock for at least three 

 hours, although at certain times of the 

 year the blooms are really sold before 

 they come in. In the latter case they 

 are promptly repacked and transferred 

 to the retailer; but when it is neces- 

 sary to display stock which has per- 

 haps been grown a little soft, and pos- 

 sibly not picked at the proper time, 

 as is often the case with growers who 

 do not pick daily, in that case I tell 

 you, the wholesaler is up against it, 

 as we should say, when making his 

 returns to the growers. 



I think we ought to have a better 

 system of grading. We would not re- 

 quire so many distinctive grades as is 



given to roses, but to keep the poorer 

 flowers separate would certainly be 

 a good idea, for it often happens" that 

 a retailer when buying carnations, will 

 reject an entire hunch because of one 

 or two poor flowers, and he will tell 

 ynii that the flower buyer detects a 

 pour flower as quickly as he. When 

 ilf retailer can depend upon a certain 

 grower's stock, and know that it is 

 carefully bunched, and carefully sorted, 

 it is an advantage to him, for it saves 

 time, and invariably he will be glad 

 to pay a little more for this grower's 

 stock. I know some growers who 

 have for several years graded number 

 1 s and number 2's, much to the ad- 

 vantage of grower, wholesaler and 

 retailer, and it would be a great thing 

 if every grower adopted the same plan 

 It is to the best interests of all that 

 the grower have the fullest confidence 

 in his wholesaler, and consign his 

 Bowers regularly, and not to hold them 

 back for special occasions. I know 

 that this is a delicate subject and I 

 approach it only after due considera- 

 tion. We can understand that in years 

 gone by, when there were no flowering 

 plants grown for the Christmas and 

 Easter holidays, there was something 

 to be gained by keeping every flower 

 possible for the holiday sale, when 

 flowers were scarce and prices went 

 soaring upward, but those times are 

 a thing of the past. There is no more 

 scarcity such as there used to be at 

 holiday time; the increase in glass and 

 the growth of the plant industry has 

 done away with that feature of the 

 holiday business. "Ship your flowers 

 when they are ready" is a good rule 

 and in such holding back as is neces- 

 sary try to govern your picking so 

 that flowers will not have been cut too 

 long. The wholesaler of today is 

 eq tupped with cold storage facilities 

 and he can hold the stock if necessary 

 or sell it at once if that is best, and 

 being in the market he can take ad- 

 vantage of the conditions that may 

 arise, much better than he could if 

 the grower has the flowers in his own 

 cellar. I have seen carnations right 

 before a holiday, which, although they 

 looked grand in the grower's cellar 

 were not salable three hours after 

 reaching the wholesaler's establish- 

 ment. 



I would like to say a few words on 

 high prices: often the growers put it 

 up to the wholesalers, especially 

 during the winter season, to explain 

 why prices are high today and low 

 tomorrow. My experience has taught 

 un- that when prices are too high for 

 the average retailer to be able to 

 satisfy his customers and make a 

 reasonable profit, the retailers stop 

 buying for one or two days, and, as 

 the stock continues to bloom and 

 flowers have to be moved, the whole- 

 saler is compelled to lower prices 

 then the retailers buy, and the 

 machinery is again in proper motion. 



One thing more: The wholesaler 

 tan greatly help to popularize the 

 mentorous varieties by distributing 

 the bloom among as many retailers as 

 it is possible for him to do with the 

 supply at his disposal. 



I wish to say here that several 

 gentlemen of our profession have 

 agisted me in preparing this paper. 

 I l'lt that since you have so honored 

 me, it was my duty to present here 

 a ood a paper on this subject as it 

 was possible for me to give you. 



