4o4 



/IORTI CULTU RE 



April 7, 1906 



delivery and for protection against 

 frost. 



One great item of extra expense on 

 special days is extra help, generally 

 ery unsatisfactory help at that, but 

 we must have it. If possible get peo- 

 ple who have helped you in former 

 years, not only because they will have 

 had some experience, but you also 

 know just what they are most suited 

 for. It is good policy to hire extra 

 help at so much per hour. Appoint 

 some one to keep record of their time, 

 and steer clear of friends or relatives, 

 as it is hard to get the work out of 

 them. 



Place advance order for cut flowers 

 early. If there are any baskets lying 

 around from last year, clean them up 

 and fill with suitable plants; also, 

 have a nice assortment of new bas- 

 kets, besides a good supply of pleated 

 wax paper and ribbon. Under no cir- 

 cumstances will we bother with crepe- 

 paper again. It is both unsatisfactory 

 to yourself and your customer, as the 

 dampness soon spoils it. The pleated 

 paper is very quickly adjusted, and 

 not so easily affected by water. Vari- 

 ius colored mats also come very handy 

 for trimming. By first moistening 

 them they will not break and are 

 much more easily manipulated. 



Make arrangements for extra wag- 

 ons early. It is absolutely necessary 

 to give a great deal of attention to 

 the delivery or shipping department, 

 as many a good customer has been 

 lost through mistake in delivering. 



Leaving the shipping all in the 

 hands of one man who does nothing 

 else for the three or four busiest days 

 is the only way to have it attended to 

 satisfactorily. This clerk should be 

 some old employee who not only 

 knows the city from A to Z but knows 

 how to handle drivers and errand boys 

 and will give every detail his undivid- 

 ed attention. We generally manage to 

 have good use for five wagons and 

 three or four errand boys during the 

 holidays, and acting in the capacity of 

 shipping clerk, I have adopted the fol- 

 lowing system: 



I select some convenient place 

 where all sold articles are placed by 

 the salesmen, and from time to time 

 arrange each variety of plant by itself, 

 with the tag in plain view. Then I 

 have a cabinet made of eight boxes, 

 just large enough to hold the order 

 slips nicely. In appearance it is sim- 

 ilar to a spice cabinet. It bears the 

 following labels: Today, Car, North, 

 East, West. North-east, North-west. 

 and Special. For tin- orders to be de- 

 livered, say, Saturday, the slips are 

 put into the Today box as soon as 

 taken. Evi rj once in a while I take 

 the slips out of the Today box and dis- 

 tribute them to their respective boxes, 

 as, for instance, North, Car, etc. 



When loading for delivery, (hock 

 off the corresponding slip, then lay the 

 slips in the order to be delivered and 

 write in route bool. >ther page 



of which is tissue, using copying 

 paper. '1 torn out 



and given i each 



i. in the receiver. 



Keep the diffi rem batches of slips 

 fast. ■ i ith a 



numbi route, 



so that in casi d mes back 



you can plan- your hand right on the 

 respective slip. 



For furthering t!i try of 



Executive Committee, s. a. f., at Daytox, Ohio 



plants, particularly lilies, we have had 

 made a number of boxes of half-inch 

 boards, 15 inches by 15 inches by 6 

 inches deep, inside measurement, di- 

 vided into four compartments. These 

 are kept in the wagon, and help to 

 keep plants from falling over, the 

 plants being placed in the compart- 

 ments. We also use paper hat boxes 

 for large, trimmed-up pots, to protect 

 paper or matting. 



NEWS NOTES. 



W. E. Lacey, whose greenhouses at 

 A'ictoria-Bismark, Northampton, Mass., 

 were destroyed by fire, is making ar- 

 rangements to rebuild. 



E. E. Fairbanks, who recently sold 

 his greenhouses at Athol Centre, Mass.. 

 to C. H. Smith, has bought them back, 

 and will remain in Athol. 



E. J. Fancourt. that modest yet ener- 

 getic representative of S. S. Pennock, 

 has just returned from a six weeks' 

 trip and reports that business in the 

 supply and cut flower line was never 

 better. 



The building committee of the 



Florists' Exchange, Baltimore, Md., 



has commissioned Architect E. J. 



Laferty to prepare plans for a new 



building on their newly acquired 



property, corner of Franklin and St. 

 Paul si reels 



Representative Allen of Maine, in- 

 troduced a bill in Congress last week 

 to give protection to the originator of 

 horticultural products under the trade 

 mark laws. The Department of Agri- 

 culture was placed on record in favor 

 of the measure, which gives the pro- 

 ducer of a new variety the right to 

 name it ami to secure a trade mark 

 on the name which will protect his 

 rights for twenty years in the produc- 

 tion. 



SAN FRANCISCO NOTES. 



A couple hundred smart people from 

 the State of Washington, including the 

 Governor, were in San Francisco last 

 week seeing the sights. The California 

 Promotion Committee gave them a re- 

 ception in the palm garden of the 

 Palace Hotel. Prominent growers and 

 florists, members of the committee, 

 procured carte-blanche authority to 

 enhance the beauty of the palm gar- 

 den, and it is sufficient to say that 

 choice flowers galore were tastily ar- 

 ranged and a rich sufficiency of floral 

 creations dotted the garden here and 

 there. 



Growers and florists belonging to 

 San Francisco's Outdoor Art League, 

 inform me that league resolutions will 

 be before the next meeting of the 

 Board of Aldermen, requesting that a 

 bond election be called, that the ques- 

 tion of the acquisition of Telegraph 

 Hill by the city may again be submit- 

 ted to the vote of the people. Tele- 

 graph Hill is the first high elevation, 

 barren and craggy, to meet the sight 

 of visitors to the city, and the purpose 

 of the league is to lawn and terrace it 

 and cover it with choice plants and 

 flowers. 



Mrs. Timothy Hopkins is the most 

 successful, and I believe, the largest, 

 violet grower in the State, famous for 

 its violets. One of the sights of Cali- 

 fornia that no tourist, whether of the 

 private car or personally-conducted 

 variety, can afford to miss is the acres 

 and acres of violets that Mrs. Timothy 

 Hopkins grows for the market. 



BUSINESS CHANGES. 

 James Hart, wholesale florist, nas 

 moved from West 30th street to 103 

 West 2Sth street, New York. 



C. Besold, Mineola, N. Y., has 

 leased his greenhouse plant to parties 

 who will take possession July 1. Mr. 

 Besold will go abroad hoping for res- 

 toration of good health. 



