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The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



April 2, 1903. 



NEW YORK. 



The opening of the present week dem- 

 onstrated the truth of the old adage. "If 

 March comes in like a lamb, it will tro 

 out like a lion." A big fall in tempera- 

 ture on Jlonday followed by a cold north- 

 easter and a pouring rain made the 

 opening of the week as blue as the worst 

 pessimist could imagine. If it has the 

 effect of adding color and quality, how- 

 ever, to the stock of cut flowers which 

 is coming on for Easter it will be wel- 

 come. The weather during the whole of 

 the past week has been spring-like, and 

 the effect of the heat and unreasonable, 

 temperature can be seen in the deprecia- 

 tion of color and quality in the stock that 

 has come to market. Prices have hchl 

 their usual average of the past three 

 weeks and anv appreciation in value be- 

 fore the middle of ne.\t week is hardly 

 probable. 



The present weather, however, was just 

 what the nurserymen and see<lsmen and 

 bulbmen were praying for, and the plant- 

 ing season stiirted oif in great shape, if 

 prematurely. Tliere is no doubt the 

 season has got too early a start to la.st 

 and we shall doubtless have some most 

 disagieeable weather between this and 

 Easter. 



The plantsmen have already com- 

 menced the delivery of blooming stock 

 and the retail stores bespeak the early 

 approach of the festive holiday. The 

 dreary days of Lent are near the end, 

 and if all signs do not fail, this will 1m' 

 one of the greatest Easters ever known. 

 Never have I seen such variety and ex- 

 cellence of blooming plant stock as will 

 be offered to the public tliis spring. 

 Enormous quantities have alr(>ady \>cen 

 spoken for and there is difTiculty to find 

 any giower who has not Ixxikeil sptK-ial 

 orders to absorb every first-class bloom- 

 ing plant in his greenliou.ses. 



It is a little early yet to describe the 

 decorations of the bon-lou stores,^ but 

 we shall be able to say more of this in 

 our next, and porliaps we may secure 

 some excellent photographs of the best 

 known stores for your consideration. 



Owing to the death of ex-llayor IIcw- 

 ett and the illness of Andrew Carnegie, 

 it has been announced that the Agricul- 

 tural College, formerly at Rriar Cliff, 

 and later at Pouahkoepsie, is to be dis- 

 continued. This i-i most unfortunate, as 

 under ilr. Powell's superintendence the 

 institution was rapidly becoming a most 

 successful and creditable one. Fo\ir 

 hundred acres of land had been bought. 

 $.50,000 had already Iiecn spent, and 

 buildings had been proposed to cost over 

 $200,000. 



At 1 o'clock Saturday morning, long 

 after Jiilins Lang of .53 West Thirtieth 

 street, was "sleeping the sleep of the 

 just," his awning caught fire and before 

 the flames were extinguished they climbed- 

 to the fourth floor of the apartment 

 house above his headquarters. Fortun- 

 ately no gi'eat damage was done. 



Van Home, Griffen & Co. report a 

 most satisfactory increase in their busi- 

 ness this spring, the demand for bent 

 glass being especially noticeable. They 

 are amonsst the leaders in this line in 

 this country. 



The seedsmen are all very busy, work- 

 ing night and day, to fill their orders, and 

 all report the greatest demand, so eavlv 

 in the year, that they have ever experi- 

 enced. Roman hyacinths are general'v 

 reported as too high iii price in Europe. 

 and the sales have been limited to date. 

 ■ Most of the victims of grippe and 



other spring diseases are convalescing. 

 Jlr. Ghormley is having a turn at it now, 

 and Arthur Merrit is nursing a sore 

 hand, which resulted from an eneount<T 

 with the thorn of a phoenix, and whicli 

 placed him "hors de combat" for several 

 days. He will be fortunate to entirely 

 recover in time for his artistic Easter 

 work. 



The National Florists' Board of Trade 

 ruider its new managenu^nt is making 

 r.apid strides and its officers are all gen- 

 tlemen of the highest reputation and 

 ability. The new oflices at 56 Pine 

 street are veiy convenient and subscrib- 

 ers will be heartily welcomed when vis- 

 iting the city. These gentlemen, Messrs. 

 Hayden. Moore and Walker, are worthy 

 of the entire confidence of the trade and 

 will issue reliable and complete reports 

 that will in time become as valuable as 

 a correct directory. 



The open-air market, on the site of 

 the old Clinton market, opened this week 

 under favorable auspices, and the mar- 

 ket problem will continue to be of inter- 

 est until the efforts to induce the city 

 to ei'ect a new market on the old site 

 are accomplished. A building worth a 

 quarter of a million is contemplated. 

 Sir. John Bernie has been particularly 

 active in interesting the authorities in 

 the prdject and Messrs. Steinhoff, 

 Dreyer and Schultheis are associated 

 with him on the committee which has 

 been ap])ointed. William Plumb, whose 

 last accomplishment was the successful 

 management of the Brooklyn carnation 

 convention, has resigned his position "^ 

 landscape gardener and estate manager 

 and has joined the ranks of the Madison 

 rose growers. 



A. Warendorf, the retail Broadway 

 florist, has added the responsibility of a 

 wholesale commission business to his 

 re])ertoire, and has become manager of 

 what is known as the "New Jersey Cut 

 Flower Co." The stole is at 37 West 

 Twenty-eighth street, next door to Wal- 

 ter Sheridan's, and Mr. Warendorf an- 

 ticipates a successful venture into the 

 aren.a where "two horses can be ridden 

 successfully in different rings at the 

 same time." It has been done here al- 

 ready. 



A great many visit<)rs have honored 

 Xew "i'ork with their presence lately, 

 among them Koliert Craig, of Philadel- 

 phia: Fred Mathison, of Waltham; W. 

 W. Edgar, of Waverly; Fred Breitmev- 

 er, of "Detroit, and H. H. Battles, of 

 Philadelphia. 



William Seott called on his way to 

 Jewett City. Conn., to accept a position 

 with A. A. Yoimg of that city. He has 

 been in Staunton, Va., all winter, and 

 was fornierlj- with Bassett & Washburn, 

 of Chicago. 



Tlie rose show at Philadelphia was "a 

 thing of beauty" and the hours from 6 

 o'clock Wednesday evening until mid- 

 night, when the New York vistors were 

 obliged to catch their train for home, 

 are a very pleasant memory. The dec- 

 oration of the Horticultural Hall, where 

 the exhibit was made, was chaste and 

 artistic as usual. The general effect was 

 beautiful, and the display of roses quite 

 lip to expectations. Patronage was sat- 

 isfactory and the best people of the 

 Quaker City were in evidence. Dreer's 

 new Pandanus was a center of interest 

 and Ereitmeyer's new rose attracted uni- 

 versal attention and mast favorable com- 

 ment. Its color showed up most beau- 

 tifully under the artificial light and it 

 was voted "just the thing for evening 



decoration." Banquet hall downstairs, 

 where the bowlers congregate, was turned 

 into a cozy refreshment room where a 

 most excellent menu awaited the hun- 

 dred members and visitors, who spent a 

 most happy evening together. President 

 Newbold was greatly missed, but ex- 

 Mayor Smith, of Philadelphia, proved 

 himself one of the jolliest and wittiest 

 of toast masters. The best of feeling 

 prevailed and a jollier company it would 

 have been hard to find. Mr. Smith was 

 especially novel and original in his in- 

 troductions and kept everybody in good 

 humor with his "colored'' illustrations. 

 J. Austin Suaw. 



BUSINESS METHODS FOR BUSY 

 FLORISTS. 



XIL 



A FoUow-Up System. 



If you are satisfied with your busi- 

 ness and your sales, if you dispose of 

 all your product at good prices, and 

 nothing goes to waste, you will not be in- 

 terested in this article. If, however, 

 your trade is local and fickle, if more 

 or less of your stock goes to waste or 

 if competition cuts prices, the few sug- 

 gestions which I may offer herewith may 

 be of assistance to you. 



There is no better method of doing 

 business at the present time than 

 thi'ough the mails. The general prosper- 

 ity for a few years past has benefitted 

 no class of peojjle more than the farm- 

 ers and tho.se living in the smaller towns 

 and cities throughout the rural regions. 

 \Miat were deenu'd luxuries a few years 

 ago by the wealthy are now considered 

 necessities b}' the great middle classes. 

 Flowers that only a Vanderbilt or Gould 

 could purchase 20 years ago are now 

 purchased by every country "Reuben" 

 who has a best girl, or would be if 

 "Reuben" only knew about them. The 

 possibilities of the country trade, stim- 

 ulated bj' the extension of rural free de- 

 livery, cannot be overestimated. But 

 such trade will not come to us unless 

 we go after it. and to assist those who 

 wish to go after it I am writing this 

 article. 



If you are a grower of cut flowers 

 and plants and wish to dispose of your 

 products away from home, you nuist is- 

 sue a price list or catalogue. Tlie more 

 attractive you make j-our catalogue the 

 more goods you sell and the more you 

 will have to ask for them. As to the size 

 of your catalogue, you must be judge of 

 that. Nothing in the line of illustra- 

 tions 'will describe and sell flo«'ers like 

 good half tones, printed on good paper. 

 If you have no good engraver in j'our 

 own town send to the larger cities (the 

 Review has many nice half tones they 

 would gladly sell you ) , get the name of 

 some good engraver and tell him what 

 you want. If you can photograph plants 

 or flowers on your own premises, and 

 have them reproduced in your catalogue 

 you will get nearer to what you want 

 and ought to illustrate than if you ob- 

 tain them elsewhere. But whatever you 

 illustrate, be sure that it fully illus- 

 trates what you want it to. Make a spe- 

 cialty of the goods you illustrate and 

 be sure to have them to fill orders. 



As cut flower prices vary with the 

 season you will have to make prices for 

 each season. Be sure to have something 

 especially attractive for the holidays, 

 Christmas and Easter. Side lines can 



