690 



HORTICULTURE 



May 23, 1908 



general misrepresenting of goods is 

 happily passing away. 



Perhaps the following epitome will 

 serve to convey the writer's thoughts 

 in a pointed and more easily remem- 

 bered form: 



It is not stich a good practice to 

 "'soak" a customer as to satisfy him. 



It is better to size him up as to his 

 needs rather than as to his ability to 

 pay a big price. 



It is more to the advantage of both 

 parties that good, fresh stock be sold 

 than to entertain the delusion that a 

 customer will come oftener if the 

 goofis perish quickly. 



Common decency dictates that etjual 

 ccturtesy be extended to every patron 

 regardless of the size of his pocket- 

 book. 



Success deix^nds more on absolute 

 reliability than on glib tongue and a 

 plausible story. 



It is taken for granted that a sales- 

 man should be well informed on the 

 technical and scientific details of his 

 business, although this knowledge has 

 been lamentably absent in the florist's 

 trade. 



Selling a certain line of goods at, or 

 below, cost as a "leader" to attract the 

 public is not legitimate business, the 

 object being to mislead buyers into the 

 belief that all other goods in the store 

 are equally low-priced. 



Any other action having as its prime 

 object the ruin of a competitor is per- 

 nicious. 



The giving away of flowers is no 

 part of selling and should be charged 

 up to advertising. 



Finally, to one desirous of perfect- 

 ing himself in the art of selling no 

 better lesson can be learned than from 

 a careful study of his own exiJeriences 

 as a buyer. It is safe to say that he 

 ■will find himself attracted by the cor- 

 dial friendly greeting, especially if his 

 name be remembered, the prompt of- 

 fer of service, and the manifest truth- 

 fulness of all informaticn given. 



Obituary 



SOME AZALEA AWARDS AT 

 GHENT. 



The following awards were received 

 ty August Haerens, of Somergem, Bel- 

 gium, at the recent quinqviennial ex- 

 hibition in Ghent: 



First pri7,e for group of Azalea in- 



■dica of all shapes and sizes, occupying 



50 square meters, by acclamation of 



the jury. Over 300 plants were used 



in the group. 



First prize (gold medal) for group 

 ■of 50 azaleas, fan shape, with special 

 commendation of the juiT- Group was 

 admired by everyone. 



First prize (gilt medal) for 25 Aza- 

 lea Vervaeneana alba. 



First prize gilt medal) for the fin- 

 est specimen azalea (plante de cul- 

 ture). 



First prize (gold medal) for the 12 

 newest specimen azaleas. 



Second prize (gold medal) for 100 

 new azaleas, and second prize (silver 

 medal) for sis new azaleas. 



As to the fan-shaped azaleas, Messrs, 

 Haerens think it is strange that they 

 find so little fa\or in America, while 

 -on the Continent everyone likes t'aem 

 at sight. Naturally, they cannot be 

 cheap, as they require too much care 

 and labor, and take up as much house 

 room as do the pyramids. Mr. Haerens 

 intends to go ahead with them and 

 grow from 300 to 500 every year. 



William Scott. 



Although not unexpected by the 

 many friends who have followed the 

 course of William Scott's long illness, 

 the news of his death, at his home in 

 Buffalo, N, y., on Tuesday, iMay 19. 

 will, we doubt not, come as a painful 

 shock to every community where his 

 genial personality was known. And 

 it is no exaggeration to say that wher- 

 ever there was a florist anywhere on 

 this continent. \\"illi,im Scott was 

 known. 



Mr. Scott was born July 31st, 

 1S44, at Leigh Park, Hampshire, Eng- 

 land, the country home of Sir George 

 Thomas Staunton, one of the finest 

 gardens in Europe, where his father 

 was head gardener for 27 years. He 

 attended a private school in the neigh- 

 boring town of Havant till he was 13 

 years of age, at which time the school- 

 master became insane, but Mr. Scott 

 said this was not his fault. He began 

 work in the garden shortly after this, 

 and at 15 years of age he had the care 



backwoods of Canada to trap and hunt 

 and get in close communion with red 

 men of the primeval forest. The look 

 of the forest about three miles up 

 Yonge Street, Toronto, was enough for 

 the party, and through the kindness 

 of George Leslie, a well-known nur- 

 sery man, the party was quickly back 

 at the old trade. The following winter 

 i'r. Scott was in the employ of .lames 

 Pape. who grew plants for the Toronto 

 market. The summer of 1S69 they 

 tried market gardening and the seed 

 business in Stratford, Ont. There 

 were too many in the firm, and so Mr. 

 Scott engaged with Mr. Geo. Bailey of 

 P.uffalo, crossing the Niagara river 

 under conditions which would now be 

 a direct violation of the contract labor 

 law, but in this case low price was not 

 the motive for importing a foreigner, 

 for he received good wages. Two years 

 later he rented this place for commer- 

 cial use. Two years later he secured 

 the property on Ltalcom street, which 

 is still in the hands of his family. 



What Mr. Scott has done for his fel- 

 low craftsmen through his contribu- 

 tions to the trade press is well known 

 to most of our readers. He had the 

 happy faculty of expressing himself 

 readily in a most entertaining and 

 graceful manner, and was never at a 

 loss to secure eager listeners when he 

 spoke or readers when he wrote. He 

 took an active interest in the Society 

 of American Florists and at the Pitts- 

 burg convention in 1S95 was elected 

 president of that organization, presid- 

 ing at the convention in Cleveland the 

 following year. 



ilr. Scott was married 39 years ago 

 to Miss Christine Frick. He is sur- 

 vived by six sous and one daughter, 

 Helen, Robert, Alexander, William, 

 Jr,, Oliver, David and Philip. 



WiLLiA.M Scott 



of a conservatory that had to be so 

 scrupulously clean and neat that the 

 petal of a cameiia must not be seen on 

 the snow-white paths or the trim 

 kept border. When the subject of this 

 sketch was 17 years of age, his father 

 removed to Chichester, where he 

 rented the Northgate Nurseries. Mr. 

 Scott worked in the nursery, green- 

 houses and seed store of his father till 

 the spring of ISiGS except for two years, 

 during which he was employed in the 

 seed store of W. H. Rogers, of South- 

 ampton. In the spring of 1S68 a spirit 

 of adventiire came over the young 

 man, his brother and his friend, Mr. 

 E. I. Mepsted. .Tames Fleming, then 

 in partnership with Peter Henderson, 

 was one of the old Leigh Park men. 

 Mr. Buist of Philadelphia, and Mr. 

 Brackenridge of Baltimore, were old 

 associates of the elder Scott in Edin- 

 boro. David Ferguson of Philadelphia 

 was another Leigh Park man, and 

 there were others in the United States. 

 The watering pot was thrown dovfn 

 one night in .March with the expecta- 

 tion that it was never to be handled 

 again, and the trio were off for the 



Thomas Green. 



Thomas Green, who for many years 

 was the only florist in .loplin. Mo., 

 died on May 3 at the age of 87. He 

 came to the United States in 1S67 and 

 has resided in Joplin for thirty-one 

 years. 



G. W. Spinney. 

 Guslavus W. Spinney, who for many 

 years was engaged in the nursery busi- 

 ness, died at his home in Georgetown, 

 Mass., on May 12, at the age of 68. 

 A widow and two daughters survive 

 him. 



LES BIBLIOTHEQUES HORTI- 

 COLES. 



Under the above heading our cor- 

 respondent, Mr. Harman Payne, makes 

 some pertinent remarks in "LaTribune 

 Horticole" of Brussels for the 28 

 March on the subject of Horticultural 

 Libraries. Comparisons are made be- 

 tween the Lindley Library, attached 

 to the Royal Horticultural Society of 

 London, the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society Library and the Library 

 of the National Horticultural Society of 

 France, to what is evidently the mani- 

 fest advantage of the two latter. In 

 spite of the great progress of the Eng- 

 lish Royal Horticultural Society there 

 is evidently some room for advance 

 to be made in connection with ihe 

 Lindley Library which is not consid- 

 ered by our correspondent, himself a 

 well known book collector, to be ade- 

 quate to the requirements of horticul- 

 tural library workers in England. 



