HORTICULTURE 



November 30, 191S 



BETTERING THE FLOWER TRADE 



By Otto Amiing, Before the Chicago Florists' Club. 



As a member of a committee ap- 

 pointed by the president "to make 

 recommendations for bettering condi- 

 tions in the trade," 1 have made a 

 careful study of this subject. My ob- 

 servations and experience lead me to 

 submit first, an analysis of the situa- 

 tion, and then recommendations for 

 improvements. 



At present, under existing condi- 

 tions all branches of the trade are 

 suffering and not getting the returns 

 they should. The hardest hit of all is 

 the grower, the backbone of the busi- 

 ness, who has by far the greatest in- 

 vestment of any, the biggest fixed 

 expense in depreciation, and other- 

 wise, and an extremely hazardous 

 business. He is at present facing a 

 serious situation and wondering 

 whether it will be possible for him to 

 survive. However, upon his welfare 

 depends the further existence of the 

 wholesaler and retailer. 



Reports show that many greenhouse 

 establishments are now operating at 

 a loss. Of these many, finding it im- 

 possible to produce at a loss indefi- 

 nitely, will close down all, or part of 

 their houses, to keep from losing 

 more. This reduction in the supply, 

 added to the former output of the 

 glass already abandoned, may cut 

 quite a figure in the future of our 

 business, and directly affect both 

 wholesaler and retailer. 



To prevent further curtailment of 

 production it is necessary to get bet- 

 ter average prices for the grower than 

 those prevailing in past seasons. To 

 this end the co-operation and assist- 

 ance of all branches of the trade are 

 needed. Better average prices will 

 keep the growers above water, in- 

 crease the commission and lessen the 

 handling expense of the wholesaler 

 and insure the retailer a steady flow 

 of stock. 



It has been suggested that the only 

 solution of the grower's problem is 

 the establishment of a powerful grow- 

 ers' organization to handle the selling 

 and establish a chain of stores for the 

 direct disposal of flowers to the public 

 at profitable prices. This, however, 

 may be unnecessary, as there is no 

 reason why the established wholesale 

 houses should not handle the stock at 

 prices that will enable the grower to 

 make ends meet. 



Must Know Cost of Production 

 To accomplish this, it is necessary 



in the first place, for the wholesaler 

 to know what profitable prices for 

 flowers are. and secondly, to get them. 

 Many wholesalers have no producing 

 experience; that of others is anti- 

 quated. Therefore it is necessary for 

 the grower to supply an accurate rec- 

 ord of present day cost of production 

 per flower, from which to determine 

 the price he should get for the vari- 

 ous varieties and grades from time 

 to time to bring the season's average 

 up to what it should be. I am con- 

 vinced that a thorough knowledge of 

 what it costs to produce each flower 

 today will open the eyes of many men 

 in the flower business, and lead them 

 to realize more fully that each flower 

 has a value, and spur them on to get 

 better average prices and not sell as 

 cheaply as has been common practice 

 most of the time in the past. 



Profitable prices can be gotten by 

 the wholesaler if asked. Many times 

 it requires nothing more than the 

 asking. It should be borne in mind 

 that nature brings on by far the larg- 

 est quantity of stock during spring 

 and summer months, and that the 

 prevailing prices in these months in 

 a great measure decides the season's 

 average price. Even though prices 

 may seem high during some months 

 when production is low, to make up 

 for the low averages prevailing at 

 times, requires selling at these good 

 figures. 



Uniform prices by all houses on 

 equal stock, and the establishment 

 and maintenance of a minimum price 

 on flowers, such as $1 per 100 on 

 roses, 50c. per 100 on carnations, and 

 similar figures on other staple arti- 

 cles, would also result in materially 

 improving weekly returns to the 

 grower, as frequently as niuch stock 

 can be sold at these figures than could 

 be moved if allowed to drop still fur- 

 ther, thereby demoralizing the market. 



Prevent Glut Damage by Gifts to 

 Hospitals 



It would be better, in times of 

 abundance, to donate to the hospitals 

 the unsold surplus, if any, after prices 

 have reached these extremely low 

 levels, than follow the practices of 

 many wholesalers to offer stock for 

 sale at 50c. per lOO when competitors 

 are asking a higher established mini- 

 mum. No greater quantity of stock 

 is sold at the lower figure and the 

 loss to the grower and wholesaler is 



tremendous. It matters little whether 

 lohn Doe's stock Is sold, or that of 

 .lim Smith, nor whether one whole- 

 saler makes the sale, or another. The 

 main thing is that someone make a 

 profitable sale and not below the es- 

 tablished minimum. If all whole- 

 salers keep this in mind the wonder- 

 ful mutual results will be reflected on 

 the grower's statement. 



Reconsigntnent Disadvantages. 



Another practice of the wholesaler 

 which has frequently come within my 

 own personal observation, which does 

 not work out to the grower's best in- 

 terests, is the reconsignment of stock, 

 and the neglect at times of one whole- 

 saler to charge another market price 

 for goods bought although the stock 

 .so purchased is ofttimes again billed 

 out at top market prices. In fact, 

 some wholesalers have few or no con- 

 signors, and openly boast of being 

 able to buy stock from others at 

 prices enabling them to resell at 

 wholesale at figures yielding them as 

 high as 100 per cent, profit. Growers 

 can curb this practice and get the 

 full price at which stock is billed to 

 the retailer less the usual 15 per cent, 

 commission by so distributing their 

 stock that no one house will be over- 

 loaded on certain stock and placing 

 it as nearly direct to the buyer as 

 possible. 



Establish Grade Standards 



A uniform system of grading 

 such stock as roses by all growers,, 

 to a certain length of stem, say 12 in. 

 and under, 15 in., 18 in., 24 in., 30 in.,. 

 36 in. and 48 in., to tie them in bun- 

 dles of 50 each, allowing one extra 

 for breakage, would materially lessen 

 the expense of handling the stock by 

 the wholesaler as frequently stock 

 can be sold in these original bundles, 

 thereby eliminating some of the 

 breakage and bruises incidental to re- 

 grading. Open flowers ready for im- 

 mediate sale should be kept separate. 

 Bundles of a given length of stem 

 would reduce the iiractice of some of 

 the wholesalers' employes in cutting 

 stems short unnecessarily, just be- ■ 

 cause they think they ought to be so. ' 

 Often I have seen this, much to my 

 disgust. It costs money to grow every 

 inch of stem on a rose, so the full 

 length of stem should be utilized 

 whenever possible, and stems reduced 

 in length no more than necessary. 



