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HORTICULTURE 



December 7, 191S 



THE FLORIST BUSINESS AFTER THE WAR 



An Address by J. Otto Thilow, of Henry A. Dreer, Before the Florists' Club of Philadelphia, Dec. 3rd, 1918. 



The Florist business in war times, 

 whether active or dull, would be no 

 guide for future planning or prepara- 

 tion of what to do in times of peace, 

 unless the strain is felt through loss, 

 or buoyancy enhanced through victory. 

 Wars are not frequent, and are not 

 always under same commercial rela- 

 tionship. 



During the period of the Civil War 

 of '61 to '65, I was through circum- 

 stances located in the most strained 

 quarters of the Southern States, viz: 

 Richmond, Va. During that period, (of 

 which I have only a very faint recol- 

 lection), the florist of those days knew 

 a very little of forcing houses, or the 

 production of flowers in any quantity, 

 save the once famous Camellia japoni- 

 ca and Stevia serrata, all grown in 

 pots. 



As the years of conflict continued 

 for four years, and under extreme 

 strained conditions, perhaps somewhat 

 known, to some of my hearers, the 

 florist was very much in obscurity. 

 Decorations were confined to the social 

 events among the then wealthy, and 

 funeral work a necessity, although- 

 limited. As the years went on to the 

 ending of the conflict and a van- 

 quished South, thoughts were not di- 

 rected to a speedy return to prosperity. 

 But in the course of a half decade, re- 

 construction and rebuilding awakened 

 the people from their despondent 

 lethargy, partly forced by markets 

 opening for the southern products, 

 cotton and tobacco. During this per- 

 iod, in the city mentioned, then per- 

 haps 50,000 inhabitants (now about 

 150,000), there was one florist of any 

 consequence, John Morton, closely re- 

 lated to our well-known veteran, Peter 

 Henderson. 



This establishment comprised per- 

 haps 12,000 feet of glass, under which 

 was raised the usual pot plants for 

 bedding and for spring sales only, and 

 a very little for winter decoration, ex- 

 cept a limited stock of pot specimens. 

 The florist business was very inactive, 

 but with the trend of commercial 

 growth and the remaking of the whole 

 South, the boom was as much dele- 

 gated to the florist as in other commer- 

 cial lines. The steady growth with 

 new methods, modern houses and 

 equipment, placed this city in the fore- 

 front of the business in the South. 

 In 1910 the records give us, among 

 twelve establishments, 700,000 feet of 



glass area, and a corresponding high 

 grade of trade, which to-day demands 

 more material than they can produce. 



Thus we see the influence during the 

 war among a people to whom the out- 

 come was not hopeful, and among 

 whom the depression lasted a long 

 time. 



I must say, however, that as soon as 

 the florist found that his business was 

 a factor, he began to advertise. Even 

 to-day it is a common sight, when rid- 

 ing through the adjacent surroundings, 

 to find large bill boards advertising 

 some live florist. This was before the 

 advent of the slogan ("Say it with 

 Flowers."). 



J. Ott<) Thilow 



We cannot compare localities with- 

 out seeing a great difference. During 

 the Spanish-American War, the busi- 

 ness within the borders of the United 

 States remained as active as at other 

 times. The scene of action was in 

 Cuba and the Philippines, and other 

 remote islands. The only pressure 

 brought upon us was a light form of 

 taxation, and not enough of our man 

 power exacted from our population to 

 make a perceptible difference; being 

 also of short duration, the effect was 

 not marked. Therefore, we cannot 

 draw any comarison, as the business, 

 unhampered as it was, made its usual 

 strides in both construction "and ex- 

 pansion. 



We have had a number of problems 

 confront us during the war just closed, 

 we hope, and the effects of which are 

 still seriously under pressure, as we 



have been told that our vocation was 

 not at all in the line of importance. 

 Imagine an industry which has as- 

 sumed the proportion of our florist 

 business in this land of ours. The 

 erea covered with glass, that of grow- 

 ing in open ground, the constant need 

 of glass, heating appliances, fuel, etc. 

 The approximate estimate in 1910, 

 when the greatest increase of import- 

 ance was compiled, then the acreage 

 had increased from 9,307 to 18,248 In 

 ten years; the total valuation "being 

 $35,000,000 an Increase of 86 per cent. 

 The bulk of this increase centered 

 around the large cities of the East, and 

 in the states of New York, New Jersey, 

 and Pennsylvania, and they alone 

 made up 12,000,000 of the aggregate. 

 The most rapid increase has been in 

 the Paciflc section, which In latter 

 years has shown marvellous activity 

 in Floriculture. We see from these 

 flgures that the florist business as- 

 sumes great responsibility in the 

 financial world, and in property own- 

 ership. All of this means the devel- 

 opment of an industry, because the 

 people demand it, essential or non- 

 essential; and not because it has been 

 developed by the florist himself and 

 his advertising skill; he is very poor 

 at that, and not until the facilities 

 have warranted our production, have 

 we resorted to "Say it with Flowers". 

 It is also apparent that the largest 

 florist industries and their location, 

 indicate thickest population. It is a 

 business which must be near its con- 

 suming centres, although shipping 

 facilities have altered conditions in 

 favor against high priced properties 

 for location. 



But what have these statements to 

 do with florist business in war times? 

 A large enterprise needs constant care 

 and attention of the closest surveil- 

 lance this also applies to those of 

 limited proportions. 



Preparation for future season as In 

 no other line of commerce, as the 

 whole operation is under one's own 

 personal supervision. 



But when this is all interrupted by 

 government restriction, such as we 

 have experienced in the past eighteen 

 months: viz., the working force with- 

 drawn for military, the limited coal 

 supply, almost prohibitive prices of 

 glass, iron, lumber, and even flower 

 pots. Then' a pallor of fear spread 

 over the country to an almost strain- 

 ing point, even to a proposed closing 



