September 14, 1918 



HORTICULTUEE 



267 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS 



AND 



ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURISTS 



NATIONAL PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN. 

 The fall season for the floris; is 

 now opening. What are the prosperis 

 for good business? Are flowers in the 

 public mind? Just how these ques- 

 tions should be answered entails con- 

 siderable thought. One question 

 hinges upon the other — an affirmative 

 answer to the latter would furnish ihe 

 answer we all would desire for the 

 former. 



Supposing that, just now. flowers 

 are not in the public mind — and who 

 is optimistic enough to say they are? 

 — it would naturally occur to anyone 

 that the best thing to do would be to 

 exploit them, so that they might com- 

 hand the attention we require. Our 

 publicity committee did tliis thing just 

 prior to St. Valentine's Day this year, 

 with the result that the public "sat up 

 and took notice" — never before did 

 the florists do so much business for 

 this particular festival. The same 

 course was taken in regard to 

 Mother's Day, and the result was the 

 same — the greatest business ever done 

 in connection with this memorial day. 

 And, when we come to think of it, 

 these days are "made" days — made by 

 publicty, made by exploiting flowers 

 for use on these occasions, made by 

 effort put forth mainly by florists 

 themselves, through proper organiza- 

 tions. 



The public mind is most receptive. 

 Any idea which is properly put for- 

 ward and aggressively pushed is sure 

 of a good reception, provided it of 

 itself is good. 



The idea which we have all along 

 entertained, that the public would ac- 

 cept proper suggestions tending to a 

 wider and greater use of flowers in 

 the home, being a good one, has been 

 kindly received, and, in consequence, 

 we have enjoyed the benefit of a de- 

 mand which has surprised many of us 

 who have had regard to the depress- 

 ing influence of these wartimes. 



It is highly necessary that the work 

 of our committees which has resulted 

 in so much publicity for our products 

 should be kept up. Their efforts should 

 not be curtailed in the least: they 

 should even be greater than before. 

 We are nearing a crisis in our na- 

 tional affairs which [oints to times of 

 greater depression and, therefore, the 



need of Intensive stimulation of de- 

 mand for flowers and plants. 



We are confronted with our annual 

 avalanche of chrysanthemums, which 

 this season is expected to be abnor- 

 mally large. As we all know, this 

 crop is an expensive one to raise, and 

 its value in the aggregate is immense. 

 It must be moved, and moved proflt- 

 ably. 



Our committees are called upon, 

 through publicity channels which they 

 have planned, to assist in the effort 

 which all must put forth to get this 

 crop into the homes of the public, as 

 well as to stimulate the demand for 

 other flowers in season. 



The committees can perform their 

 part if the trade will furnish the 

 wherewithal — the amount of money 

 needed to complete the publicity cam- 

 paign fund of $50,000 which was asked 

 for at the outset. Only f 6,000 more is 

 required to insure the completion of 

 the committees' carefully thought out 

 plans for 1918. Already liability is be- 

 ing incurred looking to the consumma- 

 tion of these plans, and every penny 

 of the fund will be needed. 



Surely the florists who have not al- 

 ready subscribed will lend their help 

 by sending in at once what contribu- 

 tions they can. Many hundreds of 

 their brethren have already contrib- 

 uted generously, in many cases dupli- 

 cating subscriptions made earlier in 

 the campaign. This is no class project 

 — retailers, wholesalers and growers 

 are all benefited. 



John Young, Secy. 

 1170 Broadway, New York. 

 Sept. 7, 1918. 



GENERAL COMMITTEE ON COST 

 OF PRODUCTION. 



To the Members of the S. A. F. & 

 O. H.: 

 Fellow Members: — Following a dis- 

 cussion on present day cost of produc- 

 tion, the president was empowered to 

 appoint a committee to collect statis- 

 tics along these lines in order that a 

 production cost basis might be 

 worked out, as a means of educating 

 the grower to the prices he should 

 receive for his product in order to 

 make a living and to put his business 

 on a proper plane as a business en- 

 terprise. I will appoint a committee 

 and draft them if necessary, but first 



of all I am going to call for volun- 

 teers. If we can get a few active men 

 in every state who will be willing to 

 make a record of cost statistics in 

 their own line and permit them to be 

 used, it will render the work much 

 easier. 



Some of our very best cut flower 

 growing establishments and many of 

 our retail establishments at the pres- 

 ent time are collecting or have collect- 

 ed such statistics. These statistics, 

 of course, rightfully belong to the 

 man or parties who compiled them, 

 possibly with the expenditure of quite 

 a little money and labor, and they 

 may rightfully say — "what we have 

 collected is ours: let the other fel- 

 low look out for himself." While this 

 idea might prevail in normal times 

 these times are very abnormal and 

 every man is "his brother's keeper," 

 to the extent of helping in some way 

 to keep the "Ship of Business" afloat, 

 while the boys are "Over There." 



It will be necessary in order to get 

 a comprehensive idea as I see It to 

 collect statistics from every state. 

 Cost of fertilizer differs radically Im 

 different sections of the country as 

 does labor, coal, etc., and other items 

 that enter into the business. Thii 

 phase of knowing the cost of a crop i§ 

 not a new proposition in other lines, 

 though florists save in rare cases, 

 have no knowledge of what it costs 

 to produce a crop, and this is the first 

 element of any successful business. 



How many florists in different 

 states will agree to collect statistics 

 along these lines Eind how many will 

 agree to contribute statistics, they 

 have already collected on this most 

 important subject? 



I trust volunteers from every state 

 will answer this and then I will ap- 

 point a central committee, who will 

 make suggestions as to just how the 

 different work can be carried out. 



Brother florists, if you really want 

 to see our business brought to Its 

 proper legitimate plane, give us your 

 aid in this movement, which as one 

 florist in St. Louis remarked to me, 

 was the most vital subject he had ever 

 heard brought up at any Florists' 

 Convention. 



Chables H. Tottt, 

 President S. A. F. & O. H. 



Madison, N. J., Sept. 6, 1918. 



