270 



HORTICULTURE 



September 14, 1918 



— stock received to be sold on an 

 equal basis with that of all growers 

 doing business with the consignor. 

 Within the strict meaning of a com- 

 mission house, such house should not 

 have any stock of their own "to get 

 first attention." 



Speculation. 



No wholesaler in the cut flower 

 commission business should speculate 

 for his own account. It may be justi- 

 fied in some other commodities, as 

 fruits and vegetables, but in the cut 

 fiower commission business all sales 

 should be made to the account of the 

 consignor — deducting the usual com- 

 mission, express charges, and. where 

 circumstances permit, for any "pickled 

 stock" that customers will not pay for. 

 The grower should take into consid- 

 eration with his wholesalers the prob- 

 ability of the products he wants to 

 grow — that the same are "Good Sell- 

 ers." Growers should endeavor to 

 produce dependable, acceptable prod- 

 ucts to satisfy the retailer. "Pickling" 

 is but a temporary gain to a grower 

 and usually the permanent loss of a 

 good customer to the wholesaler, and 

 no wholesaler with a knowledge of 

 such conditions of stock should un- 

 load it at any price. When such stock 

 reaches the public the harm done usu- 

 ally costs more than many times the 

 price received in getting rid of it. 

 Regular Consignments. 



Getting stock into the wholesale 

 market in the best of condition is 

 worth all it costs to the grower in en- 

 titling him to the highest prices with 

 the least amount of trouble and effort 

 in the handling of it by the whole- 

 saler. 



Marketing Stock. 



All stock should be bunched and 

 graded to run uniform in quality. 

 Wherever practical it is advisable that 

 the stock show some mark of identity 

 of the shipper, since such stock, when 

 known to the buyer, creates a demand 

 for itself with consequent higher 

 prices. 



Poor Stock. 



Poor stock requires more attention 

 of the sales force and is usually un- 

 satisfactory to most buyers. It is to 

 be admitted the bigger the volume of 

 sales because of good stock the great- 

 er the income of commission to the 

 wholesaler. 



Grading of Roses. 



Roses should be graded uniformly 

 as to bloom and foliage — sorted out in 

 their different lengths according to 

 rule measure, 8 to 12 in. in length for 

 short, 15 to 18 in. for medium, 24 to 

 30 in. for long. That is for the grower 

 to do. The long length to be wrapped 

 up 25 to a bundle, the medium and 

 short 50 to a bundle. Any "in-be- 

 tween" lengths demanded require the 

 re-grading by the wholesaler. Such 

 grades are so marked on the consign- 

 ment sheet, in their different varie- 

 ties, and should be so sold and re- 

 ported to the grower on his "Report 

 of Sales." 



Carnations. 



Carnations are likewise bunched in 

 25, as is the custom, with an identifi- 

 cation tag to each bunch, marked in 

 their different colors on the consign- 

 ment slip, and so reported each day's 

 sales on their "Returns." With few 

 exceptions, most stock can be handled 



in this manner, resulting in fewer 

 mistakes and less losses to the 

 grower. 



Classes of Wholesaling. 

 The commission house accepts con- 

 signments to sell at best prices ob- 

 tainable less 15% commission, and re- 

 mits the proceeds. Then we have the 

 wholesaler who produces his own 

 stock and also accepts consignments 

 as well as speculates for profit above 

 the purchase price. Then we have 

 the wholesaler who creates his own 

 market and sells his own stock. 

 Others in the market make up the 

 balance "all in one," without any spe- 

 cific policy. 



The Department Store. 



Many department stores consider it 

 good advertising to attract the people 

 to their store, offering cut flowers 

 cheap, and misleading the public to 

 the belief that the legitimate retail 

 florist asks too much for his flowers. 

 "The \\Tiolesale House of the Future" 

 will not sell cut flowers to department 

 stores for such purposes as the de- 

 partment stores use them. 

 Remedy for Gluts. 



A well managed retailers' associa- 

 tion should be so organized as to re- 

 lieve the Chicago market in "Glut 

 Periods." Retailers in all parts of the 

 city could accept such proportionate 

 share as they could dispose of in their 

 community. With newspaper public- 

 ity, low prices of cut flowers would at- 

 tract buyers to retail stores every- 

 where, stimulate new business and 

 please the regular patron. 



Cost of Advertising. 



The cost of such advertising would 

 be small in comparison to results 

 achieved, 'the growers, wholesalers, 

 and a retailers' association, through 

 an advertising agency, could well 

 work out a plan of co-operative adver- 

 tising. Retailers will learn to make 

 their prices correspond to changes in 

 the wholesale market. To get flowers 

 into the hands of the public through 

 the retail florist when flowers are 

 cheap is one of the initial steps of 

 getting the public at large "To say it 

 with flowers." Profits will be just as 

 large to the retailer selling in quan- 

 tity in glut times as the profits from 

 high prices and fewer sales. The 

 commission man would then realize 

 his commission from the grower and 

 the grower would not take his losses 

 "to the dump." 



Co-operation. 



Advertising properly applied is the 

 keynote to accomplishment. "The 

 Wholesale House o" the Future" will 

 work in unison with the retailer, with 

 his growers, with his competitors, to 

 master the law of supply and demand 

 in the promotion of sales. "The 

 Wholesale House of the Future," in 

 doing its advertising to reach the deal- 

 ers, should be a "Booster" for the 

 Chicago market. No advertising at 

 any time should show discredit to any 

 one or more competitors. We must 

 keep business coming to Chicago. 



Cut Flower Orders. 



Standing orders — mail orders, tele- 

 grams, telephone, or orders filled by 

 personal selection, must reach desti- 

 nation in a satisfactory condition to 

 uphold a profitable market. While the 

 very perishable nature of the goods 



brings about uncertainties, expected 

 difficulties will naturally arise at 

 times to the quality of the stock. It 

 is a good rule to accept the statement 

 in good faith of an approved customer 

 who has cause to complain, and it is 

 best to rectify such complaints to re- 

 tain the good will of the buyer. 



Business Principles. 



"The Wholesale House of the Fu- 

 ture" will have to conform to defined 

 business principles as are seen in 

 other organized commercial indus- 

 tries. We have in our midst several 

 examples of such wholesaling. A 

 wholesale house can expect the re- 

 spect of its position in the trade only 

 as it has the full confidence of the 

 growers and retailers. It cannot be 

 fair to the grower unless it is fair to 

 the retailer. 



Regulation of Market. 



Only in mobilizing the resources of 

 the Chicago market can we hope to 

 obtain such regulation as will best 

 serve the needs of the grower toward 

 higher prices. Make buying in this 

 market so inviting and prove up the 

 standard strength of our "Productive 

 Power." Let us make it easier for 

 city retailer and distant buyer to buy 

 cut flowers from this market because 

 it is cheaper to get them from the 

 Chicago market than it is for the re- 

 tailer to grow them for himself. 

 Burden of Overhead. 



To reduce a part of the "Burden of 

 Overhead" of the wholesaler because 

 of duplication of efforts and fixed ex- 

 penses would it not be expedient to 

 consolidate some of our wholesale 

 growers with that of smaller growers, 

 as represented through the commis- 

 sion house, and begin the day that 

 will add to our market "The Whole- 

 sale House of the Future?" 



Consolidation. 

 Less wholesale houses and better 

 ones. Each big enough to do things 

 as they ought to be done. That will 

 aid towards equalizing the prices, to 

 serve the retailer, and provide a guar- 

 antee of prices to "Keep up" the earn- 

 ings of the grower. Growers, large 

 and small, with the retailer, bring 

 about an understanding on different 

 phases of this market. Harmony will 

 prevail among all classes of the trade. 

 That is the wish of the "Wholesale 

 House of the Future." 



Organization. 



It is hardly necessary in the year 

 of 1318 to present arguments for trade 

 organization. They have demonstrated 

 their usefulness, banding together 

 those who have common interests. 

 Apparently, the grower, consignor and 

 the retailer in Chicago have no inter- 

 est in common. The better under- 

 standing toward each individual mem- 

 ber brings about unlimited possibili- 

 ties to do good. The future expan- 

 sion, the present protection of the cut 

 flower industry in all its branches, re- 

 quires organization. Uniformity, stan- 

 dardization with a constant alertness 

 towards progressiveness, will make 

 the cut flower industry a greater in- 

 fluence in the business world. Where 

 individuals take years to bring about 

 changes, to check abuses or to make 

 improvements, such improvements can 

 be done in a few months by Organ- 

 ization. 



