474 



HORTICULTURE 



October 4, 1913 



Of Interest to Retail 

 Florists 



FLORISTS' TELEGRAPH DELIVERY. 

 A Factor in Progress. 



With reference to the Florists' Tele- 

 graph Delivery Association, I want to 

 say that it eventually will give pres- 

 tige and power to all its members who 

 have the foresight to increase the 

 membership by bringing in new appli- 

 cants, and also to bear in mind not 

 only new members, but the character 

 and quality of the members. 



If properly developed, we have one 

 of the most important factors for prog- 

 ress which our business has developed 

 in recent years. This slogan, "Mem- 

 ber of the Florists' Telegraph Delivery 

 Association," if used on all your cor- 

 respondence, advertisements, or even 

 on your own glass fronts, will have the 

 effect of inducing patrons to ask what 

 the object is, and by knowledge of its 

 doings, etc., you will impress them 

 with such information as will surely 

 be the means of new business in this 

 direction. It could be made in due 

 time to carry as much dignity in being 

 a member of the F. T. D. in connec- 

 tion with flowers, as there is in being 

 a stock broker and a member of the 

 stock exchange. In other words, the 

 F. T. D. could be to the florist as the 

 stock exchange is to the broker. This 

 can eventually be worked out when 

 we have sufficient members in good 

 standing in all cities and towns 

 throughout our country, properly im- 

 bued with the fact that it Is not alone 

 organized for financial gain, but also 

 for convenience to one another, as well 

 as to our customers in time of emer- 

 gencies, etc. 



Fill Orders Considerately. 

 This is one of the points we must 

 not lose sight of, that we should, it 

 necessary, fill an order for our brother 

 florist even at no profit to ourselves, so 

 that the order is filled creditably. It 

 will eventually be the means of more 

 business, and in that way will be a 

 gain in the end. Of course, these prob- 

 lems can be worked out later, as we 

 become better acquainted by meeting 

 one another at conventions and flower 

 shows, so that we can better give our 

 views and experiences in filling orders 

 on hurry calls, as wp are asked to do 

 and are asking others to do. I merely 

 mention this because only last week, 

 one of our patrons loft a small order 

 to be delivered in a small town in 

 New Jersey, and we telegraphed same 

 to our good brother florist, and he 

 filled the order after having to send 

 his automobile some fifteen miles over 

 the road specially with this package, 

 as he would not have had time to 

 catch the funeral any other way. We 

 surely appreciated the service, and 

 immediately sent a letter of gratitude 

 as well as check for his courtesy. 



Securing New Business. 

 We have used the lines: "Flowers 

 delivered in all parts of the United 

 States at one hour's notice," and "Mem- 

 bers of the Florists' Telegraph Deliv- 



ery Association," with great results as 

 a footnote in all our advertisements in 

 the daily and Sunday papers in our 

 city. This has been the means of 

 bringing new business which we feel 

 is partly due to this method. We have 

 never kept any record of our business 

 in this direction, but hardly a day 

 passes but what we send out from 

 three to a dozen orders to all parts of 

 the U. S. As this is but the beginning 

 of what may some day be one of the 

 most important factors in a growing 

 business, one can readily see the ne- 

 cessity of having a chain of good men 

 and good stores to accomplish our pur- 

 pose. 



Tbe telegraph companies in due time 

 will be only too glad to co-operate with 

 us and give us whatever benefits we 

 may want by way of special service or 

 code, if we show results with our asso- 

 ciation. I have already been ap- 

 proached by representatives of the tele- 

 graph companies for information about 

 this orp^anization. Not too much cred- 

 it can be given the organizers and offi- 

 cers of the association for the good 

 work they have accomplished in so 

 short a time. It shows clearly that 

 we have the right men, but simply 

 need the numbers to accomplish our 

 purpose. 



An Emblem Needed. 



Another factor in the interest of the 

 F. T. D. most important, is the need 

 of an emblem, same to be copyrighted 

 and used whenever and wherever pos- 

 sible, something similar to the idea 

 now being used by Mackay-Bennet 

 Cable Company for instance. I would 

 suggest that members get ideas suit- 

 able for such a purpose and send them 

 to our secretary, who could at the an 

 nual meeting refer them to the Board 

 of Directors for approval. Another 

 suggestion would be to have one or 

 more good advertising experts invited 

 at our annual meetings who could en- 

 lighten us on subjects pertaining to 

 our line of business. We could all 

 benefit by such talks, and our associa- 

 tion could, without doubt, procure the 

 most able speakers without much diffi- 

 culty. Would also suggest that our 

 secretary have papers read on subjects 

 tending to uplift and incidently point 

 out some of the evils now prevalent 

 which could be easily eradicated. 



HEi«RY Pbnn. 



Boston, Mass. 



A GLIMPSE OF WAVERLEY, MASS. 



Wlicn you say "Waverley." you think 

 of "Kdgar." Can't help it. Going any- 

 where near Waverley, now, one not 

 only thinks but sees it — "Edgar Co." 

 embroidered perpendicularly in black 

 brick on the new 100-ft. chimney of 

 yellow tile, which, just completed, 

 makes a marked feature of the land- 

 scape. This smoke stack, 8 ft. in di- 

 ameter at the base, is part of a new 

 heating equipment installed this sea- 

 son, including two giant Kroeschell 

 boilers, new mains and rearrangement 

 of pipes throughout, as well as some 

 rebuilding which, next season, will be 

 undertaken on a larger scale. Among 

 the improvements made this year is a 

 capacious "coal-hole," 20 ft. deep, with 

 cement walls, into which 240 tons of 

 coal have been dumped as a starter. 



The chrysanthemum houses show a 

 very healthy, sturdy lot of the best 

 varieties for the Boston market. These 

 are Golden Glow, which sold well this 

 season and is about finished, Early 

 Snow, White and Yellow Tousset, Wm. 

 Duckham, Dr. Enguehard, Alice Byron, 

 Chrysolora, Timothy Eaton, Unaka. 

 Roman Gold, Honnaffon, Pacific Su- 

 preme and Halliday. Anyone wishing 

 A list of profitable first-class commer- 

 cial varieties can safely tie to the fore- 

 going. Pot plants, in 6-in. pots, will 

 also be fine this year, stocky and load- 

 ed with bloom. 



After the chrysanthemums are dis- 

 posed of the benches will be devoted to 

 azaleas of which some 75 cases are just 

 in port at Boston, mainly the Christ- 

 mas bloomers. A lot of Firefly and 

 others amounting to several thousands 

 are in frames, having been left over 

 from last season and planted out, and 

 look superior in many respects to 

 freshly imported plants. It pays to 

 keep and care for them here for one 

 season. 



Poinsettias are a leading specialty 

 here and are seen in pots singly or in 

 pans — three plants to a 6 or 8-in. pan, 

 five to a 10-in. pan, etc. Cyclamen and 

 Lorraine begonias are extensively 

 grown and will be in prime bloom for 

 Christmas if shipped now and grown 

 along. Genistas are very fine, all pot- 

 grown as the preferable way. Small 

 ferns occupy a large space and are 

 having a heavy sale this season as are 

 Dracaena indivisa, pot-grown, of which 

 there are thousands. 



