IK) i; 11 CULTURE 



January &. 1918 



ferred to more ofteu than any other niuu iii the business 

 II.S a concrete example of the jwwer of successful adver- 

 tisiiip. TheSociety will spend JflO^OOO for this riunpiiij,ni. 

 It is Xntion-widc and in ex|)ert hands and is going to 

 i)onefit every florist in the country, which is why I say 

 that any florist who does not join the S. A. F. is not 

 doing his share and is a drag on the progressive man 

 wlui docs belong. Brother Florist, if you would ever 

 have your business attain its proper place and dignity, 

 vou must let the world know what you arc doing and 

 bow vou are doing it. This is particularly essential at 

 this time when people are cutting off so-called "lux- 

 uries." The time when flowers could be classed a.s 

 •'luxuries'' is gone by. WHietber used at the bedside of 

 the sick, carrying a message of hope and cheer and mak- 

 ing the patient forget for a time his physical infirmi- 

 ties or gracing tlie wedding of the 'Hilushing bride," or 

 toning down the stark, cold hands of death, flowers have 

 a distinct mission, educating and refining our people 

 and diverting their minds from the gruesome details of 

 war and the daily annoyance of business life. Again the 

 florist — and his name is legion — who devotes part of his 

 greenhouses to the raising of tomatoes, cabbage and 

 young vegetable plants for spring sales is doing as much 

 in his way as any other industry engaged in winning the 

 war, and this point cannot be too strongly emphasized 

 on occasions where florists are referred to as "non- 

 essential." 



The big event of the coming year will of course be 

 the National Flower Show in St. Louis, during the 

 month of April. Coming as it does in conjunction with 

 the regular Convention lof the S. A. F. ^d 0, H.. it 

 should bring not only a record-breaking Attendance at 

 the Convention, but the most successful , show we have 

 so far held. This is easily possible, Brother Florists, 

 if you will all "pull togethei-" and everyone will do his 

 share for the success of this enterprise. Previous ex- 

 hibitions have always been successful and left an indeli- 

 ble mark of progress on horticulture in the particular 



sections where tbey have been held. There is no rea- 

 son at all why St. Louis should not take its place at the 

 head of the procession. A successful Flower Show will 

 help materially the Publicity Campaign, since it will 

 give excellent coi)y to all the newspapers and the two 

 purposes will mo.-t successfully co-ordinate. 



To the pessimistic florist who sees nothing but 

 trouble ahead for our business during the coming year, 

 1 would say in tiie words of Patrick Henry — "We con 

 only judge the future liy the past." The Euroi)ean 

 countries at war the past four years still report excellent 

 business in the florists' trade. It is only natural that 

 this should be as flowers furnish an antidote for the 

 sickening details of the war and its consequences. 



Now, as President of the S. A. F. and 0. 11., I want 

 every florist in the Society, no matter how small his 

 business, to feel that the interest of one is the interest 

 of all. The Executive Board will meet in St. Louis in 

 .lanuary to map out the business of the Convention in 

 April and any member of the S. A. F., who has any 

 suggestions to offer or advice to ask, I want them to 

 write me and I will see that the matter is brought to 

 the attention of the Executive Board and proper recog- 

 nition given it. 



"As a man thinketh, so he is," is a true saying and 

 every florist if he will radiate optimism and "good 

 cheer" from his person will find it reflected in a marked 

 manner in his "cash register." To those timorous souls 

 who cannot sec the "silver lining" I would remind them 

 of the good old hymn— 



"You trembling Saints, fresh courage take. 

 The clouds you so much dread 

 .\re big with Mercy and will break 

 In lilpssiiiL's on vour bead." 



^M^//^ 



S, A. F. Prospectus for 1918 



The work of the Society during the 

 year 1918 will be unusually active and 

 Ukely to result in much benefit to the 

 trade in all its branches. Two very 

 important undertakings which will be 

 pushed to completion are the National 

 Flower Show in St. Louis, April 6-15, 

 and the first season's work in the cam- 

 paign for Publicity for Flowers. Other 

 important work w^ill be in connection 

 with preliminaries looking to the es- 

 tablishment of the proposed Credits 

 and Collections Bureau; the commit- 

 tee having this project in charge is 

 now organized, with R. C. Kerr of 

 Houston, Texas, as chairman. 



There never was a time in the his- 

 tory of the Society when membership 

 carried with it more advantages. I 



would say to those who are not al- 

 ready on our membership roll that our 

 work is purely altruistic, and in the 

 interests of the entire trade and aux- 

 iliary lines as well. The dues are 

 very small and out of all proportion 

 to the immense benefit derived by 

 each and every florist in this broad 

 land. There is no reason why we 

 should not embrace in our fold every 

 real florist— for the results of our 

 good work must be shared individu- 

 ally, therefore it behooves all to be- 

 come a part of the machine that pro- 

 duces such results. At least add your 

 mite to show your appreciation of our 

 labors. 



The arrangements for the Fifth Na- 

 tional Flower Show, to be held in St. 



Louis, April 6-15 next, are rapidly ap- 

 proaching completion. It will be held 

 in Moolah Temple and an especially 

 constructed annex. Jloor plans cover- 

 ing the Trade Exhibition in connec- 

 tion with the Show have been prepared 

 and sent out. and judging from the in- 

 terest already shown in this exhibi- 

 tion, it will be the largest of the 

 series heretofore carried out under 

 the auspices of the Society. It Is 

 quite natural that we should expect 

 this to be the case, as our Annual 

 Convention will be held in conjunction 

 ^vith the Show. Copies of the floor 

 plan are available, and may be had on 

 application to the Secretary's ofllce. 

 The competitive exhibits promise to 

 be large in scope, and will be drawn 

 from all sections of the country, even 

 from abroad. The local committees 

 in charge of the various details are 

 working most ardently, and, without 



