618 



HORTICULTURE 



December 15, 1917 



but how little removed are we from 

 the safety limit either way? A degree 

 more at nlpht for two or three niRhts 

 or 52° for a lonper period at hIkIiI will 

 surely weaken stock and Mowers In al- 

 most no time and little Improvement 

 will ever take place aBaln. In fact 

 the market does not want nor need 

 those long-leRged. soft Hewers with 

 wishy-washy tints and hanging their 

 head. Yet too many growers are to- 

 day wasting coal this way. "iCi" from 

 7 till midnight. AS from midnight 

 until 5 a. m.. and then by degrees, 

 up slowly, will save tons of coal and 

 will wonderfully Improve plants and 

 flowers, also their sale and give satis- 

 faction to buyers. But for my part I 

 have no objection, rather like It, 

 if the plants have 50° from dark 

 until about 10 p. m,. 48° for the 

 rest of the night until about 5 

 a. m.. and if the weather Is any- 

 where near 20° outside and raw. let 

 them go to 47°. even 46°. for an hour 

 or two or three after midnight. As 



far as I can see. there will not be less 

 flowers, but they look like the real 

 thing and will stand banging around. 

 The lilani and flowers also will not 

 mind It. rather like It. If for some rea- 

 son or other a real sunny day pushes 

 the merriiry In the tube up above 

 what wp like to see it at. Plants kept 

 like that will quickly resi)ond to u 

 little higher temi)erature for Chrlst- 

 nuis and will not resent It much, but 

 the 51' sl.ssy will kick up if you rub 

 it In some more and then balk for 

 good. Me for cool carnations. 



We win only mention the difference 

 in the cuttings and red spider. Give 

 mo the cool ones and the blue ones. 



Even if on account of severe and 

 cloudy weather the cool plants should 

 hang back a few flowers per bench for 



a day or two. they will burst out with 

 111"" sun anil at any time will outsell 

 and outlast the incubator kind. 



The time when better flowers that 

 keel) longer are raised for less money- 

 Is surely coming and this present ex- 

 asiierating shortage in the coal sup- 

 I)ly will put many a flower grower to 

 the fliuil test. I mean a grower will 

 have to know how to save the last cent 

 in his business or go under. What Is 

 more, anyone being forced to let go 

 now, will probably And entirely and 

 mostly new and different conditions to 

 tackle and overcome before he can 

 find a footing again. I say, let every- 

 one do some tall thinking and then 

 some solid acting. We can and should 

 save a lot of coal and very likely we 

 will have to, so let us go at It, 



t^c^^((^^ /y/i-^^^^??<?^t,ii^i_^ 



NATIONAL BUSINESS BUILDING 



FOR NURSERYMEN 



By Joseph J. Lane of Garden Magazine and Country Life. 



Some day soon the nurserymen are 

 going to wake up and discover that 

 they have been missing some of the 

 biggest opportunities ever offered an 

 industry. 



At Detroit, a year ago, and again at 

 Philadelphia last June, at their con- 

 vention, they listened to considerable 

 talk about advertising — in fact the 

 subject was talked to death. 



One alleged advertising man even 

 went on record as urging them not to 

 advertise — but to hire a press agent as 

 he called "it," or as we know the in- 

 dividual referred to "a space grafter." 

 This same suggestion came before a 

 meeting of the Ornamental Growers 

 Association several years ago — and 

 fortunately for them, the business men 

 present ignored the suggestion of one 

 of these "Press Agents." 



The profession of advertising and 

 merchandising is worth paying for 

 when you want advice that's worth 

 paying for. The only thing you get 

 for nothing is something that is worth 

 nothing.. 



National Nursery advertising is pos- 

 sible — even as the same has been pos- 

 sible for the lumber associations, 

 cement associations, California Fruit 

 Growers— various cattle associations, 



and others — too long a list to repeat 

 here. The successes achieved by these 

 organizations are fitting proof of the 

 possibilities of co-operation in mer- 

 chandising effort in other lines. 



Let's stop referring to it as "Na- 

 tional Nursery Publicity" that isn't 

 what you fellows want. You want Na- 

 tional co-operative merchandising — 

 whether it comes to mean advertising 

 ideas properly used, co-operative cata- 

 logue building, trade-extension reports, 

 or a million and one other things that 

 will come along after you once get 

 started. 



"After you once get started." There's 

 the rub. You'll never get anywhere by 

 talking. It's by doing things that they 

 become realities. You all know, or 

 ought to know, that the idea of co-op- 

 erative sales effort is a good thing for 

 you. The next step Is to pay some- 

 body to study your sales possibilities, 

 so that some tangible plan may be 

 presented you as a basis for a start. 



Retain the services of a real busi- 

 ness man with merchandising experi- 

 ence on a big scale, preferably a man 

 who doesn't know the nursery business 

 — (and by that suggestion, I Imply 

 that a man would be handicapped by 

 too much knowledge of the way the 



business has been conducted in the 

 past). Retain a man of vision, ideals, 

 and initiative. Pay enough to get a 

 real man. 



Initiate a fund with all the nursery- 

 men's associations starting it with 

 actual contributions payable into a 

 common treasury on a certain date. 

 Invite investments in this fund by all 

 nurserymen. 



Then let your Mr. Merchandising 

 Man make his survey of the industry, 

 let there be appointed a group of men 

 like Mayhew of Texas, Watson of New 

 York. Pierson of Connecticut, and At- 

 kins of New Jersey, to advise with 

 him. Atkins is the man who touched 

 off the fuse of the publicity at the re- 

 cent Florists' convention, and got them 

 started, ahead of you nurserymen. 



After fourteen year's experience we 

 tell you that this "Merchandising Ex- 

 pert," "Survey of Industry," "Assocla^ 

 tions starting fund," etc., plan is your 

 quickest method of action, and the 

 wiser course. 



When you get a man to run your 

 campaign who searches for facts, and 

 then bases his actions on these facts, 

 you will have a man whom you can 

 entrust with responsibility — who can 

 make good without the impediment of 

 everyone trying to run his job for him 

 —and you'll get results. 



What are you going to do about it? 

 If you're alive to the situation will 

 you write to us, and let us join hands 

 to start something? Let us hear from 

 you. 



BOOM YOUR BUSINESS 



il/ adMftuMf ymit fM^ M (Ac 



Horticulture 



Pubiicity among the kind of readers reached 

 by this paper is THE SORT OF PUBLI- 

 CITY THAT PAYS. 



