372 



HORTICULTURE 



November 1, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



Established by William J. Stewart In ISO! 



VOL. XXX 



NOVEMBER 1, 1919 



NO. 18 



l"l Itl.isil I n WEEKLY BY 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

 78 Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor. 

 Telephone Fort 11111 S601 



ADVERTISING BAKES: 



r»r lneh, SO Inches to page *1.*« 



Discount on Contracts for consecutive insertions, as follows: 



One month (* times) , 5 per cent.; three months (18 times), 10 

 per cent.; six months (26 times), 20 per Mat. ; one year (5* Mmea), 

 *• per cent. 



Page and half page space, not consecutive, rates on application. 



SUBSCRIPTION BATES: 



One Tear, In advance, tl.UO; To Foreign Countries, 13.00; To 



Canada, SI .60. 



Entered as second-class matter December 8, 1904, at the Post Ofttes 

 tt Boston, Mass., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. 



One of the most remarkable features of 

 Advertising the Buffalo Convention was the advertis- 

 flowers ln g done in the local papers on the Sun- 

 day previous. It might well be taken as 

 a text for a sermon on the possibilities of "Say It with 

 Flowers" week. The full page with an ornamental bor- 

 der which the florists succeeded in having published was 

 exceedingly attractive, and the message which it con- 

 veyed must have brought home to thousands of readers 

 a new suggestion as to the opportunity for sending floral 

 tokens of friendship, remembrance, or condolence by 

 means of telegraph delivery. The introduction was a 

 gem. Let us quote it for those who did not read it in 

 the original: 



"Cupid has gone into partnership with the florists, 

 for the Florist Telegraph Delivery Association is its 

 new side partner, and now the little God of Love is per- 

 fectly delighted as he dances over the telegraph wires in 

 an abandonment of glee as the messages of love and good 

 will flash by him. He is in his element with flowers for 

 he has alv/ays used them as his most enticing weapon. 

 It is said that he always hides his arrows in a rose, and 

 how could he get his roses if it were not for a florist, so 

 that is the way they came to combine in a partnership." 

 Mrs. Ella Grant Wilson is certainly to be congratu- 

 lated on the article which she prepared for this remark- 

 able page, the preparation of which marked a new era 

 in the relations of the florists with the newspapers, and 

 through them with the public. The florists of Buffalo 

 backed up the page with excellent advertisements, that 

 of Palmer being particularly effective, not only for its 

 size but because of the direct way in which it told its 

 story. This advertisement started off as follows : 



"Over the wires. 

 A novel flower service. 

 Flowers by telegraph. 



"How often have you wished to send flowers to mother, 

 wife or sweetheart, or some sick friend in a distant city. 

 Until recent years you could not do so because the dis- 

 tance was too great and flowers were perishable. 



"\nu there is a way. We a re members of the florists' 

 tel graph delivery which is an established association of 

 reliable florists guaranteeing immediate delivery of fresh 

 flowers upon receipt of telegraph orders from fellow 

 members. You can come to > ■ i t her of our two stores, 

 select your flowers and we will wire your order as you 

 specify to our correspondent florist in the city you desig- 

 nate, and he will deliver your flowers just as we would." 



Anderson, in his advertisement, somewhat amplified 

 this message. He said, "The florists' telegraph delivery 

 system reaches to every nook and corner of the civilized 

 world. You may leave your order here at the Anderson 

 stores and as quickly as the telegraph can convey the 

 message, flowers will be delivered in any city of the 

 United States from Maine to California and from the 

 Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. This system of 

 floral delivery is more than national — it is international. 

 Suppose you have a friend, a loved one, in London, 

 Copenhagen, Paris, or one of the principal cities in 

 South America. An order placed here will cable prompt 

 delivery of the choicest blooms to just the individual 

 that you desire to reach anywhere in the wide world." 



Now if the florists are going to make a big success of 

 "Say It with Flowers" week, they will need to use the 

 newspapers. This ought to be an educational project. 

 Horticulture has long expressed the belief that adver- 

 tising to be effective should make definite statements 

 whicli will hold the attention of the readers, giving them 

 something to think about and suggesting to them an 

 opportunity or a want of which they had not already 

 thought. If advertising is worth paying for, it is worth 

 putting considerable thought into. 



Probably it is safe to say that there are few Sunday 

 newspapers in the country which would not be willing 

 to publish as ^a matter of popular interest and without 

 any compensation a well illustrated article dealing with 

 the production of flowers in the particular city where 

 it happens to be published, provided that the material is 

 furnished it. This is one of the best ways to obtain 

 publicity for "Say It with Flowers" w.eek. The news- 

 papers should be given advance notice of the different 

 plans which are to be carried out, such as parades, the 

 distribution of flowers to hospitals, and so on. In addi- 

 tion, though, there should be a special Sunday article. 

 This article might contain information about the num- 

 ber of people engaged in flower growing in the neigh- 

 borhood, the amount of space devoted to flowers under 

 glass, the numbers of roses, carnations and other cut 

 blooms sent to market daily, and a description of the 

 flower markets themselves. All this would be along the 

 lines of the ordinary special articles which newspapers 

 are glad to obtain. The photographs might show the 

 interiors of some of the large rose or carnation houses, 

 a view in the market in the busiest time, the packing of 

 flowers for shipment, and specimens of the best known 

 roses, 'mums, etc. 



Special emphasis is laid upon this feature because 

 while much may be done in other ways which will be 

 reported as current news, the public may not co-ordi- 

 nate the whole campaign or receive an impetus which 

 will make them flower buyers unless the general features 

 of the whole plan are put before them in the printed 

 word. In the larger cities it may be worth while to 

 appoint a press agent to serve during the week and to 

 see that advantage is taken of every opportunity to bring 

 the value and uses of flowers to the public's attention. 



