470 



II R T I C U L TURE 



November 29, 1919 



CARNATION LADDIE 



STRONG CLEAN CUTTINGS 



NO WAITING CAN SHIP TOMORROW 



$10 per lOO $90 per lOOO 



L. J. REUTER CO. 



IS Cedar Street, Watertown P. O. 



BOSTON, MASS. 



PROSPECTS OF THE COMING 

 SEASON. 



By Arthur Ne.ssen. 



At the last meeting of the Lancaster 

 County Florists' Association Arthur 

 Neissen made a talk which has 

 aroused much interest, In part it was 

 as follows: 



First there is no doubt in my mind, 

 but thai the season will be a very sat- 

 isfactory one. Your share of what- 

 ever prosperity is in store for us will 

 be in prcpjrtion to the efiort that you 

 have put forth to produce it. The laws 

 of compensation are not likely to per- 

 mit you to share to a larger extent. 



Some people look to the government 

 to cure all social unrest and business 

 disturbances. The experiment in most 

 cases has been a sad failure. We wel- 

 come any legislation of a constructive 

 nature, but we should resent govern- 

 ment interference with business. Un- 

 fortunately the people are still sending 

 politicians to Washington to manage 

 our national affairs, instead of busi- 

 ness men who are better qualified to 

 understand the needs of the country. 



Through our trade organization, 

 such ns the Society of American Flor- 

 ists the Florists' Telegraph Delivery 

 and many local clubs, we have aimed 

 to create a more favorable understand- 

 ing among members of the trade and 

 the different branches of our business. 

 It has been their endeavor to procure 

 close co-operation and undoubtedly 

 much good has been accomplished. 



The F. T. D. has probably accom- 

 plished more in that direction than 

 any other effort, for the reason that 

 the benefits derived are traceable to 

 actual visible results. When an F. T. 

 D. Florist receives a telegram in the 

 morning for a $25.00 order, there is no 

 question in his mind that the F. T. D. 

 is a good institution, the actual facts 

 are in evidence. 



There has been a great deal of dis- 

 cussion about the uplift of our busi- 

 ness, how to increase sales, improve 

 working conditions and a hundred 

 other subjects. Who is going to right 

 all the wrongs? Who is the big leader 

 among us that will be our standard 

 bearer and show us the way? Is 

 there such a man in our profession? 

 I say yes, thousands of them, if only 

 each and every one of our profession 

 will see his duty to himself, to his 

 neighbor, and to his business. Every- 

 body should set his own house in or- 

 der and the rest would be compara- 

 tively easy. 



The great trouble Is, we complain 

 because nothing is being done. What 

 are you doing to help build your own 

 and your neighbor's business? What 

 a-e you doing to elevate our profes- 

 sion to make it more attractive for the 

 young men and women that will carry 

 on our business in the future? What 

 are you doing to make our business 

 bls\ser and more profitable? You have 

 the opportunity every day and every 

 minute of the day. Doing your duty — 

 tli:it is the solution. 



Co-operation means nothing unless 

 you personally are co-operating. An 

 advertising campaign misses its mark 

 comnlPtPly. unless you are a part and 

 parcel of the campaign. Unless the 

 public can see a reflection of the na- 



tional advertising campaign in your 

 store, you are losing the benefits of 

 the advertising. 



The S. A. F., our national publicity 

 campaign can do nothing for you un- 

 less you are willing to do something 

 yourself. Sometimes we hear an argu- 

 ment that only the big retail stores 

 are being benefited by national pub- 

 licity. Admitting that they are being 

 benefited, it is only to the extent that 

 they are taking advantage of the op- 

 portunity that exists for all alike. 

 Every florist or group of florists should 

 do some local advertising and if the 

 local effort is linked together with the 

 national publicity, there is bound to be 

 satisfactory results. Every florist in 

 the country should be a subscriber to 

 the National Publicity Campaign, but 

 that is not sufficient. You must work 

 along with the publicity campaign. 

 Any collective movement gives you an 

 opportunity to participate in its bene- 

 fits but unless you take advantage of 

 that opportunity you can not expect to 

 accomplish anything. 



We often hear the remark that we 

 must educate the public to the use of 

 flowers. But first of all let us educate 

 ourselves to the point that we thor- 

 oughly understand our own business. 

 Some years ago I expressed a thought 

 that the S. A. F. should start a cam- 

 paign of education among the retail 

 florists. Have three days' sessions at 

 some central point and bring all the 

 florists from the neighboring cities to- 

 gether and have an educational ses- 

 sion. Show them by actual demon- 

 stration how to link the national pub- 

 licity campaign with their own busi- 

 ness; teach them any thing new In the 

 business — the correct margin of profit, 

 thp value of local advertising or any 



