376 



HORTICULTUEE 



April 19, 1919 



ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS. 



A paper read by Edward Williams, of 

 Grand Island, Neb., at the annual meet- 

 ing of tbe Nebraska State Florists' Society. 



The record of the largest green- 

 house in the country today includes 

 the fact that it was started on a 

 email scale. Nearly all within hearing 

 of my voice — I dare say all of you — 

 started with a few dollars, a great 

 deal of nerve and that determined "I 

 will"; and here you are today. Of 

 course, some of us have not succeed- 

 ed as well as others we know, but we 

 do know one thing, and that is this: 

 That anyone who thinks it is a snap 

 to embark on a small scale in the 

 flower business has another guess 



coming. 



Conditions today are different from 

 what they were twenty-five years ago, 

 when most of us started. The florist 

 —I should say, the hothouse man- 

 was small fry in a community. The 

 neighbors were always ill-humored 

 with him. If he did not smoke them 

 out with his tobacco stems about 

 twice a week, he would wake them up 

 In the "wee sma' hours" of a zero 

 morning to ask them for the loan of 

 their largest lamp; and if they had 

 two, he would take both of them, for 

 "that old flue is not drawing well." 

 Of course, being up all night was all 

 right; it had to be. Of course, the 

 watering and firing had to be looked 

 after the next day, besides the hitch- 

 ing up of old Dobbin to deliver that 

 25-cent bouquet to Mrs. Maloney, for 

 she was going to entertain the Ladies' 

 Aid that day. And when he got back, 

 he would find that someone had been 

 in and ordered a $2 wreath. Natur- 

 ally, he missed his dinner, but that 

 would be all right, too. 



When evening comes our florist 

 covers the frames and is ready to eat 

 that evening meal. Oh, boy! How he 

 will shovel that food down! He sits 

 down and proceeds to get busy, when 

 there comes a rap at the door. 

 A Bearer of Bad News 



"Is Mr. Jones in? Well, I thought 

 I would stop to let you know that 

 some boys have broken out several 

 glasses in your roof." 



The caller is thanked. Out goes the 

 florist, grabbing up all the gunny 

 sacks he can carry. After looking 

 after that operation, he returns to the 



good wife, who is warming over that 

 plate of victuals he left half devoured. 

 Great life! 



The years roll along. Johnnie is 

 growing to be a big boy and he does 

 nearly all the delivering. The wife 

 has taken hold of the cut flower end 

 of the business; a college boy takes 

 care of the night firing for his board 

 and room. Things are getting a little 

 easier for father. The silver clouds 

 are just breaking through; "dad" 

 does not get up nights any more. 



Later: The florist has a steady 

 fireman. There is no more delivering, 

 for he has a delivery boy. No, mother 

 does not work any more; an experi- 

 enced salesman has taken her place. 

 Father does not pull that smudge can 

 around; he does not have to cover up 

 the coldframes— the foreman looks 

 after all that. Johnnie takes care of 

 the business end. What does father 

 do? Nothing. Oh! What a glorious 

 feeling. 



Now, you all know that these few 

 remarks of mine describe the steps 

 that most of us have taken in climb- 

 ing up the ladder of success. Some 

 of us have come through with a few 

 less scars than others. Some have 

 fallen by the wayside. I will close 

 this rambling of mine by stating that 

 I know and you know of men who 

 have made more money, lived better, 

 and have not worked every member 

 of the household to make it, as the 

 small beginner in the floral business 

 has. All of us are entitled to all we 

 have or will make. And I think that 

 when we get beyond the river, the 

 small beginner will be in the front 

 row. 



Practical Suggestions 



Getting down to the subject of how 

 to make a small greenhouse pay, I will 

 give you a few facts as to what to ex- 

 pect when you start in a small way. 

 To begin with, these are days of 

 specialists. My advice to a beginner 

 would be to grow one thing and grow 

 it well. He should start on carnations 

 sweet peas and bedding plants, filling 

 in at different seasons by following up 

 with a summer crop of early tomatoes, 

 cucumbers, asters, etc., in that way 

 working his capital the year around. 

 Of course, the coldframes can be 

 used to good advantage at all times. 

 The cut from a small place would be 

 best disposed of to the retail stores. 

 I am referring to a beginner in a city 

 where the competition is keen at all 

 times. There a man must know where 

 he is. It is better to be safe than 

 sorry. Always hold up your standard 

 for a square deal. Know what it 

 costs you to grow your stock and get 

 a price that will leave you a profit on 

 your investment. Cheapness never 



gets one anywhere. Study your lines, 

 so as to be prepared to make sugges- 

 tions along different lines, such as 

 laying out a lawn, planting shrubbery, 

 and where to make flower beds so 

 that they will do best. Get your cus- 

 tomers to understand that you are 

 working for their interest. Last, but 

 not least, get paid for it, for the up- 

 keep in the flower business, I dare 

 say, is above the average; besides, 

 there is the risk in handling perish- 

 able goods. 



If you are a small beginner in a 

 small town, absolutely different meth- 

 ods have to be used, for in that case 

 the florist caters to his own retail 

 trade and has to govern his plantings 

 accordingly. A mixed line that would 

 enable him to fill almost any order for 

 any occasion, and a connection that 

 would make it possible for him to get 

 goods to fill his orders on short notice, 

 are desirable. The one big mistake 

 many have made is that after getting 

 started, they want to increase too 

 fast, thereby getting into debt, paying 

 big interest and overstocking. Of 

 course, I realize that "nothing ven- 

 tured, nothing gained;" but there is a 

 limit, and one should know where that 

 limit is. 



Florists Born, Not Made 



A florist is not made. A man must 

 have a love for the profession to stick 

 to it. He has to be able to stand set- 

 backs; he has, at all times, to hold 

 himself in readiness for any emerg- 

 ency, for there is much grief attached 

 to all business. 



Treat your employees with respect 

 and give them to understand that 

 some responsibility rests on them. If 

 treated that way, they will take more 

 interest in their work. 



I could continue along this line, but 

 I have stated the facts which, if ad- 

 hered to, will bear fruit. I wish, be- 

 fore concluding, to say that since we 

 last met things in general look 

 brighter. I believe that this country 

 will enjoy real prosperity for some 

 time to come and it will be best for 

 us to be prepared for our share of it. 



The last few years have been ex- 

 tremely trying for us florists, but we 

 have weathered the storm. The flor- 

 ists of the United States have done 

 their share. All have done their ut- 

 most to back up the government. It 

 is gratifying to me to see how our pro- 

 fession has come to the front. These 

 meetings bring us together, we ex- 

 change thoughts and get closer to- 

 gether. The work of the committees 

 of the S. A. F. during the last two 

 years has been difficult. I wish to 

 say that the florists of Nebraska 

 should be affiliated with the S. A. F. 



