HORTICULTURE 



Vol. XXIX 



MAY 17, 1919 



No. 20 



LOOKING AHEAD WITH HENRY PENN 



BY THE EDITOR 



Henry Penn, just back from a trip through the 

 middle west, including Buffalo and Cincinnati, finds 

 conditions encouraging from the standpoint of the retail 

 florist. "Practically all of the stores," he said to the 

 writer, "have full staffs of employes now. With a few^ 

 exceptions the boys who joined the army have returned. 

 The situation in the greenhouses, however, is quite dif- 

 ferent. It is impossible to get enough competent help. 

 This makes it difficult to handle the output or to grow as 

 much material as the market can use." 



Mr. Penn found that wages had been materially 

 advanced all along the line. He also found a disposi- 

 tion on the part of retail florists to keep shorter hours. 

 He has some pronounced and progressive views on this 

 subject, too. "In most cities," he said, "the majority of 

 the florists' establishments open at seven o'clock. In 

 our store, however, business is not begun until 7.30. We 

 have two shifts, one going off at six o'clock in the even- 

 ing and the other at eight o'clock. I can see the time 

 coming before very long when all of the flower stores 

 will close at six o'clock. There is no more reason for 

 the florists to keep open later than for any other line of 

 business." 



Mr. Penn was asked about the likelihood of getting 

 more young men to take up greenhouse and floral work. 

 "There was little inducement," he responded, "under old 

 conditions for bright energetic young fellows to enter 

 this business. The pay was small and the hours were 

 long. Several curious conditions also existed. For one 

 thing, every grower who had a son expected him to help 

 out in the business, but he never thought of paying him 

 the wages which he would have had to pay an outsider. 

 If he had seven sons he considered himself just that 

 much better off, but would never have believed it pos- 

 sible to hire seven, men at regular wages. Now this is 

 being changed. The openings in other lines of work 

 have drawn heavily on the trade. If a man wain- to 

 keep his boys, lie has to pay them well and make their 

 hours reasonable. This is one of the most obvious re- 

 sults of war time conditions, and it exists all over the 

 country. In my opinion it has placed the business on a 

 very much better footing than ever before. 



"Of course it has helped to bring about much higher 

 prices for flowers which the public has to pay. Many 

 growers and florists have been skeptical about the possi- 

 bilities of selling flowers at these increased rates. There- 

 fore they have worried exceedingly about the necessity of 

 paying higher wages and making an eight or even a ten 

 hour day. Some of them have felt that they would be 

 better off to retire from the business. Now this situa- 

 tion is being met by the publicity campaign now being 

 carried on. By this means the public is being educated 

 to the point where it accepts increased costs as a matter 

 of course, and with a certain degree of complacency. 

 It is the most important agency in putting the whole 

 business of growing and selling flowers on a higher basis, 

 with better conditions for employes and more profits for 

 employers. The good result is going to be felt all along 

 the line, for the work will attract a class of intelligent, 

 active young men, such as would not tolerate the hard 

 conditions which prevailed until recently. There are 

 still men in the trade who are looking backward instead 

 of forward. They are not willing to accept the new 

 order of things, as is seen by their disinclination to help 

 with the publicity fund or otherwise adopt progressive 

 methods. It is a part of our business as live florists, 

 looking into the future, to help with the education of 

 these men as well as with that of the general public." 



How about the new outlook? "So far as I can see 

 the situation as it stands now will last for at least two 

 years. That length of time will elapse before growers 

 will be back to normal conditions. Just now there is a 

 very marked shortage of bedding plants, and this will 

 not be remedied for some time. While the coal supply 

 was short and it was necessary to curtail production, 

 growers concentrated more on roses or other stock which 

 would bring fairly large returns, allowing the bedding 

 stock to go by the board. Prices will remain high for 

 two years, as I said, and wages will keep up, too. In 

 the end there probably will be a reduction all along the 

 line, but it will come with a general decrease in the cost 

 of living, so that the florist and his employes will main- 

 tain their advanced position. I do not believe that the 

 steps taken in the last year or two will ever be retraced." 



