128 



HORTICULTURE 



February 14, 1920 



HORTICULTURE 



Bntablished by WiUiam J. Stewart In 1904 



Vor. XXXI 



February 14, 1920 



No. 7 



PCBUSHED WEEKLY BY 



HORTICXJLTURE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

 78 Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor. 

 Telephone Fort Hill S694 



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One difficulty follows so closely upon the heels 

 The Coal of another that growers and florists find them- 

 Situation selves forever wondering what is going to 

 happen next. Just now it is the coal situation 

 which bothers them. To be sure there are many growers 

 who were forehanded or fortunate enough to get in a con- 

 siderable surplus. There are many others, on the contrary, 

 who have only enough coal to last them for a few weeks. 

 Of course the storm caused much delay in handling and 

 the railroads have not been behindhand in seizing coal on 

 the road it necessary to keep their trains going. The pos- 

 sibility of a railroad strike is the bugaboo looming on the 

 horizon. It is the extremely cold weather, though, that 

 has caused much of the trouble. In general, the growers 

 have consumed 25 per cent, more coal this year than ever 

 before. Several of those who thought they had enough 

 coal to carry them until next summer are finding the 

 bottom of th6 bins has already been reached. 



Just at present the florist industry is in 

 Opportunities what might be called a state of fluidity. 

 By that is meant that in many ways it is 

 changing, old customs being broken up and new methods 

 constantly being introduced. For the most part these 

 changes are for the betterment of the industry and are 

 brought about through an enlarged business perspective on 

 the part of growers and dealers alike, as well as by a re- 

 action to the general tendency of the times towards greater 

 publicity and more economical office methods. It is to be 

 hoped that while this period of transition exists the trade 

 will not overlook the opportunity to improve its system of 

 handling acounts and in altering certain business practices. 

 There is a general feeling, for one thing, that bills should 

 be paid much more promptly, thus doing away with costs 

 of collection which sometimes amount to a much larger fig- 

 ure than would be expected. This bugbear of slow collec- 



tions has existed for a long time in the trade. There Is 

 no reason why It couldn't be done away with in a large 

 measure with the result that the whole industry would be 

 better off. Slow accounts often make a serious drag and 

 Impede the progress of enterprising concerns. 



Another question which has come to the fore, especially 

 in the East, deals with the expense of packing flowers for 

 shipment for a considerable distance. Many wholesalers 

 are firm in the opinion that the boxes themselves should be 

 charged for. It is understood that in most places such a 

 charge is made, and this is now true in New England. The 

 boxes used often cost a dollar apiece, and the shippers say 

 that this charge should be borne by the buyer. The packing 

 expense will still fall upon the shipper, making perhaps 

 an even arrangement. No doubt retailers will have argu- 

 ments on the other side. 



It should be one of the efforts of the various local florists' 

 organizations to thresh out these questions In open meet- 

 ing. As it is now there is much quiet and decided talk on 

 the side, but all too often such problems are side stepped 

 when a general discussion might lead to a satisfactory 

 solution. Certain it is that the local organizations should 

 devote themselves largely to these practical matters and 

 not hesitate to deal with them, because to do so may seem 

 like treading on dangerous ground. 



The fact Is that in spite of the high prices which have 

 prevailed in the past year, profits in many Instances have 

 not been much greater than in former times. Only re- 

 cently a very successful wholesaler was heard to say that 

 his percentage of profit was no greater than four years ago. 

 Tbe fact is that production costs have grown at a surpris- 

 ing rate, notwithstanding an assertion recently made that 

 the increase in the price of florists' supplies has been 

 smaller than that in almost any other important industry. 

 In any event it Is time now to prepare for conditions which 

 are certain to change In one way or another before long. 

 There was never a better time to get the industry on a 

 good economical business basis and to work out the prob- 

 lems which have long proved a source of irritation and in 

 some instances of loss. 



This does not mean that there will ever come a time 

 when competition will not prevail or when there will not 

 be local jealousies and individual differences, but it does 

 mean a readjustment which will give a sounder economic 

 foundation for the Industry and eliminate some of the 

 questionable practices which have grown up in the past. 



What will the end be? The Federal Hor- 



More ticultural Board at Washington seems to 



quarantines have gone quarantine mad. The members 



of the Board must see bugs everywhere. 

 Indeed, they must dream bugs, unless they lie awake for 

 fear bugs will get them if they go to sleep at all. Now 

 the Board contemplates a quarantine of all foreign coun- 

 tries on account of the European corn borer. A hearing 

 on the proposition is being held as we go to press. More- 

 over an announcement has just come in of another hearing 

 a little later about a quarantine against Mexico. Further- 

 more, the Board gives notice of public hearing to consider 

 the advisibility of quarantining Asia, Japan, Philippine 

 Islands, and Oceania on account of dangerous plant diseases 

 and insect pests, including Japanese apple cankers, Valsa 

 mail and Diaportlie inali, blister blight, Taphrina piri, and 

 rusts, Gymnosporangium Koreaense and G. photiniae, and 

 injurious insect pests, including the Oriental fruit moth, 

 the pear fruit borer, the apple moth, Psylla pyrisuga, 

 Lecanium glandi. and Lecanium kunoensis, new to and not 

 heretofore widely prevalent or distributed within and 

 throughout the United States. 



As we inquired at the beginning, what will the end be? 

 Can anybody tell? 



