n2 



BOiRT I CULTURE 



September 11, 1920 



HORTICULTURE 



EntsbUnhrd by Willinm J. Stewart In 19(Vl 



VOL. XXXIl 



September 11, 1920 



No. 11 



rUBI.ISllED WEEKLY BY 



HORTICULTRE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

 739 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor. 



ADVERTISING RATES: 



TrT Inch, 39 Inches to paer SI. 25 



Discount on Contracts for consecutive Insertions, as follows: 



One month (4 times), 5 per cent.; three months (13 times), 10 

 per cent.; six months (26 times), 20 per cent.; one year (52 times), 

 SO per cent. 



Pace and half page space, not conse<.ntire, rates on application. 



SCB-SCRIPTION RATES: 



One Year, in advance, $1.00; To Foreign Conntries, $2.00; To 

 Canada, $1.50. 



Rntered as second-class matter December 8, 1904. at the Post Office 

 at Boston. Mass.. under the Act of Congress of M.irch 3, 1S97. 



One of the most significant features of 

 Reconstruction President Miller's address at the recent 

 convention in Cleveland was his refer- 

 ence to reconstruction since the war as it has applied to 

 the florist business. Mr. Miller pointed out that in spite of 

 the many changes which have upset most lines of business, 

 the florist has continued to prosper. Not only has 

 his business increased in volume, but prices have ascended, 

 oftentimes out of proportion to the increase in cost, great 

 as that increase has been. 



The question is often asked, "How soon will the point 

 of saturation be reached?" In other words, how soon will 

 it be before the public has reached its limit in the matter 

 of buying flowers? Mr. Miller's answer to his own ques- 

 tion is that that point will never be reached. He pointed 

 out that the apex of the florist business recedes as it seems 

 to be approached, and that as far as can be judged there 

 is no prospect of getting beyond the ability and willingness 

 of the public to buy. 



Remarkable as it may seem, reconstruction work since 

 the war has not hindered the florist but on the other hand 

 has tended to increase his business. There are reasons 

 for that, however, which do not always appear on the sur- 

 face. One of them probably is the work which has been 

 done in the way of increased publicity. Sometimes the ob- 

 jection is made that this publicity work has not brought 

 as big returns as it ought to, but the fact is often over- 

 looked that a peculiar situation has had to be met. Under 

 normal conditions it is quite likely that the publicity cam- 

 paign would have brought about a much more apparent in- 

 crease, but on the other hand nobody can tell how great 

 the returns might have been if the campaign had not been 

 inaugurated just at the time it was; that is to say. this 

 campaign has been the buffer which has withstood the 

 natural tendency towards a falling off of business. Every 

 florist knows that a large proportion of his old-time cus- 

 tomers, especially among the wealthy classes, has been 

 lost, at least in part. They also know that many new 

 customers have been added to their lists, and it is more 

 than probable that these people have been influenced large- 

 ly through the publicity material appearing In the maga- 

 zines and papers. 



We think, therefore, that Mr. Miller is perfectly justi- 

 fied in the optimistic attitude which he has taken, and that 

 there is no reason to expect the falling away in business 

 which some pessimistic florists like to harp upon. It is true 

 that there may be a certain readjustment and that prices 

 may run more even than during the past year, but probably 

 the florists themselves will not be displeased to have some- 

 thing of this sort come about. 



One matter which was stressed at the con- 

 Private vention of the Canadian Florists' and Gar- 

 gardeners deners' Association was the desirability of 

 having gardeners visit each other profes- 

 sionally and socially to a greater extent, as well as getting 

 together on more formal occasions. This is something 

 which ought to interest all members of the profession be- 

 cause the best interests of the profession cannot be at- 

 tained unless there is a certain amount of co-operation and 

 team work. It seems to us that every private gardener ought 

 to belong to some association, and ought to attend the meet- 

 ings, and ought to take part in the discussions. If he can 

 also attend the national association meetings, so much the 

 better. Many large minded employers would be glad to 

 pay the expenses of their superintendents to these meet- 

 ings if the matter were brought to their attention. In any 

 event, the feeling of aloofness which seems to characterize 

 many private gardeners is not for the best interests of the 

 profession, or of their employers, or for that matter, them- 

 selves. L«t us hope that there will be a greater mingling 

 at social and business meetings, and a decided augmenta- 

 tation of the membership of the gardeners' societies. 



Apparently there is great confusion in the seed 

 Seed market. According to the New York corre- 

 outlook spondent of the Seed World, who keeps his fin- 

 ger on the pulse of the trade at all times, the 

 dominant feeling seems to be an expectation of inevitable 

 lower prices. It is even predicted in some quarters that 

 the bottom is going to fall out of the market when new- 

 seed begins to flood it, and that there are plenty of red 

 lights to be seen ahead, and but few green ones. Others 

 predict simply a period of stagnation, lessened demand 

 and lower value, but do not believe that the outlook is as 

 dismal as some experts would make it. Nevertheless, every- 

 thing seems to point to lower prices. Orders have been 

 cut down, and deliveries interfered with, owing to labor 

 and transportation difficulties. The fact that less land was 

 planted last spring has brought about a surplus of seed in 

 some quarters. Probably the carry over is as large, if not 

 larger, than in most past years. As is pointed out by the 

 writer mentioned, this condition in any other line of busi- 

 ness would mean the general shutting down or curtailing of 

 production. Of course this sort of thing is not possible in 

 the seed business. The new crop is coming in, and it 

 must be disposed of. Within a very short time that crop 

 will be on the market, regardless of the demand. Mean- 

 while, everybody is guessing just what the ultimate result 

 will be. 



Another interesting feature of the seed trade outlook 

 is the probability that ten cent packages will be the usual 

 thing next season. According to the Seed World, many of 

 the larger seed houses are contemplating the adoption of a 

 standard price of ten cents per packet, and whether or not 

 it would affect the total amount of sales nobody can decide 

 in advance. In any event it would simplify matters for the 

 seed dealers, and probably the public would soon become 

 as accustomed to ten cents as its unit of value as it has 

 been to a nickel in the past. 



