21G 



HORTICULTURE 



September 11, 1920 



BOSTON FLORAL SUPPLY & SNYDER CO. 



15 Otis- 96 Arch St. 



Wholesale Florists 



BOSTON, MASS. 



,Fort Hill 1083 

 _ , . Fort Hill 1084 



Telephones j.,,^^ „i„ j„^5 



^ Main 2574 



Largest distributors of flowers in the East. 

 Manufacturers of artificial flowers, baskets, wire frames, etc. 



William F. Kasting Co. 



568-570 WASHINGTON STREET 



BUFFALO, N. Y. 



THIS SEASON'S NEW ROSES 



PILGRIM CRUSADER PREMIER RUSSELL HADLEY 



We are receiving daily ghipments of these new Roses, in lar^e quantities, and 

 can furniHli same on short notice. 



We have a large stoels at aU times of choice CARNATIONS, ORCHIDS, 

 VALLEY and AMERICAN BEjVUTIBS. 



Tel., Main «2e7 WELPTJ BROS CO *** DEVONSHIRE STREET 



Helps for the Retail Florist 



Important Suggestions Made by S. A. McFadden of Toronto 



Among the most valuable and im- 

 portant papers read at the recent con- 

 vention of the Canadian Florists and 

 Gardners' Association was one by Mr. 

 S. A. McFadden of Toronto. It was 

 as follows: 



If you are a retailer and not in love 

 with your calling, you are in the 

 wrong business. The selling and 

 working with flowers is a lovely occu- 

 pation, and if you are not in love with 

 it, don't stay with the business. 

 Choose the line you are in love with, 

 it you want to make a real success. 

 Sometimes in the rush of business, 

 with its worries and perplexities, we 

 do not see the beauty of the product 

 we handle. Commercialism crowds 

 out the beauty for the time being, but 

 it is there just the same, and if we 

 realize and appreciate It, we are made 

 much better men and women. 



Qualifications of Retailer. 



The "running" of a retail flower 

 shop is "some job." It is a man's 

 job, and calls upon one to be resource- 

 ful and up-to-date in every way. The 

 retailer must not only be a merchant 

 and know something of finance, but 

 he must be an artist as well. Un- 

 fortunately, the majority of us have 

 not all these qualities combined. Some 

 of us are artistic, but have not the 

 executive ability; others are experts 

 in store management and financial 

 matters, but have not the eye and 

 touch of the artist. Fortunate are we 



indeed if we have all these qualities 

 combined. Just in proportion to the 

 measure of these properties we pos- 

 sess, will be the measure of success 

 of our business. 



The retailer must also be honest, 

 for honesty is the best policy, giving 

 value and service for every dollar 

 spent in his store. Not having two 

 prices — not trying to get more from 

 one customer than from another for 

 the same article — but ever endeavor- 

 ing to practice the Golden Rule: Not 

 trying to get the best of any one, but 

 doing unto those — customers, em- 

 ployes, wholesalers and growers — as 

 he would they should do unto 

 him. Gentlemen, this is an old, old 

 rule, but one that is not used enough. 

 If used every day in every transaction, 

 the wheels of our dealings with our 

 fellow-men would run more smoothly. 

 Our character would be built up; and 

 soon, for some of us at any rate, our 

 reputation and character would coin- 

 cide. Reputation is what a man is 

 known by; character is what he really 

 is. 



Buying and Selling 



The buying of stock for a retail 

 establishment should be left in the 

 hands of one person, especially in 

 the large stores where there are a 

 number of employes. He will know 

 better the needs of the place, and will 

 be better in touch with the market, 

 the quality of stock and where the 



best comes from. Do not over stock, 

 but have a good variety and keep it 

 looking fresh and clean. 



Keep your old stock out of sight, 

 for a vase of stale, wilted, half dead 

 flowers sitting around in view of your 

 customers is not a good advertisement 

 for your business. A vase of good 

 fresh bloom will often sell itself, with 

 little or no effort on the part of your 

 salesman. Do no.t let old flowers be 

 sent out from your store. It will re- 

 act on you some time, and it will be 

 hard conscientiously to explain to a 

 customer why such stock was sent. 



Satisfied customers are a necessary 

 asset to any business. I know of one 

 firm of retailers whose salesmen go 

 on the principle that the customer is 

 never wrong. Acknowledge you are 

 wrong before a customer gets angry. 

 Remove the cause of the "kick," and 

 you still have your customer. Of 

 course, there are always a few chronic 

 "kickers" in every list of patrons, but 

 in time you will know these and can 

 deal with them accordingly. Be on 

 the job. Don't be always out. Cus- 

 tomers like to see the proprietor or 

 manager around the store. It tells 

 them you are there looking after their 

 interests. Get to know your custom- 

 ers by name and speak to them, even 

 if you are not serving them. It 

 invites confidence in your establish- 

 ment. 



Keep your invoices of stock of fhe 

 busy seasons. Also keep a list of 

 what is left over and what did not 

 sell. It will be a great aid to you 

 when ordering for the next season. 

 You will be able to order in a sys- 

 tematic way, and will not have to 

 guess at the quantity you need. 



Good salesmanship does not con- 

 sist alone in selling the most stock 

 and in making the most monetary 

 sales, but also consists in profitably 

 serving yourself and patrons. 



Art and Harmony of Colors 



Art is a prime necessity in the 

 flower business. Nature is a wonder- 

 ful teacher, and the more we keep 

 to nature the more artistic we will be. 

 Study the nature and the growth of 

 the flowers you use and embody these 

 as much as possible in your designing 

 and making up. Do not overlook 



