356 



HORTICULTURE 



December 9, 1920 



C Harper, of the A. W. Smith Co., of 

 Pittsburgh. Mr. Harper discussed col- 

 lecting, which is of interest to every 

 florist. Mr. Harper advised that when 

 an account became ninety days past 

 due, some one from the office should 

 call upon the debtor, being of course 

 familiar with the account and the 

 items purchased, and carrying with 

 him an itemized bill. This personal 

 call makes it possible to learn of any 

 complaint the customer may have, 

 and in that way perhaps smooth out 

 some unpleasantness which might 

 otherwise cost the store a customer, 

 as well as making collecting of the ac- 

 count difficult. Naturally the approach 

 must be made in a courteous way, 

 without any suggestion of brow beat- 

 ing. If the representative is the right 

 kind of man, the call may help to 

 make the customer a better buyer than 

 before. 



When the debtor remains obstinate, 

 as Mr. Harper pointed out, it is neces- 

 sary to use other measures, and one 

 of the best, in his experience, was the 

 sending of letters in a regular succes- 

 sion covering two weeks. These let- 

 ters are politely worded, and of course 

 vary each time, but help to keep the 

 attention of the debtor, and grow de- 

 cidedly firmer towards the end. 



Usually they bring results, but if 

 not, and as a last resort, the items are 

 turned over to an agency which makes 

 its collections by personal call. A 

 tactful collector, by a personal inter- 

 view, can sometimes learn from the 

 honest debtor the reasons for non-pay- 

 ment, or the cause for complaint. 

 Also he can as a result of his general 

 experience form a fair estimate of the 

 debtor's inclination or ability to pay. 

 Mr. Harper pointed out that it is 

 best until the very end to make every 

 effort towards keeping the good will 

 of the debtor, on the principle that an 

 old customer retained is better than 

 a new customer obtained. The cumu- 

 lative value of good will is a valuable 

 asset to any store. 



Mr. R. I. Gresham, of the C. A. Dahl 

 Co., of Atlanta, Ga., is recognized as 

 an expert on store arrangement, and 

 accordingly his paper at the Tennessee 

 convention was listened to with special 

 interest. Mr. Gresham pointed out the 

 value of a corner store so as to have 

 a maximum window space, and said 

 that it should by all means be on a 

 level with the sidewalk, even one step 

 being a disadvantage. 



He preferred a curved glass window, 

 with a marble base, and said there 

 should be from eighteen inches to two 

 feet above the sidewalk, with a floor 

 of tile and provision for proper drain- 

 age. He liked a water connection in 

 each window, and electric sockets for 



decorations, such as lighted pumpkins 

 for Hallowe'en displays. 



He advocated concealed lights with 

 reflectors, and preferred one large 

 window, and small window, the latter 

 for combining different colors of velvet 

 and ribbon for choice arrangements of 

 cut flowers. Said Mr. Gresham, "When 

 it comes to advertising, spend your 

 money on your windows first and let 

 newspapers, postage, etc., come later. 

 Mr. Gresham emphasized the neces- 

 sity of display ice boxes with as much 

 glass space as possible, well lighted 

 and with a tile floor. He said that 

 each vase of flowers should stand out 

 distinctly from the others, and he 

 liked a reserve ice box for surplus 

 flowers. He spoke in favor of the 

 green willow, zinc lined vases lately 

 introduced for displaying flowers. 



In discussing the arrangement of a 

 store, Mr. Gresham opposed the use of 

 mirrors because barber shops and 

 Greek restaurants have worked them 

 over time. He said that in his own 

 store he had a garden wall which was 

 built in tapestry brick with a fancy 

 design. This dull brick background 

 shows the flowers and plants to great 

 advantage. Garden gates with a com- 

 bination of pergola and balustrade 

 led to the rear of the store. 



Mr. Gresham expressed a fondness 

 for fountains in arranging flower 

 stores if they are well built, of good 

 design, and do not splash water on 

 the floor. It should be arranged so 

 that flowers and plants can be com- 

 bined with it. He approved wicker 

 furniture upholstered with tapestry 

 cushions, and baskets and stands of 

 willow rather than crockery. Flowers, 

 like jewelry, he said, should have all 

 the light obtainable, but shaded fix- 

 tures should be used so as not to let 

 the light itself be seen. 



When convenient he advised having 

 the office on an upper floor in the bal- 

 cony where there may be privacy for 

 the bookkeepers. One other point 

 which he emphasized was that in some 

 convenient but not conspicuous posi- 

 tion there should be an attractive 

 mirror to be used by customers when 

 pinning on flowers, etc. 



It seems strange to talk about dam- 

 age from snow as early in the season 

 as this, and yet in some parts of the 

 country a large amount of snow has 

 fallen, and one florist who has suffered 

 as a result is Mr. C. B. Shisler, of 

 Williamsville, N. Y. The weight of 

 snow was so great that the greenhouse, 

 a building 30 x 100 feet, collapsed. 

 The house contained chrysanthemums 

 and carnations for the holiday trade, 

 and of course the loss to them was 

 heavy. 



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NURSERYMEN, FLORISTS, PLANTERS 



RUTH£RFORD, NEW Jt«Sf:Y 



We are subscribers to the Nurserymen's 

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 It With Flowers" Publicity Campaign. 



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JAMAICA - - NEW YORK 



