366 



HORTICULTURE 



December 9, 1920 



HORTICULTURE 



Established by William J. KteAvart In 1904 



Vol. XXXII 



December 9, 1920 



No. 20 



prnnsiiEn semi-monthly by 



HORTICULTURE PUBLISHING COMPANY 



739 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor 



ADVEKTISIXG KATES: 



Per ineh, 30 inches to page §1.50 



Discuiint on Contracts for consecutive insertions, as follows: 



One montli (2 limes), 5 per cent.; three months (6 times), 10 

 per cent.; six months (I'i times), 20 per cent.; one year (24 times), 

 30 per cent. 



Page and half pa^e space, not consecntive, rates on application. 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 



One Year, in advance, S1.50; To Foreign Countries, $2.00; To 

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It Still remains very difficult to get white paper in Bos- 

 ton except at a ruinous price. For the present, therefore, 

 or until the situation improves, Horticulture will be pub- 

 lished twice a month instead of weekly. We trust that the 

 larger amount and improved quality of material used in 

 each issue will make up for the decrease in number. 



Evidently Rotary Clubs the country over in- 

 Rotarians elude in their membership many members of 

 and the florists and nursery trade. It is interest- 



Flowers ing, too, to find that these clubs are giving 



increased attention to horticultural matters. 

 It was at a meeting of the Richmond, Indiana, Rotary Club 

 that the gold medal from the American Rose Society and 

 from the City of Portland, Oregon, were presented to E. G. 

 Hill, for his famous Columbia rose. Mr. Jesse A. Currie. 

 of Portland, who made the presentation speech, later went 

 to Philadelphia, where he gave a talk before the Rotary 

 Club of that city on "How New Roses are Made." Mr. Cur- 

 rie no doubt felt at home in Philadelphia, for he formerly 

 was employed in the newspaper business there, not becom- 

 ing interested in roses until after he moved west. Now he 

 is famous the country over, and has succeeded in changing 

 the little light pink brier rose to a brilliant scarlet creation 

 by crossing it with Gen. Jacqueminot. From this produc- 

 tion he has several seedlings which he hopes will develop 

 Into an oil rose, thinking that perhaps it will be possible 

 to produce in the United States a high grade Attar of 

 Roses, so that this country will not be dependent upon 

 France and Bulgaria. This, at least, is a report which came 

 from Philadelphia, following Mr. Currie's talk. 



To get back to the matter of Rotary Clubs, we find that 

 at Batavia. N. Y., recently, James M. Pitkin, of Newark, 

 N. J., spoke at a lecture given by the Club. Mr. Pitkin is 

 a nurseryman and the development and growth of the 

 nursery business was the subject of his speech. It is evi- 

 dent from all this that people outside the trade are begin- 

 ning to show increased interest in horticultural matters 

 of all kinds. This is something for general self congratu- 

 lation. 



Buffalo recently saw one of the most 

 Buffalo's successful municipal chrysanthemum 



Enterprise shows ever staged. Fifty thousand flow- 



ers from the Park Greenhouses were on 

 e.xhibition for ten days and fully 150, 0€0 persons passed 

 through the hall. On one single day, a Sunday, 31,000 

 visitors were counted at the door. The show included a 

 Japanese garden scene which was remarkably effective, 

 and during the show there were organ recitals both after- 

 noon and evening. Buffalo has set the pace in matters of 

 this kind; its flower shows have become famous the world 

 over. It is well that they are having the support of the 

 city florists, for shows of this kind are a tremendous asset 

 to any municipality and must inevitably go a long way to- 

 wards increasing the income of all in the trade. May the 

 time soon come when other cities will follow the excellent 

 example which has been set by Buffalo. 



It was Samuel Merwin, if we remember right- 

 Tell ly, who observed in one of his books that most 

 about it people can't appreciate a good thing unless 

 they are told about it. That is simply point- 

 ing the moral of the old story about the duck that lays an 

 egg without anybody knowing about it, while the whole 

 barnyard is informed of the fact when biddy has contrib- 

 uted her share to the egg basket. In other words, adver- 

 tising pays. Of course some advertising pays better tbaa 

 others, but advertising has to be very poor indeed not to 

 bring some results. As one big advertiser recently ex- 

 pressed it: "I have stopped trying to key my ads. or to 

 analyze them very carefully, for this I know: when I ad- 

 vertise I get business, and when I stop advertising my 

 business goes." 



There isn't much use in having flowers or plants or 

 such accessories as a florist may carry unless people are 

 told about them. There isn't much use, either, in carrying 

 the highest quality of stock unless customers are informed 

 how good this stock really is. Of course, if you are doubt- 

 ful about your own goods your advertising is likely to re- 

 flect the fact in spite of all that you can do; but if you 

 have faith in what you are selling you should be able to 

 give the reason for that faith. 



There is another matter, though, which sometimes is 

 overlooked. While you yourself may know the quality of 

 your goods and set it forth in well phrased advertising, 

 your sales people may lack your knowledge and therefore 

 your enthusiasm. If your advertising is to be profitable 

 it should be backed up by a proper spirit within the store. 

 Why not make it a point to train your sales people in the 

 talking points of the goods which you offer. Go over with 

 them all the statements which are likely to prove persua- 

 sive when talking to customers. Show them how they can 

 get their customers interested and induce them to believe 

 that they can trust you to give them the best the market 

 offers. Show your people that your object Is not to sell 

 flowers alone, but flowers plus quality. In that way you 

 will help to make your store stand out conspicuously 

 among all the others. There is something about every line 

 of goods which you handle that has a talking point. It 

 will be to your advantage to learn what this point is and 

 to show your assistants how to put it before their trade. 

 Once the store force is led to realize for themselves the 

 quality of the goods which they are handling, the easier 

 they will find it to make the public appreciate the tact 

 that they really are good. 



