146 HANDLING AND MARKETING THE CROP. 



the first plan described. On the other hand, the 

 grower who sells to the retailer has no oppor- 

 tunity as a grower to enlarge his reputation, 

 for the purchaser seldom knows who grows the 

 stock. The fact is that a large portion of the 

 purchasers have the innocent delusion that the re- 

 tailer himself grows all the stock he sells. The 

 grower, therefore, has no way of extending his 

 reputation and if anything should happen to the 

 retailer who handles his flowers, he will have to 

 start over again with a new man, which is a 

 thing not always easy to do. Again, the re- 

 tailer must necessarily be more exacting in his 

 demands. He has orders to fill at all times of the 

 day and every day in the week, and the grower 

 must always be willing and ready to fill such 

 orders. 



In selling through commission merchants the 

 stock is put in competition with others, and its 

 merits will always tell in the hands of a fair 

 merchant the only kind it pays to deal with. 

 It is true that a commission must be paid, but 

 where this is done and the flowers are put up 

 and delivered properly and in good shape, the net 

 returns will equal those from the retailer. In 

 selling through the commission merchant the 

 grower has practically unlimited opportunity for 

 extending his reputation. Every shipment should 

 indicate plainly who the grower is, and the re- 

 tailers, who are constantly on the lookout for good 



