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The Florists^ Review 



Apeil 29, 1920 



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QtiCN U^Xm^y^ READEDB 



slave to the whims of others. Sunday 

 is the day which has been set aside to 

 close all shops, a day of rest, and by 

 keeping open our stores on this day 

 we are putting ourselves on the level 

 with the peanut vender on the corner, 

 who finds it necessary to snatch at the 

 passing pennies of the more independ- 

 ent persons as they pass on their out- 

 ings on Sunday. E. E, Temperley. 



APPEAL FOE SOIiIDABITy. 



As a newcomer in the business and as 

 one who is only in it temporarily, there 

 are many things that are new to me 

 and rather amusing and tragic at the 

 same time. My father has been a 

 florist for a great many years, but 

 never had I been in close enough touch 

 with the entire business to realize so 

 many of the intricate parts. I should 

 like to make one suggestion, that will 

 do much toward putting the business 

 as a whole on a better basis, and that 

 is, have a "sense of honor" code. 



We have in this vicinity, and I pre- 

 sume there are others of the same type 

 in every locality, florists who have es- 

 tablished a peciUiar form of competi- 

 tion. The market price is a certain 

 figure in Buffalo, the same in New York, 

 the same in Jamestown, Elmira and, in 

 fact, all of the large controlling whole- 

 sale houses. A retail florist who grows 

 his stock has more than he can dispose 

 of; he finds out where the local whole- 

 sale florist is selling, rushes in and 

 underbids the market price by, not 1 

 cent, but 2 or 3 cents, in order to 

 break in. As a good many of our retail 

 florists who have only stores have not 

 had the experience of the hard labor 

 connected with the growing end of the 

 game and money is their only reason 

 for being in the business, their word 

 of contract is of no value as long as 

 they can get cheap goods. They cut 

 their regular wholesaler, even though 

 the wholesaler has given them a re- 

 duced rate during the busy season be- 

 cause they have taken the entire stock. 

 The wholesaler must either oust this 

 little retailer (who in time of glut ha.s 

 too much stock for his local trade) from 

 the wholesak business or else hold him 

 to the market price. There are many 

 men who think, because they are getting 

 something for their surplus, it is better 

 than nothing and therefore try to "get 

 something," even though it is under 

 cost of production. Their brains work 

 about like that in their business. 



Until these florists realize that soli- 

 darity in business methods is as im- 

 portant as the petty cash handled for 

 surplus stock, there will be fewer and 

 fewer men going into this business. 

 Just this morning my regular buyer 

 called and said that if I would not give 

 him carnations for 2 cents (market price 

 is 6) I need not ship. Stock was prac- 

 tically ready to box. He had given me 

 the warning three days before, so that 

 I knew that the other florists in the 

 vicinity had found out where I was 

 shipping. Do you call this competition? 

 Tt is not my idea of what any business 

 could term legitimate compel ition at 

 least. E. K. Angoll. 



CUT PEIOE CABNATIONS. 



We have been reading about the 

 united effort of the wholesale and re- 

 tail florists of Chicago in tiiaking a 

 uniform cut price on carnations for cer- 

 tain days. We should like to state our 



experience when we had a heavy cot 

 of carnations and were not able to ship 

 any of them on account of the railroad 

 strike. 



We advertised that Friday and Sat- 

 urday, March 19 and 20, carnations 

 would be sold at 75 cents per dozen and 

 two dozen would be given to each 

 church that would call for .them. We 

 had a big trade and furnimed sixteen 

 churches with the flowers. The follow- 

 ing Friday and Saturflay, March 26 and 

 27, we advertised them for sale at 50 

 cents per dozen and that two dozen 

 would be given to each church that 

 called for them. We sold over 2,000 and 

 gave to twenty-five churches. We be- 

 lieve that this is the best and cheapest 

 advertising we ever did. 



E. B. Morgan Floral Co. 



ABOUT SUNDAY CLOSING. 



It has been noted in The Review that 

 numerous stores throughout the coun- 

 try are going to adopt the plan of Sun- 

 day closing. Many have had that rule 

 for a long time. Would it not be wise 

 for the rest of us to adhere to itt 



When once the public learns that all 

 stores will be closed, customers will 

 make an effort to order on Saturday. If 

 grocery stores were open on Sunday, 

 they would be thronged, but the public 

 has learned, in that case, to buy on Sat- 

 urday or go without. Various other 

 sorts of stores could do big business on 

 Sunday, if they were to put before all 

 else that slight material gain which 

 would be theirs. But there are other 

 things to be considered. 



If we are to demand respect for our 

 profession, we must be independent — 

 not insolent, but self-respecting — and 

 no man can be that by being a constant 



KOEHLEB IN GEBMAlTjr. I 



In view of the present demand for 

 cyclamen seed in this country, the re- 

 port of the visit of Albert Koehler, of 

 the American Bulb Co., Chicago, to the 

 German cyclamen growers, which ap- 

 peared in these columns two weeks ago, 

 was read with particular interest by the 

 trade. One of the establishments which 

 he visited was that of Ferd. Fischer, at 

 Wiesbaden, who was widely known in 

 this country as one of the biggest 

 sources of supply of cyclamen seed be- 

 fore the war. The illustration on this 

 page shows Mr. Koehler standing just 

 in front of Ferd Fischer in an aisle in 

 one of the German grower's big cycla- 

 men houses, this one filled with salmon- 

 colored blooms for seed. To the right 

 is seen a member of the second genera- 

 tion, Carl Fischer. In common with the 

 other growers of cyclamen seed, Ferd. 

 Fischer has more orders than he can 

 possibly fill this season. Whether the 

 supposed demand is due to duplicate 

 orders placed by American seed houses 

 with several growers or whether there 

 is so striking a shortage as there seems 

 to be, will be determined later. 



Mansfield, O. — Edward M. Lintolt 

 has sold his interest in the Mansfield 

 Floral Co. to his brother-in-law, Carl 

 Kopanka, of Howell, Mich. He has not 

 decided where he will locate, but will 

 remain with the firm until the new 

 member arrives. 



Murfreesboro, Tenn. — The greenhouses 

 of the Jaggers Floral Co. were destroyed 

 by hail April 16. A crop of tomato 

 plants, ready for market, was ruined. 

 The hail beat down and broke the? 

 greater part of the stock in the houses. 

 The loss was estimated at $3,000. 



Albert Koehler and Ferd. Fischer io One of Latter's Cyclamen Houtet. 



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