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May 4, 1816. 



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The Florists' Review 



15 



storage and sent to the retailer, "iced up," and 

 be keeps them in much the same condition until 

 sold. A couple of hours in a warm room destroys 

 their loveliness, where a fresh. flower would have 

 lasted days, with ordinary care. The fault is 

 mainly with the New York middleman, and thou- 

 sands of customers are being lost to florists by 

 the practice. Those retailers who buy directly 

 from the grower and avoid the New York dealers 



five tlieir customers what they should have, a 

 resh-cut flower, but the trade Is monopolized 

 to a dangerous extent by the metropolitan com- 

 mission houses. As an instance of the difference 

 in the prices of flowers, a month before Easter 

 orchids could be had for $10 a hundred at Lake- 

 wood, and the day before Easter they were selling 

 for $2 apiece. 



Whereupon William G. Badgley, grow- 

 er, commission man and publicist, took 

 his pen in hand and indited the follow- 

 ing epistle to the editor of the Call: 



In reply to the above editorial, entitled "Tre- 

 mendous Sale of Easter Flowers," I advise you 

 that there is not a wholesale commission florist 

 1b New York city who "pickles" American 

 Beauty roses or any other cut flowers for three 

 weeks, and none, to my knowledge, for even one 

 day, unless the demand for them on the day 

 they come in is not great enough to cause them 

 to clean up. 



If there Is any "pickling" done, It Is absolutely 

 done by the grower, and such "pickling" on their 

 part has been vigorously condemned by the whole- 

 saler for the past twenty-one years to my 

 knowledge. 



The particular case that you have come In con- 

 tact with no doubt was a retailer who had pur- 

 chased "pickled" goods at a low price and en- 

 deavored to sell them at the true value of fresh 

 goods, and, having been caught in the act, has 

 undertaken to shift the responsibility to others, 

 as I do not know one retailer in Newark who 

 could be fooled Into buying "pickled" flowers if 

 he did not want them. 



The wholesale florists of New York are not a 

 monopoly to any dangerous extent; in fact, they 

 are not a monopoly at all. There Is as much 

 competition in our trade as there is in any busi- 

 ness that ever existed, aside from the fact that 

 the goods we handle are so perishable that they 

 cannot be held for flxed prices. 



I do not see, either, how our business could be 

 monopolired, unless a few growers could control 

 the glass market, which I consider quite remote, 

 for should it come to a point where a few did 

 get control and fix prices that would make their 

 dealings profitable, there would be nothing to 

 prevent anybody from building greenhouses and 

 participating in those profits. 



The prices we obtained for orchids and lily 

 of the valley for Easter were not made possible 

 by any flxed agreement by anybody, but were 

 caused by the long established principle of supply 

 and demand, and cannot be traced to any other 

 source. 



Your editorial is absolutely contrary to tme 

 conditions that exist in our business, and abso- 

 lutely unjustified, and I further advise you that 

 if all lines of industry were conducted on a 

 principle as fair as ours, and by men as high In 

 principle as those engaged in our business, there 

 would not be much cause for complaint from the 

 buying public. Wm. G. Badgley. 



SOCIETY OF AMEBIOAK FLORISTS. 



Amendments to Constitution. 



In the notice appearing in the trade 

 papers of the amendments approved by 

 the executive board for presentation at 

 the Houston convention, the following 

 was omitted: 



AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE IL 



Article II. Section 2. Elections and Appoint- 

 ments. Add to Paragraph (B): 

 The president shall also appoint on the first 

 day of January of each year a representative at 

 Washington, D. C, who shall as such also be a 

 member of the board of directors, and whose term 

 of ofiJce shall be for one year. 



Miembers' Buttons. 



Any member joining the society or 

 paying dues at Philadelphia, during the 

 period of the National Flower Show, 

 who did not receive the annual badge 

 button will receive one immediately 

 upon application to the secretary. 



Philadelphia National Show. 



Any exhibitor desiring duplicate ex- 

 hibitors' cards or ribbons won at the 

 show should communicate with the sec- 

 retary. 



All cuts and plates used in the official 

 souvenir program have been returned to 

 advertisers. 



Vouchers for all cash prizes awarded 

 at the show are now in hand for pay- 



^llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllltt 



WHO'S WHO 



IN THE 

 TRADE- 



AND WHY I 



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IBA L. PLLLSBUBT. 



IVTHEN you hear the name Pillsbury do you think of flour or of carnatiom 

 •^ staples f Ira iL. Pillsbury was born February 3, 1859, at Macomb, 111. His 

 father was a minister, but the son became a gardener. He built the first green- 

 house in that part of the state. In 1894 he removed to Galesburg to get a larger 

 field. Growing a general stock for retail trade, he used tiny rubber bands to mend 

 carnation calyxes when they split. Feeling the need of something better, he 

 invented the first wire staple used for the purpose, which he had so perfected by 

 1908 that he patented it and introduced it to the trade. Today it is known the 

 country over. Mr. Pillsbury is a member of the S. A. F., the F. T. D., the Carna- 

 tion Society and is first vice-president of the Illinois State Florists' Association. 



ment and checks will be sent out in a 

 few days. 



In the list of guarantors published 

 in the final schedule and official sou- 

 venir program, the entry "Some Flo- 

 rists of Minneapolis" should have read 

 "Some Florists of the Twin Cities." 



At the National Flower Show, Phila- 

 delphia, the following awards were 

 made in the trade section: 



Jos. O. Neidinger, Philadelphia, certificate of 

 merit for new styles In baskets. 



Schloss Bros., New York, certificate of merit 

 for florists' ribbons. 



Fulper Pottery Co., Flemlngton, N. J., certifi- 

 cate of merit for florists' art pottery. 



W. H. Dugan, New Rochelle, N. Y., honorable 

 mention for shades for greenhouses. 



John O. Moninger Co., Chicago, III., certificate 

 of merit for ali-stcel-framo greenhouse construc- 

 tion. 



Mathews Gardencraft Co., Cleveland, O., cer- 

 tificate of merit for garden accessories. 



Klrke Chemical Co., Brooklyn, New York, cer- 

 tificate of merit for device for attachment to hose 

 for distribution of fertilizers and Insecticides. 



Pfaltzgraff Pottery Co., York, Pa., honorable 

 mention for florists' flower pots. 



A. L. Randall Co., Chicago, 111., certlflcate of 

 merit for original and unique designs in flower 

 and plant receptacles, vases and florists' designs. 



John Young, Sec'y. 



FABFUGIUMS FOR POTTING. 



Will you please tell me how to care 

 for farfugiums during the summer so 

 they will make large clumps for sepa- 

 rating? When should they be separated 

 and what care should be given so as 

 to have nice plants in 4-inch pots for 

 early spring trade! What kind of soil 

 is best suited to them. A. B. C— O. 



Plant the farfugiums out in any good 

 garden soil now. They will make good- 

 sized clumps, which can be lifted and 

 separated before potting, about the end 

 of September. Use a good fibrous loam, 

 with some sand and a little leaf-mold 

 added, when potting these divisions and 

 keep them in a close frame until estab- 

 lished. C. W. 



Cleveland, O. — One of the most at- 

 tractive spots in the Euclid-East Forty- 

 sixth street market house is the new 

 flower store of Timothy Smith. Mr. 

 Smith is one of the best known florists 

 in the city, having been associated with 

 the Smith & Fetters Co. for many years. 



J.1 fc-iJi t-!.-,^ 



