12 



The Florists^ Review 



Fbbruary 15, 1917. 



not a live hickory remains on the place. 

 The newly imported hickory wireworm 

 has taken them all. And so the story of 

 the introduction of foreign insect pests 

 and diseases might be continued. 



At the beginning of the war of the 

 Eebellion, the islands of Bermuda were 

 noted for their production of early 

 peaches, pears and other fruits, which 

 were shipped to the larger cities of the 

 United States. During the war a block- 

 ade runner left a cargo of potatoes on 

 the island. From these potatoes were 

 hatched some flies never before seen on 

 the island of Bermuda. These insects 

 afterwards became known as the fruit 

 fly, for the reason that within a few 

 years not a single variety of fruit ex- 

 cept the banana could be grown on the 

 island. The fruit flies destroyed them 

 all; and the agricultural crops of Ber- 

 muda were soon confined to early pota- 

 toes, Bermuda onions and Harrisii lilies. 



A Paramount Issue. 



Shall the nursery and florists' inter- 

 ests of America continue to import these 

 disastrously destructive pests and dis- 

 eases, or shall this country grow its own 

 supply of such foreign material as may 

 be essential to carry on the business? 



This question has now become of para- 

 mount importance. 



The best that can be said of a large' 

 percentage of this imported material is 

 that the American grower gets plants in 

 an inferior condition a little cheaper 

 than a better class of stock can be pro- 

 duced at home. Having become accus- 

 tomed to purchasing such imported 

 stock, the American lazily continues it 

 under the erroneous belief that nothing 

 else can be done. 



The reasons are many why America 

 should grow the great bulk of her own 

 fruit and rose stocks, azaleas, boxwood, 

 rhododendrons, coniferous and broad- 

 leaved evergreens and many other items 

 now imported, and as soon as nursery- 

 men arid florists awaken to the possi- 

 bilities of their own country the impor- 

 tation of such stock will in a great meas- 

 ure cease. 



Bose Stocks in California. ' 



California rose growers have long pro- 

 duced their -own canina and Manetti 

 stocks, and certain California nurseries 

 liave long grown their own Mariana and 

 Mazzard stocks. What would one think 

 of a nurseryman who imported his peach 

 stocks for .budding instead of planting 

 the Carolina pits and growing them 

 himself? 



Carnations originally came from Eu- 

 rope. Who would look to Europe now 



for carnation plants to grow in Amer- 

 ica? California grapes originally came 

 from France and Spain. Who will go 

 to those countries for grape vines to 

 plant a vineyard today? 



As it is with those things today, so 

 may it be with ninety per cent of the 

 nursery and florists ' stock now imported 

 into this country, whenever American 

 energy and American capital set out to 

 produce them. 



Encourage Home Industry. 



If other industries are deserving of 

 encouragement and protection, is there 

 any reason why these industries do not 

 deserve like treatment? Woolen goods 

 bring no disastrous diseases or pests to 

 destroy billions of dollars of property. 

 Nevertheless, woolen goods pay a duty 

 almost equal to the foreign value of the 

 article imported. 



Why fume and rage and grow purple 

 in the face over the few hundreds of 

 thousands of annual profits made by 

 importers of foreign plant material and 

 ignore the enormous losses caused by 

 the pests brought in with this imported 

 stuff? 



Whose interests are paramount, the 

 plant importers' or the horticultural in- 

 dustries of America? 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



THE RECORD ORDER. 



The Largest Telegraph Delivery. 



This is the story of perhaps the most 

 elaborate funeral design ever ordered by 

 telegraph of one of the advertisers in 

 The Review's Telegraph Delivery De- 

 partment. 



There probably never has been so 

 good an illustration of the perfection 

 of the telegraph delivery service as it 

 exists today. 



The order recently was sent by a flo- 

 rist at St. Louis to James Hayes, at 

 Topeka, Kan., who found that he had 

 six hours in which to complete the de- 

 sign. It should be a matter of great 

 satisfaction to florists in general to con- 

 template the fact that so elaborate a 

 piece can be delivered in a distant city 

 in such an exceedingly brief time. 



A study of the illustration will make 

 it clear that this was an occupational 

 design, for the funeral of an actor. The 

 inscription is "Final Curtain" and the 

 design represents a stage with the cur- 

 tain down. The piece was seven and 

 one-half feet long and four and one- 

 half feet high. The columns at the 

 side were made by winding the wire 

 frame with chenille. The curtain was 

 of smilax. Carnations and sweet peas 

 were the flowers used and Mr. Hayes 

 employed just enough of them to create 

 the right effect. Too many flowers used 

 in the embellishment would have ob- 

 scured the idea. 



Worth a "Century" or More. 



Mr. Hayes says that he believes this 



will be a design new to nearly all florists 

 and he recommends that wherever an- 

 other piece of this character may be 

 wanted, the florist figure on charging 

 $100 for it, or more if higher priced 

 flowers are to be used, for the work in- 

 volved is considerable. 



"It would be a good thing," says Mr. 

 Hayes, "to make mention of the pro- 

 gressiveness of the trade in general in 

 the matter of transferring orders by 

 telegraph. A few years ago such a thing 

 as the execution of this order would 

 have been impossible, but now through 

 the medium of the telegraph we can de- 

 liver anything, almost anywhere, at any 

 time." 



ADVERTISING BY RETAILERS. 



[An address by David Schein, of Nashville, 

 before the recent meeting of tlie Tennessee State 

 Florists' Association.] 



Before going into a detailed discus- 

 sion of advertising appropriations and 

 mediums, I would like to call your at- 

 tention to some of the most vital factors 

 in advertising. 



A local banker who had charge of the 

 advertising for his institution was asked 

 to give his views on advertising. Here 

 is the statement he made: "Frankly, I 

 have my advertising sold to me. If the 

 seller is capable and honest I do really 

 good advertising." My experience leads 

 me to believe that the average florist 

 has his advertising sold to him. 



First: What is advertising? Adver- 

 tising is influencing the minds of people. 

 It is making others think as you desire. 

 It means utilizing all those forces which 

 produce impressions and crystallize opin- 



ions. It is the creating of prestige, that 

 quality which causes others to accept a 

 statement without question. 



Florist's Personality Productive Factor. 



Producing these impressions is by no 

 means confined to printed or painted 

 advertisements. The life that a busi- 

 ness man leads, both public and private, 

 has much to do with the molding of 

 public opinion and favor, A successful 

 florist must be a public-spirited, clean- 

 living, well known and well liked per- 

 son. No business is more influenced by 

 personality than that of the florist. 



Next in importance to a bright, clean 

 personality is a bright, clean store. Does 

 your store invite people to come in, or 

 to stay out? Does your store smile at 

 passers-by with 200-candle-power mazdas 

 and cheerful windows, or is your front 

 an illustration for a hard-luck story? 

 Think it over. The biggest advertising 

 opportunity that the average retailer 

 has is the lighting and display possibili- 

 ties in his own store. 



Advertising's Better Half. 



When you determine as to the most 

 suitable advertising methods for your 

 own business, please remember that no 

 advertising will survive or become re- 

 munerative unless it is substantiated by 

 merit of merchandise, service and the 

 dspendability of your promise. In otner 

 words, you've got to "make good" 

 what you advertise, or you are wasting 

 your advertising appropriation. You 

 cannot fool the public permanently. The 

 merchant who is building for perma- 



