124 



The Florists' Review 



NOVBMBBR 23, 1916. 



Krtabllshed. 1897. by Q. L. GRANT. 



PnbllBhed every Tharsday by 

 Thb Ploeists' Publishinq Co., 



830-660 Oazton BuUcUdk, 



608 South Dearborn St., OblcagOk 



Tele.. Wabash S195. 



Begistered cable addreos, 



Florriew, Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3. 1897, at the post-office at Chi- 

 cago, IIU UBder the Act of March 

 S. 1879. 



Sabacrlptlon price, $1.00 a year. 

 To Canada, $2.00; to Europe. $3.00. 



Advertlsintr rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 Tertlslnff accepted. 



(I 



NOTICE. 



It is imposaible to ffuarantee 



the insertion, discontinuance or 



alteration of any advertisement 



unless instructions are received 



BY 4 P. M. TUESDAY. 



SOCIETY OF AMEBICAN FLOKISTS. 

 Incorporated by Act of Coarresa, March 4, 1001. 



Officers for 1916: President, Daniel MacBorle. 

 Ban Francisco; Tlce-presldent, B. C. Kerr, Hous- 

 ton. Tex.; secretary, John Younc, 63 W. 28th 

 St.. New York City; treasurer, J. J. Hess. 

 Onutha. 



Officers for 1917: President, Robert C. Kerr, 

 Honaton, Tex.; vice-president, A. L. Miller, Ja- 

 maica, N. Y. ; secretary, John Young, 53 W. 28th 

 8t., New York City; treasurer. J. J. Hess, 

 Omaha, Neb. 



Thirty-third annual convention. New T<rk, 

 S. Y.. AngUNt 21 to 24, 1917. 



Results bring advertising. 

 The Review brings results. 



Again this season it has been demon- 

 strated that there is no chrysanthemum 

 the people like better than old Major 

 Bonnaffon. 



It is the intention of The Review to 

 answer promptly all letters that bear the 

 full name and address of the sender, but 

 no effort is made to reply to or investi- 

 gate anonymous inquiries. 



Publishers have been hard hit by the 

 rise in printing paper, but retail florists 

 have had to stand a greater increase in 

 the price of tissue, used almost every 

 time the cash register rings. Tissup 

 paper that jobbers formerly sold for 

 around $5 per bundle recently has sold 

 for $15 and hereafter will be $17 per 

 bundle. 



The excellent portrait of John Cook, 

 of Baltimore, which appeared in The Re- 

 view for November 16, was from a pho- 

 tograph by Fred Lautenschlager, 444 

 West P^rie street, Chicago. Mr. Lauten- 

 schlager offers to loan the film to any 

 florists' club which would like to make 

 an enlargement for the decoration of the 

 club room. 



Reports indicate that there have been 

 numerous losses on the azalea imports 

 again this season. While some shipments 

 are said to have arrived in perfect con- 

 dition, others have opened in such shape 

 that the value for this season is prob- 

 lematical. It is understood that this 

 season there is no insurance for the ship- 

 pers, guaranteeing against losses of this 

 character. 



SOME PUFFS FOR US. 



The sum of money received for sub- 

 scriptions is so small compared to that 

 received for advertisements that many 

 publishers make the mistake of mak- 

 ing every item a puff for an advertiser. 

 Such papers have difficulty in holding 

 circulation; they must employ can- 

 vassers, give premiums and resort to 

 other devices to keep going, and they 

 get no letters like this: 



I enclose check 'to pay for The Review for the 

 next thee years, to November, 1910. The paper 

 keeps Improving every year and has my best 

 wishes for a successful future. — Wm. Nicholson, 

 Framingham, Mass., November 8, 1916. 



And the advertiser's interests are 

 best served, not by lauding him and 

 his goods in extravagant language, 

 which nearly everyone recognizes for 

 what it is, an effort to curry favor, 

 but by printing a paper the people not 

 only pay for but READ. Then results 

 are like this: 



You may discontinue our ad for the present, 

 as we are completely sold out. We certainly 

 have had good success with The Review this 

 vear. — Evenden Bros., Williamsport, I'a., No- 

 vember 11, 1916. 



When you hear a man complain of 



the cost of advertising you can be 



pretty sure he spends a good bit of 



money elsewhere than in The Review. 



THE MUM SEASON. 



The chrysanthemum season has been 

 one of unusual conditions in nearly all 

 parts of the country this year, condi- 

 tions which may not occur again for a 

 long time, although it is probable that 

 the increased plantings will continue. 



The quantity of mums grown was 

 larger than ever, the increase being 

 particularly great in pompons and 

 singles. The weather conditions were 

 such that the early varieties were one, 

 two or even three weeks later than 

 usual in reaching the market, the mid- 

 season varieties being right on their 

 heels. The result was a scarcity early 

 in the season, and unusually good 

 prices at wholesale, followed by what 

 was for many growers the most severe 

 glut ever known, with an excellent 

 retail demand the only thing that pre- 

 vented utter demoralization of prices, 

 with values so low that it is doubtful 

 if the flowers paid more than the cost 

 of production to growers shipping to 

 wholesale markets. Those who retail 

 their stock fared somewhat better. 



With the middle of November the 

 pressure relaxed, with the result that 

 values have become more stable and 

 there is excellent prospect for the suc- 

 cess of the late varieties, the Thanks- 

 giving supply being less than usual. 



STANDARDIZATION HELPS. 



One of the reasons why a grower to- 

 day can build a greenhouse at a cost, 

 compared with two years ago, that is 

 much less than the average advance in 

 the price of the materials is that the 

 builders have standardized their out- 

 put. A standardized article always can 

 he had at a price less than the cost of 

 a special article. 



Until quite recently every greenhouse 

 was a special proposition, individual 

 from the first rough sketch to the last 

 hammer-stroke. Today it is different. 

 It has been discovered that there is no 

 good reason why Smith should put up 

 a house six inches wider than .Jones, 

 and Jones four inches less than .John- 

 son. Nothing whatever is gained by 

 such slight differences, but they make 



an important difference in the cost, as 

 each must be milled spepially. The re- 

 sult has been that manufacturers have 

 adopted standard widths for their va- 

 rious styles of constructions; they are 

 the best widths, for certain definite 

 reasons. For such houses the plans, the 

 erection details, even the shipping lists, 

 are all ready and the material is run in 

 quantity; all that is necessary on re- 

 ceipt of an order is to count off enough 

 parts for a given number of lineal feet 

 of house. It makes a great saving. As 

 these economies have been worked out 

 during the time that commodity prices 

 have been rising, tney have enabled the 

 material manufacturers to get along 

 with smaller increases in their own 

 prices. 



CHICAGO. 



"Watch Your Step." 



The Review has received several re- 

 ports that a man is calling on the 

 trade, asking for subscriptions to this 

 paper and offering a cheap imitation- 

 leather pocketbook as a gift to those 

 who will subscribe. As it is the easiest 

 thing imaginable to get florists to 

 subscribe to The Review, the field would 

 be a fertile one except that the trade 

 knows The Review never has found it 

 necessary to give pocketbooks, knives 

 or any other kind of premiums to get 

 people to buy the paper and anyone 

 making such an offer can be set down 

 as a swindler. 



Representatives of The Review are 

 well known in the trade. Don't pay 

 money to strangers for this paper's 

 account. 



The Market. 



The cooler weather which prevailed 

 last week had the desired effect of cut- 

 ting down stock and relieving the 

 glutted condition of the market. The 

 end of the week, in fact, brought bet- 

 ter conditions than had obtained for 

 some time. Shorter supply and better 

 prices were generally reported. Al- 

 though there was fair business Novem- 

 ber 20, the market nevertheless again 

 manifested a tendency toward easier 

 prices, but the wholesale houses in gen- 

 eral look for a steady strengthening 

 from now to Christmas. 



All varieties of roses are clearing 

 fairly well, the shorter stems moving 

 best. The supply is considerably less 

 than it has been for some time and 

 good prices are generally obtaining. 

 American Beauties are on the scarce 

 side, due largely to the fact that most 

 growers pinched their plants for a 

 Christmas crop and therefore are not 

 cutting much at present. The stock 

 reaching tne market is clearing well, 

 however, fair prices being obtained. 

 Carnations are about the deadest item 

 on the market. The supply is large, 

 while there is little demand, although 

 the quality of the stock is excellent. 

 From some quarters reports are begin- 

 ning to come, however, of improved de- 

 mand and better prices. 



Good and fancy mums are clearing 

 well at good prices. Inferior quality 

 stock is, on the other hand, difficult to 

 move at even strong concessions. Pom- 

 pons are moving finely and getting good 

 prices. Present indications are that 

 there will be a scarcity for Thanks- 

 giving, as the warm weather during the 

 first two weeks of November hurried 

 them into crop. * 



