

20 



The Florists^ Review 



NOVBMBEB 30, 1916. 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



J "THE AWFUL GAP." 



Thjftre are a large, number of retail 

 florists who operate greenhouses, pro- 

 dueiig cut flowers. Many of these find 

 it necessary to buy a part of their 

 stock in wholesale markets, but at other 

 seasons produce more in t^eir own 

 gr^jgnhouses than is needed for their 

 local retail trade and at sijch times are 

 consignors to the wholesale markets. It 

 is characteristic of such iflorists' that 

 thqy are unable to underst^d what one 

 of them refers to as "the awful ga^" 

 between the price they have to pay 

 when buying and the price they receive 

 for the same thing when shipping to 

 the wholesale market. 



In the wholesaler's lexicon such flo- 

 rists are known as "dumpers" and 

 many commission houses deal with 

 them reluctantly. Not that the whole- 

 saler has anything personal against the 

 florist who alternately is buyer and con- 

 signor, but that his trade is not of the 

 most desirable character. Such a man 

 invariably orders most frequently when 

 stock is scarcest, when his orders are 

 most diflScult to fill and when prices are 

 at the highest. Quite the opposite, he 

 turns consignor at a time that the 

 wholesale markets are loaded with the 

 stock of regular shippers, at a time 

 when flowers are most difficult to sell 

 and when prices are at the lowest. Such 

 a man gets both extremes of the mar- 

 ket, the hot end in each case, and he 

 is not heard from at all under normal 

 conditions, the average conditions that 

 make the flower business the success 

 it is. 



The man who grows only a part of 

 what he retails should understand these 

 conditions, for "the awful gap" is 

 largely of his own making and some- 

 thing that he will have to expect as 

 long as the business is conducted along 

 its present lines. 



LET UNQLE SAM HELP. 



The way paper prices have been 

 bumping the sky during the last year, 

 even little ideas for cutting down paper 

 bills are not to be overlooked. 



An eastern manufacturer recently 

 sent out a notice to his dealers in which 

 he suggested the use of government 

 post cards as paper stock for small cir- 

 culars, or advertising that could be suc- 

 cessfully presented on the back of 

 Uncle Sam's 1-penny post cards. 

 Emphasis was laid on the fact that ad- 

 vertising literature printed on post 

 cards can be mailed without the labor 

 of stamping — the stamp being on the 

 card, that labor is saved. 



As yet Uncle Sam has not increased 

 the price of postal cards, so it still is 

 possible to purchase this piece of paper, 

 postage paid, at the same cost as last 

 year. 



' If a retail florist was to circularize 

 1,000 buyers of Christmas tree* by 

 means of first-class mail, the cost of 

 postage would be $20. For that sum 



2,000 buyers could be reached with 1- 

 cent post cards, or the original 1,000 

 would require an expenditure of only 

 $10 both for postage and paper. There 

 would be no envelopes or letterheads to 

 pay for J the post cards would simply 

 , have td be printed and dropped in the 

 * mail box. If a comparison is made l)e- 

 twee'n the costs of using post cards and 

 large l^^ei^t ' circulars, the saving is in 

 - paper stvck. Of course, in many cases 

 the government card is not large enough 

 to present the sales idea, or it may be 

 too cheap-looking to harmonize with 

 certain propositions. 



The government also furnishes 

 stamped envelopes, at the same old 

 prices. And these prices seem low now 

 when contrasted with prices on similar 

 grades of stock envelopes purchased 

 from paper houses or printers. Uncle 

 Sam also will print the envelopes h« 

 sells, without extra cost, and, everybody 

 knows that printing bills now are 

 higher than ever. 



The government purchases post cards 

 and envelopes in large quantities, on 

 long-time contracts. Increased paper 

 prices cannot increase the price of the 

 post card, and it also is unlikely to in- 

 crease the cost of standard envelopes, 

 even if the government should have to 

 pay a little more. 



papers. Consequently when these edi» 

 torial columns contain a reference to 

 the use of flowers it is of inestimable 

 value to the trade. 



November 21 the Hearst papers had 

 an editorial entitled "Remind Me df 

 My Wife's Birthday," in which it re- 

 ferred to "an interesting view of 

 American married life," as follows: 



Here Is, to us, a new idea that illustrates one 

 entertaining side of American married life. 



A well-known florist sends out indiscriminately 

 to prosperous and supposedly affectionate hus- 

 bands a cheerful little postal card. On it la 

 written, "Date of my wife's blrthday-^remlnd 

 me of it." 



The affectionate husband mails it back to the 

 florist. 



Then, every year, on the birthday of "the dear 

 one," or- a day before, the florist rings up the 

 husband and says, ".what about your wife's 

 birthday? Any flowers?" 



The husband says, "Thanks very much for 

 reminding me. Send up a box of roses, with 

 'Much Love and Devotion' written on a card. 

 Don't forget to remind me next year." 



The wife gets the box of flowers on her birth- 

 day and the card with all the love and devo- 

 tion. The husband pays the bill and all la 

 serene in that happy American home. 



The husband goes down to his work, making 

 money. , 



The wife leans back in her straight front or 

 crooked front corset and says to all of her 

 friends as they come in and ^U up their eyes 

 when they see the flowers, "Yes, Henry never 

 forgets." 



A BOOST FOB US. 



Perhaps there is nothing more widely 

 read in America than the back page, 

 2-column editorials in the Hearst news- 



Dear Henry doesn't forget, thanks to the 

 florist. 



How many American homes are kept happy 

 and smooth by these Intelligent reminders? 



The Hearst papers have done a great 

 deal, in the news columns, to increase 

 the appreciation and use of flowers, but 

 probably nothing of greater value than 

 this, although obviously the purpose 

 was along quite another line. 



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SEASONABLE Jir 

 isr SUGGESTIONS 



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1 



Olgantemn Lilies. 



Most of the giganteum lily bulbs now 

 have been received and the potting 

 should be done with as little delay as 

 possible. I have found that old chry- 

 santhemum soil suits them well. Do 

 not use any fresh manure or fertilizer 

 for lilies, or, for that matter, any other 

 bulbs. The 6-inch pots are the best 

 to use. Set the bulbs low in the pots, 

 leaving space for a liberal top-dressing. 

 You have probably noted that all the 

 best roots on Easter lilies come from 

 above and not below the bulbs. For 

 that reason the bulbs should be well 

 covered, but it is best not to do all 

 the covering at potting time. If you 

 are short of 6-inch pots you can start 

 them in 4-inch pots and give them a 

 shift later. Giganteum lilies like heat 

 from start to finish. After potting 

 them, place them on or below a bench 

 where a minimum temperature of 55 

 degrees is maintained. For some time 



it will be all right to tier the pots sev- 

 eral deep, standing boards between the 

 layers of pots. 



Poinsettias. 



The present fall, so far, has proved 

 so warm and clear that poinsettias are 

 more advanced than ever before at this 

 season. Some plants, in fact, already 

 have bracts almost fully developed. 

 Some of these plants should be dis- 

 posed of without delay, as it is doubtful 

 whether they can be held in good shape 

 for Christmas. Care must be taken not 

 to subject these advanced plants to any 

 decided temperature changes, or a 

 heavy loss of foliage will be sure to 

 follow. Watering must now be done 

 with greater care. While we have 

 continuously clear skies it seems to 

 hurt plants little if they get a little 

 too much water, but with lower tem- 

 peratures outdoors, more artificial heat, 

 dark weather and less ventilation, the 



