20 



The Florists^ Review 



JANDABT 4, 1917. 



Established, 1897, by O. L. GRANT. 



PubllBhed every Thursday by 

 The Florists' Publishing Co., 



620-560 Oaxton BulldlDK, 



608 Soutb Dearborn St., Chicago. 



Tele., Wabash 8195. 



Refflstered cable address, 



Florvlew, Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3. 1897. at the post-office at Clil- 

 cago. 111., under the Act of March 

 3.1879. 



Subscription price, $1.50 a year. 

 To Canada, $2.50j to Europe. $3.00. 



Advertising rat<»s quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising accepted. 



If 



NOTICE. 



It is imposaible to g^uarantee 



the insertion, discontinuance or 



alteration of any advertieement 



unless instructions are received 



BY 4 P. M. TUESDAY. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FtOKISTS. 



Incorporated by Act of Congress, March 4, 1901. 



Officers for 1917: President, Robert C. Kerr, 

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

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

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

 Omaha, Neb. 



Thirty-third annual convention, New York, 

 N. Y., August 21 to 24, 1917. 



Results bring advertising. 

 The Review brings results. 



Although supply houses carried over 

 moderate quantities of red frieze, it is as 

 nothing to what department stores through 

 the country have to work oif . 



It will pay to root all the cuttings of 

 Alice carnation. The variety has given 

 60 good an account of itself since its dis- 

 semination that the demand for young 

 stock will take up everything that is likely 

 to be available. 



Last week 's mails brought many com- 

 plaints from subscribers who had failed 

 to receive The Review of December 21. 

 The Christmas mails were so badly con- 

 gested that in some cases it took a week 

 for copies to reacli a destination ordinar- 

 ily reached within twenty-four hours. 



The success certain growers for the 

 eastern markets have had with the Hadley 

 rose will prompt some of the western ex- 

 perts to give the variety another trial; a 

 rose that can be grown good enough to 

 command $1 per flower at Christmas, even 

 for a small part of the cut, is worth study- 

 ing. 



The sliortage of Manetti stocks is im- 

 portant, but it would have been far v.orso 

 in the days when growers were in the 

 habit of replanting their roses each sea- 

 son. This year a shortage of young 

 grafted stock merely will mean that grow- 

 ers will carry over more of the old plants 

 than heretofore. 



The Mrs. Russell rose seems peculiarly 

 susceptible to extremes in weather. It 

 does well in the heat of summer, but a 

 damp, hot spell cooks the flower. Recent 

 zero days also have played havoc with 

 some splendid crops. But Mrs. Russell 

 is so good when it is good that it is for- 

 given its oflf days. 



There are a large number, especially 

 in the wholesale branch of the business, 

 who hope collections will improve now 

 that the new year has arrived. 



From the number of readers who sent 

 The Review $5 for five years' subscrip- 

 tion and dated their letters December 26, 

 it may be deduced that the trade had a 

 right fair Christmas. 



Here is a Happy New Year idea for 

 dahlia growers, for they are assured an 

 increased demand and no possibility of 

 unsalable surplus! This is how: Inu- 

 line is a chemical necessary for the pro- 

 d ition of the serum used in anti-typhoid 

 and anti-typhus inoculations. Before the 

 war Germany supplied it. Now the chem- 

 ists have discovered that the root of the 

 dahlia contains two per cent of inuline, 

 which is in great demand. 



PUT THEM ON THE MAP. 



There are several cities of good size 

 that are not on the trade map — for the 

 reason that The Review has not yet 

 found anyone to see that they are ade- 

 quately represented in its news columns. 



The Review would like to hear from 

 someone who will be interested in sup- 

 plying a weekly news letter from 



Albany, N. Y, 



Baltimore, Md. 



Louisville, Ky. 



New Orleans, La. 



Syracuse, N. Y. 



Or if there is any other town not ade- 

 quately represented. The Review would 

 like to arrange for news letters. 



FLORISTS' HAIL ASSOCIATION. 



Increased Bate of Assessment. 



It is not generally known that all 

 insurance companies insuring crops have 

 lost money during the last two years. 



The Florists' Hail Association, like 

 the old line insurance companies, has 

 been up against the loss proposition 

 hard during 1915 and 1916. The heavy 

 losses have been met promptly without 

 levying an extra assessment. 



At a Chicago meeting of the directors, 

 they believed that a raise in the rate 

 for the March assessment of 1917 would 

 be likely to pull the association through 

 the coming year without the levy of an 

 extra assessment, provided the loss 

 ratio of the last ten years was not ex- 

 ceeded. The era of prosperity which 

 tlie trade is now enjoying ought to make 

 the increased rate a small matter to a 

 large percentage of the membership of 

 the Florists' Hail Association. 



New business coming in at the new 

 rate in a measure shows that the new 

 rate will make practically no difference 

 to the prosperity of the association. 

 John G. Esler, Sec'y. 



WILL THE BUSINESS PAY? 



The Review frequently of late is 

 asked if, in its opinion, the greenhouse 

 business can be made profitable with 

 fuel at such prices as $6.50 per ton for 

 low grade coal. 



The publishers of The Review are of 

 the opinion that the greenhouse business 

 will be profitable, except perhaps for 

 brief intervals, under any outside condi- 

 tions. 



A condition of high prices for general 

 commodities is favorable to the flower 

 business rather than against its success. 

 Business always is good on a rising 



market; when everything else is going 

 up in price the florist can keep pace if 

 he only thinks so. If prices for other 

 commodities eventually become settled 

 on the present high levels, the prices 

 of flowers will be found to have ad- 

 vanced in about the same proportion. 

 Florists will prosper so long as prices 

 rise or continue high. The difficulty will 

 come when prices begin to fall. The 

 trouble then will lie in the fact that 

 not so many people are making money 

 and that spending power is reduced. 

 This will cut oflp the demand for flowers 

 and reduce their prices faster than green- 

 house operating expenses can be reduced. 

 Falling prices are what this trade should 

 fear, not advancing prices. 



MAKING ADVEETISING PAY. 



Forced to the action by the high price 

 of paper. The Review increased the sub- 

 scription price January 1 to $1.50 per 

 year. In advance of that date a con- 

 siderable number of readers took advan- 

 tage of the opportunity to renew sub- 

 scriptions for one or more years at the 

 rate then prevailing. Many of the let- 

 ters accompanying remittances were of 

 interest. Like these: 



The Review Is so well worth the new subscrip- 

 tion price that it seems like taking advantage 

 to subscribe for two years at the old rate. — 

 C. W. Outhwalte, New Iberia, La., December 21, 

 1916. 



The Review is one of the high class magazine! 

 which every live wire In the florists' trade needs 

 in his business. — C. L. Spahr, Tarentum, Pa., 

 December 27, 1916. 



Here ■ is a money order for $5 for Ave years. 

 What would we do without The Review, with 

 the profitable articles and money-saving ads it 

 always contains? — F. W. Meyer, Cherryvale, 

 Kan., December 26, 1916. 



We have made thousands of dollars throagh 

 the information we obtained by reading the 

 articles and ads in The Review. It is indis- 

 pensable in our business and we send $6 for 

 the next five years. — Klrchhoff Bros., Chicago, 

 111., December 26, 1916. 



Turning from the subscription depart- 

 ment to the advertising desk, it is not 

 a surprise to find that advertisers also 

 have been hearing from the readers of 

 The Review. Like these: 



The ad has brought more orders than I shall 

 be able to handle this month, but you surely will 

 hear from me later. — Max B. Schrelber, Mc- 

 Donald, Pa., December 18, 1916. 



The ad sold all the plants I had to spare in 

 one day after I received the paper. — Henry 

 Gerstenkom, Decatur, 111., December 18, 1916. 



AVe are cleaned up; The Review does the work. 

 — Brown's Greenhouses, Clyde, O., December 14, 

 1916. 



AVboa! Back up, take out the ad; wait until 

 I Rrow something more and I will be with you 

 again! — James Frost, Greenville, O., December 

 14, 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. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



New Year's demand in the houses 

 that do the shipping trade was un- 

 usually good, but after the shipping or- 

 ilers were out the activity in this mar- 

 ket was less than in former years. The 

 wholesaler who did not have established 

 shipping business to rely oh found 

 this a poor New Year's. The absence 

 of special local demand may in a large 

 measure be attributed to the fact that 

 New Year's eve this year fell on Sun- 

 day, upon which day no liquor is al- 

 lowed to be served. As the life of New 

 Year's celebrations always has centered 

 around the champagne supper, those 

 who wished to celebrate in the accus- 

 tomed manner either held small parties 

 at home or went to some other city to 



