22 



The Florists^ Review 



July 26, 1917. 



M 



Established, 1807. by O. L. GRANT. 



Publisbeil every Thursday by 

 The Flouists' Publishing Co., 



520-560 Oaxton Building, 



608 South Dear bora St., Chicago. 



Tele., Wabash 8195. 



Resristered cable address, 



Florvlew, Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

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

 ca«ro. 111., under the Act of March 

 3 1879. 



Subscription price, $1.60 a year. 

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



Advertising rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising accepted. 



NOTICE. 



It is impossible to g^uarantee 



the insertion, discontinuance or 



alteration of any advertisement 



unless instructions are received 



BY 4 P. M. TUESDAY. 



SOCIETY OF AKESICAir FLOBISTS. 

 Ineorpcrated br Act cf CoDKreaa, March 4, 1001. 

 Ofllcen f»r 1917: PreaideBt, Babert 0. Kerr, 

 Hanataa, Tax.; Tica-prealdaat, ▲. Ij. Millar, la- 

 ■ulca, N. Y.; aecretary. Jahn Yaung, 68 W. 28tta 

 St., Naw Yark City; traaaurar, 3. J. Haaa, 

 OBaha, Neb. 



TklrtT-third annual conTentlan, New Yark. 

 M. Y.. Aufoat 21 to 24, 1917. 



Results bring advertisiDg. 

 The Review brings results. 



There seems to be small chance of 

 azaleas reaching this country in any 

 quantity this autumn. 



Sales made today sometimes may be 

 at the expense of the future, but the re- 

 verse rarely is true: A sale lost by a 

 florist is not easily recovered. 



Camouflage is the art of making 

 oneself inconspicuous amid one's sur- 

 roundings. The armies are studying it, 

 but many florists are past masters through 

 long practice. 



There is a place for Pink Ophelia. The 

 color is more nearly the true pink than in 

 any other rose on the market, and it 

 should prove to be an easy doer, making it 

 useful both to retailers and growers. 



Wholesalers say collections in the 

 trade have been slower than usual this 

 spring and summer. It is felt that the 

 reason is seen in the florists' higher costs 

 of doing business not compensated for 

 by better selling prices. 



There has been a big business in 

 chrysanthemum plants this month, the 

 demand coming later than usual because 

 the bedding plant business was late and 

 the benches were occupied longer than 

 usual by the spring crop. 



Many growers talk of dropping ge- 

 raniums because of the surplus of the 

 last two seasons, and because of the low 

 prices, considered unprofitable under 

 present conditions. But the surpluses 

 last year were local only and this year were 

 due to war and weather. At the same 

 time production increased. It is not fair 

 to blame the geranium. 



In the country towns, as a rule, the 

 spring season figures up a specially good 

 one; it seems to have been in the cities 

 the uncertainties had most effect. 



REACHING THE TRADE. 



Of no issue of The Review in 1917 

 have less than 12,000 copies been or- 

 dered; for most of the time the press- 

 room order has stood to print 12,500 

 copies of each issue. 



How many florists do you think there 

 are who do not read The Review? 



HAS YOUR COAL COST BEEN CUT? 



The Review has received the follow- 

 ing letter from F. S. Peabody, Washing- 

 ton, D. C, chairman of the Committee 

 on Coal Production of the Council of 

 National Defense: 



I have just read with considerable interest your 

 article (in The Review of July 5) on coal prices. 



Peeling that it was written without a full 

 understanding of the action taken at the con- 

 vention of coal operators, the latter part of June. 

 I am therefore sending you a copy of the pro- 

 ceedings of that convention. 



The enclosure was the statement 

 given the press under date of June 28, 

 which was widely quoted in the daily 

 papers as bringing a material reduction 

 in the price of coal. 



The Review replied to Mr. Peabody as 

 follows: 



Your letter of July 16, 1917, with enclosure, 

 came safely and has been read with interest. 



For your information, so far as we have been 

 able to ascertain, the convention of coal opera- 

 tors has made no reduction in the cost of fuel to 

 anyone in the trade our journal represents, 

 neither to those who buy on contract, by the 

 carload, or at retail. If anything, the action 

 of the operators' convention has had the effect 

 of affirming previously existing high prices. 



If any florist has been able to buy 

 coal any cheaper in July than June by 

 reason of the widely heralded "reduc- 

 tion" in prices. The Review will be 

 pleased to learn of the fact and will 

 gladly tell the trade about it. 



HERE'S THE GOOD WORD. 



What a pleasure it is to meet Mr. 

 Smiley Glad, the apostle of good cheer, 

 who says, "We had the largest and 

 finest stock of chrysanthemum plants this 

 year we ever had and one more inser- 

 tion of the ad in The Review will clean 

 them up nicely. The call for mums this 

 year was the latest we have ever known, 

 due no doubt to the late season, the heav- 

 iest demand coming in the last part of 

 June and first part of July. " It is from 

 N. E. Beck Floral Co.,'Massillon, O., 

 and the writer adds: 



"Prices have been advanced on near- 

 ly everything here and business is fine, 

 with a good outlook for next season. 

 Bedding plants cleaned up well around 

 here, good 4-inch geraniums retailing 

 at from $2 to $2.40 per dozen. If coal 

 is high 'we should worry,' as everyone 

 expects to pay a high price. We have 

 just finished cutting a fine crop of wheat 

 on our two farms and expect to plant 

 about seventy-five acres to wheat this 

 fall. We sold our last year's crop of 

 1,800 bushels this spring when the price 

 was up." 



There is an old saying that "noth- 

 ing succeeds like success" and certainly 

 the successful man is far more pleasant 

 company than the chronic complainer. 



APPRECIATION. 



ing to serve. Many, many times yom 

 efforts are appreciated and are not in 

 vain, but many times that little pat on 

 the back that sends a thrill through you 

 is withheld. That is why, when lettors 

 containing such sentiments come to The 

 Review, the editor and his assistants 

 dig in with renewed vigor and try to 

 more fully merit such approbation as 

 their readers may feel. 



The above was caused by that which 

 follows: 



Please find enclosed check for $1.50 for an- 

 other year's subscription to The Review, wlich 

 we find indispensable, not having missed a sin- 

 gle copy for seventeen years. — KnuU Floral i j 

 Tampa, Fla., July 14, 1917. 



The Review has many subscribi is 

 who have been receiving the paper siiue 

 the first issue, nearly twenty years. 



THE DRAFT. 



No man is drafted until an exemption 

 board has passed on his fitness to be a 

 soldier, but the effect on the trade will 

 be apparent by a perusal of the news- 

 letters in this issue of The Review. Tlie 

 already existing shortage of experienced 

 help will be accentuated with each call 

 to the colors. 



The draft was a lottery and containcl 

 a sporting element which seems to have 

 appealed to the people, but now that 

 chance has played its part it is seen 

 that inequalities have resulted. From 

 certain establishments a number of 

 men are called up for examination, 

 while competitors are not called on to 

 make any present contribution from 

 their staff. 



The government expects one-half the 

 men examined will be exempted, but the 

 proportion passed among florists no 

 doubt will be higher than the average, 

 as florists as a class are physically fit 

 and the industry is not an essential one 

 from the military point of view. 



There will be several ways in which 

 the effect of the draft will be noted — 

 the scarcity of experienced helpers will 

 lead to the employment of untrained 

 people, especially women; the necessity 

 for a redistribution of the skilled work- 

 ers will result in advancing wages, 

 slowly, perhaps, but surely; the increas 

 ing difficulties of production will result 

 in one or another of two things, lower 

 quality or decreased production. 



One of the greatest pleasures in life 

 is knowing that the results of your ef- 

 forts find favor with those you are seek- 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



Although there is no extraordinary 

 business being done in the wholesale 

 cut flower market, the feeling on the 

 whole is one of satisfaction with the 

 way in which the market is holding up. 

 There has been some hot weather in 

 the last few days and with a few more 

 similar ones stock will undoubtedly 

 shorten rapidly. 



The quality of the stock which ar- 

 rives for the greater part is poor and 

 good stock may be said to be scarce. 

 Garden flowers hold an important place 

 on the list. The demand for them is 

 good and much stock is arriving. Car- 

 nations play but a slight role, only a 

 small amount of good stock coming in. 



There is a fair supply of American 

 Beauties and for this season they are of 

 good quality. The demand is active 

 enough to clear the stock that arrives. 

 While there are many poor quality roses 

 arriving, not much good stock is to be 



