14 



The Florists' Review 



^AvQvar 16, lOlT. 



able capital of either cash or credit. 

 Such an undertaking means only failure 

 for the man who has insufficient capital 

 and who has not the ability to stick 

 when his weekly reports show that his 

 bank account is growing smaller, even 

 though his sales are growing larger. 



The Ohio Floral Co. is owned princi- 

 pally by Oscar J. Friedman, who for 

 many years has had a high-class store 

 near-by in the Congress hotel. The 

 direction of the upstairs store is in the 

 hands of Victor Bergman, ' who also is 

 in charge of the Friedman quality store. 

 Consequently the same brains decide the 

 policies and do the buying for two ex- 

 tremely dissimilar retail flower stores. 

 In the one only the highest class trade 

 is handled, in the other the opposite 

 class. 



Future for This Class of Store. 



Mr. Bergman believes that there is a 

 great future for the retail florists' busi- 

 ness in stores that will cater to such 

 a trade as does the Ohio Floral Co. 

 Constant increases in the business done 

 at the second floor store give him con- 

 fidence in his belief that there are many 

 persons who buy flowers occasionally 

 and who will travel to a certain place 

 when there is a chance to save money. 

 And it does not particularly matter 

 where that place is, be it upstairs or 

 down. 



But, he warns florists, such a store 

 requires what has already been detailed, 

 money and courage. The man who has 

 a few hundreds or a few thousands of 

 dollars will fail, because he will be 

 unable to continue the sales-creating 

 stimulant without which such a store 

 would do almost no business — advertis- 

 ing, consistent and persistent. 



Advertising. That is the keynote of 

 such success as the Ohio Floral Co. 

 store has attained. Advertising has 

 made possible an innovation in the re- 

 tail end of the florists ' trade. No elabo- 

 rate fixtures are needed. There is no 

 considerable investment in stock and 

 the many accessories to be found in the 

 average modern retail store. There is 

 no highly paid help. Business is cre- 

 ated by advertising, but newspaper 

 space in a large city is expensive and 

 success lies only in the ability to "keep 

 everlastingly at it." 



The trade in Philadelphia is understood 

 to be principally interested. 



BUSINESS EMBABBASSMENTS. 



Charleston, S. C. — Paul M. MacMil- 

 lan, attorney for the Eodgers Floral 

 Co., which was thrown into bankruptcy 

 by its creditors recently, has sent a let- 

 ter to those having claims against the 

 company offering settlement on the ba- 

 sis of 50 cents on the dollar. The letter 

 states that if the company's affairs are 

 liquidated by the court the creditors 

 will receive practically nothing, but 

 that Francis S. Eodgers, Jr., has made 

 arrangements to pay the amount stated. 

 The company is a copartnership be- 

 tween Francis S. Eodgers, Jr., and Har- 

 old E. Eodgers, the latter a minor. An 

 inventory of the company's property 

 placed the assets at $13,500, while the 

 liabilities are $17,000. The assets, how- 

 ever, consist of stock in trade, boxes, 

 open accounts and $2,300 due from the 

 minor partner. It is claimed that Har- 

 old E. Eodgers, being a minor, can re- 

 pudiate his obligation to the company 

 and that a forced sale will cut the value 

 of the other assets materially. The let- 

 ter asserts that all creditors must ac- 

 cept the offer, or the court will be^ al- 

 lowed to go on with the liquidation. 



THE CANADIAN MEETINQ. 



[The twentieth annual meeting of the Cana- 

 dian Horticultural Association, the trade body 

 in the Dominion, was the special feature of The 

 Review for August 9.] 



Officers Elected. 



At the closing session of the conven- 

 tion of the Canadian Horticultural 



,^ 



y*. 'V.''" 



Take the Hevator 

 To the Second Fioot 



Save half on your 

 funeral flowers by pay- 

 in g; cash. 



Sprays 



and up 



Wreaths 



.00 



and up 



You money back if pot 

 satisfied. 



Ohio Floral Co. 



OHIO BUILDING 



Coneress and Wabash 



Phone Harrison 1464 



An Appeal to Thrift. 



Association, at Montreal, August 9, the 

 following officers were elected: 



President — E. J. Hayward, of Mon- 

 treal, Quebec. 



First vice-president — George Douglas, 

 of Toronto, Ont. 



Second vice-president — E. B. Hamil- 

 ton, of London, Ont. 



Secretary-treasurer — H. J. Eddy, of 

 Montreal, Quebec. 



New members of the executive com- 

 mittee, to serve for three years — Luke 

 Williams, Ottawa, Ont.; C. M. Baldwin, 



Toronto, Ont.; William Cotter, Mon- 

 treal, Quebec. 



This represents a complete change in 

 the management of the society, none 

 being a reelection except that of Mr. 

 Williams, who was returned to his place 

 on the executive committee. Mr. Hay- 

 ward was first vice-president last year 

 and chairman of the local entertainment 

 committee, of which Mr. Eddy was sec- 

 retary; Mr. Eddy succeeds Julius Luck, 

 who has been secretary-treasurer for 

 many years. 



It was voted to hold the next meeting 

 August, 1918, at Ottawa, Ont. 



Will Make War Becord. 



In view of the fact that many mem- 

 bers of the association are or have been 

 serving overseas, it was suggested by 0. 

 M. Baldwin, of Toronto, that some means 

 be taken to record and honor the names 

 of these men. This has not been done 

 up to the present. The suggestion re- 

 ceived the hearty approval of the asso- 

 ciation. 



President James Eraser, of Prescott, 

 who drove to Montreal for the meeting, 

 has attended eighteen of the twenty 

 .conventions the association has held. 



Bad Weather for Excursions. 



The convention was conceded to be 

 perhaps the best the association ever 

 has held, in spite of the many reasons 

 to expect the contrary. The weather 

 was delightful on the opening day, but 

 the two trips of inspection were marred 

 by inclement weather the second and 

 third days. The first trip was, as the 

 guests of the city, for a drive through 

 the parks and a visit to the greenhouses 

 of McKenna, Ltd., Frank McKenna 

 later reading a paper on the problems 

 he has encountered in running the re- 

 tailing end of the place. After the 

 convention adjourned the visitors were 

 the guests of the Montreal Gardeners' 

 and Florists* Club on a trip to St. Anne 

 de Bellevue, to visit Macdonald College 

 and to view several of the private gar- 

 dens at Senneville. 



A SEJiF-WATEBTNTO BENCH. 



Eoy White, of the Lamar Greenhouse 

 Co., Lamar, Colo., has received a patent 

 on a self -watering greenhouse bench. It 

 embodies the same principle as the Lit- 

 tle Wonder plant irrigator. The bench, 

 is made of galvanized iron in any size 

 and is about three inches deep. There 

 is a perforated top which allows tubes 

 with sponges to be placed at any dis- 

 tance apart. 



Mr. White says the bench is only for 

 potted plants. He has one of the benches 

 in use at the Lamar range and says that 

 it is a great labor saver. The bench is 

 connected to the water supply and auto- 

 matically fills itself, thereby eliminating 

 the labor of watering. Mr. White says 

 the plants do fifty per cent better in 

 the bench, as there is always the right 

 amount of water. Several of the 

 benches will be installed in the Lamar 

 greenhouses this fall. 



Tama, la. — The Sheldon Gardens Co. 

 has let a contract to the Foley Green- 

 house Mfg. Co., of Chicago, for a green- 

 house, 33x250 feet, to cost about $8,- 

 500. The Sheldon Gardens Co. was re- 

 cently incorporated with a capital stock 

 of $15,000, most of which was pur- 

 chased by Tama business men. George 

 Sheldon is the moving spirit in the en- 

 terprise. 



