12 



The Florists^ Review 



September 6, 1917. 



loam and old, well-decayed manure will 

 be found suitable. If the loam is heavy, 

 add some leaf -mold and sand. I store 

 the bulbs, after they are placed in pans 

 and flats, on the floor of a roomy cellar 

 and give them several soakings of water 

 before covering them with sand or coal 

 ashes. Many beginners in bulb culture 

 imagine that, if their bulbs receive a 

 watering after they are placed in the 

 soil, they can be covered and left to 

 care for themselves until they are 

 wanted for forcing. Where this is done 

 there is certain to be a large proportion 

 of blind bulbs, owing to an insufficiency 

 of moisture in the early stages of 

 growth. 



Varieties for Successive Crops. 



While nearly all varieties of Darwins 

 may be forced, some come in season 

 much earlier than others. William 

 Copeland, lavender, and Pride of Haar- 

 lem, bright rose, are generally con- 

 sidered the best two for blooming in 

 February, Directly following these we 

 get Bartigon, carmine red; Rev. H. 

 Ewbank, heliotrope lilac, and William 

 Pitt, deep scarlet. To come along a 

 little later a splendid half dozen are 



Glow, vermilion red; Loveliness, car- 

 mine rose; Gretchen, pale rose; Farn- 

 combe Sanders, rose scarlet; Massachu- 

 setts, vivid pink, and Baronne de la 

 Tonnaye, bright rose. 



As already stated, there is no pure 

 white Darwin, but White Queen comes 

 the nearest to that color. La Tulipe 

 Noire, the black tulip, is somewhat high- 

 priced, but is a giant among its fellows, 

 carrying larger blooms than any other 

 Darwin. It cannot be forced quite so 

 early as other varieties named, but has 

 great sub&tance and wonderful vigor, 

 and is, in general estimation, thg most 

 noble of all the Darwins. 



The Hollanders who have canvassed 

 the trade in the .United States this year 

 found a wide interest in Darwins and. 

 were quick to take advantage of it. 

 They have booked many more orders 

 than heretofore for these varieties and 

 if they are able to ship the bulbs there 

 will be a material increase in the supply 

 of cut flowers of Darwin sorts next 

 spring, although there probably will 

 never be another season that will see 

 so many flowers of the early-flowering 

 varieties. 



SOCIETY OF IOWA FLORISTS. 



ODCN LCrm^./^ DBADEft6 



THE LABOR QUESTION. 



Perhaps my experience in handling 

 men to advantage may be of benefit to 

 florists who are striving to overcome 

 the labor situation, for hand in hand 

 with the coal trouble is the labor 

 trouble. 



This year, for the first time in thirty 

 years, I have experienced a shortage of 

 laborers, but I have overcome this short- 

 age by having the men work on con- 

 tract. The men receive a certain 

 amount of money for emptying a bench 

 of plants, and a certain amount for re- 

 filling the bench. This system cuts 

 down the number of laborers required 

 to one-third. The men do more satis- 

 factory work, and they do not "loaf" 

 because they get paid for just what 

 they accomplish. Three years ago it 

 cost $14 to fill a bench, labor being 

 forty per cent choajjer than it is now; 

 yet tliis year it cost mo $lfl, by the con- 

 tract system. Tiiis method saves time 

 and money. 



Tlien there is the problem of obtain- 

 ing experienced growers, etc. Back in 

 the eighties, when floriculture in the 

 T'nitod States was in its infancy, I 

 used to train even the firemen and then 

 sit up all night to see if they car- 

 ried out my instructions. Even today I 

 train the inoxporioncod men in all 

 branches of floriculture. I hear the 

 question, Whore do you get the men 

 to train? There are plenty of men, 

 under and over military age. The trite 

 phrase, "It pays to advertise," is true, 

 and people are always looking for bet- 

 terment. Just what does the growing 

 end of a commercial floricultural estab- 

 lishment offer to the man choosing a 

 vocation? A good salary, employment 

 winter and summer, rain or shine, splen- 

 did working conditions and a chance for 



physical development. It is an every- 

 day occurrence for a man to rise out of 

 the ranks, to become a foreman, man- 

 ager or owner. 



A question naturally arises: After 

 spending three years in training a grow- 

 er, suppose he quits, when he is experi- 

 enced and when he is needed most? 

 My answer is: Be optimistic when your 

 right-hand man leaves you; begin over 

 again and train another; believe that 

 you have given a man a vocation which 

 will be useful to him during his life- 

 time and which, after he leaves you, will 

 perhaps benefit some other florist. It is 

 the cooperation in town, state and coun- 

 try that keeps the wheels of progress 

 in motion. A. C. Benson. 



Meets at Des Moines. 



The annual meeting of the Society of 

 Iowa Florists was held at Des Moines 

 August 29. Officers for the ensuing 

 year were elected, plans for the first 

 Iowa flower show to be held in Des 

 Moines November 8 to 11 were dis- 

 cussed and, after the meeting, the 

 visitors were entertained by the local 

 florists on an automobile trip about the 

 city, followed by a dinner. 



The officers elected were: President, 

 H. E. Lozier, of Des Moines; vice-presi- 

 dent, A. H. Smith, of Boone; secretary 

 and treasurer, Wesley Greene, of Des 

 Moines; directors, George S. •Woodruff, 

 of Independence; G. A. Heyne, of Du- 

 buque, and'^Wl^- C. Davison and J. S. 

 Wilson, Jr., both of Des Moines. 



J. S. Wilson, Sr., manager of the 

 forthcoming flower show, gave a report 

 of the preJIiainary arrangements for the 

 exhibition. A. J. Zwart, chairman of 

 the committee on the guarantee fund, 

 reported that the work of his commit- 

 tee was progressing rapidly. Others 

 were called upon and expressed the 

 opinion that the show would be a suc- 

 cess. 



Visit Fort Dodge. 



After the meeting the members were 

 taken in automobiles for a visit to 

 the leading greenhouses. A trip through 

 the parks followed. One of the inter- 

 esting places visited was the canton- 

 ment at Fort Dodge, which, when com- 

 jjleted, will be the scene of the training 

 of 45,000 army officers and men, prepara- 

 tory to going to France. Dinner fol- 

 lowed the automobile trip. 



Those present from Des Moines were: 



Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Wilson, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. 

 .T. S. Wilson, Jr., Wesley Greene, John RoRers, 

 Frank H. Page. Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Lozier. 

 Mr. and Mrs. Alfred G. Lozier, Winona Nichols. 

 Paul Battles, Mr. and Mrs. F. Koenfleld. Wil- 

 liam Trillow, George Kurtzweil, Mr. and Mrs. 

 J. T. D. Fulmer, Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Wilson. 

 Curtis C. Hunt, Miss Esther Wilson, Mr. and 

 Mrs. A. .T. Zwart, Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Johnston 

 and George McMalion. 



Those present from other parts of the 



state were: 



Arthur H. Smith, of Roone; Mr. and Mrs. 

 M. Kurtzweil. of Altoona; James L. Benmead. 

 of Marshalltown; U. Trudencliua, of Marengo: 

 (". L. Van Meter, of MonticoUo; George A. Heyne, 

 of Dubuque; Homer Uicliey, of Alhia: George S. 

 Woodruff, of Independence; W. F. Jeffrey and 

 John Reardon, of Ames, and William Laisle and 

 IJllian Burkrayd. 



F. 



PUBLICITY FOR FLOWERS 



STATE FAIR ADVERTISING. 



As It Concerns the Retailer. 



There have appeared in these col- 

 umns treatises dealing with various 

 forms of publicity employed by the re- 

 tail florist in furthering his business, 

 but little seems to have been said anent 

 the advertising pros and cons of retail- 

 ers' exhibits at state fairs, or exhibi- 

 tions that are supposed to be state-wide 

 in scope. So perhaps a sort of analysis 

 of such advertising, strictly as it con- 

 cerns the florist who does a local busi- 

 ness, will be opportune. 



'Let it be understood at the outset 

 that this matter of florists' exhibits at 



state fairs is no small item. Each year 

 sees a larger number of them pack their 

 displays, ship them to the exhibitions, 

 dispatch representatives to stage the 

 displays and then keep the representa- 

 tives on the grounds until the affair is 

 over. The bills pile up. There is the 

 cost of display materials and space; 

 bills covering express, and cartage at 

 the grounds; representatives'' transpor- 

 tation and hotel expenses. 



Good Advertising Also Profitable? 



It is a general belief that tlisplays of 

 this description are good advertising, 

 but it nevertheless would be interesting 

 to have someone supply facts and fig- 

 ures giving the returns traceable to 



