16 



The Florists Review 



OCTOBBB 18. 1917. 



express from each city and announce 

 this to both the private and commercial 

 growers in their districts. Tlie serious 

 congestion of express matter in the 

 east was discussed and, if there are sim- 

 ilar congested conditions at the time of 

 shipping exhibits to Cleveland, it was 

 suggested that exhibitors plan on re- 

 serving Pullman drawing rooms and 

 then load all exhibits in the Pullman in- 

 stead of using the express car, thus as- 

 suring the arrival of all exhibits on the 

 same train with the exhibitors. It was 

 decided to appoint a special committee 

 to have charge of the receipt of ship- 



ments and they were instructed to place 

 a man at the depots with a special truck 

 at his command to assure the exhibitors 

 of prompt delivery service to Grays 

 Armory, where the show is to be held. 

 All committee chairmen reported their 

 work in such shape as to insure the suc- 

 cess of this, the only big fall trade show 

 in this country this year. 



EXHIBITORS AT ILLINOIS MEET. 



The following firms have taken space 

 in the flower show to be held at Gales- 

 burg, November 6 and 7, by the Illi- 

 nois State Florists' Association: 



Poehlmann Bros. Co., Chidiago; Bur- 

 lington Willow Ware Shops, Burlington, 

 la.; American Greenhouse Mfg. Co., 

 Chicago; A. L. Randall Co., Chi- 

 cago; Ionia Pottery Co., Ionia, 

 Mich.; John C. Moninger Co., Chicago; 

 Vaughan's Seed Store, Chicago: the 

 Foley Greenhouse Mfg. Co., Chicago; 

 Chicago Feed & Fertilizer Co.; A. 

 Dietsch & Co., Chicago, and the Kroes- 

 chell Bros. Co., Chicago. 



A trade display such as this assures 

 success and it will pay every florist in 

 the state of Illinois to attend. 



I. L. Pillsbury, Pres. 



WAR'S WAY WITH WORK AND WOMEN 



WOMEN IN GREENHOUSES. 



Replace Men Called to War. 



War has called so many young men 

 that florists everywhere are complain- 

 ing about the shortage of labor in all 

 branches of the trade. While this con- 

 dition is causing considerable trouble 

 in the United States, the florists of 

 Canada were hit much harder. Great 

 Britain's need for men in the early 

 stages of the war was so great that 

 l)ractically everyone capable of bearing 

 arms was called. This exodus of men 

 left many vacancies in the trade, which 

 have been filled as far as possible with 

 women. 



One of the establishments where 

 women are employed in the greenhouses 

 is that of the Dale Estate, Brampton, 

 Ont. The innovation has been tried 

 during the last two years and it has 

 been found that the women workers 

 are as proficient as men. In some 

 branches of greenhouse work, it is de- 

 clared, they sliow greater dexterity, 

 especially where the fingers are used, 

 as in bunching violets, stringing car- 

 nations and weeding. 



The forewoman, for tlie thirty or 

 more women employed at the Brampton 

 establishment are supervised by one of 

 their sex, asserts that women liave 

 proved themselves capable of taking 

 the places vacated by the men. 



"Naturally, as long as this wretched 

 war lasts women are likely to remain 

 in the greenhouse work, so far as I 

 can ju(ige. Compare the interesting 

 variety of work they are called on to 

 undertake; the hours they have to 

 spend under glass, and the wear and 

 tear on their inexi)ensive clothes — com- 

 pare these factors with those involved 

 in munition making, or factory work 

 of any kind, and it will be found tliat 

 the life in tlie country, away from the 

 noise of macliinery and the Inibbub in- 

 cidental to crowded cities, lias far less 

 wasting eff"ect upon the average wom- 

 an's constitution and a great deal 

 more to recommeiid it generally than 

 one could have foreseen in the good old 

 days before the war began." 



Prove Capable Workers. 



This is what tlie forewoman at the 

 Dale Estate, Brampton, Out., said when 

 she was asked if the emjdoyment of 

 women in greenhouses had proved a 

 success. In charge of between thirty 

 and forty of her sex, whose ages range 



from 18 to 38 years, she proudly assert- 

 ed that during the last two years there 

 had been no task set them that they had 

 failed to accomplish. 



"Just show them once how to bunch 

 violets, and there is no further trou- 

 ble," she continued. "Their fingers are 

 much quicker than men's; and so with 

 disbudding carnations. ' ' 



"How about stringing carnations?" 

 was asked. 



"The girls can do it in nearly half 

 the time, only the bending over renders 

 it a less likable job, like weeding, 

 for instance. However, picking carna- 

 tions, counting and grading them, and 

 putting them away in the cellar is com- 

 paratively simple labor. They carry 

 in the roses, grade them carefully and 

 put them away in vases in the cellar 

 to await shipment. They also cut 

 the valley and grade it, and pick aspar- 

 agus and adiantum occasionally. They 

 clean the orchids, and regard this as 

 rather a responsible task. At present 

 some are tying up mums and others are 

 planting bulbs. ' ' 



' ' No, they do not find the work monot- 

 onous. If there is any sign of dullness, 

 someone usually starts up a chorus like 

 'Old Folks at Home,' or 'Over There,' 

 and they will sing away for a couple 

 of hours, working all the while, almost 

 without knowing it. They work best 



in groups of seven or eight, with some- 

 one with them to set the pace." 



Many Scorn Overalls. 



"How about overalls? Do they pre- 

 fer them to ordinary clothes?" 



"Some do and some do not. Many 

 stick to their thick aprons rather than 

 run the risk of being taken for a man; 

 and while there are some jobs that are 

 more conveniently done in overalls, 

 dress has been allowed to remain a 

 matter of personal choice." 



"How about the hours?" 



"They do not grumble. They can all 

 get to and from work in ten minutes or 

 so. They do not have to hang on to a 

 strap in a noisy car, and they enjoy 

 healthier air, both in summer and win- 

 ter, than ninety per cent of the women 

 wlio leave their homes to earn a 

 living." 



Reference was made to the girls wear- 

 ing little aprons with pockets on each 

 side. These were specially made to re- 

 place box,es that formerly were used 

 to hold the carnation shoots and buds. 

 The apron bag is on the spot all the 

 time, and a great deal of time is saved. 



In some of the women the ambition 

 to grow something is alreadv develop- 

 ing, and it may not be long, judging by 

 the careful manner in which they study 

 cultural notes in The Florists' Review, 



Girls Disbudding Carnations at the Establishment of the Dale Estate> Brampton, Ont. 



