24 



The Florists^ Review 



■ ].™pijj 



OcTOBiB 26, 191T. 



EstablUhed, 1897. by G. L. GRANT. 



Published every Thursday by 

 The Florists' Publishing Co., 



620-660 Oaxton Building. 



608 South Dear bora St.. Ohlcaifo. 



Tele., Wabash 8196. 



Registered cable address, 



Florylew. Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

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

 cago, 111., under the Act of March 

 S 1879. 



Subscription price, $1.60 a year. 

 To Canada, $2.60; to Europe, $3.00. 



Advertising rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising accepted. 



NOTICE. 



It is impossible to guarantee 



the insertion, discontinuance or 



alteration of any advertisement 



unless instructions are received 



BT 4 P. M. TUEBDAT. 



SOOIETT OF AXEBIOAN FL0BIST8. 

 laMrporated by Act of Oongresa, March 4. 1901. 

 •IBcen for 1917: President, Robert 0. Kerr. 

 Hcnaton. Tex.; Tice-president, A. L. Miller, Ja- 

 Bales, N. T. ; secretary, John Tonng, 6S W. 28tta 

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

 Oaaha, Neb. 



Ofllcers for 1918: President, Otaarles H. Totty, 

 Madlaon, N. J.; Tice-preaident, Jilira Bonrtet. 

 St. lioaia: secretary and treasurer as before. 



Thirty-fourth annual conyentloB and lifth Na- 

 ttonal Flower Show, St. Lonls, Mo., April 6 to 

 16, 1918. 



EESULTS. 



We give them. You get them. 



We both have them. 



There is no better rule for business 

 conduct than the Golden one. The florist 

 who does as he would be done by, in buy- 

 ing as well as in selling, will not lack 

 business friends. 



The old saying about the ill wind is 

 proving true in the matter of boxwoods — 

 the specialists in evergreens are having 

 a fine call for stock to take the place 

 of the foreign plants. 



Now is the time for the greenhouse fire- 

 man to prove that he knows his business 

 by maintaining the correct temperatures 

 with the use of less coal than in other 

 years. In nine boiler rooms out of ten it 

 can be done. 



The resourcefulness of the men of the 

 trade never was better illustrated than 

 by the success of the supply houses, prac- 

 tically all of which now manufacture for 

 themselves better lines of retailers ' requi- 

 sites than ever were imported. 



Only now and then does a bit of news 

 come filtering out of Ghent, but the re- 

 ports indicate that it probably will be 

 five years after the close of the war be- 

 fore Belgium can be producing azaleas 

 for export in the quantities of the ante- 

 bellum days. 



Florists' clubs all over the coimtry, 

 as well as the national societies of which 

 he was a member, . are adopting resolu- 

 tions on the death of J. A. Valentine. 

 The florists of Colorado, at a meeting 

 under the chairmanship of Adam Ko- 

 hankie, took such action October 12. 



This is one year that the arrival of 

 frost has brought no pressure to sell Bos- 

 ton ferns. The indications are the supply 

 will be consumed long before the big 

 spring demand sets in. 



Concerted action was taken last week 

 by Bellingham, Wash., retailers to charge 

 for delivery of flowers. It was agnreed to 

 charge 10 cents on orders under $1 and 

 15 cents for suburban deliveries of the 

 same amount. 



THE TRADE'S LAMENT. 



"Needles and pins, needles and pins, 

 When a man marries his trouble begins." 

 So Jested the rhymster in days of yore, 

 But he wasn't a florist; there was no war. 



The troubles of matrimony are trivial things; 

 Weighty ones each day to the florist brings. 

 There's coal and labor, now express congestion; 

 "What next?" asks he, with a wry expression. 



When the war began, the economy wave 

 Caused the rich to decide it was time to save. 

 They continued to eat at all sorts of hours; 

 The saving was made by cutting out flowers. 



Then the call of Mars took the youths away; 

 Higher wages followed; now comes the day 

 When women in men's overalls and blouses 

 Are doing the work in many greenhouses. 



The boilers eat coal, the coal eats profit; 

 There seems no way the florist can stop it. 

 In fact, he's happy to get a supply, 

 And have the money with which to buy. 



Matrimony brings trouble, the rhymster sang. 

 Perhaps it does, but who cares a hang? 

 What the florist wants, the world wants, too. 

 It's peace, then with his troubles he's through. 



PRODUCTION THE BIO QUESTION. 



Eeview correspondents last week re- 

 ported inadequate supplies of stock at 

 Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indian- 

 apolis, Seattle, Boston, Kansas City and 

 Chicago. Of course periods of scarcity 

 are a part of the flower business; the 

 disconcerting thing is that the demand 

 has nothing to do with the supply — the 

 demand does not vary up or down as the 

 supply is wont to do, 



A retailer who has advertised con- 

 sistently for years recently discontinued 

 all but a small part of his local pub- 

 licity. When asked the reason for it 

 he replied: "I have always thought of 

 advertising as a selling proposition only, 

 but I now know that production of 

 stock is the thing that should govern 

 advertising in every case. My business 

 has increased, thanks to advertising, 

 but I find that I cannot now do much 

 more business than I am doing, because 

 I cannot depend ou steady production. 

 Customers want roses in times of scar- 

 city as well as in times of abundant 

 cuts. I think the S. A. F. publicity 

 campaign will be a wonderful thing, but 

 growers of stock will be of greater im- 

 portance in the campaign's success than 

 the retail men. Advertising brings 

 business, but one must be prepared to 

 take care of that business when it 

 comes." 



THREE-CENT LETTER POSTAGE. 



Friday, November 2, the rate on first- 

 class mail matter will be increased to 

 3 cents for each ounce or fraction there- 

 of and letters without sufficient postage 

 will be returned to the sender for the 

 additional stamps. 



Thousands in the florists' trade de- 

 pend on the mails for the transmission 

 of orders for stock. Upon the rapid 

 transmission of the order many times 

 depends whether the sender will be able 

 to supply his customer. Therefore He 

 increase in the postage rate should be 

 borne in mind, so that delay, disap- 

 pointment and loss in business and 

 profits will not result. 



The Review each week gets many 



orders for advertising the copy for 

 which reaches the office barely in time 

 to get into that issue. This eleventh- 

 hour mailing of orders is sometimes 

 necessary, and when it is care should 

 be taken that sufficient postage under 

 the new rate is affixed. 



PLEASE NOTE. 



Each week a number of letters con- 

 taining advertising instructions readi 

 The Review while the paper is on the 

 press — just a few hours earlier and they 

 would have had attention a week sooner 

 than is possible. 



It is the aim to give prompt service, 

 but to secure it advertisers should note: 

 "It is impossible to guarantee the in- 

 sertion, discontinuance or alteration of 

 any advertisement unless instructions 

 are received by 4 p. m. Tuesday." 



TWO STANDARDS. 



There are two good standards by 

 which the value of an advertising me- 

 dium may be estimated: 



1. The number of copies that are sold. 



2. The interest that the medium possesses, to 

 command its continuous purchase by its readers. 



Number 1 should always be the one 

 safe, definite measure of value, about 

 which there can be no uncertainty. 

 Not less than 12,000 copies of The Ee- 

 view are printed each week, for in- 

 stance. The advertiser knows what he 

 is buying. 



Number 2 is important because the 

 friendly attitude that the reader holds 

 for his paper is usually inherited by the 

 advertisers, and the paper that is con- 

 tinuously bought is always read 

 through. The advertiser's results are 

 assured, like this: 



Please discontinue our ad, as all the plants 

 have been sold. The Review does its work well. 

 — C. W. Espy & Sons, Brookville, Pa., October 

 8, 1917. 



When you hear a man complain of 

 the cost of advertising you can be pret- 

 ty certain that he spends a good bit of 

 money elsewhere than in The Eeview. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



The market is in a distinctly easier 

 condition than it was at this time last 

 week. The change has been brought 

 about by increased supplies of chrys- 

 anthemums, big and little. At the same 

 time that supplies have increased, there 

 has been some decrease in the demand, 

 for it is evident that buyers in other 

 cities now have local supplies of chrys- 

 anthemums that are relieving their 

 needs. The shipping orders, however, 

 still call for all the selected flowers that 

 come to the market and the city buyers 

 have to be on hand early or they find 

 most of the stock set away to take care 

 of the shipping orders that are on file. 

 The out-of-town buyers are alive to 

 the conditions, both of supply and of 

 express service, and orders are coming 

 in noticeably earlier in the day. The 

 wholesale houses are having no diffi- 

 culty in maintaining the 5 o'clock clos- 

 ing, the first time it ever has been con- 

 tinued beyond September 30. 



ChrysantheQiums now staiid as the 

 most important item on, the list. This 

 season many growers planted few, if 

 any, of the earlier varieties, with the 

 result that the market has been inade- 

 quately supplied until this week, when 



