14 



The Florists' Review 



NOVBMBBB 1, 1917. 



machines of the brand popularly termed 

 "tin lizzies" and one is a pala- 

 tial touring car. There are also, 

 he explained, two high-powered road- 

 sters used by his salesmen for 

 getting over the territory expedi- 

 tiously. This array of motor power he 

 stated is kept continually on the go, 

 bringing plants from his greenhouse 

 range in the outskirts of Cleveland and 

 making city deliveries. White trucks 



Keturning to the office, we sat down 

 and I was held enthralled by the story 

 of his life as he told it. Ages old it 

 was in substance, but ever new as ap- 

 plied to a contemporary. Summarized, 

 it was a structure built of hign pur- 

 pose, honesty and industry on a founda- 

 tion of temperance, fidelity and integ- 

 rity. Accessible for business twenty- 

 four hours a day, efficient in his busi- 

 ness and proficient in inculcating loy- 



Kirchner's Funeral Flower Factory. 



cost money, both in the purchase price 

 and in running expenses, but Mr. Kirch- 

 ner says they are more reliable and sat- 

 isfactory than the lighter cars; in his 

 strenuous service the "lizzies" soon 

 rattle themselves to pieces. 



From the garage we went to the stock 

 department and the reserve supply of 

 the various accessories of a business 

 such as he operates was so enormous as 

 to make many a wholesale supply house 

 look like a pygmy in comparison. Bales 

 upon bales of moss (he recently bought 

 two carloads at one time), mountains 

 of wire frames, boxes of ribbon piled 

 high on top of one another, and volumes 

 of other supplies too numerous to men- 

 tion. 



Energy and the Golden Rule. 



From the vibration of his voice and 

 the fire of enthusiasm that flashed from 

 his eyes, as he explained the various 

 ])has3s of his enterprise, it was apparent 

 that inlicrent in him was the spirit 

 found only in the class who work for 

 the love of accomplishment. 



alty and securing efficiency in his asso- 

 ciates, his success is built on the prac- 

 tice of the Golden Rule. 



Undertakers ' Introduction. 



Thirty-three undertakers secure their 

 door wreaths and sprays from Kirchner 

 and are given a flat price that permits 

 them to make a nice profit on a moder- 

 ate charge. These door pieces are de- 

 livered by two clever salesmen, Kirch- 

 ner born and tutored, who drive White 

 roadsters and solicit in a refined and 

 businesslike manner the family funeral 

 order. This family order usually is fol- 

 lowed by orders from the relatives and 

 intimate friends and ultimately bj' the 

 continued patronage of all concerned. 

 A dollar value for every dollar charged 

 cements the relationship between the 

 consumer and Kirchner, with the result 

 that a large business attains greater 

 proportions with each succeeding season. 



Some people, out of the malice that 

 springs from envy, may turn up their 

 noses at this system of merchandising 

 and utter the cry of "Crepe chaser!" 



but such an attempt to attach ignominy 

 will be without avail, for the world 

 loves a progressive man. John Kirchner 

 makes funeral work his specialty. He 

 gives no commissions and never visits 

 a house of bereavement unless first in- 

 structed by the undertaker to deliver a 

 door piece. His moBbds will stand the 

 test of our trade eH^j^ 



Built on Bervice. 



His success is based on the principle 

 contained in Emerson's famous phil- 

 osophy: "If a man writes a better 

 book, preaches a better sermon or builds 

 a better mouse trap than his neighbor, 

 even though he build his house in the 

 wilderness the world will make a beaten 

 path to his door, ' ' John Kirchner built 

 his business house in what can only be 

 considered a wilderness in the business 

 world of Cleveland and a beaten path 

 has been made to his door. The reason 

 is obvious. 



HOME-GROWN PRIMXJI.A. SEED. 



Experiments with Obconica. 



The seeds of Primula obconica, at 

 least the best strains obtainable, were 

 until recently procured principally in 

 Germany, but the war blockades, and 

 later the entrance of the United States 

 into the conflict, prevented further im- 

 portation from the German sources. 

 Seeds from other European growers 

 never approached the high quality of 

 the German strain, and anyone who has 

 grown Primula obconica will be ready 

 to indorse this statement. 



It looked for a while as if we should 

 be without the obconicas unless we were 

 willing to use inferior strains, a course 

 which would undoubtedly have been 

 followed if home production had not 

 been taken up. 



While there are thousands of florists 

 who grow Primula obconica and find it 

 profitable to buy small plants to grow 

 on, there are only a few with whom the 

 loss of this item would cause a big dent 

 in their yearly income and perhaps force 

 the suspension of their business, as 

 might have been our case. A line of 

 plants which could be depended upon to 

 produce sales amounting to thousands 

 of dollars is not easily substituted with 

 something else. 



The Only Way Out. 



We realized our position early in 1916 

 and decided that the only way out of 

 the trouble was to grow our own seed. 

 So preparations were made and 2,500 

 plants were reserved as seed-bearers. 

 Our hope was to produce at least enough 



A Fleet of Ten Motors Kept Busy in the Service of a Cleveland Funeral Vork Specialist. 



