14 



The Fbrists' Review 



March 13, 1919. 



For some time I have been wondering 

 why there could not be arranged a class 

 of memberships to include such small 

 fry as myself and hundreds of others 

 who, from the very nature and size of 

 our business, could not possibly become 

 members of the present association. To 

 be more explicit: I grow no cut flowers 

 (except mums) and carry none in stock, 

 yet I secure scores of sprays, etc., from 

 the city florists for local people and oc- 

 casionally am requested to deliver flow- 

 ers to some funeral, hospital or other 

 place in distant cities. My idea would 

 be to create a sort of associate member- 

 ship available to those who can pass cer- 

 tain necessary financial requirements (if 

 the F. T. D. is to guarantee the payment 

 of its members ' bills, which I believe is 

 the case) and allow them the use of the 

 telegraph delivery service, to the mutual 



advantage of both regular and associate 

 members. 



Possibly this scheme is not feasible 

 nor practicable, but it appears so to me 

 and I believe that, as stated above, all 

 parties would be greatly benefited there- 

 by. Frank Graves. 



Eockton, 111. 



CHAYOTE OR OHUOmJ? 



The writer has a neighbor who lived 

 in Brazil eight years. He says there is 

 an error in the name of the plant being 

 advertised as "chayote." The chayote, 

 pronounced ka-o-tee, is a Brazilian 

 shrub or tree growing to the height of 

 twenty feet and bearing fruit some- 

 thing like cucumbers in appearance. 



Seeing the chayote fruit I had pur- 

 chased, my neighbor quickly recognized 



it as a vine known in Brazil as chuchu. 

 He says it is the most rapid grower of 

 all known plants, having been known 

 to grow eight feet in twenty-four hours. 

 He also says it has the distinction of 

 being the only known plant, the fruit 

 and seed of which are one and the 

 same. This so-called chayote bears 

 fruit resembling a rough, flattened, in- 

 verted pear, with the growth bud com- 

 ing out of both sides of a sheath, pro- 

 tected by a crease or wrinkle on the 

 large end of the fruit. To say the least, 

 it is a novelty in the plant kingdom. 

 S. C. Templin. 



[According to botanical authorities, 

 the Sechium edule has several names, 

 including both chayote and chuchu. 

 Others are chayotli, chouchoute, chocho, 

 choko, chaiota, mirliton, christophine 

 and pipinella. — Ed.] 



HERE'S A HOT SUBJECT 



BETAILERS AND CARNATIONS. 



Why They Don't Agree. 



Why is it so many retail florists do not 

 push carnations for general use! In the 

 first place, they have found carnations 

 unprofitable, and any business man who 

 expects to make a success of business 

 discards unprofitable items. 



We have here tonight an exhibition of 

 carnations that any retail store man 

 might be proud to have as a stock for his 

 store; flowers that have stem, size, fra- 

 grance, color and extreme beauty — all 

 that go to make a desirable flower; but 

 do we, as retailers, get them as we see 

 them here tonight? No. Instead, it is 

 too often the case, as one of our fellow 

 storemen remarked the other day: "I 

 am lucky to get seven dozen salable 

 flowers out of 100." 



If we figure on 100 per cent gross 

 profit on a purchase of 100 flowers, and 

 only seven dozen are fit to sell, with a 

 possible loss of unsold flowers, it can 

 easily be seen that the retailer will come 

 out at the short end of the horn. 



In a purchase recently, from a bunch 

 of carnations, I found that it contained 

 thirteen first-class flowers, five seconds, 

 three splits, three weak stems and one 

 flowerless stem; cost of bunch, $1.50. 



How It Figured Out. 



Now, for the sake of argument, sup- 

 pose these flowers were offered on the 

 basis of 100 per cent gross profit. 



12 out of 13 flrst-class ® $1.50 



12 remaining, not flrst-class @ 1.00 



Total $2.50 



Looks pretty good, doesn't it — $1 

 profit on an investment of $1.50! But 

 that is not all. These flowers are to be 

 delivered. What does that mean? Added 

 cost to the carnations, as all florists 

 know. Carnations are never sent in 

 with foliage, which means some green 

 must be given, added cost to the carna- 

 tions. No florist will deliver flowers un- 

 less they are put into a neat box — again 

 added cost to the carnations, not men- 

 tioning overhead charged, viz., rent, 



light, labor, etc., which are all a part 

 of an expense that should be borne pro- 

 portionately. Now let us see where 

 we come out on our twenty-five carna- 

 tions. 



Cost of carnations $1.60 



Cost of 2 boxes, paper, etc 10 



Cost of green 10 



Cost of delivery 20 



Total cost $1.90 



Carnations sold for $2.50 



Carnations cost 1.90 



Net profit $ .60 



Careful Grading Needed. 



In other words, approximately thirty 

 per cent on the investment. Should 



The Editor is pleased wlien 

 a Reader presents ills ideas 

 on any subject treated in 



As experience is tlie best 

 teacher, so do we learn 

 fastest by an exchange of 

 experiences. Many valuable 

 points are brought out by 

 discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling and 

 Krammar, though desirable, are not 

 necessary. Write as you would talk 

 when doing your best. 



WE SHALL BE CLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM YOU 



A summary of a talk by which Charles J. 

 Thels Introduced a discussion at the Florists' 

 Club of Philadelphia March 4. 



there be a waste of one-half the inferior 

 grades, which is often the case, you can 

 readily see where the retailer would get 

 off. Thirty per cent may mean a lot to 

 those doing a large volume of business, 

 where the risk is not great, but no re- 

 tailer dealing in perishable goods and 

 carrying a large stock can do business on 

 that basis and survive. 



You will note that I do not class 

 splits as seconds, they are in a class by 

 themselves; seconds are fairly good 



flowers, but smaller. The growers should 

 be more careful in the grading of their 

 flowers. One or more inferior flowers 

 in a bunch depreciates, in the eyes of 

 the buyer, the entire bunch. Growers 

 and wholesalers may think we are too 

 critical, too particular, but they must 

 remember that we are looking through 

 the eyes of our customers, the flower- 

 buying public. It is because we are 

 particular that the last three years have 

 seen our own business increase more 

 than 300 per cent in volume. A good 

 flower will always command a good 

 price, but a poor one we doft't want at 

 any price. 



Carnations have proven unprofitable 

 for us to handle because of their poor 

 lasting qualities. Here let me say that 

 something is wrong. More com- 

 plaints have been made on the poor last- 

 ing qualities of the carnations than any 

 other flowers that I know of. During the 

 holiday season we would not care to take 

 a chance on them and did not buy any. 

 How can you growers and wholesalers 

 expect us retailers to push carnations 

 when a feeling like that exists? It is 

 true that carnations have been in 

 greater demand and have brought bet- 

 ter prices this season, but that is only 

 due to unusual conditions. We must 

 go back a year or more, and what do 

 we have? It is the effect of the past 

 that caused many of the retailers to side- 

 track carnations — carnations grown 

 for quantity, not quality, held back 

 for days by the growers when a holiday 

 season comes along, then dumped on 

 the market in an unsalable condition, 

 with fancy prices asked by the whole- 

 saler. The retailer bought only what 

 he absolutely had to have, the balance 

 going to the street men to be sold, aa 

 I have seen it, at a price that would 

 not pay for the cutting, let alone the 

 growing of the flowers. In other words, 

 the carnation has been cheapened, made 

 a plebeian flower, and is offered by 

 first-class florists only when customers 

 want something cheap. Some growers 

 hold back carnations and ship them but 

 twice a week, reaching the retailers 

 when two or three days old, thinking 

 thereby to save express charges. It ia 

 poor economy, for you lose out in the 



