22 



The Florists^ Review 



April 10. 1919. 



practically all have been spoken for. 

 Of cut flowers, the supply of roses 

 will be nearest normal; in fact, it may 

 exceed that of some other years. Many 

 growers who were handicapped by the 

 fuel restrictions chose to close rose 

 houses in preference to any others be- 

 cause they could merely rest the stock 

 and start up again without replanting. 

 These houses are in crop again. Carna- 

 tion growers who closed in most cases 

 are ready with catch crops, although in 

 numerous cases it is vegetables. Violets 

 are not useful for so late an Easter, but 

 in their stead there is a record produc- 

 tion of sweet peas. 



Ingenuity WiU Win. 



But florists are resourceful people; 

 they are accustomed to doing the best 

 they can with what they have. Also, we 

 have had a six months' postgraduate 



course in making a small supply of stock 

 cover a multiplicity of needs. We have 

 learned to use more accessories and to 

 make our flowers go farther than they 

 ever did before. We shall do it for 

 Easter. 



One thing we shall be spared is the 

 competition of department stores and 

 sidewalk salesmen, selling culls and sur- 

 plus at prices which accomplished noth- 

 ing more than to disturb the nice bal- 

 ance which heretofore has existed be- 

 tween retail rates and the cost of pro- 

 duction. 



Considering cost of production, the 

 visible supply and advance wholesale 

 prices for Easter, the trade is not prof- 

 iteering. The people want flowers and 

 have learned something of their value. 

 There will be no objection to paying 

 what the stock is worth this Easter. It 

 will be our biggest one. 



THE TRADE'S BUSY DAY. 



The accompanying illustrations, repro- 

 duced from photographs made on Good 

 Friday, 1918, could be said to be typical 

 of the florists' trade at Easter except 

 that they show the interior of one of the 

 larger stores, that of J. Breitmeyer's 

 Sons, Detroit. The illustration on page 

 23 shows the view in the store on the 

 afternoon of Good Friday. The illustra- 

 tion on page 25 shows the conservatory 

 in the rear of the store. The illustration 

 on page 24 shows the store the follow- 

 ing morning, at 7:40, after the Easter 

 orders had gone out. The last of them, 

 on the sidewalk, awaiting loading, are 

 shown in the illustration on page 21. 



Easter is a strenuous time in a big 

 flower store. It is the usual thing for 

 the staff to work all night on Saturday 

 and until the orders are out on Sunday. 

 Some florists still make all their deliv- 

 eries Sunday morning, but the larger 

 ones have found that this course is im- 

 practicable and they so arrange it that 

 they can make the deliveries of plants 

 Saturday afternoon and evening, making 

 only cut flower deliveries Easter morn- 

 ing. Large numbers of the Sunday 

 morning deliveries of course are corsage 

 bouquets, which must be delivered in 

 time for the church parade. Getting the 

 orders ready, after the usual closing 

 time, ordinarily means working all 

 night. Last year Breitmeyer's had 

 twenty all-night workers and served a 

 midnight supper in the store. Loading 

 the delivery cars began at 6:30 a. m., 

 and all the orders for Easter were on 

 their way in another hour. 



It is not every store which can devise, 

 or which needs, the elaborate system 

 employed by Breitnieyer 's, but system is 

 the basis on which big business is built. 

 Without system no florist can get beyond 

 personal size with his holiday trade. 



SUCCESSFUL SIMPLICITY. 



Simplicity is the keynote of some of 

 the most successful arrangements seen 

 in the up-to-date flower stores and of 

 these nothing could be more simple than 

 the hamper shown in the illustration on 

 l>age 27, which has been extremely pop- 



ular in Boston this spring, according to 

 a letter from Henry Penn. The recep- 

 tacle is a willow hamper shaped almost 

 like the popular picnic basket and in it 

 there is a miscellaneous assortment of 

 out flowers; it can be varied to meet the 

 needs of the store in working off stock 

 or to please the preferences of the cus- 

 tomer. The amaryllis in the center gives 

 a line on a Boston preference. It is a 

 flower often noted in Boston, but little 

 seen elsewhere. 



DECORATION FOR MEMORIAL. 



Interior decoration is a part of the 

 business which proves a stumbling block 

 to many otherwise capable florists. The 

 technique and mechanics of the art are 

 thoroughly understood, yet their work 

 lacks that subtle something necessary 

 to gain it recognition as an original 

 creation. 



John Kirchner, of Cleveland, is one 

 of the florists who possess aptitude for 

 that which is simple and natural in floral 

 art and his creations are sometimes 

 almost startling in their departure front 

 the commonplace. 



Mr. Kirchner was recently commis- 

 sioned by the committee on decorations 

 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 

 Cleveland to undertake the decorations 

 of the stage of a local theater for the 

 memorial service they were going to 

 hold commemorating the lives of depart- 

 ed members. The instructions were to 

 endeavor to create an atmosphere of 

 solemnity and sorrow. 



The illustration on page 29 shows 

 how successfully Mr. Kirchner met the 

 requirements. It was a highly original 

 conception. Simplicity stands forth in 

 the entire scheme, from the green sheet 

 moss used for the greensward to the lit 

 tie cluster of forget-me-nots attached to 

 the festoon of smilax and ribbon on the 

 chairs at the front of the stage, and yet 

 the result is all that could be desired. 



various persons and concerns connected 

 with our business, as between the grower 

 and wholesaler, then between the retail- 

 er and the wholesaler, as well as the 

 supply man. Your publicity committee 

 has a heavy program outlined for 1919, 

 which will entail an expenditure of 

 $100,000, providing, of course, that you 

 do your share. If you do, it will enable 

 our publicity program to be carried out 

 and make the sale of more flowers pos- 

 sible. 



First, there is a psychological effect 

 on all who have contributed, which 

 makes them see our business from a 

 higher plane, and makes them see that 

 the further development of one's own 

 business is accomplished by affiliation 

 with a movement which brings all that is 

 beneficial for a bigger growth, and which 

 is ultimately certain to reach proportions 

 in accordance with what one gives. 

 Our success, which is bound to come, 

 has already brought to the attention of 

 those interested many phases which 

 have been lacking heretofore, such as 

 getting together for the common good 

 and discussing ways and means for the 

 continuation of higher ideals in the 

 business of handling flowers, and stimu- 

 lating the desire for doing things a lit- 

 tle better than formerly. 



Many Now Interested. 



It is a fact that more men are inter- 

 ested now in publicity, which is grow- 

 ing by leaps and bounds, than in former 

 years. It also is a fact that by giving 

 to a general fund you are realizing the 

 force of a country-wide movement that 

 is bound to bring about that spirit of 

 liberality whieh spells optimism. This 

 eventually makes partners of all who 

 have given and makes each one feel that 

 the interests of his neighbor are his own. 

 This has been evidenced best by the 

 progress of the Florists' Telegraph De- 

 livery, in which every member of the 

 organization is morally responsible for 

 the actions of his fellow members. One 

 need but to attend an F. T. D. meeting 

 to see the result of this cooperation. 



Evidences creep up every day that the 

 trade in general is behind our publicity 

 movement, as is the S. A. F., which is 

 shown by that organization contrib- 

 uting $5,000 of its fund last year, and 

 again this year, to help bring about the 

 best possible results. This latter shows 

 the unbounded faith the board of di- 

 rectors of the S. A. F. has in our pub- 

 licity movement. Need you have less? 



Put your name in with as liberal a 

 contribution as you can afford and the 

 benefits will be returned ten for one. 

 Show by your action that you are in the 

 greatest business on earth and that you 

 mean to keep it such. The national 

 publicity campaign is dependent on its 

 fund for the good it can accomplish 

 and the more contributed, the greater 

 will be its accomplishments. 



Make our slogan, "Say It with Flow- 

 ers," felt all over the land and then 

 you can feel proud that you did your 

 part. 



Send yours now. 



Henry Penn, 

 Chairman S. A. F. Publicitv Committee. 



HOW MUCH HAVE YOU GIVEN? 



Cooperation an Ideal. 



We are working toward an ideal. It 

 is that of more cooperation among the 



Sandusky, O. — Leo E. Wagner, of the 

 Wagner Greenhouses, is the recipient of 

 many compliments on the transforma- 

 tion of an old corner range of glass into 

 an up-to-date building in Moorish style, 

 with terra ootta brick. It is a pictur- 

 esque structure and must materially help 

 the business. 



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