14 



The Florists' Review 



Dbcbmbib 19, 1918. 



not been damaged by actions of war, the 

 armistice being signed when our troops 

 stood before Ghent and on our place no 

 fighting took place." 



Another Grower's Version. 



"Horticulture was the worst of all 

 trades during the war," wrote E. 

 Bracke, of Ghent, to the Horticultural 

 Advertiser, "depending on an export 

 trade. Two countries, France and the 

 British Isles, fell away at the beginning 

 and, what was worse, what had been 

 sent out at the last period could not be 

 paid. Export to the United States was al- 

 lowed, the amount of the payment to be 

 put down in the Banque Beige pour 

 I'Etranger in London, which allowed us 

 a share of it; but to our sorrow the year 

 after even this branch was forbidden 

 altogether. In the last two years no ex- 

 porting was allowed except to Germans 

 and to such neutral countries as Holland, 

 Scandinavia and Switzerland on special 

 conditions, as that we guarantee the 

 whole amount should be paid on terms 

 via the bank at Berlin; wherefore we 

 had to deposit in a designated military 

 office in money fifty per cent of the in- 

 voices before we were allowed to ship. 

 Several firms would not deposit any 

 money whatever and had to give up this 

 branch of export. Prices went down 

 with a rush, to the profit of the German 



importers, and thousands of plants were 

 thrown away or burned. Then occurred 

 the scarcity of plants this last season 

 and made the prices jump 100 per cent. 



Hope to Resume. 



"Add to this men taken away and 

 obliged to work for the enemy, no glass, 

 no paint, no benzine, no oil, and the 

 worst of all, no coal, and you will won- 

 der with us how it is possible that there 

 is a living plant to be found. 



"Of course the nurseries all around 

 have suffered awfully, but as plucky 

 Belgians we have stuck to it. Although 

 several places are empty and others only 

 have half as many plants as they should 

 have, there is sufficient material left to 

 restart and rebuild our trade. Undoubt- 

 edly we are thrown back for several 

 years and hard work and great sacrifices 

 will be required from us, but, like our 

 army, we will resist and prove that we 

 are worthy of our race. 



"Over here all nurserymen are short 

 of cash and are anxious to get their 

 money in on bills which are overdue. 

 We also will be unable to stand those 

 long credits which we allowed before 

 and it would be most obliging for us if 

 your trade paper would give a wink to 

 its readers to pay up like one man for 

 what is overdue and prepare for busi- 

 ness with cash in the future. ' * 



HEART-TO-HEART I 



NEW YORKEES TAI.K IT OVER. 



Discuss Prevailing Prices. 



There was a meeting of the trade 

 interests in and around New York city, 

 at the rooms of the Pan-Hellenic Club, 

 56 West Thirtieth street, December 16, 

 called by retail interests, which was 

 largely attended by growers, whole- 

 salers and retailers. It was a wide open 

 meeting. Consequently there was a big 

 attendance, possibly 250 all told. The 

 object of the meeting was not stated in 

 the call, but everybody in attendance 

 divined that it had to do with the sup- 

 posedly high prices prevalent in the 

 flower market. Therefore interests high 

 and low were represented. 



Of course there had to be a chairman 

 and George D. Nicholas was the choice 

 of the meeting. He filled the bill ex- 

 actly. To Ward W. Smith, secretary of 

 the New York Wholesale Protective As- 

 sociation, was delegated the office of 

 secretary and he easily made good. The 

 preamble to the proceedings was ably 

 delivered by a personality whose retire- 

 ment prevented identification, but it did 

 not make much difference; the meeting 

 was "on." 



Mr. Nicholas called attention to the 

 fact that the gathering represented all 

 the administrative elements of the flo- 

 rists' business, and assured everybody 

 that the only thing to be discussed was 

 the condition of market supply, in 

 which, undoubtedly, all present were in- 

 terested, and, incidentally, the prices 

 which have been and are prevailing. 



Through the chairman's address the 

 object of the meeting was fully demon- 

 strated and the "grill" proceeded. 



Retailers' Views. 



Charles H. Brown, for the retailers, 

 told how distressing it was to reply to 

 customers' protests against the high 

 prices of roses, carnations and other 

 flowers, and expressed it as his opinion 

 that non-stability of prices forced this 

 condition. He realized, he said, that the 

 expenses of growers were doubled as re- 

 gards production, but said uncertainty 

 in prices tends to block business. 



Max Schling expressed the opinion 

 that the growers who regularly ship to 

 the New York market sacrifice their 

 local interests through the lure of out- 

 side markets, thus creating shortages in 

 the home market, action which was to be 

 deplored. 



George E. M. Stumpp reviewed condi- 

 tions, but, after all, he said, we are in 

 the flower business to live and to make 

 a living, and to attain this education as 

 to the requirements is an essential. 



Wholesalers and Growers. 



Charges that flowers were sold at re- 

 tail by wholesalers were denied by 

 Harry Biedel, with applause from the 

 wholesale bench. 



Philip F. Kessler took the standpoint 

 of grower and wholesaler, in both of 

 which sections he could qualify, that 

 cost of production was responsible for 

 the high prices of flowers now prevail- 

 ing. 



The chairman expressed appreciation 

 of Mr. Kessler 's remarks, but scored 

 what he said was a bunch of "para- 

 site" wholesalers whose interests were 

 not legitimate or essential to the mar- 

 ket, and who speculated to the disadvan- 

 tage of the retailer. 



E. J. Hession gave a little talk, based 



on real common sense. He spoke of the 

 advanced cost in all lines and he did not 

 except the new suit which the chair- 

 man wore that evening; therefore it was 

 not to be supposed that flowers could es- 

 cape the era of high prices now pain- 

 fully apparent. 



President Totty, of the S. A. P., de- 

 fended the growers and impressed upon 

 the retailers the fact that they should 

 seek to pass along to the consumer the 

 burden of the extra cost of flowers, just 

 as producers and dealers in all other 

 lines are doing; such a course is equi- 

 table and it is small matter whether the 

 public has any objection, as the supply 

 is exceedingly short. 



Benefits Accruing. 



Percy B. Rigby, of the S. S. Pennock 

 Co. ; Eugene Dailledouze, Charles Weber, 

 of Lynbrook; John B, Nugent, Frank H. 

 Traendly, Chas. Schenck and Frank R. 

 Pierson all made addresses, the con- 

 sensus of their remarks being that the 

 laws of supply and demand are chiefly 

 responsible for the present prices of 

 flowers, but that such prices are not 

 without precedent in times when war 

 conditions were not a factor. 



It cannot be said that nothing was ac- 

 complished at the meeting, as it was evi- 

 dent that the heart-to-heart discussion 

 had removed many clouds from an at- 

 mosphere which had become thick with 

 misunderstanding and distrust. 



J. H. P. 



POLLWORTH'S ANKUAI. HUNT. 



To escape the "flu" and to get away 

 from the strain it caused when the sup- 

 ply was inadequate to fill orders and the 

 best-natured customers were kicking be- 

 cause they could not get enough stock, 

 C. C. Poliworth, of the C. C. Pollworth 

 Co., Milwaukee, literally "took to the 

 woods" at Thanksgiving time. Of 

 course, as has been his custom for a 

 number of years, Mr. Pollworth hied 

 himself to that part of the Badger state 

 where deer are thickest and, as he ex- 

 presses it, "picked off a good-sized one 

 as he was trying to get through the 

 lines." Mrs. Pollworth accompanied 

 him and a 20-mile sleigh ride to the 

 railroad station was enjoyed by both of 

 them. 



Mr. Pollworth is back on the job again 

 and feeling fit for another siege of busi- 

 ness — that is, until the fish begin to 

 bite next spring. Venison dinners have 

 been numerous in Milwaukee florists' 

 circles since Mr. Pollworth returned. 



BEGONIAS DROP LEAVES. 



The leaves of our begonias turn dark 

 and soft, as if scalded, and gradually 

 drop off until only a bare stem is left. 

 If cut back, they sometimes repeat the 

 process, but more frequently' die. Is 

 this trouble caused by disease or by too 

 much or too little water f 



R. F. C— Idaho. 



I should say that you are keeping 

 your begonias too wet, both at the root 

 and on the foliage. At this season they 

 like a temperature of 55 to 60 degrees, 

 with full sun, and it is better to keep 

 them a trifle on the dry side. On no 

 account should the plants be sprayed 

 over. When watering, be careful to 

 dampen the foliage as little as possible. 

 They like fresh air on all possible occa- 

 sions and prefer a dry to a moist atmos- 

 phere. I do not think your plants have 

 any disease. G. W. 



