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Decembeb 2G, 1918. 





The Florists^ Review 



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17 



MISLEADING THE PUBLIC. 



^laccurate Newspaper Statements. 



The members of the trade in Chicago 

 were surprised and disturbed at an un- 

 favorable article which appeared in the 

 leading Sunday newspaper, the Tribune, 

 December 22. It was interesting to note 

 that practically every florist had seen 

 the offending paragraph and that there 

 was general remark that the paper 

 should be so disregardful of the facts 

 and the trade " interests as to tell its 

 readers that flowers are "all at stagger- 

 ing prices" and that the bird's-nest 

 fern is the only "new novelty." 



The article said in part: 



^ What the Tribune Said. 



"A problem of great magnitude faces 

 the retail florists all over the country 

 this Christmas. Never in the history of 

 the flower business has there been such 

 a shortage of cut flowers. The florists 

 who have the knack of making a few 

 flowers go a long ways in combinations 

 of green and other materials in baskets 

 and vases are the ones who are going to 

 win. Prices are very high. Even in 

 roses and carnations the supply is low. 

 There are some sweet peas, a few violets, 

 lilies of the valley, and a fairly good 

 showing of Scotch heather. There are 

 few other varieties in evidence, and all 

 at staggering prices. The demand seems 

 heavier than in other seasons. 



"The same conditions prevail in the 

 stock of flowering plants. The growers 

 have been handicapped by shortage of 

 coal and labor. There are, however, 

 good specimen plants of cyclamen, poin- 

 settas, begonias, with the usual cbllec- 

 tion of foliage and ferns, including va- 

 rieties of berry plants. The only new 

 novelty in the plant line is the birdsnest 

 fern. This has bright green, glossy 

 leaves and is beautiful. Several of the 

 largest specimens of Scotch heather ever 

 seen in this city are on display. These 

 are California products. The berried 

 ardiesia is the rarest plant in the col- 

 lection. Celestial and bird 's-eye peppers 

 are in favor. We may have a few azaleas 

 later." 



There was more in- the same vein. 



Calling Editor's Attention. 



Believing that such misinformation 

 would not be published if the editor of 

 the Tribune knew the facts, the editor of 

 The Review sent the following letter: 



Edward S. Beck, , 



Managing Editor, The Tribune, 

 Chiongo, 111. 



My dear Mr. Beck: — In behalf of the Indus- 

 try this journal represents, may I not venture 

 a protest on such articles as "Flowers for 

 Christmas" in the Sunday Tribune of Decem- 

 ber 22? 



Even if the facts were as stated, I think the 

 World's Greatest Newspaper might well refrain 

 from such statements as "Prices are very high" 

 anil "All at staggering prices" — florists have 

 had enough to contend with during the war so 

 that It is scarcely due them to scare their cus- 

 tomers away now that peace has returned. 



But the fact Is that the prices of flowers this 

 Christmas are not advanced so much as are the 

 prices of other commodities. The best grade of 

 roses brings forty per cent to fifty per cent 

 more than in recont years of low prices, but 

 please remember tliat the public pays forty per 

 cent more for your Sunday Tribune and 100 per 

 cent more for the weekday issue. 



There is another matter wliich will Interest 

 you: Your story speaks of the bird's-nest fern 



as the only "new novelty" (respectfully referred 

 to B. L. T. for his School of Tautology). The 

 bird's-nest fern is Asplenium Nidus-avis. Nichol- 

 son's Dictionary of Gardening has record of Its 

 description as far back as 1820. There is no 

 record of what part of the last hundred years 

 the bird's-nest fern has been an item of com- 

 merce, but I have been In this trade for more 

 tlian twenty years and the bird's-nest fern was 

 in Chtcago flower stores when I started. 



I am enclosing your article marked by our 

 proofreader to show the correct spellings of the 

 words that were unfamiliar to yours. 



May I close with an Invitation to use the 

 facilities of this office whenever you wish to get 

 the facts with regard to any matter concerning 

 the florists' business? 



With compliments of the season, I urn. 



Very truly yours. 



The heads of large newspapers pride 

 themselves on their accuracy. If florists 

 will adopt the practice of calling atten- 

 tion to misstatements that occur in their 

 local papers and offer to pass on state- 

 ments of fact at any time, they will 

 help set the newspapers right on our 

 trade affairs, to the great advantage of 

 all concerned. 



advertised in the Classified columns is 

 so quickly taken, clearing the houses 

 of their surpluses and encouraging the 

 growers to sow larger crops to meet the 

 increasing demand. Like this: 



Please discontinue my ad for primulas, as I 

 am sold out. — N. O. Caswell, Delavan^ 111., De- 

 cember 9, 1918. 



Kindly cancel our ad of cyclamens, as we are 

 sold out. — A. Wiegand's Sons Co., Indianapolis, 

 Ind., December 9, 1918. 



Please discontinue our echeveria ad until fur- 

 ther notice, as all surplus stock has been sold. 

 — Clody's Flower Shop, Chicago, 111., December 

 4, 1918. 



When you hear a man complain of the 



cost of advertising you can be pretty 



certain he spends a good bit of money 



elsewhere than in The Review. 



GREEN WORM ON CINERARIAS. 



We have a small green worm on the 

 under side of our cineraria leaves. Can 

 you tell us what it is and how to get rid 

 of it! J. M. K.— Wis. 



A PROMISING PROSPECT. 



If the volume of business for the holi- 

 day season is any criterion of condi- 

 tions, the tsade is on a firm foundation. 

 Stock of all classes and grades found 

 ready buyers and much more could have 

 been used to advantage. Growers every- 

 where are planning to increase their 

 areas, encouraged by the liberality of 

 the holiday purchases. The holidays in- 

 augurate this year a season of social 

 festivities which doubtless will continue 

 throughout the winter and promise& to 

 be marked by more thai* the usual elab- 

 oration in the rejoicing over the return 

 of peace. That is one reason why stock 



This is the same worm which attacks 

 cabbages and other members of the 

 brassica family outdoors. It also at- 

 tacks calceolarias, mignonette and some 

 primulas under glass, as well as ciner- 

 arias. It is the larva of a white butter- 

 fly which you will see in quantity in the 

 late autumn. On cinerarias, careful hand- 

 picking is the best remedy. C. W. 



TO DESTROY MEALY BXTO. 



Is there any way of keeping mealy 

 bug in check other than hand-picking? 



H. E. C— O. 



The force ^f water from a hose, espe- 

 cially when directed through a fine noz- 

 zle, is an effective cure for mealy bug. 

 There are also several insecticides which 

 will cripple or kill these pests. Hand- 

 picking may be a good remedy, but no 

 one in business has the time to hand- 

 pick mealy bugs. C. W. 



isfotion and 



ESSENTIALS OF CONTRACTS. 



There are some fundamentals concern- 

 ing contracts that are clearly stated in 

 elementary law books, and there are 

 some fundamentals in merchandising 

 that are often restated by experienced 

 traders. A little bit of freshening up 

 on these things may help to clarify some 

 of the fogs that are sure to be encoun- 

 tered from time to time. 



Here are some of the things that ap- 

 pear in most of the law primers and are 

 quite as familiar in substance to mer- 

 chants as they are to lawyers: 



"The law presumes that the parties 

 to every contract deal fairly and hon- 

 estly with each other, and authorizes 

 each of the parties to assume such fair- 

 ness and honesty on the part of the 

 other." 



"The actual contract consists in the 

 meeting of the minds of the parties upon 

 the same thing and in the same sense. 

 In other words, the thing intended to be 

 proposed and actually proposed on one 

 side must be in all material respects the 

 very thing intended to be accepted and 

 actually accepted on the other. In the 

 absence of this meeting there can be no 

 contract." 



"Any contract is broken by the fail- 

 ure of either party to do or to refrain 

 from doing the thing which he agreed 

 to do or not to do in the manner, time 

 and place in which it was agreed to be 

 done or not done." 



"Contracts are said to be express 

 when the mutual promises of the parties 

 are declared in so many words, either 

 orally or in writing. They are implied 

 when the law presumes the existence of 

 such promises from the acts or circum- 

 stances of the parties." 



There are certain essentials that great 

 merchants regard as binding for their 

 own protection. One is that trading 

 shall be mutually advantageous. An- 

 other is that sustained prosperity in a 

 business cannot be had unless a reason- 

 able effort is made to conserve the inter- 

 ests of the customer rather than take 

 down an inordinate profit. And still 

 another is that the best protection for a 

 business is full confidence in the in- 

 tegrity of contracts and those who make 

 them, the latter being known as the 

 moral risk of trade, which to some men 

 is the sine qua non of commercial life. 



