20 



The Florists^ Review 



Dbcbmbbb 26, 1918. 



EstablUhed, 1897. by Q. L. GRANT. 



Published every Thursday by 

 The Floeists* Publishing Co., 



820-660 OaxtoQ Bulidln?, 



608 South Dearborn St., Ohicago. 



Tele., Wabash 8195. 



ReRlstered cable address, 



Florrlew. Oblcago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3, 1897. at the pcst-office at ObU 

 cago. 111., under the Act of March 

 8 1879. 



Subscription price, tlJBO a year. 

 To Canada, $2.60; to Europe, $3.00. 



Advertising' rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad* 

 Tertlslng accepted. 







NOTICE. 



It is impossible to guarantee the in- 

 sertion, discontinuance or alteration of 

 an3r advertisement unless instructions 

 are received 



BY 4 P. M. TUESDAY. 



Results bring advertising. 

 Tlie Review brings results. 



Empty benches arc the most costly 

 things in any greenhouse establishment. 



Maxy a bench now will be filled with 

 gladiolus bulbs instead of being per- 

 mitted to stand idle this winter. 



There should be a good demand for 

 2 1/^ -inch rose plants next spring, so many 

 growers did no replanting last season. 



A MAN ma^^iow his business ever so 

 thoroughly, but it gets him nothing in 

 the florists' trade unless he works at it. 



In days of old, the commission men had 

 to placate the grower; now it is the re- 

 tailer wlio is kicking. Trulv, ''life's a 

 strife. ' ' 



Transpokt.vtion troubles have been no 

 more than normal this Christinas. Few 

 of us ever will forget the experience of 

 Christmas 1917. 



With the transfer order department 

 in representative stores showing a turn- 

 over of $1,000 to $.'},000 per month, in 

 proportion to the effort made to get busi- 

 ness, no retailer can afford to neglect it. 



The Editor's Desk was decorated over 

 the holiday by a vase of Christmas Gold, 

 a pompon chrysanthemum of the button 

 type, sent by the Friedley Co., Cleveland, 

 O. It promises to be useful because of 

 the lateness of its season. 



The idea prevails that it will be pos 

 sible to sell spring bedding plants in 

 1919 at prices proportionate to the cost 

 of production, which has not l)een ac- 

 complished for several years. A whole- 

 sale price of 15 cents for ^vell grown 

 4-inch geraniums is one of the values 

 suggested. 



There are those who believe that the 

 new plant exclusion order must soon be 

 modified in many respects because of its 

 numerous inconsistencies. For instance, 

 why exclude gladiolus and scores of less 

 important bulbs if narcissi, hyacinths 

 and tulips are admitted? What danger 

 to AmericiM' iigricnlture can lie in one 

 if not the (-t^ier? 



Use that empty house for asters ; don 't 

 let space be idle. 



Grow for quality, not quantity, and 

 watch your bank account grow obese. 



8o far as plants are concerned, we may 

 look for a repetition of the Christmas 

 shortage at Easter. 



With this issue The Review completes 

 its eleventh "century." To look ahead, 

 1,100 weeks is quite a few. 



If STOCK is extremely scarce during the 

 next three months, as many predict, it 

 simply will serve to stimulate production 

 next season. 



Dealers report that sphagnum moss 

 will be one of the scarce articles before 

 spring. The price has been boosted, the 

 cost of burlap and labor having become 

 important factors in its cost. 



Retailers who have recommended the 

 use of baskets for funeral flowers say such 

 arrangements invariably give satisfaction. 

 Among a lot of sprays, wreaths and con- 

 ventional designs, a well arranged basket 

 stands up and makes a show out of pro- 

 portion to the money represented. 



Some florists will save themselves dis- 

 appointment and dispute if they will read 

 a little more carefully. For instance, fre- 

 quent complaints arrive because some" 

 buyer has failed to note that an adver- 

 tisement says "for" pots of a certain 

 size, not "from" pots of that size. 



FLOWERS AS GIFTS. 



"Flowers are always fit presents, be- 

 cause they are a proud assertion that 

 a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities 

 of the world." — Emerson thus epito- 

 mizes in his inimitable phrase the mes- 

 sage of the flowers. It has been said 

 that the sending of flowers conveys a 

 double compliment, because they are 

 beautiful but perishable. Hence the 

 selection of flowers, instead of a useful 

 and lasting gift, implies our faith in the 

 ability of the recipient to appreciate the 

 spiritual sentiment behind their fleeting 

 loveliness. 



FLOWER BUSINESS IN FRANCE. 



"In prewar years exports of cut 

 flowers, especially during the winter 

 months, were among the sources of pros- 

 perity in this consular district," says 

 the report of William D. Hunter, U. S. 

 consul at Nice, France. "Two special 

 trains daily transported, in postal parcels 

 of five and ten kilos (kilo, 2.2 lbs.), cut 

 flowers in willow baskets to Paris, Lon- 

 don, and the large cities of central 

 Europe and Russia. Although no ofiicial 

 statistics are available, the figures given 

 for the year 1914 by the Chamber of 

 Commerce of this city estimated the 

 number of liaskets sent at 2,200,000 and 

 the total value of the floral production 

 for the Riviera at almost $12,000,000. 

 In this sum were included the flowers 

 produced for the perfumer}' industry. 



"In the year 1917, the exports of 

 flowers to the Central Powers, Russia 

 and Great Britain ceased, and the num- 

 ber of postal parcels sent to Paris fell 

 off, largely because of lack of adequate 

 communication between Nice and the 

 capital. Although the demand of the 

 perfume industry for flowers was large 

 and the price was high, the lack of men 

 laborers for the hoeing made the produc- 

 tion unremunerative, and many of the 

 flower cultivators used their land for 

 truck gardening." 



CAUSE AND EFFECT. 



"Things which are equal to the same 

 thing are equal to each other." The 

 best trade paper, broadly speaking, 

 would be the one that supplies to the 

 grower with every issue timely and re- 

 liable cultural advice for each suc- 

 cessive season, includes news, informa- 

 tion and discussion about everything 

 of trade interest and offers a wide out- 

 look upon every phase of the trade's 

 activities. Such a paper would attract 

 the largest number of readers and would 

 provide therefore the best medium for 

 publicity. Modesty forbids the pub- 

 lication of all the acknowledgments re- 

 ceived at the ofiices of The Review from 

 appreciative subscribers, but the fol- 

 lowing will serve to point the moral: 



We are enclosing check for renewal of sub- 

 scription to The Reviow. Be sure that we do 

 not miss nn Issue, ns we would surely be lost 

 without it. The Review undoubtedly is the best 

 journal for the grower published In the good 

 old United States. It is a regular encyclopedia 

 for the florist, who needs no other trade paper 

 if he reads The Review. — Enid Floral Co.. Enid, 

 Okla., December 16, 1918. 



As the logical corollary of the souad- 

 ness of the technical articles supplied 

 by the fltaff of experts contributing to 

 The Review, its liberal policies and 

 comprehensive scope of vision, to say 

 nothing at all of other features which 

 have been factors in attracting to it the 

 largest circulation of all publications 

 in the special field of its adaptation, 

 testimonials to its value as an advertis- 

 ing medium are received constantly in 

 increasing volume at the offices of The 

 Review. The morning's mail illus- 

 trates: 



Klndl.v omit my ml. ns nil stock ready for 

 sale is sold. — M. S. Etter. iBhlrenianstown, Pa.. 

 December 16, 1918. 



Discontinue my clnorarln ad in the Classified 

 department for the present. I am gettlnir too 

 many orders. — C. E. Smith, St. Johns, Mich., 

 December 14. 1918. 



Please take my ad for rooted geranium cut- 

 tings out. as I have sold all I have and hate 

 to spe liow many more I could have sold, to 

 .liidgc by the orders coming In every day. — R. P. 

 Rohlander, Melrose Park, 111., December 12. 

 1918. 



When you hear a man complain of the 

 cost of advertising you can be pretty 

 sure he spends a good bit of money else- 

 where than in The Review. 



CHIOAQO. 



The Market. 



This issue of The Review goes to 

 press in the midst of the Christmas rush, 

 with little change apparent from the 

 market conditions of last week. Stock 

 of all kinds is coming in and going out 

 in large quantities, with advance orders 

 being well taken care of, all things con- 

 sidered, but no sign of any surplus. 

 There were not so many belated ship- 

 ping orders as usual, as most of the or- 

 ders were placed in advance. The last- 

 minute buyer was well warned that if 

 he did not place his orders in advance 

 he would not receive his stock. Mild 

 weather and sun have so increased pro- 

 duction that many of the wholesalers 

 are of the opinion that all last-minute 

 orders can be taken care of. Prices, 

 however, have kept up, the only excep- 

 tion being in the case of carnations. 

 These proved not to be in such great 

 request at the prices asked, the sun 

 helped increase the supply and it de- 

 veloped some growers had been holding 

 stock off last week's big market in 

 the hope of getting still higher prices. 

 Instead thoy got much less, for there 

 was enough good stock so that the old, 

 soft flowers did not realize half last 



