22 



The Florists^ Review 



January 23, 1919. 



ff 



Established. 1897, by O. L. GRANT. 



Published every Thursday by 

 The Florists' Publishing Co., 



620-S60 OaxtoD Building. 



906 South Dearborn St., Oblcagro. 



Tele., Wabash 8196. 



Registered cable address, 



Florrlew. Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3. 1897. at the pcst-offlce at Chi- 

 cago, 111., under the Act of March 

 8 1879. 



Subscription price. SIJM) a rear. 

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



Advertising rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising accepted. 



NOTICE. 



It is impossible to guarantee the in- 

 sertion, discontinuance or alteration of 

 any advertisement unless instructions 

 are received 



BY 4 P. M. TUESDAY. 



Results bring advertising. 

 The Beview brings results. 



If you can not propagate geraniums 

 you can at least start plenty of petunia 

 seeds. 



With Mistletoe and Hamburg Late 

 White the chrysanthemum season may be 

 made to last practically all winter. 



Martin Kohankie says Delphinium 

 Belladonna blooms the first year from 

 seed and, with good cultivation, is prac- 

 tically everDlooming. 



How infinitely better are the conditions 

 now than those of a year ago; and how 

 much brighter the future looks! Let us 

 not be inappreciative. 



It is the general opinion that St. Val- 

 entine's day is increasing rapidly in im- 

 portance as a flower day. Let us also 

 note why it is increasing: Because flo- 

 rists individually are advertising in their 

 own neighborhoods the suitability of flow- 

 ers for cxi)rossing the sentiments of the 

 day. "The Lord helps those who help 

 themselves. ' ' 



The trade is to be congratulated that 

 business is holding up better than it is in 

 most lines of trade. It is a general com- 

 plaint that things are pretty dull, even 

 in such essential lines as the food trade 

 and wearing apparel, but florists are go- 

 ing right ahead; we have passed the rush 

 due to the epidemic, peace and Christmas, 

 but business is much larger than a year 

 ago. 



Stock has not been so scarce as ex- 

 pected in January, with the result that 

 prices have been lower than many of us 

 thought they would be. The condition 

 has been due, it seems, almost entirely to 

 the generally mild, bright weather, which 

 has been extremely favorable to cut 

 flower production, in direct contrast to 

 the unprecedentedly severe weather con- 

 ditions which prevailed last year in Jan- 

 uary. Business is not quite up to the 

 high-tide mark of the last quarter of 1918, 

 but demand is far ahead of a year ago 

 this month. 



Numerous growers of general stock 

 have stretched the chrysanthemum season 

 to meet the spring flowers. 



As A straw which shows which way 

 the wind is blowing, this issue of The 

 Review is eight pages larger than the 

 issue of this week a year ago. 



Some people find it difficult to remem- 

 ber when Easter falls this year, and yet 

 nothing is easier to keep in mind. Easter 

 comes the first Sunday after the full moon 

 after the vernal equinox. 



" If we could have Charles Grakelow as 

 chairman of our publicity meetings," 

 says Henry Penn, "we would not have 

 to ask for funds. As a producer of the 

 goods he is 100 per cent perfect. ' ' 



W. H. Reeser, of the Urbana Floral 

 Co., Urbana, O,, thinks the bougainvillea 

 wiU come into its own this year as an 

 Easter plant. He says he considers it 

 among our most worthy subjects. 



The Society of American Florists soon 

 will inaugurate the publication of a 

 monthly bulletin, the first issue of which 

 is on the press. It is to take the plaee 

 of the annual book of proceedings, which 

 has grown to large size, cost an important 

 sum and been little read. The society 

 dues wDl include a subscription to the 

 bulletin without extra cost to members. 



GOOD-BYE TO BOOZE. 



Florists cannot possibly lose a cent 

 by the success national prohibition 

 achieved last week. Liquor and flow- 

 ers never had anything in common. 

 Among florists' patrons there were few 

 who made their money making alcoholic 

 beverages, and there were far less flower 

 buyers among those who sell the stuff, 

 while among those who use it — well, the 

 men who frequent the saloons are not 

 the ones who "Say It with Flowers." 



National prohibition will mean for 

 the florists' trade that an unimaginable 

 sum of money heretofore spent in ways 

 that carried it far out and beyond the 

 reach of florists, hereafter vdll be spent 

 in other channels, none of which lead 

 less directly to the flower store than do 

 the liquor routes. "We win; we cannot 

 lose. 



HELP! HELP!! 



PJach week in the office of The Re- 

 view practically all the work of getting 

 the paper out is done in three days, 

 Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday — 

 Thursday, Friday and Saturday have 

 been useful principally for getting 

 ready for the next week's rush. 



But we have got to change the sys- 

 tem. 



The work is so heavy at the first of 

 the week that overtime has been neces- 

 sary — about four days of working time 

 has been put in during the first three 

 days of the week. But overtime costs 

 double wages — four days' time and five 

 (lays' pay is about the way it has fig- 

 ured out. In other words, for each 

 working week The Review has paid 

 for two extra days to accommodate its 

 late patrons. 



At present high wages it is impossible 

 to keep it up. 



Advertisers will assist materially in 

 keeping down the cost of printing if 

 they send their instructions Thursday, 

 Friday and Saturday. Practically every 

 ad received Tuesday calls for the pay- 

 ment of overtime. 



ANOTHER LOAN COMING. 



The trade, which did so much better 

 than expected on the Fourth Liberty 

 Loan, is asked to set the same commit- 

 tees at work preliminary to a fifth loan, 

 the Victory Loan, to be floated early in 

 the spring. 



The Liberty Loan Press Bureau is 

 getting things in training for the big 

 drive. In its appeal for the support 

 of the trade it states the situation thus: 



* ' With the late press dispatches stat- 

 ing that a situation exists in Europe 

 under which war may break out at any 

 moment and that the German army, still 

 consisting of some millions of soldiers, 

 remains a potential military machine, 

 the necessity of maintaining a strong 

 army on the Rhine is more imperative 

 than ever. Uncle Sam is spending money 

 at the rate of $300,000,000 a week, part 

 of which goes to maintain the army of 

 occupation, part to put the wounded 

 men back on their feet, and part to 

 pay insurance claims and to bring home 

 the victorious Yanks. 



"The florists' trade suffered during 

 the period of war, but in spite of that 

 the florists came to the front in every 

 war emergency. 



"We now have another emergency. 

 Are we going to stand by our guns, by 

 Uncle Sam, by our record?" 



SAME TO YOUI 



The New Year is the time for check- 

 ing up on affairs of all sorts, as well as 

 for the making of good resolutions. It 

 is the season for planning for "addi- 

 tions, alterations and amendments" in 

 business and all that pertains to its suc- 

 cessful conduct, for such changes of 

 policy as may conduce to greater pros- 

 perity and larger returns for effort ex- 

 pended and capital invested. It is a 

 good time to arrange for expert advice 

 on cultural problems and for keeping in 

 touch with all that goes on in the trade, 

 to say nothing of connecting up with 

 a reliable medium of publicity, one that 

 reaches the greatest number engaged in 

 the florists' business, so that the grower 

 may know where to market his product 

 and the florist where to obtain his sup- 

 plies. Renewing his subscription to The 

 Review, a southern florist has attained 

 these ends and provided them at the 

 same time for one in the trade whose 

 success he desires to promote: 



• • • Also enter a subscription for one 

 year for my sister, Mrs. Annie Smith, CardweU, 

 Va., who Is undertaking commercial flowers, 

 outside only. The Review will be a great help 

 to her. No one interested in flowers can afford 

 to be without The Review, which, like wine, con- 

 tinues to improve with age. May the New Year 

 bring you full measure of continued prosperity, 

 health and life's sunshine. — Roy Duff, Danville, 

 Va., January 6, 1919. 



About the first act of a beginner in 



the business is to subscribe for The 



Review. 



CHIOAGO. 



The Market. 



The return of a brisk city business, 

 with a large increase in funeral work, 

 has made the market much stronger than 

 in the first half of January. Shipping 

 continues as strong as ever, with city 

 retail work going along in fine shape, 

 better than it has been for the last few 

 weeks. This has resulted in a shortage 

 of stock, mostly roses. When the trade 

 has time to take its thoughts from the 

 present-day business, it centers on St. 

 Valentine's day and it is the belief of 



