18 



The Horists' Review 



Jdly 8, 1919. 



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Establiabed, 1897, by Q. L. GRANT. 



Published every Tbaradar by 

 Thk Florists' Publishing Co., 



620-S60 Oaxton Bnlldinijr, 



608 Soatb Dearborn St., OhIcaKO. 



Tele.. Wabaah 8196. 



Refriatered cable address, 



Florylew, Cblcagro. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3, 1897. at the post-office at Chi- 

 cago. III., under the Act of March 

 8. 1879. 



Subscription price, $1.60 a year. 

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



Advertlsinfr rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertlslntr accepted. 



n 



EESULTS. \ 



We give them. You get them. 

 We both have them. 



Prospects for a $3,000,000 wheat crop 

 makes the outlook rosy for the middle 

 western florists at least. 



Advertising opens the door to cus- 

 tomers. Treat them cordially and con/- 

 siderately after they come in. 



Let it be recorded that June 30, 1919, 

 the Florists' Telegraph Delivery Associa- 

 tion had 1,013 members. Watch it grow. 



Prettt nearly everyone knows where 

 he wants to go. The puzzle is what road 

 leads there? That's true in the solution 

 of trade problems. 



When coal iras comparatively cheap, 

 everybody wasted it. Now that it costs 

 real money, every florist is studying ways 

 and means of saving fuel. 



Prompt response to inquiries, even if 

 they are only for catalogues or prices, is 

 a means of securing trade. Don't throw 

 away business you might as well have. 



There is nothing like a card index to 



keep track of people. Many people you 



meet are possible customers, but how can 



you reach them when you have something 



ito off? ^ 



If a buyer orders of the man who offers 

 the lowest price, how can he expect the 

 best grade of stock? When did 'best 

 quality and lowest price begin going to- 

 gether? 



June business should have been good. 

 Reports from many places note the re- 

 markable number of weddings. In Chi- 

 cago the mark was high, a total of 4,695, 

 exceeding last year's figure by 2,933. 



Cause and effect work in a strange 

 way. Because people wore their old 

 clothes during war time, the price of felt 

 roofing now goes up, since rags are scarce. 

 And because flowers cost more than they 

 ever did before, people believe the more 

 that they should have them. 



Protection of the rights of plant rais- 

 ers in the new varieties which they pro- 

 duce is being advocated by the British 

 horticultural trade. The diflBculty en- 

 countered in presenting a model statute 

 to the consideration of Parliament is to 

 draft a measure that will be satisfactory 

 and workable in all branches of the trade. 



Acknowledging an order is easy — ^just 

 writing a few lines on a postal card. And 

 it 's worth a cent or two to make a friend 

 by saying, "Thank you," if you do no 

 more than that. 



The large number of weddings calling 

 for bouquets and decorations in June 

 furnishes an indication of what we may 

 expect next season, a splendid increase 

 in the call for flowers for social affairs. 



That old caption, "Business Embar- 

 rassments," might as well be thrown in 

 the hell-box — which is the printers ' brush - 

 pile or ash-can. There has not been any 

 call for such items for a considerable time. 



BRINQ ON THE FLOWERS. 



The passing of John Barleycorn was 

 lamented July 1 by the florists of only 

 sixteen states; those in the other thirty- 

 two states had witnessed his demise as 

 the result of local prohibition laws in 

 years before. And not all the florists 

 in those sixteen states are mourners. 

 Some of them look with an optimistic 

 view on the dry vista ahead. Perhaps 

 theirs is the proper philosophy to follow. 

 It is always better to be cheerful about 

 doing something you cannot avoid. 



Aside from the personal discomfort 

 involved, there is really nothing detri- 

 mental to florists in the closing of the 

 nation's bars. Of course, those apoplec- 

 tic individuals whom abundant alcohol 

 speeds on their way hence in the hot 

 weather, may live to a riper age, to the 

 temporary diminution of that summer 

 stand-by, funeral trade. But few, if 

 any, of us are so anxious for business, 

 even in the dull torrid days, that we 

 will regret that result. 



An opposite, and more general view, 

 is that business in flowers will be better 

 the year around, now that the $10,000,- 

 000,000 spent hitherto on wines and 

 liquors each year will be used to buy 

 other things. And, while the soda foun- 

 tains and the candy shops and some 

 other lines are going to get some of the 

 money, the outlook logically is for a 

 general distribution of the sum in all 

 sorts of luxuries. There is good reason 

 for thinking a fair share will come into 

 the florists' tills; there is indeed strong 

 reason to believe so, for people regard 

 flowers as more nearly a necessity 

 than anything else — now that they can- 

 not get their oft-needed "bracers." 



True it is that the greatest flower cen- 

 ters were the last to go dry, but that 

 coincidence is explained by the fact 

 that they were the places of greatest 

 population. Dry Detroit is the home of 

 a number of live florists that exceeds 

 cities of greater size. Farewell, booze! 

 Bring on the flowers! 



PROMISES OF PEACE. 



The actual signing of peace brought 

 no great disturbance anywhere. There 

 was rejoicing, .dignified, sober rejoicing, 

 in Paris, and here and there in this coun- 

 try a few bells rang and some whistles 

 blew. Even the newspapers, with their 

 alternate headlines, "Foe Will Sign," 

 "Foe Won't Sign," repeated like the 

 petal-plucking lover's refrain, "She 

 loves me, she loves me not," did not stir 

 up any great uncertainty as to the out- 

 come. There was little doubt what the 

 last petal would tell. Even the stock 

 market developed no antics by way of 

 celebration; that had been done already 

 in anticipation. 



Yet there are some definite results. 



quite aside from the political settlement. 

 Not only does business now know more 

 or less "where it's at," but it also can 

 count with certainty on the occurrence 

 of events which will influence prices and 

 markets. 



First of these is the return of the 

 railroads. Many war measures have al- 

 ready been discontinued, either gradu- 

 ally or abruptly, by the government. 

 But the railroads, telegraph lines and 

 express companies, all part-«f^ne prob- 

 lem in a way, seemed a mattet~-BOt so 

 easily disposed of as some others had 

 been. Now, it is expected, definite ac- 

 tion may be counted on in the direction 

 of turning back these agencies to pri- 

 vate hands. When that is done we shall 

 know whether rates are going up, and 

 how far, and may prepare to meet the 

 new costs. 



Another important result will be freer 

 action in stocks of various important 

 commodities. When it is known just 

 what program various industries will 

 follow, now that our problems are not 

 tinged with the possibility of resumed 

 war, materials that have been held back 

 will be released, to the facilitation of 

 business. One of the most important 

 lines thus affected is building. When 

 materials are freed for that purpose, 

 one difficulty will be on the way toward 

 solution. 



Export traffic is untrammeled, now 

 that war restrictions are removed. Pas- 

 senger movement to foreign countries 

 will be free in a short time, it is hoped. 

 One by one the bars fall, and the world 

 resumes a course more nearly its old 

 normal one. 



The signing of peace brought no sud- 

 den change in the aspect of business, 

 but its results are to clarify and facili- 

 tate the paths of business, removing ob- 

 structions to' the enjoyment of our great- 

 est prosperity. 



PENNSYLVANIANS PLEASED. 



There is a sale for practically every- 

 thing in the nature of surplus stock this 

 season; no grower should let anything 

 go to waste, because it is in the nature 

 of a public service, as well as profitable, 

 to tell other growers what can be fur- 

 nished. Like this from Pennsylvania: 



The ad is getting us more orders for Chadwlck 

 cuttings than we can take care of. — P. R. De 

 Muth & Son, Connellsville, Pa., June 27, 1919. 



If 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. 



POSTAGE RATES DOWN. 



One item in the high cost of business 

 came down July 1. On that date first- 

 class postage descended from 3 cents to 

 2 cents and the price of post cards from 

 2 cents to 1 cent. The saving of any- 

 where from a third to a half in post- 

 age will make considerable difference to 

 firms doing the greater part of their 

 business by mail. Companies who buy 

 thousands of dollars ' worth of stamps in 

 the course of a year are truly glad to 

 see this expense sharply reduced. 



Anyone who has a stock of 3-cent en- 

 velopes or 2-cent post cards on hand has 

 the privilege of exchanging them for 

 their value in the lower denominations 

 during the month of July. The 3-cent 

 stamps, however, will not be exchanged, 

 for they will be continued for use on 

 packages or elsewhere that larger post- 

 age is necessary. 



