10 



The Florists^ Review 



JULT 31, 1919. 



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COMMISSION HOUSE LAW 



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hjjnois has new one. 



In Effect tUs Week. 



For twenty years there has been a law 

 in Illinois to regulate the sale of produce 

 and "other products" and to license 

 and regulate commission merchants, but 

 at the last session of the legislature this 

 law was replaced by another for the 

 same purpose. As introduced, the bill 

 stated that it did not apply to our trade, 

 but it was amended before passage to 

 ispecifically include " floricultural prod- 

 -ucts." It will make it necessary for 

 levery individual, firm or corporation in 

 Illinois handling cut flowers, plants, 

 bulbs or greens on commission to obtain 

 a license and file a bond. 



There may be need of such a law to 

 regulate the sale of vegetables, fruits, 

 etc., where numbers and distance pre- 

 clude personal contact between produc- 

 er and commission man, but it is dif- 

 ficult to see wherein the new law will 

 afford florists any great benefits. Neither 

 growers nor dealers were heard by the 

 legislative committees before the bill 

 was passed. Certain growers have ex- 

 pressed the view that the law affords 

 "real protection," but a study of the 

 law may lead to the idea that in this 

 trade, where producers and commission 

 men are so well acquainted with each 

 other, nothing of great worth has been 

 provided. The law does, of course, in- 

 sure $2,000 of financial responsibility to 

 the consignors of any new commission 

 house, whatever value that fact may 

 have for growers. 



The Law's Provisions. 



The provisions of the new law may be 

 summarized as follows: 



Sec. 1. (a) Defines commission merchant. It 

 Includes those who handle flowers and plants, 

 but does not apply to seeds sold at retail (com- 

 mission boxes) or those graded by law (sold 

 on the Board of Trade), (b) Defines the term 

 "farm produce" to include floricultural prod- 

 ucts. 



Sec. 2. ProYldes that the law goes into ef- 

 fect August 1, 1919. Requires commission mer- 

 chants to procure license, application for re- 

 newal to be made annually to the Director of Ag- 

 riculture before June 1. Director to Issue license 

 on payment of fee, JIO, and execution and de- 

 livery of a bond as hereinafter provided. Li- 

 cense to be displayed in office of licensee. 



Sec. 3. Provides that each applicant for a 

 commission merchant's license shall execute and 

 deliver to the director an indemnity bond for 

 $2,000 to secure an honest accounting and pay- 

 ment for produce; that the director may bring 

 action in court under the bond to recover for 

 consignees; that if the bond does not cover all 

 such liabilities, consignors shall be compensated 

 in proportion to their several claims. 



Sec. 4. Authorizes the director to investigate 

 the record of applicant for a license, or trans- 

 actions in which a licensee may become Involved, 

 to examine books relating to the particular trans- 

 action under investigation, and to take testi- 

 mony under oath. He may do this on the veri- 

 fied complaint of an interested person, or on 

 bis own initiative. 



When a consignor fails to obtain satisfactory 

 settlement in any transaction, after having no- 

 tified the consignee, a verified complaint may 

 be filed at the expiration of ten (10) days after 

 SHch notification with the director. The direc- 

 tor shall attempt to secure an explanation or 

 adjustment; failing this, within seven days he 

 shall cause a copy thereof, together with a no- 

 tice of a time and place for a hearing on such 

 complaint, to be served personally or by mail 

 upon such commission merchant. Such service 

 shall be made at least seven days before the 

 hearing, which shall be held in the city, village 

 or township in which is situated the place of 

 business of the licensee. At the time and place 

 appointed for such bearing the director or bis 

 assistants shall hear the parties to such com- 

 Dlaint, shall have power to administer an oath, 



and shall enter, in the office of the director at 

 Springfield, a decision either dismissing such 

 complaint or specifying the facts which he deems 

 established on such hearing, and in case such 

 facts are established as cause him to revoke 

 such license, he shall bring an action on the 

 bond within sixty days of the filing of such 

 decision. 



Sec. 5. Specifies the conditions under which 

 the director may refuse or revoke a license. 



Sec. 6. Makes the acts of the director sub- 

 ject to court review. 



Sec. 7. Requires ev«ry commission merchant 

 to make a record, specifying the name and ad- 

 dress of the consignor, the date of receipt, the 

 kind and the quantity of such produce, the con- 

 dition of the goods upon receipt by licensee, the 

 amount of goods sold, the date of sale, the name 

 and address of the person to whom the goods 

 are sold, the price received, and the items of 

 expense connected therewith; a memorandum of 

 this record, together with payment in settle- 

 ment for such shipment, shall be mailed to the 

 consignor within forty-eight hours unless other- 

 wise agreed. The commission merchant shall re- 

 tain the foregoing record for a period of six 

 months and the same shall be open to the in- 

 spection of the director or his agents. The bur- 

 den Of proof shall be upon the commission mer- 

 chant to prove ^he correctness of his accounting 

 as to any transactions which may be questioned. 



Sec. 8. Any person, firm, exchange, associa- 

 tion or corporation who shall receive or offer to 

 receive, sell or offer to sell on commission within 

 this state any kind of farm produce without a 

 license except as in this act permitted and any 

 person who being a commission merchant in 

 farm produce shall (a) Impose false charges 

 for handling or services in connection with farm 

 produce, or (b) fails to account for such farm 

 prodnce promptly and properly and to make set- 

 tlements thereof, with intent to defraud, or (c) 

 shall make false or misleading statement or 



statements as to market conditions with intent 

 to deceive, or (d) enter into any combination 

 or combinations to fix prices, or (e) directly or 

 indirectly purchases, for his or its own account, 

 goods received by him or it upon consignment 

 without prior authority therefor from the con- 

 signor, or shall fail to promptly notify the con- 

 signor of such purchase on his or its own account, 

 or (f) any person handling, shipping, or selling 

 farm produce who shall make false statements 

 as to- grade, condition, markings, quality or 

 quantity of goods shipped, or packed in any man- 

 ner, with intent to deceive, or (g) shall- fall to 

 comply in every respect herewith, or (h) shall 

 advertise or hold one's self out as a commission 

 merchant In farm produce without a license, shall 

 be guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by a 

 fine of not less than twenty-five ($25.00) dollars, 

 nor more than five hundred ($500.00) dollars. 



In the florists' trade, the custom of 

 the Chicago commission houses has been 

 to mail weekly statements and remit- 

 tances. Doubtless they would mail 

 them daily if any considerable percent- 

 age of the growers were to indicate 

 such a desire, so it is fair to assume 

 that regular shippers in this trade will 

 waive the right to 48-hour settlements. 

 No commission merchant with the wish 

 to continue in business ever refused to 

 verify his accounting for the satisfac- 

 tion of any consignor who showed real 

 reason to suspect error, and certainly no 

 grower could expect to continue to ship 

 to a commission house after he thought 

 it necessary to invoke, or even to 

 threaten to invoke, the aid of the state 

 under this law. As an aid to continuous, 

 mutually satisfactory business relations 

 the law does not promise much; nor will 

 it do anything for the consignor who is 

 chronic in the belief that he does not 

 get a square deal. 



DISASTROUS EXPERIENCE. 



Orower Advocates Prevention. 



About two years ago this July we pur- 

 chased 100 small ferns from Florida and 

 planted them in the end of a 100-foot 

 bench. At the time of planting the 

 writer noticed that several of the new 

 plants showed a slight infestation about 

 the size of thrips. As this planting was 

 the last thing done before leaving on a 

 ten days' vacation, the writer may be 

 excused for the condition which he now 

 relates. 



On entering the fern house on my re- 

 turn, a heavy sweetish odor was appar- 

 ent and I was amazed to find my entire 

 stock of ferns, consisting of over 1,000 

 plants, practically ruined. I made a 

 careful examination of the nearest fern 

 and found it badly infested with small 

 worms of various sizes, the largest being 

 nearly one-eighth of an inch long. I 

 examined the next fern and found the 

 same condition. Nearly every fern in 

 the house appeared to be infested and 

 before we conquered the pest I can tes- 

 tify that every fern, if not infested at 

 the time of my return, became infested 

 later. We did not save a single plant. 



A careful studv of the condition 



showed that the worm would work its 

 way up to the top of a frond and burrow 

 into the crown, eating it hollow. From 

 here it would work its way down, eating 

 the leaves from the fronds and rapidly 

 destroying the plant. It was noted that 

 the worm had crossed over to the next 

 plant where the leaves had been in con- 

 tact. 



Observation of Pest. 



We immediately started using all the 

 various remedies, such as nicotine, Thrip 

 Juice and pyrethrum powders, but with 

 practically no success. We hand-picked 

 many of the worms, but nothing seemed 

 to stop the ravages of the pest. 



From my observations I noticed that 

 the caterpillar showed in three colors, 

 plain green, plain brown apd striped 

 green. It soon cocooned. The cocoons 

 appeared about the size of a small bean. 

 We found them in the sand, in the soil of 

 the pots, attached to the side of the 

 pots, and under the benches. A further 

 examination showed that the cocoons 

 later turned into moths or butterflies of 

 a dark gray color, the wings of which 

 measured about a half inch from tip to 

 tip. The moth then laid the eggs on 

 the under side of the frond. Thfese eggs 

 looked a great deal like "mum-miller" 



