May 22, 1919. 



The Florists^ Review 



21 



and push of a live wire are needed. The 

 florists' business is in its infancy and 

 all that is necessary is for everyone con- 

 nected with our profession to get busy 

 and to keep busy. Do not allow your 

 energy to slump into a state of lethargy. 



Oratif ying Results. 



The F. T. D. office congratulates its 

 members and coworkers because of the 

 splendid results obtained. The associa- 

 tion is in an extremely healthy condi- 

 tion, financially and as to added strength 

 and influence. 



The F. T. D. is a patriotic organiza- 

 tion, having contributed to every Lib- 

 erty loan bond issue to date and re- 

 cently having purchased $700 worth of 

 Victory loan bonds. The money used 

 for the purchase of these bonds was 

 taken from the guarantee fund of the 

 association. The bonds are considered 

 by the officers of the association to be 

 a safe investment, bringing more than 

 bank interest. 



Albert Pochelon, Sec 'y, F. T. D. 



THE CASE OF THE COUBIEB. 



5 



eeuRiERL 



HARRISBURG. PA.. SUNDAY. MAY 11. 1919 



Mothers' Day Prices Provoke. 



Mothers' day again has produced the 

 annual eruptions from those who, for 

 some unexplained reason, feel them- 

 selves aggrieved because of the opera- 

 tions of the law of supply and demand. 

 Just why some people take it to heart 

 because the price of flowers advances 

 when the demand increases is not clear 

 to the ordinary understanding. None 

 of us has seen any fulminations in the 

 press because it costs $5 on New Year's 

 eve, against nothing on any other night, 

 to reserve a table in one of our popular 

 restaurants for an af ter-the-theater sup- 

 per, nor do we see any protest in the 

 newspapers because theaters, including 

 even the movies, now charge more on 

 Saturday nights than on other evenings, 

 but there are recurring protests in cer- 

 tain newspapers because flowers go up 

 in price when everybody wants a part 

 of the limited supply. 



It seems that there has been less ob- 

 jection this year than in previous sea- 

 sons, although prices were higher this 

 Mothers' day than ever before. The 

 case of the Harrisburg Courier is an 

 extreme one. Its front-page article 

 in the issue of May 11 is reproduced 

 herewith. "Local Florists Stage An- 

 nual Hold-Up Because of Mothers' 

 Day" is the heading. The complaint is 

 that carnations were $3 per dozen. The 

 newspaper says the florists "offered the 

 same weak-kneed excuse for increasing 

 the price, the demand for them." The 

 trade gets little attention when it un- 

 dertakes to explain the reasons for the 

 prices of flowers. No one cares that 

 there are times in every year when flo- 

 rists sell their goods below the cost of 

 production and that this must be made 

 up at other seasons if florists are to con- 

 tinue the production of flowers. 



Once Called Us Nonessential. 



The Harrisburg florist who sent the 

 newspaper to The Keview labeled this 

 article "An outrage on the craft by a 

 sorehead," and it seems that the editor 

 must Tfave had an unusual interest in 

 the subject because in the flag beside 

 his masthead, where editors frequently 

 print some pleasant greeting to their 

 readers, there also appeared: "Good 

 morning! Carnations will return to 

 regular prices tomorrow." 



Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels decorating heroic meiiiTOrs".,. 

 Germany. This is one of the first photographs to reach th is country shov 



river 

 Ihese 

 thejB. 



Willi, 



Irises, 

 le en- 

 leyond 



pelved 



. rain- 



IVtyich 



aed a 



lepth 

 Iches. 

 It the 

 pe of 

 Wil- 

 Ittage 

 lit is 



Runt- 



|£h 



Local Florists Stage Annual Hold- 

 Up Because of Mother's Day 



Tack Extra Dollar Onto Price of Carnations Because 

 of Demand Made for Them: Poor farmers Do 

 Likewise 



Sp< 



Florists of Harrisburg and vicinity 

 perpetrated their annual hold-up on 

 the public yesterday by charging an 

 extra dollar for carnations knowing 

 that many persons would be willing to 

 pay almost any price for the pretty 

 (lowers which they give yearly to, o; 

 wear In honor of, "Mother," on Motli- 

 er's Day — today. 



Likewise the florists offered- the 

 samo weak-T{nee4 excuses tor Increas- 

 ing the price — Oie demand for them. 

 The fact that it cost no more to grow 

 the flowers during the past week than 

 it did the week previous made no dif- 



( ference to the florists. They were de- 

 termined to stage their little hold-up 

 and succeeded admirably, according to 

 all indications. 



Yesterday the carnations were sell- 

 ing for %3 per dozen. A week ago the 

 price was |1.50 and $2 per dozen. 



And to top the whole situation 

 "poor" Mr. Farmer came in from the 

 countrv"tllstrl(-tWik>- his bundle of car- 

 nations, which ha usually sold Tor a 

 dollar a dozen and when he learned of 

 the hold-up prices of the oity florists 

 he followed in their tracks and like- 

 wise proceeded to collect |3. 



Ul 



. Moth.J 

 the ^tj 

 servfceq 

 .vliich 

 cal pf^ 

 songs-, 1 

 "Moth J 

 The! 

 niuchj 

 form«i 

 flowq 

 iat 

 111 



iLFflRKM WILSOHPLA 



Article on the Front Page of a Harrisburg Newspaper. 



It is one of the curiosities of the 

 situation that those who protest most 

 violently at the special-occasion prices 

 of flowers are those who referred in war 

 times to our business as among the non- 

 essentials. To hear them now one would 

 suppose flowers were as necessary as 

 meat, or bread, or clothing, not to men- 

 tion coal, which is one of the things 

 florists have found advanced in greater 

 proportion than the price of flowers has 

 advanced for any holiday. 



Such fulminations are aggravating to 

 the florists in the locality in which they 

 occur, but they are of slight impor- 

 tance, especially so long as demand ex- 

 ceeds supply. Indeed, they have an ad- 

 vertising value, because there is a 

 curious trait of human nature which 

 makes the average person covet the 

 things that are costly and disregard the 

 things that are cheap. The advertising 

 that prices are high may deter a few 

 buyers, but the demand always has ex- 

 ceeded the supply at Mothers' day and 

 the more people understand that flowers 

 are not cheap the easier it becomes for 

 the trade to got the necessary returns 

 to maintain production. 



To Meet Such Situations. 



One way to meet a situation like that 

 at Harrisburg is for the florists there to 

 get together a little in advance of 

 Mothers' day next year. Let them as- 

 sess themselves a percentage of their 

 Mothers' day week sales this year and 

 spend it in cooperative advertising in 

 the Harrisburg newspapers, beginning 



three or four days before Mothers' day. 

 Let them advertise: 



For Mother at home, flowers bright; 

 In Mother's memory, flowers white. 



Let the advertisement refer to roses, 

 peonies and any available cut flowers 

 except carnations, and let it include 

 something about the potted plants that 

 mother might enjoy. "Mother's fa- 

 vorite flower" is the special flower of 

 the day. 



Put the advertisements in the papers 

 the people read. If this includes the 

 Courier, well and good, but if it does 

 not include the Courier, let the Courier 

 rave. The reason will be so obvious 

 that no explanation will be necessary. 



PROTECTINO BENCHES. 



We wish to paint the floors of our 

 benches heavily with hot gas tar, coal 

 tar. Would the plants in seven or eight 

 inches of soil or sand be affected by 

 the roots reaching thist If so, then 

 what kind of cheap coating would you 

 recommend? J. D. — 111. 



We would not put gas tar anywhere 

 around a greenhouse and on benches we 

 should put nothing whatever beyond a 

 coat of hot lime wash as an extermina- 

 tor of any insect life. 



Probably your thought is to prevent 

 decay. Build your benches of pecky 

 cypress and you will need no protec- 

 tion other than what nature has pro- 

 vided. P. B. 



