22 



The Florists^ Review 



Mat 22, 1910. 



BUCKEYE BULL'S-EYES 



BUSINESS BOOMING. 



What with a record-breaking Eas- 

 ter, a tremendous Mothers' day trade 

 and every prospect pointing to an ex- 

 ceptionally heavy Memorial day busi- 

 ness, unprecedentedly high marks will 

 be established by florists in general for 

 the months of April and May. Me- 

 morial day has acquired a new signif- 

 icance, due to the war, and as this year 

 manifestations of patriotism will be 

 rampant, the demand for flowers should 

 be greater than ever before. It there- 

 fore behooves every tradesman to make 

 unusual preparations. 



In expectation of an abnormal de- 

 mand for bedding stock, an immense 

 supply of plants has been got ready and, 

 now that the weather has at last be- 

 come settled, movement should begin in 

 earnest. That great leader with general 

 florists, geraniums, is somewhat below 

 par in quantity, but the higher price 

 should operate to materially offset that. 

 More annuals, however, have been pre- 

 pared this spring than formerly, owing 

 to the necessity for many growers, 

 whose ranges were closed down during 

 the winter, stocking up with plants of 

 quick growth. The manner in which 

 large stocks of bedding plants have been 

 shaped up by some of these florists is 

 truly a miracle and is a strong comment 

 upon what can be accomplished where 

 the will exists. Of course, this spring, 

 better values lend an exceptional incen- 

 tive and let us earnestly hope that the 

 same stimulus will continue. 



It is doubtful, in view of the splendid 

 business of the last few months, if ever 

 the time was more singularly oppor- 

 tune for embarking in the work of 

 growing flowers. Surely, there was 

 never a better and firmer demand and 

 most certainly the morale of the trade 

 was never higher. Flowers have in- 

 deed become a necessity in the life of 

 the average person and the present 

 plans of our publicity committees are 

 well designed to see that the need does 

 not diminish. The average florist has 

 an increased belief in the merits of 

 publicity and upon that rests the hope 

 for the future. 



The general feeling that prices of raw 

 stock and building materials, not ex- 

 cluding labor, will descend to lower 

 levels is erroneous. As we realize more 

 for our products, we can amply afford 

 to pay more for the means of their pro- 

 duction. Good money is being made 

 and it should be kept constructively 

 moving. There never was a more propi- 

 tious time for investing in land, green- 

 houses, coldframes and young stock of 

 accepted merit and also the necessary 

 education for raising the standard of 

 our goods. Business is truly booming 

 and it is our part to keep pace with it. 



Mac. 



ANTOINi: WINTZEB. 



The trade numbers few men in its 

 fold whose lifelong love for flowers 

 transcends that of Antoine Wintzer, the 

 canna wizard of West Grove, Pa. Com- 

 ing to that thriving little town from 

 Flushing, L. I., over forty years ago, a 



young man with rare ability as a rose 

 grower and full of enthusiasm over the 

 possibilities of shipping plants by mail, 

 the history of his career is largely a 

 narrative of the progress and develop- 

 ment of that great business there. His 

 early contemporaries have, one by one, 

 been laid to rest and he, touched gently 

 by the hand of time, is hale and hearty 

 and daily active at his work. 



The secret of Antoine Wintzer 's suc- 

 cess is simple: He loves his work; and 

 throughout his long years of constant 

 application, perhaps his best reward is 

 the pleasure he has obtained from it. 

 Ever hopeful of creating something 

 even greater in merit than his previous 

 productions, his untiring effort con- 

 tinues with undiminished Zeal. He not 

 only loves his novel plant creations, but 

 delights in talking about them to ap- 

 preciative listeners; and having a wide 

 acquaintance in the trade, in addition 

 to being well read, his observations up- 



on the advancement of his profession 

 during well-nigh half a century are of 

 particular in^terest to fellow craftsmen. 



The career of Antoine Wintzer is of 

 special inspiration to the young in that 

 it exemplifies the wisdom of a life of 

 healthful and constant application and 

 points out the inestimable advantage of 

 early adopting a congenial calling and 

 putting one 's best effort into the chosen 

 sphere of action. While compensation 

 in money is of importance, particularly 

 at present, the great return is the satis- 

 faction and pleasure derivable from an 

 intelligent and complete obsession in 

 one's work. Just as there is no royal 

 road to learning, so there is no favored 

 road to success; it is known only to 

 the energetic and consistent worker. 

 And of all lives the simple is the best. 



The name of Wintzer is synonymous 

 with all that is good in flowers and it 

 will live forever in the annals of com- 

 mercial floriculture. The writer takes 

 singular pride in having spent, nearly 

 twenty years ago, his first year in the 

 trade as an assistant to this truly great 

 florist; and the lapse of time has served 

 but to strengthen his regard for his old 

 tutor. This sentiment will abundantly 

 find an echo in the bosoms of scores of 

 successful florists scattered throughout 

 the land. Mac. 



PBESIDENT MYEBS' STATEMENT. 



Will Try to Protect Trade. 



There are signs of a tempest in the 

 affairs of the American Mutual Cyclone 

 & Hail Insurance Co., of Muncie, Ind., 

 the storm being precipitated by the 

 notice sent to members outside Indiana 

 by Secretary James F. Hildebrand, ap- 

 prising them that "your certificate is 

 of no more value to you as a protection 

 on your greenhouses. ' ' 



President Dillon Myers had an- 

 nounced in The Review, some weeks be- 

 fore, that the company hereafter would 

 confine its operations to the state of 

 Indiana, but the members outside that 

 state did not appear to realize the im- 

 port of that notice. The one sent them 

 by the secretary, however, was unmis- 

 takable and caused numerous inquiries 

 to be made as to the status of the com- 

 pany and its members. 



Mr. Myers' Letter. 



Replying to the inquiries in The Re- 

 view for May 15, President Myers 

 makes this statement: 



"In answer to the article in The 

 Review regarding the American Mutual 

 Cyclone & Hail Insurance Co., I will 

 say that under the old organization the 

 policyholders had no say at all in the 

 management. This was left to the 

 board of directors, who were the or- 

 ganizers, and they ran it for their own 

 benefit. 



"Their charter only allowed them to 

 do business in the state of Indiana, but 

 this did not seem to keep them from 

 doing business wherever they could 

 write a risk. All policies outside of 

 Indiana were in a separate class and 

 the understanding with the new man- 



agement was that these policies had al- 

 ready been canceled. 



"This is a most unfortunate affair, 

 but I do not see what we can do about 

 it. Under the old management §fty 

 per cent of the membership fee and all 

 of the certificate fee went to the party 

 writing the application; twenty-three 

 per cent to the secretary and treasurer; 

 four per cent to the president, and three 

 per cent to the vice-president. This left 

 only twenty per cent of the membership 

 fee to be applied to the payment of 

 losses. 



"Now, it seems to me that there might 

 be proceedings brought against the 

 party soliciting and writing the applica- 

 tion for membership outside the state 

 of Indiana, but it would have to be 

 brought against him by the applicant 

 and would depend upon the laws of the 

 state wherein the said applicant resides. 

 Now, if any applicant wants to do this, 

 the new management will do all they 

 can to help them by furnishing all the 

 proof they can. 



"As regards the refunding of any 

 moneys, we found none in this class 

 fund to refund, and as it is absolutely 

 contrary to the law of Indiana to con- 

 tinue to do business outside the state, 

 the new management could not do other- 

 wise than conform with the law. 



"Now you see our position. 



"When Mr. Hildebrand invited a 

 number of policyholders to attend a 

 meeting at Muncie and told us that 

 they were willing to turn the manage- 

 ment of the company over to the policy- 

 holders, I for one felt that only by our 

 taking charge could we make our insur- 

 ance good, and as the board of directors 

 has full power over the management 

 they can change the rates and member- 

 ship fees as they may see fit. 



