August 7, 1019. 



The Florists^ Review 



15 



A. Miller in a Field of Rubrum Lilies in Japan June 14. 



substitute that will soon usurp the place 

 occupied by lilies in public favor. 



Chas. N, Cotter. 



MR. MILLER IN JAPAN. 



Writes Interestingly of Conditions. 



I have recoivcd tlirce issues of The 

 lieview and it kcejis iiie in touch with 

 the florists' trade at lioine. I am glad 

 to note business is good an<l5 from the 

 prices listed, it is evident the growers 

 are getting good returns for their prod- 

 ucts. I turned over The Review to sev- 

 eral florists liere in Japan who read En- 

 glish. They were surprised to notice 

 that foVptil -gladioli were bringing as much 

 as 20 cents per spike, because here you 

 can purchase two dozen for that price. 

 The flowers are as good as any ])roduced 

 in our country and I believe are ahead 

 of our outdoor glads. This is due to the 

 good growing weather, there being ]den- 

 ty of moisture in the air at all times. 

 When I arrived here June 7 the most 

 Itrominent flowers in the stores were 

 pomjion clirysanthemums in all shades. 

 These are grown outside. I will try to 

 bring ;i few back with me, as I believe 

 Wf could }frow them as well in the south. 

 l)ahli;is also were seen in quantities. 

 Most of them are cultivated in pots and 

 they attain a height of about eighteen 

 inches, fine for a jiot plant. These are 

 sold at 10 to 50 cents retail, witli 

 from two to eight fancy blooms. Aura- 

 tum lilies j,'row wild in the nuiuntains 

 and are sold cheaply. 



The Lily Bulb Situation. 



Easter lilies, in which I am most in- 

 terested, are scarce, «s many of the 

 growers gave up growing lilies, due to 

 the embargoes placed on exporting lily 

 bulbs to America and P'urope. Now 

 everybody is after the few that arc 

 left. What had a bad effect on the 

 price is that many firms not having ex- 



jierience in exporting lily bulbs, but as- 

 sociated with the farmers through buy- 

 ing other products, interested them- 

 selves in trying to aid the farmers in 

 disposing of their bulbs last season. As 

 soon as the embargo was lifted they 

 sent out prices that the exporter paid 

 before the war, as the farmer was glad 

 to get any price. This was in January 

 and the crop is harvested in August. 

 Orders started to come in from all over, 

 to these new concerns, but before they 

 got their return answers the regular ex- 

 ]iorters started contracting and every 

 ex])orter tried to get his full supply, 

 while the croji is less than half. So 

 one started outbidding the other. The 

 fellows who had quoted low had wisely 

 made it subject to crop conditions and 

 market conditions. Soon they started 

 cabling. The advance in some cases 

 was ."^dO ])er cent. Even if these prices 

 were accepted, it would be impossible 

 for them to get their supply. The farm- 

 ers are wise in this respect. The (dd 

 customer gets the first chance if he is 

 willing to pay the high ])rice. as th" 

 farmer wants this customer another 

 season. 



A World Competition. 



The buying is finished for this season, 

 buying the crop in the field. In other 

 years the crop was sfdd by sizes. Now 

 the exjiorter takes the chances an<l 

 gambles with the season. This week a 

 field I saw piirchased by a large ex 

 porter brought 20 sen per plant for all 

 sizes, from ;"i to 7 uji. 



Foruuisa lilies brought the highest 

 ]irice fin record, 40 sen per bulb in the 

 field being paid and the exporter har- 

 vesting the crof). There is no telling 

 what the limit will be on <riganteuins. 

 Much is due to tlie En<r|ish and Ameri- 

 can buyers. Buyers overlook one fact: 

 When they write to an exporter for 

 jirices they shouhl limit that to <me, as 

 when tliev write all thev themselves 



start artificial competition and prices, as 

 the exporters nearly all go to the same 

 source for their supply, and when all 

 cume the farmer as well as the exporter 

 expects a large demand and the price 

 goes up. I was told by large concerns 

 in other lines that this system ])racticed 

 by importers is resjionsible for high 

 prices when there is no reason for them. 

 England and Holland arc cabling or- 

 ders at market jiricc and are more anx- 

 ious about quantity than price. Eng- 

 land is allowing the entrance of finly 

 twenty per cent of what was imported 

 before the war. If that limit is re- 

 mo\-ed, which many exjiect, V>y shipjiing 

 time bulbs will sell here for twice the 

 price that exporters scdd them for early. 

 E\ery item that changes hands here is 

 changeable in price nearly daily. It 

 would not b(> a business unless some 

 speculation was done. 



When 1 arrived here .luiie 7 one could 

 ship bulk freight, such as Inilbs. as low 

 .'IS $'t per ton. Now space is hard to get 

 at .$10 or $12. At lily shipping time I 

 would not be surprised if freight went 

 as high as during the w;ir. 



I hope florists will coutiuue to do a 

 good bu.siness, so they can aft'onl to pay 

 the prices demanded for bringing lily 

 bulbs to America and not let England 

 and Holland t.'ike them from us. Condi- 

 tions are ('verything but favorable. I 

 have purchased .-^otne fine fields through 

 (lur broker and will stay here until the 

 bulbs arc shijiped. A. Miller. 



THEATER CLUB. 



A Eadies' Theater Club is being 

 fornu'd for the jdeasurc of the ladies at- 

 tending the S. A. F. convention at De- 

 troit. Any woman is eligible and all 

 are invited to join. Dues are ")•) cents 

 and are payable to Mrs. C. H. Maynard, 

 who may be seen at the convention hall, 

 Tuesday. August 11». The date of en- 

 tertainment wjll be announced later. 



