14 



The Florists^ Review 



Sei'THMbbu 4, 1019. 



fiud directions in which combined buy- 

 ing might be an advantage. 



Educating Flower Buyers. 



Cooperation with the great carrying 

 companies for the sake of better packing 

 and better distribution I only mention 

 in passing to a word on cooperation with 

 the public. Earlier in these notes I men- 

 tioned community as one of the elements 

 that go to the making up of good trade. 

 There is here a field for endless oppor- 

 tunity. The buyer is not a person to be 

 swindled, but one to whom the best 

 service and the best information should 

 be honestly given. The buying public 

 is more and more seeking to learn hor- 

 ticulture from every angle, and the best 

 seller in the long run is the one who 

 knows and appreciates at its real value 

 the article he is selling. 



Flower buyers need educating in their 

 buying more than we sometimes think, 

 and a whole-hearted cooperation with 

 them is after all only good business. 

 By teaching his patrons something of 

 the language of flowers, by showing 



liow much is possible in the providing 

 of real expression by means of flowers, 

 by using his best efforts to stimulate the 

 freer intelligent interchange of flowers, 

 he is consciously or unconsciously form- 

 ing an association with the buyer that 

 is bound to be helpful to both. I se- 

 riously commend to your thought this 

 aspect of the subject. 



We are producers and distributors in 

 one of the noblest professions on earth. 

 The day is past for even thinking of our 

 business as nonessential; we came 

 through the years of war better than 

 we thought and now, with heads erect 

 and hopes high, are building for the 

 reign of peace. May I quote Henry 

 Penn, the prince of publicity? Speak- 

 ing of the ending of the war, he says: 

 "Out of all this will come happiness, 

 progress and a spirit of friendship over 

 all the world that will make this sphere 

 a better and happier one for those hav 

 ing lived in it through such a period, 

 by each one doing his part toward his 

 fellow-man so that we may all share in 

 the blessings to follow. ' ' 



of hyacinths, etc., until the Hollanders 

 become more reasonable. 



F. E. Matsinger. 



O^ LCTTCI^./^ DEADED6 



MINIMIJM ON F. T. D. ORDERS. 



I have noted with interest the dis- 

 cussion relative to a minimum on F. T. 

 D. orders. No doubt it would be a fine 

 thing to have a $4 or $'> minimum, but 

 it would cut down the F. T. D. busi- 

 ness to a large extent. JVe make every 

 effort to get the orders above that 

 amount, but there are many times when 

 it is impossible to do so. With a mini- 

 mum established, these orders would be 

 lest. 



An idea that might possibly help is 

 to have the trade papers give the aver- 

 age selling price on the different flow- 

 ers in the different sections of the coun- 

 try. If a customer comes in and wants 

 a dozen roses for Memphis, Tenn., or 

 Houston, Tex., and they are $5 a dozen 

 there while we are selling them at $3 

 here, we could show him the price list 

 in the trade paper and he would not 

 tTiink we were getting $2 extra for tele- 

 graphing the order. The country might 

 he divided into sections, namely. New 

 Kngland states, middle Atlantic, south- 

 cm, western, etc. I know that the 

 wholesale price lists are published and 

 also quotations from different cities 

 scattered throughout the country, but 

 it would help us a great deal if the re 

 tail prices were gathered together on 

 one or two pages so that they could ho 

 shown to customers. O. T. Kvan. 



100,000 or less will eventually come to 

 it, as in one big southern city the un- 

 dertakers agreed among themselves not 

 to bury anyone on Sunday except in 

 case of a contagious disease. 



Following is the text of one of the 

 advertisements which we placed in local 

 papers when we began the practice of 

 closing Sunday: 



KIjORAL. service and SUNDAY CLOSIMJ 

 AKK A HOBBY WITH US. 



Tradition is now being broken in all the larKe 

 cities of tbe country by florists who now close 

 Off- Sunday. 



There lias never Ijeen any good or sound reason 

 as to why a flower sliop should remain open on 

 Sunday. The public now linow they cannot ot) 

 tain gasoline, have a car repaired, buy meat, gro- 

 furies, postage stamps or get a shave on Sunday. 



Even the United Cigar Stores have recently 

 ordered their stores in every city in the country 

 closed on Sunday. 



Beginning today, our flower shop will be closed 

 on Sunday. We believe our employes as well as 

 ourselves are entitled to a rest. 



We asic the cooperation of the public, to buy 

 i-arly Saturday. 



No phones answered, no orders taken, no order 

 filled for Sunda.v delivery after 8 p. m. Saturday 

 ntcht. 



Green the Florist. 



SUNDAY CLOSING. 



We believe the tendency of tlio times 

 is in favor of Sunday closing and be 

 lieve the majority of the florists of this 

 country will eventually come to it. Of 

 course, there may be times, such as dur 

 ing the holidays, on Mothers' day and 

 Easter, when it is advisable to open, but 

 in the majority of cases it is not neces- 

 sary. The public generally knows in 

 time if a funeral is to ho held on Sun 

 day and can order just .is well on Satur- 

 Afir. Tbe undertakers in cities of 



HIGH BULB PRICES. 



1 have read with interest the bulh 

 reports in The Review. It appears to 

 ine that the French and Dutch think 

 that there is too much money in America 

 and that they should have it. In the 

 early part of the year French bulbs were 

 scarce and the price advanced, but now 

 there are plenty of Paper Whites. 

 Dutch bulbs are reported scarce and 

 accordingly the prices are advanced. 

 Would it not be a good thing if all the 

 florists of America told the Hollanders 

 to reduce the prices and guarantee 

 sound bulbs on arrival, or else eat them? 

 We take chances enough with them 

 wlion the}' are sound, without buying 

 f. o. b. Holland. No matter how poor 

 tlic hulhs are on arrival, we have to 

 pay for tlicni as in the Ebeling suit, 

 rcjK)rted in Tlic Review of August 7. 

 Hydrangeas take the place of azaleas. 

 Other plants will be taking the place 



WOES OF A FLORIST'S WIFE. 



I start in cleaning up my house; 



It takes me an hour or two. 

 Because, in every way I turn, 



I have to pick up a Florists' Uerlew. 



And I wonder if otlier florists' wives 

 Have tbe same thing to contend with, too; 



I wonder if their husbands, like mine. 

 Just swear by The Florists' Review.' 



If there's anything he wants to know 



About growing anything new, 

 He knows exactly where to And It — 



It's in The Florists' Review. 



When we first became subscribers 



I used to be Interested, too. 

 But, now, do you wonder I'm diHgu8te<l 



At the sight of a Ploristn' Review? 



But I'm sending in the renewal,; 



There's nothing else for me to do. 

 Because, if all florists' wives feel as I. 



What would become of The Florists' 

 Review ? 



Mrs. Tom O'Connor. 



THAT LARGE SEEDLESS VERBENA. 



In The Review for August 14, G. H., 

 la., asks about a "beautiful pink ver- 

 bena, considerably larger than any seed- 

 ling verbena, a profuse bloomer, which 

 never seeds, but is propagated by run- 

 ners." This undoubtedly is the variety 

 known as Henderson or Oxford, the 

 names being synonymous. I had stock 

 of it many years ago, but let it get away 

 from me, although it always was a good 

 seller. In the same issue that carried 

 the inquiry of G. H. there was an adver- 

 tisement of the variety by the Calvert 

 Floral Co., Lake Forest, HI., offering it 

 as Queen of Oxford. I also have seen 

 offers of it in The Review by Howard 

 & Smith, Los Angeles, who have a good 

 strain. August Jurgens. 



VERBENA BEAUTY OF OXFORD. 



Answering G. H., la., whose query was 

 on page 22 of The Review for August 14, 

 the verbena probably is Beauty of Ox 

 ford. Joseph M. Smely. 



BANK ADVERTISES FLOWERS. 



In a recent edition of a Pittsburgh 

 daily newspaper an advertisement of 

 the Union Trust Co. appeared which ap- 

 pealed to the florists of the Smoky City. 

 In a space a little over 4x5 inches, the 

 bank reproduced a sketch of the canopy 

 over its entrance, laden with vines. 

 Under the heading, "A Touch of Na- 

 ture," appeared the following para- 

 graph: 



"Years ago the Union Trust Co. 

 started the pleasing little custom of 

 adorning its windows and canopy with 

 ferns and trailing vines — all summer 

 long they add a touch of attractiveness 

 to the banking house, bringing fresh 

 ness to a prosaic business street." 



PLANT PEONIES NOW. 



Now is the time to plant peonies and 

 irises if good blooms are expected next 

 year. A common mistake is made by 

 those who wait until spring before se 

 curing the plants. The plants have ex- 

 ceedingly thick storage roots, which 

 send out numerous small feeding roots 

 during the fall. When transplanted 

 these roots must be destroyed and a new 

 set allowed to grow. Therefore those 

 who intend planting peonies and irises 

 should do so now and they will produce 

 cxcollcnt hlnoins next vear. 



