January 15, 1920, 



The Florists^ Review 



69 



na« florists whoa* cards avpMtf on tb* pacos carrying tbls iMatf* 

 mm. — trom «Ui«r florists for local doUverr oa tla* 



and Memorial day — there is such large 

 prospects that the results at Christmas 

 and New Year's only serve to stir the 

 enthusiasm of those who contemplate 

 the possible business ahead. It is of 

 interest to note that new firms imme- 

 diately make a bid for wire business; 

 it is a fine customer when one has won 

 it. And florists who have established 

 local businesses find the addition of wire 

 business is that much more profit at a 

 small expense. The coming spring, it 

 appears, wiU hang up records in wire 

 orders, if one may judge by the prepara- 

 tions already being made to get them. 



AT OEMUIX^EE, OKI.A. 



Not so many years ago, before the 

 district known as Indian Territory be- 

 came a part of Oklahoma and was made 

 a state, Okmulgee was dignified only as 

 the capital of the territory occupied by 

 the Greek nation of Indians. In those 

 days it could muster only a couple of 

 hundred in permanent population. 



Today, Okmulgee, Okla., is not a 

 mighty metropolis, but it has grown 

 some, the latest estimates putting its 

 population at 17,500. It has become, 

 moreover, a good flower-buying town. 

 The accompanying illustration shows 

 the store of Geo. W. Marshall there. 

 Its up-to-date furnishings and equip- 

 ment indicate to the eye as fully as 

 words could describe the condition of 

 the florists' business at Okmulgee. 



For those who desire further statis- 

 tics, one might quote some figures from 

 Mr. Marshall's Christmas business. 

 Among the most interesting are those 

 concerning the telegraph orders which 

 he sent out for the holiday. From this 

 small town fifty-eight orders were sent 

 to florists in other cities and towns. The 

 average size of these orders was over 

 $6.50. If one uses his pencil a little, 

 he will find that this sum amounted to 

 an expenditure for flowers by telegraph 

 of over $2 per hundred citizens. For a 

 town of the size of Okmulgee, one 

 would say this record was extremely 

 good. Indeed, one would say it was 

 quite good for any town. If this record 

 was equaled throughout the country, 

 the wire orders at Christmas would have 

 totaled well over $2,000,000. If Geo. 

 W. Marshall's figures do no more, they 

 indicate how important telegraph busi- 

 ness is becoming in the florists' trade 

 and how a single holiday's orders will 

 give a profit many times over the small 

 cost of going after them. 



NATIONAL PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN. 



[Continued from page 66. | 



must be kept up and this can only be 

 done by our further and most persistent 

 effort. We need no longer urge the im- 

 portance of this, for if it is not now 

 realized to the fiill it never can be. The 

 public likes the slogan and responds to 

 it readily enough, so that we have the 

 prospect of immediate returns for our 

 efforts continually before us. The more 

 we do, the greater are the returns. We 

 must not lose sight of this influence 

 which it is in our power to exert. 



A notable instance of the possibilities 

 for popularizing the slogan is found in 

 the Von Tilzer song, "Say It with 

 Flowers," which has pleased the pub- 



Turning Dry-Ups 

 Into Pay-Ups 



A couple of years ago there was a wonderful article in 

 Country Life Magazine about "Flower Ghosts." It told of 

 the dried up wild flower stsJks and their beauties as they 

 held up their heads above the winter's snow. 



Following quickly on that article's heels, came a' rumor 

 from California that a wide-awake chap was gathering such 

 ghosts, giving them charming colorings, and selling them to 

 the florists. 



Just naturally, we ran the rumor down and with it a goodly 

 swag of the colored ghosts. Well, sir, you wouldn't believe 

 it if we should tell you how those things sell. 



One woman picked out an armful and then came back next 

 day with a big urn in which she wanted the "dried-up ex- 

 pert," as she called him, to arrange the ghosts, and send them 

 to her residence just that way. She cheerfully paid us $25. 



Then you would be surprised to know the curiosity created 

 by showing the ghosts in the window. People come in and 

 inquire who never before thought of opening a florist's 

 door. And being in, we sell themi — if not always the 

 ghosts— then something else. 



All of which goes to show how we florists can turn the 

 dry-ups into pay-ups. Next week we want to tell you about 

 "Putting the Best Foot Forward." 



New York's 

 Favorite Flower Shop 



Fifth Avenue at S8th Street 



lie so much that it has become one of 

 the greatest "hits" ever made on the 

 stage. At the big new Capitol theater, 

 in New York, the largest in the world, 

 the astute producing director, Ned 

 Wayburn, has taken the song for an 

 especial feature in his season's program 

 covering many weeks and stages it two 

 or three times daily, with an ensemble 



of thirty-nine singers, including chorus 

 and ballet. The attendance at each per- 

 formance averages about 6,000 people, 

 many in the audience coming from dis- 

 tant points, so that it is not merely lo- 

 fjil publicity. 



The Page for St. Valentine's Day. 

 A new series of magazine advertise- 

 ments has been prepared, covering spe- 



