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26 



The Florists^ Review 



Januabt 22, 1020. 



Established, 1897, by Q. L. GRANT. 



Pabllahed every Tbaraday by 

 Thb Florists' PObLishinq Co„ 



620-S60 Oaxtoa Building, 



SOSSoutb Dearborn St., Chicago. 



Tele., Wabash 8196. 



BAgUtered cable address, 



Florvlew. Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3, 1897. at the poet-office at Chi- 

 cago, lU,, under the Act of March 

 ».1879. 



Subscription price, $1.60 a rear. 

 To Canada, $2.60; to Europe. |3.00. 



Advertising rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad* 

 vertlslnff accepted. 



I! 



Besults bring advertising. 



The Eeview brings results. 

 J 

 Just a little over a ton of pink paper 

 is consumed in printing each week's isshe 

 of The Review. 



There is no such thing as cheap flowers 

 now and if cheap flowers should come 

 before other things, where shall we get 

 ofiFf 



January 25, as the rose day in honor 

 of army nurses, may or may not have 

 striking national observance, but every 

 little bit helps. 



An unusual number of new chrysanthe- 

 mums are coming on the market this 

 season. Most of them are sports from 

 varieties of established reputation. 



When you have a reputation for qual- 

 ity you dominate your field, your com- 

 petitors advertise you by claiming they 

 are as good as you are and you don 't have 

 to run your legs off chasing business. 



The realization by greenhouse owners 

 that glass, lumber and steel are more 

 likely to go up than to come down is one 

 explanation of the large number of early 

 orders on the books of the construction 

 companies. 



J.' A. Peterson has a happy faculty in 

 the selection of descriptive names for 

 novelties. Melior, which is Latin for 

 Better, may have hit only those with high 

 foreheads, but Peerless, as the name for 

 his latest begonia, will appeal to all. 



The epidemic of influenza and pneu- 

 monia predicted for the autumn of J919 

 by the health authorities was so long de- 

 layed that most of us thought all danger 

 past, but in the last fortnight the death 

 rate has doubled, tripled or even quad- 

 rupled in many communities. The death 

 rate is a potent factor in the demand for 

 flowers. 



Disseminators of chrysanthemums 

 who are new to the game are likely to 

 overlook the fact that they can sell 

 neither in great quantity nor at a high 

 price. There are plenty of buyers for a 

 good thing, but most of the purchases are 

 made on the reputation of the dissem- 

 inator and are only for the purpose of 

 acquiring stock for propagating the fol- 

 lowing season. Nobody thinks of plant- 

 ing new mums, as is done with roses, 

 whole houses of them for the cut flowers 

 they will produce the first season., 



Now, while 'money is plentiful, collec- 

 tions are easier, and the present affords a 

 rare opportunity to put one's books in 

 good shape, adopting a system that will 

 keep them so when the going is not so 

 smooth later. 



Lent does not begin until after St. 

 Valentine's day. Ash Wednesday follow- 

 ing February 18; But in the present 

 come-easy, go-easy disposition of the 

 people, the arrival of Lent probably will 

 make little difference to the flower busi- 

 ness. 



■ Mine operators report coal production 

 during this month at figures well above 

 last year's rate. At least the miners are 

 hard at work again, while their represent- 

 atives before the president's wage com- 

 mission again voice the demands of a 

 6-hour day, a 5^ -day week and a sixty 

 per cent increase in pay. 



panics to live up to the assurances 

 given the consumers by government of 

 ficials. 



ASK FOR IT. 



WHAT IS GOOD-WILL WORTH? 



We should like to know how to go 

 about selling the fixtures and good-will 

 of a store and greenhouse. We think 

 it likely that the greenhouse should be 

 sold separately, as it will have to be 

 moved off the premises. What is second- 

 hand glass worth; also heating plant, 

 pecky cypress material and the frames? 



Is not there a basis for the good-will 

 of a business? For instance, if a firm 

 did a certain amount of business a year, 

 the basis for good-will would be a cer- 

 tain percentage of this amount, would 

 it not? 



We enjoy a good out-of-town busi- 

 ness and feel the advertising is worth 

 something. C. F. S. 



SENATE PROBES COAL RISE. 



In its issue of December 25 The Re- 

 view called attention to the fact that 

 the increase in miners' wages was being 

 added to the price of the contract coal 

 received by the trade after December 1, 

 contrary to the assurance of Dr. Gar- 

 field at the time the advance in wages 

 was granted and the strike settled. 



Last week charges were filed with the 

 Senate interstate commerce committee 

 that such practice was generally being 

 followed by coal compaiiies over the 

 country. In the charges filed it is stat- 

 ed that every contract made for coal 

 carries a provision that, in case of wage 

 increase to miners, an additional charge 

 shall be made to cover the difference in 

 cost of mining. 



How true the charge is, greenhouse 

 owners know who have received a no- 

 tice similar to the following, which 

 came to the Pittsburgh Cut Flower Co., 

 Pittsburgh: 



Under the terms of this company's contract 

 ■with you, providing for change of price based 

 on the total cost of production, the price or 

 prices named therein will be increased 25 cents 

 per ton for all coal shipped you on and after 

 December 1, 1919, this Increase being necessary 

 to compensate this company for Increased pro- 

 duction cost resulting principally from the wage 

 scale increase effective at that date. 



The charge regarding the coal com- 

 panies' passing the wage increase along 

 to consumers is before the Senate inter- 

 state commerce committee this week. 

 It is suggested that greenhouse owners 

 who have received similar notices to 

 that printed send a statement of the 

 facts to Senator Frelinghuysen, chair- 

 man of the Senate interstate commerce 

 committee, at Washington, D. C. By 

 offering sufiicient testimony of this 

 kind, the trade may be able to stimulate 

 action which will compel the coal corn- 



There continues to be considerable 

 complaint of delay in the delivery of 

 The Review to its subscribers. Inves- 

 tigation shows that in the majority of 

 cases the delay occurs, not in Chicago 

 or en route, but in the subscriber's own 

 home postoffice. 



All the copies of The Review are 

 posted on Thursdays. They are put up 

 in mail bags labeled for the train on 

 which they are to travel and the bags 

 go directly to the depots, without pass- 

 ing through the Chicago postoffice. 

 Knowing that the paper leaves Chi- 

 cago Thursday afternoon or night, each 

 subscriber can figure when it is due at 

 the postoffice in his town. 



If your Review is not delivered at the 

 time it should be, ask your letter car- 

 rier why. Ninety-nine chances out of a 

 hundred he is a good fellow, obliging, 

 and will look it up for you. Let him 

 report to you what train it comes in on 

 next week and, if it is late, you report 

 to The Review. Delivery surely will be 

 speeded up. 



SIX TONS OF REVIEWS. 



Each week's Reviews now have a 



total weight of nearly six tons, and both 



the number of pages per issue and the 



number of copies printed are increasing 



faster than ever before. The reason 



for it is found in letters like this: 



In renewing my subscription I take the oppor- 

 tunity to give my sincerest compliments to The 

 Kevlew and its editorial staft. I have been a 

 subscriber for nearly twenty years and have 

 recommended it to many others. If the price 

 were double I would not be without it. Also 

 as an advertising medium it has no equal. — H. 

 J. Jensen, Woonsocket, S. D., January 2, 1020. 



As a matter of fact. The Review has 



made no effort in recent years to sell 



subscriptions, depending on its readers 



to recommend it to any florist seen to be 



without it, just as Mr. Jensen has done. 



The paper now sells itself on any 



standard of comparison the prospective 



subscriber chooses to employ, and the 



advertisers report like this: 



It is necessary for me to stop advertising, as 

 I have sold about all the cuttings I expect to be 

 able to root. You will remember that I ottered 

 Morning Glow carnation In 1915 with little suc- 

 cess. This time I have sold 35.000 so far and 

 am well satisfied. — Edward Winkler, Wakefield, 

 Mass., January 15, 1920. 



Mr. Winkler's lowest price was 6% 



cents per cutting. Sales of 35,000 would 



mean over $2,275. The advertising, a 



small display, cost $30, or only a little 



more than one per cent. But his success 



is not above the average: 



Enclosed is $2.40 for our classified ad. We 

 could have sold double our stock of bulbs. — 

 Crest Nursery Co., Piqua, C, January 13, 1920. 



That Review advertising has perma- 

 nent value to all who send out good 

 stock and use ordinary good business 

 methods has been a pleasing discovery 

 for many. Like this: 



You may wonder why I have not done any 

 advertising this winter. I can simply say this: 

 The Review brought me so many customers with 

 last year's advertising that I found it unneces- 

 sary to do any advertising this year. In fact, 

 my stock was all sold by December 1 to custom- 

 ers secured through my previous advertising in 

 The Review and, with good, clean, healthy stock, 

 promptness in communications and prompt ship- 

 ments, I find my business steadily growing. Yon 

 may rest assured that whenever I am in need of 

 a salesman I shall look to The Review, knowing 

 I will get the desired results. — T. H. FuUer, 

 Battle Creek, Mich., January 12, 1920. 



If you hear a man complain of the 



cost of advertising you can be pretty 



certain he spends a good bit of money 



elsewhere than in The Review. 



