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24 



The Rorists^ Review 



Mabch 4, 1020 



BXnU) WISELY AND WEIAm. 



The Season Why. 



My aim in the last few weeks has 

 been to get the growers throughout the 

 country to think over the matter of ia- 

 sufficient production of flowers. That 

 production has been short of demand is 

 an admitted fact. Now, the only point 

 to be considered is whether this shortage 

 was only temporary or whether the de- 

 mand for cut flowers has gone beyond 

 the actual source of supply. It is time 

 for the growers to get down to "braes 

 tacks ' ' and study this question f er 

 themselves. There is no doubt that tke 

 business has reached a crisis and what 

 its future is going to be is up to the 

 growers themselves. 



Prices were abnormally high. That 

 there was an undercurrent of grumbling 

 all over the country is a well known 

 fact. This was even being taken up by 

 the daily press. The Beview tried to 

 counteract some of it lu its issue of 

 February 19, but if this thing becomes 

 general, it will soon counteract all the 

 work that has been done by the national 

 publicity committee. 



Most of the stock that could be pro- 

 cured during the scarcity was used 

 for funeral work; this, in a manner, 

 made the stock available au actual 

 necessity. Only a small percentage of 

 stock was being used tor entertain- 

 ments or for any purpose that can lu 

 any way be charged to luxuries. Yet 

 the growers were satisfied, because with 

 less work they were getting from cur- 

 tailed crops returns as large as, and in 

 many cases larger than, those which 

 they received troni normal crops. To 

 my mniu, there is just ouc tJiiiig that 

 is ever goiug to bring the price of cut 

 flowers oacK to normal — that is in- 

 creased production. 



The Effect of the Slogan. 



It is evident that there is a " hand- 

 writing on the waJl" which every florist 

 shoulu heed. The national publicity 

 committee has lor three years been 

 working on the dissemination or the slo- 

 gan, ' ' oay It with flowers. 1 ou can 

 go into a theater and hear it sung; you 

 can pick up almost any of the modern 

 magazines anu see it used by the authors 

 of short stories; you can take a trip 

 by automobile or railroad and see it 

 on the billboards nearly as otteu as you 

 will see some popuiar tire adveiiioed. 

 This is ail having its otiect. i'eople 

 are following the advice of the slogan 

 and are ' ' baying It with i lowers, ' ' out 

 the publicity ot this slogan is attracting 

 utteutiou in anotlier direction — to the 

 great demand for flowers and the high 

 prices that can be obtained for them. 



Outside Capital in Trade. 



The inability of the growers to supply 

 the demand is attracting outside capital. 

 Let ue look at this phase of the ques- 

 tion. We recently read of a corpora- 

 tion in New Jersey giving a contract 

 for a range of houses to cost $800,000. 

 From the statement of the company 

 which received the contract, it would 

 appear that this range of houses, when 



the builders have completed their com- 

 mission, will be ready for a corps of 

 trained florists to walk in and go to 

 work. To stock such a range and pro- 

 vide for a working capital will take 

 at least $200,000 more; this will mean 

 an investment of at least $1,000,000. 

 It is true that what this corporation 

 intends to g^row has not been divulged, 

 neither has the directorate, yet there 

 are two significant facts that should 

 be taken notice of. The first is that 

 its location is adjacent to a district 

 that supplies a big part of the roses 

 for the New York market; the second 

 is that a board of directors that is 

 willing to invest $1,000,000 in any en- 

 terprise would have expert advice and 

 investigate the subject from every 

 angle. The fact that the contract has 

 been let is the best evidence that this 

 all has been done and that they are con- 

 vinced that it will be a paying proposi- 

 tion. 



Building Is a Science. 



We will assume that what the flower 

 market all over this country needs is 

 greater production. This means that 

 more houses will be needed. Here is 

 another point that will require careful 

 study on the part of the growers. We 

 have just been reading of large houses 

 collapsing from the weight of snow. 

 This may happen once in a lifetime, 

 but that once is enough. Many a 

 grower goes through life without a fire, 

 but this docs not prevent him from 

 carrying insurance. Then there are 



other points to be considered besides 

 durability; there are ventilating, heat- 

 ing, light and many other details that 

 are of the utmost importance. The con- 

 struction companies have trained en- 

 gineers who make a study of all this. 

 Today, greenhouse building is an exact 

 science. It will pay any man, even if 

 his building is not extensive, to in- 

 vestigate this side of the question. The 

 initial cost may be more, but when you 

 take into consideration the lasting way 

 in which the work wiU be done, it will 

 pay, considering the better growing 

 qualities of a house and the future re- 

 pair account. Now is the time to build 

 and the wise gn^ower will build well. 

 Do some thinking; the time is ripe. 



Tate. 



MB. MILLEB'S NEW LILY. 



When A. Miller, of the American Bulb 

 Co., was in Japan last summer he ran 

 across a new type of early Easter lily 

 and brought a few cases of it home to 

 be tried out under greenhouse conditions. 

 Some of the bulbs were turned over to 

 Holm & Olson, at St. Paul, who report 

 as follows: 



"With regard to lilies, will say that 

 the case of that new lily you sent has 

 turned out wonderfully. It seems to 

 be a much quicker growing and forcing 

 lily than the giganteum and we do not 

 think we are going to be able to hold 

 them back for Easter. They seem to 

 grow considerably taller. They are now 

 thirty to thirty-six inches tall and all 

 of even height. They will average about 

 five buds to the stalk." 



Holland, Mich. — Miss Helene Huizen- 

 ga, who has been bookkeeper for Dumez 

 Bros, the last four years, is now with 

 her brothers at the Twelfth Street Floral 

 Shop. 



OPCN LCTTCftg»y^ READED^ 



PBAOTICE PAYING PBOMPTLY. 



I notice that in The Review of Febru- 

 ary 19 a brother florist complains of 

 C. O. D. shipments. If all in the trade 

 would try to make it a practice to pay 

 their bills on or before the tenth of 

 the month following the time of pur- 

 chase, then there would be no need for 

 such complaint. 



I wholesale a good deal of stock and 

 have found that, as a rule, the florists 

 are the slowest to pay; some of them 

 barely pay before the next month's bill 

 is due. W. E. Pitt. 



ploys such narrow-minded editors and 

 reporters. Let us simply remember, 

 when we place our national, state and 

 city publicity dollars, to keep them out 

 of the hands of the St. Louis Star and 

 all other papers of their class. Re- 

 member this, members of the trade. A 

 newspaper exists on the revenue derived 

 from its advertisements. Place your 

 advertising with a trade booster. 



G. H. Quentin. 



PLACE ADS WITH TBADE AIDS. 



I read with interest the quotation 

 from the St. Louis Star in The Review 

 of February 19 under the heading, 

 "Press Whacks Prices," and have 

 been thinking of some way to handle 

 such a case. It seems foolish to try 

 to strike back at such unfounded lies. 



We all know that a newspaper is sup- 

 ported financially, not by the price ob- 

 tained in the sale per copy, but by the 

 enormous advertising which it carries. 

 Let us not strike at a paper which em- 



THE TRADE'S OPPOBTUNITY. 



It rapidly is coming to pass that the 

 small florist, in a country town, if he 

 expects to prosper, must grow stock 

 which will sell at wholesale through The 

 Review, his only salvation with coal and 

 labor where they are. We have had this 

 in mind for some time and are operating 

 along these lines on a little larger scale; 

 we sincerely hope our expectations of re- 

 sults from the Classified ads will be ex- 

 ceeded as usual. The Review's Classi- 

 fied ads are a surprise to all of us at one 

 time or another, but they never fail to 

 bring results. 



Walnut Hills Floral Co. 



