

March 11, 1920 



The Florists' Review 



27 



breed of roosters that would lay eggs 

 with the hens, thus trebling the quan- 

 tity of eggs he was going to get from a 

 given flock. 



American Beauty. 



Modern efficiency is responsible for 

 the limited growing nowadays of a rose 

 which we have not yet mentioned, but 

 which is entitled to a chapter by itself. 

 This is the American Beauty. This va- 

 riety has been grown for years, but nat- 

 urally it does not have the vigor it once 

 had and therefore it does not produce 

 the quantity of flowers it once did. 

 After thirty years, the public has 

 turned from it to the newer and better 

 exploited varieties and, from my knowl- 

 edge of the quantity of Beauties grown 

 now, it is safe to say that the day of 

 the American Beauty is past. 



There is no doubt that the introduc- 

 tions of recent years have done much 

 to keep the rose before the public. Pit- 

 iless publicity is the only way to en- 

 courage any desired object. We can 

 remember years ago the boom that was 

 created when Carnation Lawson was 

 purchased from Peter Fisher by Thomas 

 Lawson for a large price in order that 

 he might name it after his wife, Mrs. 

 Thomas Lawson. The advertising car- 

 nations received at that time lasted for 

 years, while roses just happened to run 

 along more or less, with the varieties 

 Bride, Bridesmaid and American Beauty 

 suflFering from lack of publicity to 

 sell them. Now, owing to advertis- 

 ing, we have more varieties and, we 

 may safely say, better varieties and are 

 enjoying the topmost wave of popular- 

 ity with the American public, while ear- 

 nations are suffering for lack of buy- 

 ers, though of course the carnation can 

 hardly be called a serious competitor of 

 the rose when one is judging the likes 

 and dislikes of the public. 



Long Stems. 



Another phase in the development of 

 roses has been the craze for long stems, 

 which is the wonder and despair of 

 other countries. This, of course, started 

 with the American Beauty producing 

 stems five or six feet long and it was 

 found that by pinching tea roses the 

 length of the stem could be doubled 

 and tripled. The grower shipping his 

 roses in a cigar-box quickly found him- 

 self outdistanced. It would seem at 

 this time that the desire for the long 

 stom has reached its limit, since last 

 winter flowers that had medium-length 

 stems were the first ones sold and the 

 long-stemmed stock in many cases was 

 disposed of only when the retailer found 

 no short-stemmed stock available. "While 

 this was of course largely a question of 

 price, I think the growers from now on 

 will do little pinching unless they want 

 to bring the crop in at some desired pe- 

 riod. In this way they will be liable to 

 niake more money than by growing to 

 niake all the blooms special. 



To sum up the situation, then, a man 

 who grows good stock, grades his roses 

 properly and places them in the market 

 in the best possible condition, may feel 

 reasonably assured of a good return for 

 liis trouble. 



Roses have always been the queen of 

 flowers and, in my opinion, will alwavs 

 remain so. 



J. HABPES HETHEBINOTON. 



FOR the coming year the Florists' Club of Washington has selected as its president 

 J. Harper Hetherington, manager of the Washington Floral Co. Though one 

 of the youngest, he has been one of the most prominent members of the club, par- 

 ticularly in the last year, having aided materially in the success of Washington 'a ' ' Say 

 It with Flowers ' ' week. Mr. Hetherington was bom in Philadelphia thirty -one years 

 ago. He is the son of the late Joseph H. Hetherington, who served more than thirty 

 years in the employ of the Robert Craig Co. there. While going to school he worked 

 in the Craig greenhouses during his spare time and at the age of 15 he was put on the 

 regular payroll. About four years later he went to work in the Century Flower iShop, 

 of H. H. Battles, Philadelphia, remaining there about four years. Then he went 

 to Washington, securing employment with Fred H. Kramer, and eighteen months later 

 joined the Washington Floral Co., of which he has been manager for the last live years. 



SPECIAL OFFERS. 



Long ago the department stores, 

 whose extensive advertising has neces- 



sitated their study of securing the best 

 results, realized the value of special 

 offers. There was found to be a decided 

 difference between the advertising of 

 a certain line of merchandise and the 

 offer of a particular article in that line. 

 Between the two presentations there is 

 as much difference as there is between 

 the question, "Do you like fruit?" and 

 the query, "Will you have an apple?" 

 Undivided appeal, necessitating, not 

 selection from a number of items, but 

 simply the answer, "Yes," or "No," 

 makes the chances for a favorable re- 

 sponse much greater. Attention is con- 

 centrated on a single item and the stimu- 

 lus to the possible buyer is strengthened. 

 The application of this principle of 

 advertising is not easy in all lines of 

 business. Occasionally it can be ap- 

 plied with success by the florist, particu- 



larly at a time when stock is plentiful 

 and the retailer is certain of a large 

 supply at reasonable figures. Dollar 

 boxes were formerly an illustration of 

 this principle. Violets are often used 

 by city florists. Grimm & Gorly, St. 

 Louis, last week used tulip plants, which 

 they were able to offer at a price which, 

 compared with previous weeks' flower 

 prices, was attractive to the public. 

 There was a notable directness, also, 

 about Grimm & Gorly 's advertisement 

 for this sale, which is reproduced on 

 page 26. 



The directness is carried out in the 

 final line, characteristic of the Grimm 

 & Gorly style, "Follow that impulse-^ 

 Phone today." The advertisement is 

 constructed to make favorable response 

 as easy as possible and to minimize con- 

 trary suggestion. 



