28 



The Florists^ Review 



Mat 13, 1920. 



1 



Pnbliahed every Ttanrsdar by 



Thk Florists' Publishing Co., 



I 620-S60OaxtonBalldiD8r. 



608 Soutb Dearborn St., Ohlcatro. 



Tele., Wabash 8195. 



ReRlstered cable add rem, 



Florrlew, Oblcago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3. 1897, at the poet-offlce at Ohl< 

 cbgo. 111., under the Act of March 

 «, 1879. 



Subscription price, $1.50 a year. 

 To Canada, 12.60; to Europe, $3.00. 



Advertlsinflr rates quoted npon 

 request. Only stricUy trade ad* 

 vertlslnff accepted. 



i 



Eesults bring advertising. 

 The Review brings results. 



Memorial day next, and soon. 



One can scarcely realize that a dozen 

 years ago Mothers' day was unknown. 



The trade's holiday-making ability is 

 demonstrated a success by Mothers' day. 



Few holidays in the trade's history ex- 

 ceeded May 9 in making a clean sweep of 

 stock. 



If white carnations are high at Moth- 

 t^rs ' da}', Miss Jarvis has no one but her- 

 self to blame. 



The florist who carries a liberal sur- 

 plus in the bank need not fear any clouds 

 in the financial ofDng. 



New announcements of Sunday closing 

 are made every week. And one day less 

 seems not to reduce the week 's profits. 



All organizations and trades contain 

 both lifters and leaners, but the number 

 of the latter among florists is rapidly 

 becoming less. 



Many reports make special comment of 

 the large number of telegraph orders for 

 Mothers' day. Memorial day will bring 

 another harvest. 



Supplies of cut flowers for Memorial 

 day are not likely to be large. Outdoor 

 crops are late and indoor stock needs 

 warm, bright weather to push it along. 



Summer is not necessarily a dull sea- 

 son; it is principally a state of mind. 

 Forget the worn-out ideas and this trada 

 can do business twelve months of the year. 



There is a general feeling that wage 

 increases have about reached their limit. 

 The indications of a recession in prices 

 have subdued the demands of the work- 

 ers. 



Some people pay 50 cents extra to go 

 to the theater Saturday night and double 

 prices on New Year's eve, but want 

 flowers at the same price at holidays as 

 at other times. 



The attempt by Miss Jarvis to dis- 

 courage the use of flowers at Mothers' 

 day, although fruitless, may serve to show 

 that the trade has overpaid any debt it 

 owed for the idea of such a day. As a 

 matter of cold fact, had it not been for 

 the publicity provided by florists the 

 •'founder" of Mothers' day would still 

 be unknown to fame. 



Frank H. Henry, cosmopolite, spent 

 May 10 in Chicago. 



Do you g^ess that you are making 

 money, or do you know what your margin 

 of profit is? 



The best way of meeting a tight money 

 situation is to turn the accounts payable 

 into cash at the bank. 



In some lines delivery can be had if 

 one will pay the price; in others, among 

 them paper, neither love nor money will 

 a supply. 



If a customer cannot meet his bills 

 under present conditions, he will not be 

 in better position a few months hence. 

 Now is the time to clear up the accounts 

 past due. 



New life members of the S. A. F. are 

 assured of the economical management of 

 the secretary's ofiice by receiving their 

 framed life membership certificates with 

 the express charges, about 40 cents, col- 

 lect. 



The volume of proceedings of the twen- 

 ty-ninth annual meeting of the American 

 Carnation Society, held in Chicago last 

 January, which has just been issued, bears 

 the marks of the care and diligence of 

 the secretary which have been such an 

 aid to the upbuilding of this organization. 



COULD YOU TIME A CROP? 



The white carnation was no good as 

 a symbol for Mothers' day — it was im- 

 possible to supply the demand. But 

 here is another idea. It is from the 

 "josh" column of a Chicago daily: 



"May 9 being Mothers' day, the flo- 

 rists are urging one to 'Say It with 

 Flowers.' Milkweed, is a correspond- 

 ent's frivolous suggestion." 



WAITINQ FOB THE CENSUS. 



The figures regarding the greenhouse 

 industry which will be yielded by this 

 year's census will be scrutinized by the 

 trade with keen interest. Opinion varies 

 as to whether the shortage of stock, 

 more general and continuous than in 

 any previous season, is the result of an 

 increased demand or a decreased supply. 



Optimists lay emphasis on the former, 

 saying that abundant advertising on the 

 part of the trade and greater prosperity 

 and liberal spending on the part of the 

 public have combined to make the call 

 for flowers so much larger than ever 

 before that it can be met only at in- 

 frequent intervals. Except in those in- 

 tervals, the same factors that have 

 pushed up the price of sugar, flour, 

 clothing and rent have operated in rais- 

 ing the price of flowers to unusual levels. 

 Thus the flower business is keeping step 

 with other lines and moving constantly 

 forward. 



Another view is presented by those 

 with a pessimistic inclination. Produc- 

 tion, they say, has not recovered from 

 the shut-down caused by the war; many 

 small establishments have never been 

 reopened and the labor shortage has held 

 down the output of the bigger places. 

 Therefore, in their opinion, fewer 

 flowers are today available to meet a 

 demand which is heavy only in com- 

 parison with the supply. The result is 

 aviating prices, causing the use of a 

 word not liked. 



Yet the construction companies have 

 never been so busy, propagators have 

 never been so heavily booked and the 

 trade in general has never been so pros- 

 perous. Bills are paid more promptly 

 than ever before and failures are a 



rarity. Though the trade may have its 

 difficulties, they are not financial. The 

 urge is constantly to expansion and high 

 costs of materials and scarcity of labor 

 do not deter the placing of orders for 

 new glass months in advance. 



Whether the figures presented by the 

 government's census are in favor of the 

 optimists or the pessimists will be a 

 matter of much interest when they ap- 

 pear. Both sides are so fixed in their 

 opinions, it appears, that wagers might 

 be laid. 



THE NATION'S PRIDE. 



Out of the 12,000 copies of The Re- 

 view mailed to subscribers each week, 

 all but a few hundred are carted in 

 mail bags from the mailing room at the 

 printers' to the railroad stations, where 

 they are immediately put upon out- 

 going trains Thursday night. Only a 

 few hundred, going to scattered points, 

 are sent out through the Chicago post- 

 office. In the case of ninety-five per 

 cent, at least, of the papers mailed, no 

 sorting is required at the postoffice in 

 Chicago. They immediately start by 

 rail for their destination upon mailing 

 Thursday evening. 



Such delays as occur, therefore, are 

 in practically all cases at the postoffice 

 of destination, a place remote from the 

 publisher. There the subscriber can get 

 quicker action, if he will make the ef- 

 fort. A chat with the postmaster, 

 accompanied perhaps by a cigar or some 

 flowers, according to his tastes, are 

 almost invariably accompanied by re- 

 sults. Last week's issue is discovered 

 in a bin and a promise is made of better 

 service next week. While the pub- 

 lishers are continuing their efforts to 

 speed the delivery of The Review to its 

 readers, the cooperation of subscribers 

 will aid in getting immediate results. 

 Try this suggestion if your paper is 

 late. 



BRIEF ANSWEBS. 



X. Y. Z., N. Y.— The Review can not 

 reply to anonymous inquiries; send a 

 stamped and self-addressed envelope if 

 a reply by mail is wanted. 



S. M. R., Pa. — Bait the snails with 

 poisoned bran or catch them under 

 pieces of board laid on the soil, where 

 the snails will be found in the morning. 



W. A. H., Ga. — Concrete, if properly 

 used, is better than wood. 



S. S. & S., La. — We never have heard 

 of dipping caladium bulbs when har 

 vesting, because of scab. 



WANT A LANTERN? 



You may have heard of the old Greek 

 named Diogenes, who went around look 

 ing for an honest man. He carried i. 

 lantern, even in broad daylight. Oni 

 has to, looking for an honest man. 



Perhaps you are looking for an hones* 



man. You want him for a foreman, oi 



to have charge of a greenhouse section. 



or to work as a designer in your, retai' 



store, or for some other kind of service. 



The man you want is surely somewhere. 



He may be already within easy telephon 



ing distance — if you only knew it. But 



how to find him? There is one lantern 



that is sure to bring results, like this: 



Kindly omit our Help Wanted Inquiry for h 

 grower. We got a man who was loon ted within 

 fourteen miles of us. I guess maybe The Re- 

 view doesn't bring results. — Adgate & Son, War- 

 ren, 0., May 3. 1920. 



No wonder The Review's Want Ad de- 

 partment has nearly tripled in size since 

 January 1 of this year. 



