

Jolt 1, 1920 



The Florists^ Review 



17 



PRESIDENTS CALL 



COME TO CLEVELAND. 



The President Calls. 



The thirty-sixth annual convention 

 of the S. A. F. is now only six weeks 

 distant. The central location of Cleve- 

 land ought to insure a big attendance 

 from all sections of the country. 

 August 17, 18 and 19 are dates con- 

 venient for the majority of the florists 

 and climatic conditions in the Cleve- 

 land district at this time are usually 

 such as to make a sojourn there most 

 enjoyable. 



This convention should prove to be 

 particularly interesting to those en- 

 gaged in our industry. The reconstruc- 

 tion period in business following the 

 war has brought many problems which' 

 florists are of necessity obliged to solve 

 and in this direction material assist- 

 ance is afforded through the conven- 

 tion and the excellent trade exhibi- 

 tion arranged in connection with it. 



Make up your mind to be among those 

 who will gather at the convention. It 

 matters little what particular branch 

 of our profession you are most inter- 

 ested in; you will learn something to 

 your advantage or pick up an idea 

 tending to make your interest greater. 

 You will meet hundreds of your fellow 

 florists, with whom you can exchange 

 views and discuss possibilities. If you 

 have never attended one of our conven- 

 tions, especially in recent years, you 

 have a treat awaiting you, one com- 

 bining business and pleasure. It is one 

 of the greatest annual gatherings ar- 

 ranged in the interests of any indus- 

 try; about 20,000 square feet of floor 

 space is required to house comfortably 

 the convention and the trade exhibition. 

 Few cities can provide this amount of 

 space in a single location. 



Best Come as a Member. 



If you are not a member of our 

 society, why not join us at the conven- 

 tion? Better still, send your check for 

 $5 to Secretary John Young, 43 "West 

 Eighteenth stree^, New York, right 

 away and become a member in advance. 

 Our membership is reaching up to the 

 4,000 mark and is thoroughly rg^re- 

 sentative of our industry in all its 

 branches. 



Our trade exhibition alone is worth 

 a journey to Cleveland — or to any other 

 city for that matter. This year it is 

 to be the largest in the history of the 

 society. If you are a retail florist, you 

 will see the latest creations and de- 

 velopments in store supplies, vases, 

 baskets, decorative auxiliaries and busi- 

 ness helps. If a grower, you will be 

 interested in the various greenhouse 

 appliances, examples of greenhouse 

 construction and heating apparatus. 

 The plant exhibits and bulb displays, 

 interesting to both branches of the 

 florists* business, will be found most 

 comprehensive, and many little sur- 

 prises are promised. 



A Trip for the Family. 



You need not come to Cleveland 

 alone. Bring your wife, or others of 



your family; they will surely enjoy 

 their visit as much as you will your- 

 self. The hotels in the city can take 

 care of us all and the local florists 

 promise us a most hearty reception. 

 Quite probably your business owes you 

 a little respite from the cares and re- 

 sponsibilities of an active year and you 

 will have it in a visit to the convention, 

 returning to your labors better equipped 

 to continue the struggle for something 

 more than mere existence. 



In behalf of the society, I invite you 

 to join with us in our effort to make 

 the 1920 convention one of enjoyment 

 and lasting benefit, as well as the big- 

 gest and best among the thirty-six on 

 record. It will be ^ most democratic 

 gathering, without frills or formalities 

 of any kind likely to disturb the 

 pleasures of a visit of which the min- 

 gling of good souls is a prime feature. 

 A. L. Miller, President. 



LADIES' S. A. F. 



Come to Cleveland! 



If, as members of the Society of 

 American Florists predict, the coming 

 convention of this society is to be a 

 record-breaker, both in interest and at- 

 tendance, may I appeal to the members 

 of the Ladies' S. A. F., urging every 

 woman to interest herself in this forth- 

 coming convention and consider herself 

 a committee of one to make plans for 



the success of our part of the conven- 

 tion? It would be a great encourage- 

 ment to all of the officers who are try- 

 ing to make the society a real working 

 force in horticultural affairs if the at- 

 tendance of the members could be 

 record-breaking. 



Never before have so many women 

 been interested in the florists' profes- 

 sion and never was there a need of a 

 stronger affiliation, whether the interest 

 is from a personally conducted business 

 or merely as the wife, sister or mother 

 of a florist, grower or seedsman. 



The social element of every great 

 business must be considered and it is 

 the duty and the pleasure of the ladies 

 to look after this, not only to make the 

 convention better for the ladies, but 

 better for the men. We plan this year 

 to revive the special feature for the 

 ladies' evening entertainment. To 

 make this a success we need more than 

 plans, more than funds; we need your 

 attendance and your interest. I have 

 been an attending member at these con- 

 ventions for several years and it has 

 been the greatest pleasure to meet the 

 members from all over the United 

 States. As president of the society it 

 is my greatest desire to bring the ladies 

 into a closer association this summer. 

 It is to our mutual advantage and pleas- 

 ure that we know each other better and 

 these conventions offer the only oppor- 

 tunity. We need a closer cooperation 

 and the association that these few days 

 afford is of far-reaching benefit. We need 

 your presence. I feel fully justified in 

 making an earnest appeal, urging every 

 woman who can to attend the conven- 

 tion and if not already a member of the 

 Ladies' S. A. F., we shall surely enroll 

 you, for once an attendant at a success- 

 ful convention, always a member. 



Mrs. B. Hammond Tracy. 



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NEEDED REFORM 



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FROM PICKLING TO PUBLICITY. 



Less Trust in Cut Flowers. 



Our business for Memorial day is 

 undergoing a radical change and that 

 change can be made one for the general 

 benefit of everyone engaged in tfte flo- 

 rists' business. The demand for bou- 

 quets and cut flowers may become a 

 thing of the past — a condition for which 

 florists can blame only themselves. The 

 underlying cause is the result of "pick- 

 ling" flowers, which turns out to be a 

 loss to the grower and a source of 

 much dissatisfaction to the retailer. 



Years ago the public could buy bou- 

 quets for from 50 cents up, but it is 

 doubtful if anyone ever made money 

 out of them. Most of us have had a 

 taste of making bouquets at 50 cents 

 and $1. Of course some went as high 

 as $3 and $5, but I am speaking of the 

 general run. It was great fun (?) try- 

 ing to do an acceptable job with stocks, 

 spiraea, a red peony in the center, squeez- 

 ing in a spray of lilac, a tulip or two, 

 an iris and the trimmings-^all for $1. 



Sleepy Flowers Cause Slack Trade. 



Today many retailers will not make 

 any kind of bouquet for less than $2 



and consequently purchasers expect 

 better quality in lieu of quantity. But 

 they do not expect to find, after o 

 few hours, that the carnations are going 

 to sleep and the roses falling apart, 

 or that, after an hour in the cemetery, 

 the bouquet is beginning to sag in the 

 middle because it misses the cool, brac- 

 ing air of the icebox which has been the 

 former home of the flowers. Under such 

 conditions is it surprising that we find 

 an increasing demand for artificial 

 stock, which every retailer "hates to 

 handle," but which the public demands? 

 It is perfectly legitimate business to 

 charge .$3 per dozen for carnations, 

 $1.50 per bunch for sweet peas and $5 

 per dozen for roses, but they should be 

 fresh and of high quality. It is bad 

 business to spend money advertising 

 a commodity which does not prove satis- 

 factory to the purchaser. What can 

 be the state of mind of a person who, 

 on Memorial day, has tried to "Say 

 It with Flowers" because flowers con- 

 vey the appropriate message of love 

 and remembrance, and then finds the 

 flowers lie down on their job and go to 

 sleep? 



It is an open question whether any- 

 thing is gained in the pickling process. 

 We will say that a carnation grower 



