The Florists^ Review 



August 5, 1920 



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GROWERS' INSURANCE. 



In National Organization. 



Oii bcliiilf of f}iat committoo of 

 "growers who have been workiiijr .so uii- 

 liiiiifjly i!i their efforts to }K>rfei'f tlie 

 oraaiiizution of the National Flower 

 <!ru\vi'rs' Association, I want It) urfjc 

 upon every fjrower of flowers the im- 

 jiortanee of his ])resenee at the 8. A. F. 

 convention in Cleveland. This is a 

 duty you owe to yourselves, to your 

 business jind to the trade in jjeneral. 

 In niakinji this aj)i)eal J am speaking 

 not only to tliose who at this time feel 

 that a vacation is due them and liave ar- 

 ranjjed their itinerary so that the con- 

 vention will be i)art of it, but also to 

 those growers wlio have not been in the 

 habit of attending the convention. 

 These I urge to make it a matter of 

 business iiiis year and, with those men 

 who have so faithfully ])erformed the 

 preliminary work, put your shoulder to 

 tlie wheel and launch this new associa- 

 tion like the business men that you are; 

 though not generally known as such in 

 the business world, yet you havi^ brought 

 the florists' business with limited cajji- 

 tal up to what it is today. There is 

 not a grower in the country but can look 

 upon th(^ industry in which he is en- 

 gaged, not much over 50 years old, 

 with pride. You have done noble work 

 in those fifty years; you have laid a 

 splendid foundation. Now comes the 

 superstructure; this can be just as iui 

 posing as you choose to make it. 



Like Fire Underwriters' Function. 



Did you ever stop to think that your 

 business is just as hazardous as the 

 fire insurance business, and jx'rhaps more 

 sot On first thought this might be 

 considered a ra.sh statement, but just 

 sit down for a few minutes and think 

 it over. Take, for instance, a man with 

 a range of roses. His eggs are in one 

 basket. What protection has he, aside, 

 perhnjis, from fire and hail? Now let us 

 consi(ier for a moment the risk lie car- 

 ries himself. If he is visited by fire 

 and hapfiens to carry insurance, in" most 

 case.s it will be only on the range, but 

 even if his stock is covered, what be- 

 comes of a year 's work? If a hail storm 

 comes, lie is paid for the glass that is 

 broken, if he is fortunate. TIhmi there 

 are wind and rain storms to l^e con- 

 sidered. T;ike last winter, for example, 

 with its jirotracted spell of cbuidy 

 weather; then think of the risk in dl 

 seasp and i)ests that you have to con 

 tend witli. 



The fire insurance business is looked 

 upon as one of the most hazardous in the 

 business world. But because the fire 

 insurance business is liazardous, that 

 docs not [irevent it from being one of 

 the strongest and liest paying businesses 

 in the country, and what has made it 

 so? Organization! In every large citv 

 you will fin<l a board of "fire under 

 writers, whose business it is to rei.rniate 

 tlie business for the district ;iiid wlm, 

 by throwing every safeguard .about the 

 risks carrie<i by the various companies, 

 Keep tlie preniinm down to .-i minimum. 



Kemember, too, that the large majority 

 of the legitimate companies are mem- 

 bers of the board of fire underwriters 

 and that their rates are uniform. What 

 the fire underwriters are to the insur- 

 ance companies, the National Flower 

 Growers' Association will be to the 

 florist. 



The day has come when hajihazard 

 methods in the business must go; com- 

 jietition is becoming keener and margins 

 arc no longer what they used to be. 

 In these days of modern efliciency the 

 business must be conducted on scientific 

 business principles and the man who 

 does not realize this is doomed. I am 

 not a calamity howler. 1 have been 

 giving the whole question much deep 

 study and I am going to give you some 

 figures on the cost of production of cut 

 roses, compiled by the manager of one 

 of the most up-to date ranges in the 

 middle west, based on a range of 100,- 

 000 feet of glass. 



Rose Production Costs. 



The cost of 100,000 feet of glass, 

 pijie-frame construction, complete with 

 boilers, smokestack and service build- 

 ing, is about .$l.'{ij.OnO; add for ten acres 

 of suitable land on a railroad. .'^r),000; 

 reservoir and well. $4,000; four dwell- 

 ings, $12,000; incidentals, $5,000, mak- 



ing a total of $101,000. This will give 

 us a complete range ready for work; 

 to this we must add 36,000 rose plants, 

 $9,000; two automobile trucks, $3,000; 

 1,000 feet of liose, $250; tools, insecti- 

 cides and fertilizers, $2,00C, totaling 

 $14,250. Add this to the previous total 

 and wo have a total investment of 

 $175,250. We now have a complete 

 range stocked; the next question is 

 labor. This expert says that the fol- 

 lowing can liandle such a range: One 

 foreman, $2,400 a year; two rose grow- 

 ers, $3,U00; liye additional helpers, $5,- 

 000; two lii^nien, six months each, 

 $1,800; additional labor, $2,000, or a 

 total of $14,800 for labor. Tiien comes 

 coal; 1,500 tons at $4.25 per ton, if it 

 can be had at that price, will cost $6,- 

 375. Ten per cent on the gross in- 

 vestment of $175,250 gives $17,525. Add 

 these two items to labor and we have a 

 total of ,$38,700. 



Now we get down to brass tacks. The 

 varieties of roses most in demand today 

 are Ophelia, Columbia, Russell and 

 Premier. Your average per plant will 

 be about fifteen salable roses; on 36,000 

 ])lants. 540,000 roses, provided you have 

 favorable weather conditions. These 

 cost you 7% cents each the day they 

 are cut in the ranged The commission 

 man gets fifteen per cent to sell them; 

 this will add to the original cost about 

 1% cents each, bringing the total cost 

 of production up to about 9 cents for 

 each rose produced. 



Now, remember that this calculation 

 is based on a new, eflTicient range, mod- 

 ern in e\"erv resjiect. How about some 

 of the ra.M<ie»; tli;it lia\e become dilapi- 



W. A. Sperling. 



