54 



The Florists^ Review 



Adoust 19, 1920 



"& 



Established, 1897. by Q. L. QRANT. 



Published every Thursday by 

 The Florists' Publishing Ck)„ 



620-560 Oaxtoa Bulldlnp, 



608 South Dearborn St., OhlcaffO. 



Tele., Wabash 8195. 



Registered cable address, 



Florvlew. Chicago. 



Fntorod as second class matter 

 Doc. 3, 1897, at the post-ottlce at Chl- 

 OfiKo, 111., under the Act of March 

 3. 1879. ■ 



Subscription price, $1.60 a year. 

 To Canada, $2.50; to Europe. $3.00. 



Advertlslnff rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 Tertisln? accepted. 



Results brinpj advertising. 

 The Review brings results. 



There will be a ready market next 

 winter for all the plants the trade can 

 produce. 



PoiNSETTi.v plant-s are scarce; growers 

 who have a surplus will soil out quickly if 

 they let the fact be known. 



Shortage of help will decrease the 

 supply and increase the prices on many 

 lines of plants for next season. 



Where is the next generation of florists 

 coming from? The number of young 

 heads and hands in the trade is danger- 

 ously few. 



Twentieth century progress has 

 wrought no revis<'d version of the Golden 

 Rule. It is still the most successful rule 

 of business. 



Unles.s a trade paper prints news 

 without bias or prejudice it loses the 

 esteem of its readers. When a paper 

 ceases to be read, it has lost all its value. 



If the retail florists of the Unit^^d 

 States want a supply of st^ck in the 

 sea,son of l!t21-22 they must pay the j.ro- 

 ducers a living price in the season of 

 1920-21. 



BecaT'.se so many forget, to receive 

 an answer it is necessary that full name 

 and address appear on letters of inquiry. 

 Anonymous communications of whatever 

 character go into th(> wastekisket. 



Pro.spect.'^ of good jirofits for growers 

 were never better ami op])ortunities for 

 acquiring money-making greenhouse prop- 

 erties are numerous, as one may note in 

 the For Sale offers in The Review. 



Inckeasek in freight rates in conform- 

 ity vriXh those granted liy the interstate 

 commerce commission have been given to 

 United States railroads in Canada by the 

 Dominion lioard of railway roniniission 

 ers. 



Ea.stern florists wlio have surjdus 

 stock or who seek to build up a whole- 

 sale mail-order plant trade are using 

 the Classified section of The Review in 

 rapidly increasing numb(^rs. There are 

 several reasons why the little liners are 

 8j>ecially useful for them, but the bi'st 

 exposition of them is like "the proof 

 of the pudding." Try them when or- 

 ders are wanted. 



OHIO POTTERIES CLOSE. 



All of the potteries at Zanesville, 

 South Zanesville, Logan and other places 

 in Ohio from which florists obtain flower 

 ]i()ts and fancy })ottory are closed on 

 account of labor difficulties. A week 

 ago 11it> men j)resented demands for in- 

 creased pay which the heads of the pot- 

 teries declared were exorbitant and un- 

 warranted. For instance, molders who 

 had been receiving $12 for an 8-hour day 

 asked a twenty-five per cent increase, or 

 $}'> a day. In the face of such demands 

 the jiottery firms, which are well or- 

 ganized in an association, declared they 

 would close their factories com[detely. 

 This they have done and they are deter- 

 mined to remain so until the labor men 

 recede from their unreasonable requests. 



MOVIE MEN GOOD FRIENDS. 



A few florists have already discovered 

 that among the best friends the trade 

 has are the makers of moving pictures. 

 The best cinema producers have recog- 

 nized more and more the value of 

 flowers in the silent drama. As a stimu- 

 lant of sentiment they are as potent at 

 times as the graces (5f the feminine star 

 and do not cost, even at holidaji prices, 

 nearly so much. Flowers are necessary 

 in many settings and add beauty to 

 many others. 



Their extensive use in the movies is 

 an asset to the trade. When a florist 

 has the opportunity to furnish them 

 for a cinema production, whatever extra 

 effort he gives in arranging them or 

 suggesting how they may be used will 

 redound to the advantage of him and 

 his fellow tradesmen. He will be con- 

 tributing quite decidedly to one form of 

 national publicity, for the productions 

 of even the less advertised artists are 

 so widely distributed and are seen by so 

 many thousands, if not millions, of per- 

 sons that a single florist's efforts may 

 arouse admiration and desire for flowers 

 in great numbers of possible customers. 



Moreover, the moving picture men 

 have shown themselves generous with 

 })hotographs of scenes where flowers 

 were used to florists who gave assist- 

 ance. These are basis for good window 

 disjiiays. Yes, some florists have found 

 good friends in the movie men. Here's 

 a tip for more to do so. 



COAL OUTLOOK BETTER. 



Though there have been no recessions 

 yet in the jirices asked for coal, the 

 prospects of a supj)ly large enough 

 to relievo greenliouse men of anxiety 

 have been materially bettered in the 

 last week. The car supply, which the 

 mine ojxrators blame<i for most of the 

 trouble, has imj)roved. It seems as though 

 the railroads, now that they have been 

 assured higher rates and the men have 

 been awarded increased pay, are speed- 

 ing up traffic. (^omplaints regarding 

 freight transportation are not nearly so 

 numerous as they were, and railroad 

 officials declare movement is more nearly 

 normal. 



The jirioiify orders have resulted in 

 New Knglan<l's receiving the full 

 amount of shijtments estimated .as nec- 

 essary aucl the situati(jii is easing there. 

 Movement to the Great Lakes region is 

 not so near to recpiiremeuts, but im- 

 provement is looked for. As the weekly 

 tonnage from the mini;s increases, the 

 betterment will be, perhaps, more notice- 

 able, though the needs of all industries 



to replenish the low storage stocks will 

 provide strong demand for all the coal 

 that is to be had from now till snow 

 flies. 



More reasonable prices arc hoped for 

 as soon as speculation in coal has been 

 halted. During the railroad tie-up cars 

 of coal changed hands many times be- 

 tween the mines and the consumer and 

 each transfer represented an added 

 profit to be paid by the ultimate pur- 

 chaser. Efforts are being made to curb 

 these operations. The fact that con- 

 sumers are not so panicky as they were 

 will also curtail speculators' activities. 

 More coal will be delivered, it is ex- 

 pected, on the dealers' contracts, en- 

 abling them to supply greenhouse men 

 at somewhere near a reasonable figure. 



Upon the ability of their dealers to 

 get coal has depended the size of the 

 growers' storage stocks so far this sea- 

 son. Some growers have been able to 

 fill their bins because their dealers 

 were getting delivery on their contracts. 

 Neighbors of these same growers have 

 no fuel because their dealers were 

 forced to buy in the open market and 

 quoted prices the former did not wish to 

 pay. Every florist who has not his coal 

 now should increase his efforts to obtain 

 it. Persistence and vigilance are re- 

 quired, but the certain profits next 

 winter wnll reward the grower for ener- 

 getic striving now. 



EXPRESS RATES GO UP. 



Some comfort amid rising costs can 

 be had from the decision of the inter- 

 state commerce commission, August 13, 

 to authorize an increase in express rates 

 of only twelve and one-half per cent 

 instead of the twenty-five per cent re- 

 quested. Instead of being raised one- 

 quarter, the cost of florists' shipments 

 by express will be augmented only one- 

 eighth. 



The additional gross revenue that 

 the increases asked would have yield- 

 ed was estimated by the American Rail- 

 way P^xpress Co. at $71,929,392. The 

 company, under the award, will get 

 approximately $35,904,696. 



The report of the commission did 

 not take into consideration the award 

 of the United States railroad labor 

 board increasing the pay of express com- 

 pany employees. The express company 

 estimates that this award will increase 

 operating expenses by $43,800,805. Ap- 

 plication has been made for another in- 

 crease to cover the added wages. 



The commission further held that 

 no adequate ground was disclosed to 

 support the request of the shippers for 

 the exception of certain commodities 

 from the application of increased rates 

 and that a jirescription of "terminal 

 to terminal" rates, to apply in the ab- 

 sence of pick-up and delivery service, 

 or deductions from the published rates 

 where either service is not rendered, 

 was not deemed warranted by the rec- 

 ord. 



The express company under the de- 

 cision will be permitted to make in- 

 creased rates effective upon not less 

 than one day's notice, and is further 

 authorized to file special blanket sup- 

 plements to its current commoiiity tar- 

 iffs to make up the approved commodity 

 lates, but within ninety days after the 

 first date, unless otherwise stated, the 

 tariffs must be reissued. 



Relative to the application for ap- 

 proval of the consolidation effected 

 under federal control and also to the 



