24 



The Florists^ Review 



SapTBHBBa 9, 1920 



fl 



EirtiibUahed.1897. by O. L. ORANT. 



Published every Tbarsday by 

 Thb Fioaisra' Pdbushimo COh 



820-960 Oaxton Bnlldlngr, 



on Soatta Dearbura St., Oblcago. 



Tele.. Wabash 8196. 



Bettered cable addreoa, 



SloiTlew. Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3, 1897. at the poet-office at Ohi- 

 eago. lU.. under the Act of March 

 S. 1879. 



Babscrlptloii price, 11.50 a year. 

 To Ganada, $2.60; to Europe. $3.00. 



Advertlslnif rates quoted apon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising accepted. 



(! 



EESULTS. 



We give them. You get them. 



We both have them. 



The glass factories, it is reported, are 

 catching up with orders. 



Make the roofs tight; it is folly to let 

 escape in vrinter the costly heat. 



Coal is the trade's chief problem, first 

 to get it, then to get together enough 

 money to pay the bill. 



W. J. Keimki., president of the new- 

 National Flower Growers' Association, 

 was born September 7, 1872. 



The retailers like the Sehwaben gladi- 

 olus for sprays because the blooms are 

 arranged all on one side of the stem. 



E. G. Hill will be 73 years of age Sep- 

 tember 11. And he asserted at Cleveland 

 that lie was a long ways from ready to 

 give place to younger fry. 



Those who contemplate the use of oil 

 for fuel will be interested in the detailed 

 description of how a florist can make his 

 own burner, by William Mosteller, on 

 page 71 of this issue. 



Too large a part of the flower business 

 comes from custom and the sad affairs; 

 florists' co6])erative advertising should be 

 so written as to acquaint the public with 

 the uses of flowers for joyous occasions. 



The labor .situation is changing. While 

 wages have not come down, except in a 

 few localities, it now is possible to get all 

 the help one needs, though naturally it 

 was not the best help t^iat was released 

 first. 



Fah^urks in the world of general busi- 

 ness in August were twenty-one per cent 

 more numerous than in July and forty-two 

 per cent more numerous than in August 

 a year ago. The flo/ists' trade has been 

 practically free from failures the last two 

 years, but, unless all the signs are wrong, 

 they will begin again quite soon. It is 

 unwise to neglect credits and collections. 



Suppose, for instance, we hunt up the 

 birthdays of some of the men who run the 

 larger ])laces near the store and, when 

 the dates draw near, suggest to their em- 

 ployees a little collection for a basket of 

 flowers on "the old man's" desk that 

 morning. Wouldn't he be "tickled 

 pink, ' ' and wouldn 't they repeat, even 

 without the hunch next year, and 

 wouldn't the custom spread? 



ExpBauENCED help will not be adequate 

 in this trade until we have broken in 

 many more apprentices. 



The Want Ad section of The Eeview 

 has been growing rapidly of late. There 

 are all kinds of offers in it. They are 

 worth watching. 



Photographs that are rolled always 

 are crushed in the mail. Wrap them flat 

 between pasteboard if you would avoid 

 d isappointment. 



Advertising's power to create good- 

 will is not heeded by those who curtail 

 publicity appropriations in time of pros- 

 perity. Lean years will follow. 



The Chicago health commissioner. Dr. 

 John DUl Eobertson, believes that an influ- 

 enza epidemic will recur this fall. Sta- 

 tistics show influenza recurs at intervals 

 of thirty years and lasts four successive 

 winters. 



Change in attitude on the part of labor 

 is indicated by the anthracite miners' de- 

 cision to return to work after Labor 

 day, voluntarily ending their own strike 

 without action by their employers or 

 the government. 



Buyers who have not yet paid last sea- 

 son 's bills find themselves without stand- 

 ing for next season's purchases. If a 

 florist could not pay as he went along last 

 season, how can he be expected to do bet- 

 ter in- the future? 



The directors of our trade societies 

 would do well to take heed of the fact 

 that some of their newer activities mean 

 increased overhead and the employment of 

 capital. Not being overly endowed with 

 ready cash, there are pitfalls there. 



The country is full of field-grown car- 

 nations, not because more were planted 

 out but because less than the usual per- 

 centage have succumbed to the vicissi- 

 tudes of summer. They are slow sale for 

 no other reason than that few growers 

 have been forced into the market this sea- 

 son by the loss of their own stocks. 



Before the war the florists' trade 

 scarcely know the meaning of business 

 terms; buyers told that sales were so and 

 so glibly agreed and paid not the slightest 

 heed, with the result that they gave our 

 trade a low standing in the business 

 world. During the last five years things 

 have been different; buyers not only had 

 better ability to pay but learned they 

 must be prompt or they could not get the 

 goods a second time. It will be a pity if, 

 as a class, we backslide. 



Florists in agricultural districts are 

 looking for more prosperity ahead. Crops 

 are almost all above average. Says the 

 United States Chamber of Commerce in 

 its crop bulletin : ' ' The promise now, 

 and it is almost fulfilled, is for .3,000,000,- 

 000 bushels of corn, 800,000,000 bushels 

 of wheat, both winter and spring, and 

 for a cotton yield of about 12,500,000 

 bales. There will be more oats than last 

 year and more tobacco, which is every- 

 where good ; more potatoes, more rice, 

 about the largest crop on record; more 

 sugar, both cane and beet, and especially 

 a hay crop of such proportions as should 

 have a marked effect in reducing the cost 

 of live stock and of dairy and poultry 

 products." 



an analysis just completed by the 

 United States Chamber of Commerce. 

 The lumber industry has suffered partic 

 ularly. Other industries listed are paper, 

 machinery, building lines, corsets, baby 

 carriages, chairs, clothing, women's 

 wear, metal trades, scales, furniture, 

 silks, hosiery and underwear. 



Last week's review of the general 

 business situation by E. G. Dun & Co. 

 said in part: 



"The deadlock between buyers and 

 sellers of merchandise is approaching a 

 stage where a break must come. Mer- 

 chants are buying sparingly to fill in 

 stocks, expecting material reductions in 

 prices, which wholesalers maintain can- 

 not come until producing and operating 

 costs are substantially lowered. Eela- 

 tions of wholesalers and manufacturers 

 are in a similar state. Meanwhile retail 

 stocks are moving off shelves rapidly. 

 Prices of many staple raw materials are 

 much lower than a few months ago, but 

 the process of readjustment between 

 these articles and the finished goods at 

 retail is slow and is becoming difficult. 



"Manufacturers are on an uncom- 

 fortably narrow margin of fuel supplies, 

 but are operating as freely as possible. 

 Domestic coal stores are lower than ever 

 before, and this fact, together with the 

 sharp price advances due to higher mine 

 wages and freight charges, is causing 

 some uneasiness. Accelerated railroad 

 service is releasing some credit, but 

 change for the better in money condi- 

 tions is hardly noticeable, and whole- 

 salers report collections a little slower 

 than last year." 



HERE'S WHERE WE DO OUR PART. 



I wrote some time ago regarding a 

 man by the name of Arthur A. Allen 

 who has been looking for a position in 

 the west and giving my name as refer 

 ence or stating that he had worked for 

 Max Schling. At the convention in 

 Cleveland I learned that about a week 

 after I had written regarding this man 

 he called on one of our brother florists, 

 got $70 and disappeared. 



A strong notice should be printcti 

 in such a way that it will attract the 

 attention of florists, to the effect that 

 they should not engage a man who is not 

 known to the trade in their own city, 

 except when information is first ob 

 tained about him. The trade should be 

 protected as much as possible. 



Max Schling. 



LADIES' S. A. F. 



TREND OF THE TIMES. 



Every jihase of business has been hit 

 by cancellation of orders, according to 



Mrs. Tracy Writes Thanks. 



It was a great disappointment to me 

 to leave the convention activities be- 

 fore the sessions closed, and a matter 

 of deep regret that I could not thank 

 the Ladies' Society of American Flo 

 rists personally for their graciouB gift. 

 I am not only proud to possess this beau 

 tiful silver bowl as a testimonial of the 

 loyalty and friendship of the members, 

 but proud to possess it through having; 

 served them as their president. It is 

 now filled with luscious pears and apples 

 and, in daily use, it will be a constant 

 reminder of years of pleasant asso«ia 

 tion with the Ladies' S. A. F. 



With deep appreciation and gratitude 

 and with all good wishes for the future 

 welfare of the association, I am 

 Most sincerely, 

 Mrs. B. Hammond Tracy. 



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