34 



The Rorists^ Review 



OCTOBIB 14, 1920 



1f, 



Ketablislied 1897. 



PubUsbed every Thursday by 

 The Fixjrists' Publishing Co,, 



600-560 Oaxtoa Building, 



G08 South Dearbora St., Chlcagro. 



Tel., Wabash 8195. 



ReRt^tered cable address, 



Florview, Ohlcago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Doc. 3, 1897. at tlie post-office at Chi- 

 cago, 111., under the Act of March 

 3,1879. 



Subscription price, $2.00 a year. 

 To Canada, $3.00; to Europe, $4.00. 



Advertlsinir rat(«s quoted on 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising accepted. 



Besults bring advertising. 

 The Eeview brings results. 



THi;RE have come to be so many trade 

 societies that no man can be expected to 

 have knowledge of the affairs of more 

 than a few of them. 



Sunday closing gains converts week 

 by week. No florist who tries the six- 

 day week ever is content to go back to 

 the old order of things. 



For any grower located near a large 

 city a dairy involves no venture; it pays 

 a direct profit as well as providing one 

 of the essentials of the greenhouse busi- 

 ness. 



By order of the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission, effective October 10, all rail- 

 roads east of the Rockies are compelled 

 to use all open -top cars exclusively for 

 the movement of coal. 



While there is every prospect for an 

 unprecedented sale of bedding stock 

 next spring, to make a profit quality 

 will be safer than quantity. The public 

 will not pay high prices for rubbish. 



The only way flowers can be sold 

 profitably at lower prices is by the ut- 

 most efficiency and economy in the 

 greenhouse. Higher production and 

 lower costs should be the growers' ob- 

 ject. 



The business which keeps on growing 

 in the next year is that which performs 

 a real service. The one which has been 

 profiting by easy money and liberal 

 ffpending is likely to suffer a shrinkage. 



Florists in manufacturing centers 

 face a less prosperous season than last, 

 but those in the agricultural districts 

 look for one fully as good. Most crops 

 are bountiful and some, particularly corn, 

 arc. record-breakers. 



Retail florists who do not sell bulbs 

 , are missing an easy profit; nor should 

 they overlook the dimes and quarters 

 which are to be picked up by showing 

 packages of fertilizer and insecticide 

 for house-plant use. 



New York's proposal of a coopera- 

 tive advertising campaign will be watched 

 with the greater interest because of the 

 different conditions there from those pre- 

 vailing in the cities where such a cam- 

 paign is now in operation. If successful, 

 this movement will add much power and 

 prestige to the trade as a whole. 



"Produce and reduce," a florist urges 

 his fellow tradesmen, referring first to 

 flowers and secondly to prices. 



A VAST amount of "publicity" sells 

 nothing at all. There's a great differ- 

 ence between publicity and advertising. 



There has been no fall in cypress, al- 

 though the price of most other kinds of 

 lumber are down, some of them as much 

 as forty per cent. 



A YEAR ago the Pink Part of The Re- 

 view was contained in twenty-four 

 pages. In this issue it fills thirty-four 

 pages and it is growing each week. 



There has been little change in the 

 situation as regards glass, although the 

 American Window Glass Co., which had 

 been out of the market for some time, 

 at least as regards greenhouse sizes, re- 

 cently notified the trade that again it is 

 open to book orders. On the other 

 hand, W. W. Kiraball, Chicago manager 

 for the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., is 

 quoted as telling the Chicago Real Es- 

 tate Board October 8 that a glass famine 

 exists and that prices are going much 

 higher. 



The day is not far distant when the 

 man who has disregarded the golden 

 rule, in dealing with his fellow florists, 

 will find his chickens have come home 

 to roost. Buyers will not soon forget 

 the shippers who have demanded cash 

 with order and then waited weeks or 

 months before shipping the plants; nor 

 will they soon forget the ones who have 

 sent stock of a quality they, had they 

 been buyers, would not have been will- 

 ing to receive at the price, or the ones 

 who have not answered letters of rea- 

 sonable complaint. On the other hand, 

 the great majority who have done as 

 they would be done by will continue to 

 enjoy good business after the trade be- 

 comes adequately supplied with stock. 



A PAT ON THE BACK. 



Pew of the trade realize the impor- 

 tance florists have come to possess in 

 public estimation. So busy are we that 

 we cannot get the perspective that en- 

 ables us to appreciate how fast has been 

 the trade 's rise in the business world of 

 late years. 



In an editorial on the F. T. D. con- 

 vention the Indianapolis News October 

 11 brought this trade's growth to its 

 own attention by the following para- 

 graph : 



Reports from cities in which the florists have 

 held their conventions indicate that tlie dele- 

 gates soon assert their presence. A florist nrnst 

 of necessity be a versatile man. He is usually 

 envied under the belief that all he has to do Is 

 to raise beautiful flowers — an occupation which 

 every backyard gardener regards as the ideal 

 method of comblniuK business and recreation. 

 But raising flowers is now a liiglily developed 

 business In Itself, and selling flowers has. In the 

 last few years, become an important Industry. 

 "Say It with Flowers" has becwne a national in- 

 stitution. The florists did that by business meth- 

 ods, not by raising pretty flowers for the fun 

 of It. 



EASIER COAL MARKET SEEN. 



The belief among competent observ- 

 ers in the coal market is that if a se- 

 rious strike is avoided the downward 

 trend in prices which began in the early 

 part of September will be resumed. It 

 is also argued that the slowing down of 

 production among industries generally 

 will be reflected in the lessened demand 

 on the part of manufacturers. It is be- 

 lieved that because of the uncertain 

 trade outlook manufacturers will not 



be as eager in the future as they have 

 been in the past to accumulate large re- 

 serve stocks of fuel. 



The car supply has been extremely 

 good and most operators are not looking 

 for assigned car orders, so that rail- 

 roads and public utilities are in the 

 same position as commercial buyers so 

 far as prices are concerned. 



HENRY FORD WAS RIGHT. 



There is a general belief in the trade 

 that prices not only should come down, 

 but actually are coming down. Nobody 

 is willing to buy against future needs, 

 in the belief that when the time comes 

 those needs can be covered at lower 

 prices than now prevail. 



The surest indication that the peak 

 has been, reached, and, in many com- 

 modities, turned, is found in the gen- 

 eral disposition of consumers to use as 

 little as possible of the things that have 

 not begun to come down and to demand 

 price concessions all along the line, 

 larger ones where small ones have been 

 obtained. Demand will govern; even 

 small supply becomes too much when 

 consumers will not buy. 



Florists note that in many lines of 

 merchandise unusual effort is being 

 made to unload high-cost goods, ap- 

 parently to avoid a loss when prices fall. 

 Fortunately, ours is not a business in 

 which large stocks are carried by re- 

 tailers and we are in a position to profit 

 rather than lose by a general decline 

 in commodity values. 



GROWING PAINS. 



No pun is meant in that headline. 

 It names exactly the thing from which 

 the trade is suffering today, though it 

 is far more acute and more serious than 

 the twinges the child feels. 



During the last two years the trade 

 has advanced so rapidly as an industry, 

 in size and importance, that it has not 

 the personnel — the available working 

 hands — to keep up with the demands 

 increased business has brought. Green- 

 house and store proprietors alike have 

 felt the strain upon the force of help 

 at their disposal. Each year has 

 brought a stronger demand for flowers 

 and a consequent increase in green- 

 house production and in the retail 

 store business. This came at a time 

 when government service and war-time 

 industries had drained the tr^e of 

 younger blood, which has no#^ been 

 quick to return. As a result, att%ipted 

 further growth by the trade is ^com- 

 panied by difficulties which are indeed 

 painful to those who see the opportu- 

 nity and have the desire to expand. 



There is great room for expansion. 

 It would be regrettable if this trade, 

 already started on a rapid advance, 

 should be compelled to slacken its pace 

 for lack of available perflons of ex- 

 perience to satisfy the growing demand 

 for flower.s. Now that there are indi- 

 cations of greater available labor sup- 

 ply and less competition for help from 

 other industries, florists should avail 

 themselves of the occasion to add an 

 apprentice or several apprentices to 

 their staff, likely young fellows who 

 will shoulder responsibility when posi- 

 tions are open. The cry for experi- 

 enced help has been loud the last two 

 years. Now is the opportunity — para- 

 phrasing the tobacco slogan — to grow 

 your own. 



