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34 



The Florists^ Review 



November 20. 1919. 



Iff 



Established, 1897, by Q. L. GRANT. 



Published every Thursday by 

 The Florists* Publishing Co., 



620-560 Oaxton Building, 



608 South Dearborn St., Chicago. 



Tele., Wabash 8195. 



Refrlstered cable address. 



Florview. Oblcasro. 



Entered as second class matter 

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

 cago. 111., under the Act of March 

 8,1879. 



Subscription price, $1.50 a year. 

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



Advertislnff rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising accepted. 



t! 



EESULTS. 



We give them. You get them. 



We both have them. 



More buyers are looking for sellers 

 than sellers for buyers this season. 



Florists who leave it to others in th« 

 trade to break in new help feel th« la«k 

 of capable employees most keenly. 



Several cities have felt shortages of 

 stock this month that were reminiscent of 

 last season 's, in effect, not in cause. 



"If it is worth selling," reads the 

 latest poster in the express companies' 

 campaign, "Pack it Right; Mark it 

 Right. ' ' 



Increased production will not benefit 

 the trade unless accompanied by steadily 

 rising quality. There always is too much 

 poor stock. 



AViTH 152 pages and cover, this is the 

 largest regular number of The Review 

 ever issued. The paper's steady increase 

 in size shows how the florists' trade is 

 growing. 



C. Engelm.\nn, the widely known car- 

 nation grower of Saffron Walden, Eng- 

 land, is in Brazil at present, and ex- 

 pects to be in the United States before 

 Christmas. 



Buffalo expects its publicity plan to 

 be contagious and spread to other cities. 

 That would be a more welcome epidemic 

 than the "flu" and would far exceed it 

 in boosting flower sales. 



Apparently it will not be long l)i'fore 

 ice machines will be as common in this 

 trade as light delivery cars now are. 

 Those who have installed reliable ap- 

 paratus would not think of returning to 

 dependence on the iceman. 



Those who deal in necessities are 

 classed as profiteers, whatever their 

 prices, but the wage-earning public seems 

 to pay willingly, boastfully, whatever 

 is a.sked for luxuries. Perhaps, as a 

 trade, we might be able to make a little 

 use of that popular idiosyncrasy. 



Babson, the professional adviser of 

 business men, insists that nothing can 

 change the old rule that "what goes up 

 must come down," nor the Newtonian 

 law of opposite and equal reactions; in 

 other words, "the bigger they are the 

 harder they fall." But Babson does not 

 undertake to tell us when or where the 

 reaction will set in; his advice is only to 

 "Watch your step." 



Habits or neglects that keep a dollar's 

 profit out of the florist's pocket are as 

 expensive as those for which he pays that 

 much cash. 



Easter falls on April 4 in 1920. Lilies 

 to be forced for that date should be 

 planted in the middle of December and 

 not later than Christmas. 



Business is good in all branches of the 

 trade, but it already is apparent that 

 those who did not make money last season 

 have small chance of doing so now. 



There is material for reflection in the 

 number" of stores where flowers are first 

 carried as a side line and then crowd 

 out the main business in a comparatively 

 s^hort time. 



Strikes are not responsible for the 

 labor problem in the florists' trade; the 

 cause is the absence of inducement to 

 young men and boys to enter the business 

 and learn its ways. 



The shortage of spring bedding stock 

 l>robably will be most acute early in the 

 season. There always is a lot of stuff 

 that comes on the market after the de- 

 mand has begun to subside. Get yours 

 ready in time. 



Manufacturers in other trades find 

 it highly profitable to advertise nationally 

 to aid retailers in the disposition of their 

 merchandise. Flower growers similarly 

 will find that the investment for publicity 

 brings returns not merely to the retailers, 

 Ijut in reality just as strongly to them. 



HOPE IN COAL CONFERENCE. 



Representatives of coal miners and 

 coal operators are at Washington en- 

 gaged in efforts to arrive at a compro- 

 mise agreement which will be satisfac- 

 tory to both. While they are doing so, 

 miners in many districts are waiting for 

 the outcome before returning to work. 

 Although the strike was, through the 

 government's injunction, formally re- 

 scinded, many of the miners are still 

 idle. 



The consequent decrease in production 

 is viewed with concern by officials of 

 the fuel administration. Figures show 

 that during the first week of November 

 production of bituminous coal was only 

 twenty-nine per cent of the average 

 weekly output during October. This 

 amount was mined chiefly in non-union 

 fields and districts unaffected by tlu; 

 strike. Following this reduction in sup- 

 ply, orders have been issued by some re- 

 gional coal committees abolishing the 

 preferred list. Consumers on this list 

 must make application for their wants, 

 in order that there may be no danger of 

 overconsumption of fuel by those not 

 subject to supervision. Florists should 

 therefore make application in ample 

 time to secure their requirements, since 

 no early return of the miners to work is 

 forecast. 



SMALL PRODUCTION A J" ACTOR. 



Continued buying is creating a strong 

 demand in lines where production is still 

 small, and thus making the shortage a 

 vital factor in the present business situ- 

 ation. The weekly review of a large 

 wholesale house covers general store 

 merchandise as follows: 



"Business continues to increase in 

 volume as cold weather gives added im- 

 petus to the movement of retailers' 

 stocks. Buyers are in market in much 

 larger numbers than they were in the 

 corresponding period during November, 



1918. Collections are excellent. That 

 general business conditions are funda- 

 mentally good is manifested by the non- 

 effect of strikes and other events of 

 national interest, which in former years 

 might have immediately depressed the 

 market. As long as demand for needed 

 merchandise so far exceeds supply, busi- 

 ness should move forward uninter- 

 ruptedly. Shortage of production is still 

 the vital factor in many lines. Many 

 merchants, realizing the condition, are 

 covering their anticipated requirements 

 far ahead into the spring." 



MONEY EXCHANGE. 



Trade houses which owe money, or 

 soon will owe money to correspondents 

 in foreign countries, are being urged to 

 pay now, if the bills are payable in 

 American money. On the other hand, if 

 the bills are payable in foreign money, 

 or if the credit is on the American side 

 of the ledger, reason for delay is found 

 in the prevailing rate of exchange. Com- 

 pared to American money, foreign coin- 

 age had last week the lowest values ever 

 known and the ability to take advantage 

 of them is important to a large number 

 of bulb dealers in figuring the season's 

 profit. Here is an approximate record 

 of last week's low point: 



Value of 111 America 



Hritlsh pound $4.1250 



Freiicii franc 0940 



German mark 0285 



Dutch guilder 3765 



The dollar, depreciated as we have 

 come to consider it, is the most valuable 

 monev in the world. 



CHANGES MIND ON FERTILIZER. 



An order forbidding an advance in 

 price of raw fertilizer materials over 

 prices of October 7 was announced last 

 week by the Department of Agriculture. 

 Materials affected were sulphate of am- 

 monia, dried blood, tankage, fish scrap 

 and cotton seed meal. 



Hearings on the question of fixing 

 prices on these materials were held last 

 month and the department finally ruled 

 that no maximum prices would be estab- 

 lished. Since then prices have risen and 

 this led to the order announced. 



Then because its action had been con- 

 strued as price fixing, the Department 

 of Agriculture withdrew its order next 

 day. While pointing out that it had no 

 authority to fix prices, the department 

 said it would do all in its power to bring 

 about normal conditions and to prevent 

 profiteering. 



READERS COUNT. 



There is an old saying in the news- 

 paper and advertising business that 

 "it's not where a paper is printed, but 

 where it is read that counts." It is be- 

 cause The Review is read everywhere 

 that letters like these come in: 



From Dunkirk, N. Y. : The ad in The Review 

 certainly brought me results. It appeared only 

 twice, but it cleared out all my plants and there 

 were many orders I had to refuse. — E. J. Rozum- 

 alsky, Manager Point Gratiot Greenhouses, No- 

 vember 12, 1919. 



From Cambridge, 0. : I consider the Classified 

 ads In The Review the clearing house of the 

 trade. — Fred W. Arnold, November 8, 1919. 



From Terre Haute, Ind. : We were sold out 

 on the first insertion of the ad. — Cowan Bros. & 

 Co.. November 10, 1919. 



From Melrose Park, 111.: I am sold clean, 

 thanks to the ad In The Review. — R. P. Bohlan- 

 der, November 10, 1919. 



If you hear a man complain of the 

 cost of advertising you can be pretty 

 certain he spends a good bit of money 

 elsewhere than in The Review. 



