30 



The Rorists' Review 



NovauBBB 11. 1020 



fff 



Eatabllslied 1897. 



Pabllshed every Thursday by 

 The Fi-orists' Publishing Co., 



500-r>60 Caxton Building, 



603 Soutli Douiborn St., Chicago. 



Tel, Wabash 8195. 



Registered cable address, 



Florvlew, Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 DtM;. 3, 1897, at tlie post-odloe at Clil- 

 nxgn. III,, under the Act of March 

 3.1879. 



Subscription price, 12.00 a year. 

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



Advertislnir rates quoted on 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertlslntr accepted. 



II 



Besults bring advertising. 

 The Eeview brings results. 



Cold weather has put snap in the flower 

 markets as well as the atmosphere. 



Commercial failures last week were 

 almost twice the number in the same week 

 of 1919. 



John Cook, rosarian, wUl celebrate his 

 seventy-seventh birthday anniversary at 

 his home in Baltimore, November 16. 



About the only thing on which mem- 

 bers of both political parties agree is the 

 abolition of the excess profits tax, and 

 florists are with 'em. 



In order that The Eeview may reach 

 its readers at the usual time, the forms 

 of the issue of November 25, Thanksgiv- 

 ing day, will close one day earlier than 

 usual. Contributors and advertisers 

 should send their material to reach this 

 office not later than November 20. 



It is two years since florists as a class 

 stopped pushing for business. For the 

 greater part of the time since the armis- 

 tice there has been more demand than 

 stock. If this is not to be the case in 

 future the trade soon will adjust itself 

 to the new condition and each will pros- 

 per according to the effort made. 



A STRICTER code of commercial moral- 

 ity will be forced on florists, among 

 others, by the new set of business condi- 

 tions being brought about by deflation. 

 The days when there were more buyers 

 than sellers are gone. The man who 

 does not give value or who fails to ad- 

 just legitimate complaints will lose busi- 

 ness so rapidly- he soon will be eliminated 

 from the competition. 



Retail prices in the florists' trade, it 

 has been said, are not quickly influenced 

 by changes in wholesale markets, but it is 

 being demonstrated that the retiEiil prices 

 of other commodities are still slower to 

 follow down when wholesale prices break. 

 Nearly all the necessities of life have 

 fallen from twenty-five to fifty per cent 

 in replacement cost in the last six months, 

 but consumers have scarcely begun to feel 

 the change in the cost of living. Retail 

 florists, on the other hand, having stock 

 only for the day, are selling on the basis 

 of the present market level. And it 

 transpires that the florists' business is 

 not exceptional, as many of us thought, 

 in the difference between what the con- 

 sumer pays and what the producer gets. 



Wholesale prices in mercantile lines 

 during November were the lowest in 

 eighteen months, according to Dun's re- 

 view of business. 



An illustrated 32-page booklet from 

 the flower shop Corona, 175 Kalverstraat, 

 Amsterdam, Holland, shows specimens of 

 its basket and design work. The mana- 

 gers are ifoh. H. and J. J. Groenewegen. 



The Horticultural Trade-Journal, a 

 leading British publication, reprinted on 

 the first page of its October 20 issue 

 the article of Charles H. Totty, in The 

 Review of September 9, on " Travels 

 among British Trade." 



For advertising purposes only, Penn 

 the Florist orders from California each 

 autumn seventy-five dozen large chrysan- 

 themums, which are exhibited in the store 

 in Boston after they have made the trans- 

 continental journey. The notice such an 

 exhibit receives is worth much expensive 

 newspaper space. 



Don't cut wages. It is probable that 

 the reversal of the farm-to-lactory move- 

 ment, which has begun, will steadily in- 

 crease the volume of labor open for em- 

 ployment in greenhouses, but it will be 

 a mistake to reduce the pay. The future 

 of the business is best assured by keeping 

 wages up to a point which will make the 

 work attractive to intelligent young men. 



COAL PRICES DBOPPINa. 



The coal situation at present is more 

 favorable for those growers who have 

 not yet secured their full winter's sup- 

 ply than it has been at any time this 

 summer or autumn. It is regarded as 

 more than likely that the demand for 

 bituminous coal will show a marked de- 

 crease in the near future and those who 

 are in touch with the situation believe 

 this is one of the principal reasons for 

 the drooping market at present. Deal- 

 ers have begun to realize that with 

 heavy production and a freer car sup- 

 ply there is really nothing to keep 

 prices up and it is expected that within 

 a few weeks quotations will have 

 reached normal levels on practically all 

 grades of fuel. 



In the meantime most of the coal 

 speculators and fly-by-night concerns 

 have been driven from the field. Re- 

 sponsible coal men appear to be highly 

 pleased over this change in the situa- 

 tion, for it was felt all along that these 

 speculators had a greater share in the 

 manipulation of prices than any other 

 factor. They simply took advantage of 

 a temporary situation to spread erro- 

 neous reports regarding an alleged im- 

 pending shortage and managed in scores 

 of instances to take orders at prices that 

 were not warranted by actual conditions 

 in the market. 



Production of soft coal is certainly 

 being maintained along the most en- 

 couraging lines. For the fourth week 

 in succession the 12,000,000 mark has 

 been exceeded. This is due in a large 

 measure to the attitude of labor, which 

 is returning to the mines in large num- 

 bers from other industries where wages 

 had proved far more attractive. The 

 miners seem to be satisfied, generally 

 speaking, and operators are in hopes 

 that no disturbances will arise in the 

 future. With labor on the job, thus 

 insuring large and efficient production, 

 greenhouse men need have no worries 

 about a possible shortage of coal. 



Price declines last week were marked. 

 The action of the Cleveland operators 



to lower prices had a telling effect on 

 the market. The slowing up of manu- 

 facturing operations has also caused a 

 slackening in demand for bituminous 

 coal. Despite the fact that export and 

 bunker demands are still heavy, prices 

 in this division, where they have been 

 highest, seem to be approaching normal 

 levels, giving growers hope of an early 

 supply for their needs at reasonable 

 prices. 



BUSINESS IS BBISE. 



The trade in the middle west reports 

 plant business brisk, like this: 



Kindly discontinue our ad of holly ferns; all 

 sold by the first Insertion. — J. S. Wilson Floral 

 Co., Des Moines, la., November 7, 1920. 



We are sold out for the present and have to 

 return money by every mail. We never want 

 for buyers when we advertise In The Review. — 

 Klrkwood Floral Co., Des Moines, la., November 

 e, 1920. 



We have sold out on plumosus for the present, 

 thanks to The Review. — Charles T. May, Dayton, 

 C, November 6, 1920. 



If you hear a man complain of tha, 

 cost of advertising you can be pretty 

 certain he spends a good bit of money 

 elsewhere than in The Review. 



BRIEF ANSWEB& 



C. B., Minn. — Clematis coccinea is the 

 name usually given in the trade, al- 

 though the correct botanical name is C. 

 texensis. It is probably a variety of C. 

 Viorna and Asa Gray considered it 

 such. 



C. M., Ind. — Clematis coccinea, botani- 

 cally known as C. texensis, is somewhat 

 variable in leaf, which is sometimes 

 almost round and in other cases oval. 



E. C. M., N. J. — There are white, rose 

 and purple forms of Gladiolus Kunderdi 

 Glory and probably Mr. Kunderd has 

 additional shades. 



A SIX-CYUNDEB PABABLE. 



There's some food for thought for 

 florists as well as other kinds of people 

 in "A Six-Cylinder Parable" by the 

 business manager of the New York 

 Evening Post: 



"There pnce was an Automobile 

 Driver whd used all Six Cylinders go- 

 ing Down Grade, but when he came to 

 a Hill he took the wires off two Spark 

 Plugs and tried to negotiate the hill on 

 Four Cylinders. You will agree that 

 he was a Pretty Foolish Driver. 



"Yet a Lot of advertisers are Jast 

 Like Him. Last fall and winter, when 

 they couldn't supply their Customers' 

 Demands (the Going was Good), they 

 advertised on a very Large Scale 

 (used Six Cylinders). Now that they 

 have Struck the Upgrade, quite a Few 

 of them are Deliberately getting out 

 and taking the Wires off two of their 

 Spark Plugs. Just like the Grocer who 

 Pulled Down the Curtains in his store 

 because his groceries Weren't Selling. 



"Other advertisers Took an Oppo- 

 site View. They ran on Six Cylinders 

 in good times; now they are running 

 on Six and Giving her a lot of Extra 

 Gas. When others are Dropping Out 

 they are going Strong. 



"A lot of Pessimists say we are in 

 for a business depression This Winter. 

 Those who Discharge their Best Sales- 

 men doubtless will find business slow. 

 But think — how much Better it would 

 be for Everyone to keep On His Toes 

 and when business shows Signs of Slow- 

 ing Down, step on the Gas, keep Hit- 

 ting on All Six — and take the Hill on 

 High!" 



