28 



The Florists^ Review 



Mabch 17. 1921. 



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GROWERS' AIMS 



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WHAT QROWERS PLAN TO DO. 



National Association's Alms. 



The objects of the National Flower 

 Growers ' Association are just as the 

 constitution provides, the advancement 

 of commercial floriculture under glass 

 and devising ways and means for the 

 best and most economical methods in: 



Production: To combat insects and 

 diseases; studying elements entering 

 into production, such as soil analysis, 

 commercial fertilizers, temperatures, 

 methods and cost of construction of 

 greenhouses and growing location with 

 reference to marketing, and dissemin.at- 

 ing knowledge among members on 

 various subjects of interest to them. 



Marketing: Sales methods, methods 

 of grading, storing, packing and deliv- 

 ery. To devise ways and means of 

 bettering selling conditions aiul elimi- 

 nating the present cause of waste in 

 marketing plants and flowers. To raise 

 the standard of industry by national 

 advertising. 



Credits and collections. 



Legislation: To keep generally in- 

 formed on legislation proposed affecting 

 members of this association in either 

 state or national legislation. 



Now then, what do we mean by the 

 terms used above? First, as to pro- 

 duction, we mean that by studying the 

 diseases and insects and elements en- 

 tering into the production, coopera- 

 tively as an organization rather than 

 as individuals, we can obtain results 

 not only more rapidly, but at a much 

 less cost to each individual. The same 

 holds true with the testing of com- 

 mercial fertilizers, methods and cost of 

 construction of greenhouses and pro- 

 duction of plants. 



Raising the Standards. 



So with Tiiarketing. We believe th.nt, 

 with closer cooperation of the growers 

 themselves and their representatives, 

 the commission men, better sales meth- 

 ods can be adopted: methods of more 

 uniform grading, tlie storing and keep- 

 ing of flowers, packing and delivery, all 

 can be worked out so that it will prove 

 a benefit to not only the wholesaler and 

 the grower but to the retailer as well. 

 Even the public can be greatly bene- 

 fited when they once know roses are 

 uniformly graded and they can buy 

 them more intelligently by getting 

 acquainted with the system. Through 

 our cooperative advertising we expect 

 not oiilv to create a deniau'l for o';r 

 products, but also to teach tlie public 

 so it can buy niore intelligently, com- 

 pelling ourselves thereby to meet the 

 st.nndard which such advertising repre- 

 sents and thereby raising the standard 

 of our industry as well. 



Credits ,and collections need no ex- 

 planation. We know these can be bet- 

 tered by proper cooperation. 



As to legislation, we, no doubt, ;ire 

 beginning to realize the necessity for 



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keeping in touch with special state 

 legislation. 



The president of the national asso- 

 ciation has appointed a standing com- 

 mittee to represent each of the above- 

 mentioned subjects. These committees 

 will proceed to acquire all the data pos- 

 sible with reference to the various 

 items they have up for consideration, 

 calling a meeting if necessary and 

 inviting representative growers and 

 others interested from different parts 

 of the country to discuss and recom- 

 mend for adoption such methods as can 

 best be adapted to the entire country. 

 These committeemen will be glad to 

 have suggestions with reference to the 

 topics just mentioned from anyone in- 

 terested therein. 



Classes of Membership. 



We have provided in our by-laws for 

 four classes of membership. Class A 

 consists of growers who belong to an 

 allied trade association carrying on 

 coiiperative advertising on the percent- 

 age plan, where twenty-five per cent of 

 the entire collections are turned over 

 to this organization for national ad- 

 vertising. These growers by virtue of 

 such payments automatically become 

 members of this association. Ninety 

 per cent of such funds are set aside for 

 national advertising. 



Class B consists of growers who are 



members of some district growers' or- 

 ganization and they become members 

 of this association by their organiza- 

 tion's paying the sum of 50 cents per 

 thousand square feet of ground area 

 covered with glass owned or operated 

 by them. 



Class C consists of growers who are 

 not members of either of the above two 

 named organizations, but who become 

 members of the National Flower Grow- 

 ers' Association by paying the sum of 

 $2 per thousand square feet of ground 

 covered with glass owned or operated 

 by them and paid into this association. 

 Seventy-five per cent of such sum is 

 set aside for national advertising. 



Class D is composed of associate mem- 

 bers. Firms who are not active or 

 voting members of this association and 

 who are not florists, yet who are con- 

 tributing to national publicity through 

 this organization, may become associate 

 members. Ninety per cent of such sum 

 is set aside for national advertising. 



You will note from the above classes 

 that a large percentage is set aside for 

 national advertising. This proves that 

 national advertising will be one of the 

 main factors in our work, which is as 

 it should be, and with such a program 

 there is no doubt that every grower in 

 the country should join this organiza- 

 tion in one of the three classes for 

 growers and thereby assist in the plan 

 for the advancement aifa progress of 

 our business. +.;, 



Any growers of flowe^jjgijnd flowering 

 and ornamental greenhouse plants 

 grown for commercial purposes are 

 eligible to become members of this as- 

 sociation and are herewith kindly in- 

 vited to join. 



WHERE GROWERS GET HELP. 



Experiment Station's Service. 



Of the three score or more growers 

 wlio attended the meeting of the Illinois 

 State Florists' Association, at the state 

 experiment station at the University of 

 Illinois, Urbana, last week, there were 

 several who openly stated that what 

 they learned in the greenhouses there 

 was worth five times their railroad fare. 

 Others said nothing in that particular, 

 but the numlier which stayed till the 

 second day, March 9, for the discussion 

 (if activities in the greenhouses, ably di- 

 rected by Prof. H. B. Doriier and Dr. 

 P. A. Lehenbauer, was surprisingly 

 large. Interest was keen and the com- 

 parison of methods between growers and 

 experimenters brought out valuable in- 

 formation. 



It seems clear that florists are not 

 availing themselves of as much service 

 as they might from their state experi- 

 ment stations and particularly those, 

 like Illinois, where floricultural work is 

 given much attention. To members of 

 the trade who are not familiar with the 

 opportunities growers have to get help 

 at these places, some of the remarks of 

 Dr. Lehenbauer last week will be in- 

 structive. He said: 



"The primary purpose of experimen- 

 tal work in our experiment station is 



service. Its aim is to help the florist in 

 the growing of plants. When difficul- 

 ties arise, when plants fail to respond 

 as they should, or when disease invades 

 the greenhouse and attacks the plants, 

 there is a need of some agency from 

 which information can be had. But it 

 is not only when troubles appear that 

 experiment, or research, is necessary. 

 It is probably true that the average 

 successful grower does not often need 

 help. But even when his plants are do- 

 ing well, and are producing an average 

 crop of standard quality, the grower 

 still looks for something better. It is 

 but natural for us to expect something 

 just a little better. We are not content 

 with the old; we want something new. 

 We hope to do better than we did last 

 year. We want to learn more about our 

 plants, more about methods of culture. 

 "The grower sees the possibilities of 

 experiment, but he has neither time nor 

 available space. Therefore, he feels the 

 need of a central station where experi- 

 ment is the chief aim, where space and 

 equipment are available for the growing 

 of plants in order that he may learn 

 more about plants and more about meth- 

 ods of culture. Such is the purpose of 

 our experiment station. It is a place 

 where information is collected, where 

 methods of culture are tested, where ex- 

 periments are conducted for the con- 

 trol of diseases and where the more fun- 



