20 



The Florists^ Review 



May 10, 1917. 



J^vs^l^s^^^lX|iJl^s/JlVl^IXli!t^[^Jl^l^3^ 



GROWERS! HOW ABOUT IT? 



RETURNS FROM ROSES. 



As Viewed by an Eastern Grower. 



The question now open for discussion 

 in the columns of The Review, with 

 reference to the increase or decline of 

 revenue from rose production in the first 

 three months of 1917 as compared with 

 the corresponding period of 1916, is 

 worthy of the intense consideration of 

 every man in the business who is de- 

 voting space under glass to the cultiva- 

 tion of roses. 



The report from Bassett & Washburn 

 in The Review of April 12, page 14, 

 showing the percentage of varietal price 

 decline for March, with comment as to 

 the probable cause thereof, has a most 

 pleasing ring of candor to one who ex- 

 perienced a like happening, and would 

 prove, if accurate production and reve- 

 nue statistics could be compiled from 

 the records of every rose and carnation 

 growing establishment in the country, 

 to be the rule rather than the exception. 

 Business was appallingly poor during 

 the month of March, statements to the 

 contrary notwithstanding. 



A superabundance of bulbous stock, 

 as Bassett & Washburn state, had a tre- 

 mendous effect in diminishing the de- 

 mand for roses and carnations and the 

 reason is obvious — 



For who would purchase roses or earnations 

 When a ten si)ot a thousand daffs would buy? 



Larger Output, but Lower Prices. 



Yet it is a deplorable state of affairs 

 when cheap and easily grown flowers 

 are sold below actual cost and thus im- 

 pede the disposal of stock the culture of 

 which requires brains, ability and high 

 expense. 



Out experience, at the Lakeview Rose 

 Gardens, Jamestown, N. Y., during the 

 month of March, is similar to that of 

 Bassett & Washburn in so far as price 

 decline is concerned, and similar to that 

 of the Wendland & Keimel Co., as re- 

 ported in The Review of April 26, in 

 increased production. Our gross sales 

 for March were twenty-five per cent 

 greater than for the same month in 

 1916, but the twenty-five per cent in- 

 crease was the result of pre-Easter plant 

 sales. The revenue received from the 

 sale of roses and carnations was about 

 the same as that of last year, and this, 

 considering the increased production, 

 showed a price decline of about equal 

 proportion to that reported by Bassett & 

 Washburn. 



Our operating expenses during the 

 period in question were approximately 

 twenty per cent greater than in the cor- 

 responding period of the preceding year. 

 Hence we echo the question used as a 

 caption for the subject by The Review — 

 "Growers! How about it?" — with a 

 feeling principally noteworthy for its 

 lack of optimism. 



How about it? Will present economic 

 conditions have a tendency to minimize 

 the demand for flowers? Will the in- 

 creased cost of labor, coal and important 

 accessories permit operating without 

 sustaining a loss? Will an increase in 



selling price, providing it is possible to 

 secure it, offset the increased operating 

 costs? Who can answer? 



Effects of the War. 



B. C. Forbes, in an article in the cur- 

 rent issue of Hearst's Magazine, en- 

 titled "What Would War Do to Amer- 

 ica?" cites the following cycle of pos- 

 sible developments: 



First — A shock felt almost acutely in security 

 markets and financial t^cles. 



Second — Disorganization of industry through 

 the calling of workers to arms, the cancellation 

 of many contracts and paralysis in the ordering 

 of numerous classes of merchandise. 



Third — A rise in prices of all supplies needed 

 by armies, such as foodstuffs, clothing and 

 munition-fabrication necessities. 



Fourth — Increased demand for labor and conse- 

 quent advance in wages. 



Fifth — Irregular recovery in security markets, 

 with more or less wild speculations in stocks 

 benefited by military requirements. 



Sixth — Revival in general business and in 

 speculation. 



Seventh — War-Inflated prosperity, overtrading 

 and overexpansion, intensified by prospects of 

 peace. 



Eighth — Tightening of bank credits, influenced 

 by government borrowing and considerations of 

 safety. 



Ninth — Excessive activity caused by rehabili- 

 tation activity. 



Tenth — A relapse, not immediate, but sure. 



If all those possible happenings ma- 

 terialize into actuality, our immediate 

 future, based on present conditions, does 

 not appear any too rosy. Conservation 

 of resources, increased efficiency and in- 

 creasing vigilance are our only means of 

 salvation. 



Efficiency has prospered mightily dur- 

 ing the last few years and reaction is 

 inevitable. The great natural law of 

 rhythm is about to execute its down- 

 ward course, and lucky is he who can 

 hold fast until the great reemerging into 

 the plane of prosperity takes place. 



Chas. N. Cotter. 



TULIPS FOR EASTER, 1918. 



Please state if the following Darwin 

 and cottage tulips are good commercial 

 varieties, and give the best treatment 

 for them to have them bloom for Easter, 

 1918, or later: Glory, King Harold, Mrs. 

 Cleveland, Nora Ware, Ronton d'Or, 

 Vitellina, Mrs. Moon and Parisian White. 

 N. F. C— la. 



The cottage tulips, while splendidj)ut- 

 doors, are less valuable for indoor cul- 

 ture and are not so good for cutting as 

 the Darwins. Instead of growing the 

 Darwins you mention, I would suggest 

 Pride of Haarlem, the finest of all Dar- 

 wins for forcing; William Copeland, 

 Baronne de la Tonnaye and Mme. 

 Krelage as a most reliable quartette. 

 The first two are the best for forcing. 

 If they are wanted for cutting, grow 

 them in flats containing four or five 

 inches of soil and treat in the regulation 

 way. If wanted in pans, use those eight 

 and ten inches in diameter. Bulbs 

 should be placed in the soil by the end 

 of October. As Easter, 1918, comes in 

 late March, your bulbs should be housed 

 from five to six weeks before they are 

 wanted in flower. Darwins grow much 

 taller than the early forcing tulips and 

 take somewhat longer to flower. They 

 can be given a temperature of 55 de- 

 grees for a time, reducing this 5 to 10 

 degrees as they approach the flowering 

 period. For flowering later than Easter, 

 keep the plants later in the cellar. Dar- 

 wins may be held as late as Memorial 

 day where a good, cold cellar is at dis- 

 posal. C. W. 



CAN YOU BEAT THESE? 



A reader in Denver wrote May 4: 

 "The discussions in the last few issues 

 of The Review concerning prices have 

 interested me greatly. As I was look- 

 ing over a local paper my eye found this 

 appended ad. Can these cut-throat 

 prices be beaten?" The ad was as fol- 

 lows: 



CARNATIONS, doz., 30c; roses, doz., 40c; ferns. 

 10c; fuchsias, 15c; snapdragons, 15c; sweet 

 peas, 35c; other bargains. The Flower Mart, 

 1616 Tremont st. 



OPEN LETTCI^./^ DEADEn^ 



THE PRICE PROBLEM. 



Our firm would like to hear an expres- 

 sion from florists in various parts of the 

 country upon the subject of advancing 

 prices. In view of the rapidly rising 

 prices of everything that enters into our 

 business, what are we to do to maintain 

 a fair and reasonable margin of profit 

 for ourselves? 



We are fully mindful of the views of 

 a considerable portion of the trade, 

 that we deal in a luxury, and that an 

 advance in our price might drive away 

 business. We believe too much stress 

 is laid upon this danger. Is it not more 

 reasonable to believe, in view of the 

 advances in every other business, that 

 our customers fully expect a reasonable 

 increase in cost from us, and would ac- 

 cept it without complaint? 



If we are making no more money now 

 than we should make, and we accept and 



absorb all these advancing costs our- 

 selves, clearly our profits are going to 

 be seriously impaired or entirely swept 

 away. 



Our firm believes that if the larger 

 dealers throughout the country lead in 

 a reasonable price revision, the other 

 florists, with a few exceptions, will fall 

 in line. Take a few articles, to illus- 

 trate: Who will deny that good, well- 

 grown geraniums in 4-inch pots are sold 

 too cheaply at the generally prevailing 

 price of $8 per hundred wholesale, and 

 $1,50 per dozen retail? The writer easily 

 recalls that his father used to get 25 

 cents each, or $2.50 per dozen, for 4-inch 

 geraniums. It could be done even more 

 easily now, in the more prosperous con- 

 dition of the country. 



The same proportion may be fairly 

 applied to other bedding stock. In cut 

 flower stock, carnations at this season 

 ought to be maintained at a selling price 



