48 



The Florists^ Review 



NOVBMBBB 17, 1921 



Eatabllshed 1897, 

 by Q. li Grant. 



Published e^ery Thursday by 

 The Fuxmsra' Publishing Co.. 



600-500 Oazton Bulldlnsr, 

 fiOe Sooth Dearborn St., Ohicasro. 



.< Tel., Wabash 819B. 

 " ■' {.Bitelstered cable address, 

 C- ''^ '^ Tlorview, Chicago. 



/'f:&Wrad M second class matter 

 1}m»^4. 1891. at the post-office at OhI- 

 iiteoS lU.. under the Act of March 



gtttoacripttbn price, $3.00 a year. 

 T^CIstiadli, $3.00; to Europe. (4.00. 



AdvertislnK rates quoted on 

 nquest. Only strictly trade ad* 

 Teitiainc accepted. 



RESULTS. 



We give them. You get them. 



We both have them. 



General business is on the up-grade 

 throughout the middle west, according to 

 all reports. 



John Cook, Nestor among American 

 rosarians, celebrated his eighty-eighth 

 birthday anniversary at his home in 

 Baltimore, November 16. 



It is the general report and belief in 

 the trade that retailers have not reduced 

 their prices in proportion to the season 's 

 lower cost of stock in the wholesale 

 markets. 



Compensations come with all condi- 

 tions. If the public is not able to buy so 

 many flowers as formerly, the inhabitants 

 of many cities are seeing better flower 

 shows than they have witnessed in several 

 years previous. 



Reductions in transcontinental freight 

 rates which affect glass, iron and steel, 

 benefiting western growers who plan addi 

 tions to their ranges, have been announced 

 by western lines, subject to concurrence 

 by eastern roads. 



Send The Review a copy of your Armis- 

 tice day advertising, a clipping of your 

 newspaper advertisement or a copy of the 

 folder you sent out. Some already re- 

 ceived sliow excellent work done to push 

 this new flower day. 



The jewelers have at last found their 

 slogan. "Gifts that last," they adver- 

 tise. Presumably they are not knocking 

 candy or flowers, but we would better not 

 let up on our admonition to the public to 

 "Say It with Flowers." 



All material intended for the Novem- 

 ber 24 issue of The Review should be 

 mailed early, since the Thanksgiving holi- 

 day makes it necessary to go to press a 

 day earlier than usual. Don't wait for 

 the last minute; get in your correspond- 

 ence or advertising by Friday or Satur- 

 day of the week preceding. 



The American Legion, changing from 

 the po]ipy to a more patriotic flower, 

 specified its official bloom as the "Ameri- 

 can daisy. ' ' Daisies, of one variety or 

 another, were in all the principal markets 

 at Armistice day, though not in any con- 

 siderable quantities. They are always 

 present at Memorial day as well. So the 

 natural flowers should be available for 

 almost any occasion. 



Travelers among the trade, some ofl 

 whom were depressed at the outlook not 

 long ago, find reason for optimism in 

 tlie change that has taken place since cold 

 weather arrived. 



The activities of retailers in the cities 

 are limited by the diflBculty of obtaining a 

 suflScient number of trained and willing 

 assistants. Scores of retailers are on the 

 lookout for men who measure up to their 

 needs. 



This trade is dependent upon the 

 young blood trained in its own ranks. 

 There are no outside sources of expert 

 help. Hence the necessity of breaking in 

 someone in your employ who is able to 

 give able assistance when the need comes. 



In order to recruit a suflScient body of 

 capable men for this trade, it is necessary 

 to do more than pay attractive wages to 

 bright beginners. The hours required of 

 retailers' assistants must be made no 

 more onerous than those of retail service 

 in other trades. 



If you are "not much of a letter- 

 writer," the more reason you should pre- 

 pare a set of form postcards that will 

 take care of such routine matters as the 

 acknowledgment of orders. Have your 

 local printer run you off a hundred or 

 two of each kind. 



The Editor 's desk for several days has 

 presented all the appearances of a cele- 

 bration, being decorated by chrysanthe- 

 mums, calendulas, snapdragons and car- 

 nations sent by Arthur Doebel & Son, 

 Clyde, O., to show the quality of the stock 

 they grow for their retail and wholesale 

 trade. 



Instead of just blank cards on which 

 customers may write their names and 

 messages to accompany flowers, many 

 florists carry an assortment of cards deco- 

 rated and bearing messages suitable for 

 different occasions, such as births, wed- 

 ding anniversaries, birthdays and deaths. 

 Patrons are glad of such aid, for they 

 need only sign their names. 



DOES SOME READER KNOW? 



A lady employee working in our store 

 is troubled with poisoning which causes 

 a burning and itching of the face? 

 Seemingly, this poisoning comes from 

 mums. This is the third season it has 

 troubled her and she has tried various 

 remedies, which do not seem to help 

 much. Does any reader know of a 

 remedy I We should certainly appre- 

 ciate obtaining a good remedy for her. 

 Henry Ebelink. 



FLOWERS TALK BEFORE HUGHES. 



Our S. A. F. is up-to-date and travels 

 with the times. So the whole trade is 

 "there" when the great events of the 

 day take place. Accordingly, right at 

 the opening of the conference on the 

 limitation of armaments at Washington, 

 November 12, we florists, through the 

 S. A. F., were in position to "Say It 

 with Flowers" some time before Secre- 

 tary of State Hughes made his opening 

 address. 



When the conference opened there 

 stood before that assemblage a magnifi- 

 cent basket of American Beauties. This 

 basket was sent by Gude Bros. Co., 

 Washington, D. C, for the S. A. F., with 

 the following expression attached: "In 

 the name of the Society of American 

 Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists 



we present these flowers to the Limita- 

 tion of Arms Conference as a symbolic 

 expression of our hope for a firm founda- 

 tion of everlasting peace between na- 

 tions." Truly, our Washington repre- 

 sentative, William F. Gude, is eternallj 

 on the job. 



A FAIR EXAMPLE. 



A firm which has spent hundreds of 

 dollars in advertising a new rose, has 

 worked up a stock of between 15,000 and 

 20,000 plants of it and already has 

 booked orders for 150,000 for delivery 

 next year, announces its decision to 

 withdraw it altogether. The decision is 

 made contrary to the belief of the raiser 

 and of the disseminator of the rose; it is 

 made on the basis of opinions expressed 

 by rose growers in various parts of the 

 country who tried a few plants each. 

 Rather than send out a variety which 

 might prove unsatisfactory to purchas- 

 ers of stock, the firm cancels the orders 

 on hand, withdraws the variety and, in 

 doing so, sustains a loss of a few thou- 

 sand dollars. 



A firm composed of men of easier con- 

 sciences might have let the buyers face 

 the loss, if there was to be one. But this 

 factor held no consideration in this 

 firm's decision. 



The choice was a wise one. The dol- 

 lars lost were a small price for the en- 

 hancement of this firm's reputation. Its 

 name henceforth is a better backing 

 for a new rose. The example is one 

 worthy of other florists' emulation. It 

 is one to be followed, if you would build 

 up a lasting and large business, whether 

 the item involved is a few dollars ' worth 

 of bulbs or cuttings, or the thousands at 

 stake in the dissemination of a n«w 

 variety. 



X7NMISTAKABLE BETTERMENT. 



It has been a matter of surprise to 

 those who found a long period of gloom 

 ahead that business in general has recov- 

 ered from its downward trend as early 

 as it has. The balancing of untoward 

 signs and of favorable indications has 

 given way to reports of "unmistakable 

 betterment" by those in wide contact 

 with industrial and commercial condi- 

 tions. Such news is to be regarded as 

 highly auspicious for florists at the open- 

 ing of another season. How emphat- 

 ically it is expressed may be seen from 

 the following paragraphs of last week's 

 bulletin of R. G. Dun & Co.: 



Comparison with the situation of earlier 

 months this year reveals unmistakable evidence 

 of betterment both in fundamental conditions 

 and in actual business, though there are still 

 (lifflculties and uncertainties that prevent a full 

 measure of progress. The diminution of unset- 

 tlement in commodity markets, which is reflect- 

 ed alike in weekly price compilations and In 

 monthly Index numbers, is one of the elements 

 mailing for more confident action, but the pros- 

 pect of lower freight rates and of further wage 

 revisions tends to cause hesitation in forward 

 purchasing. 



The placing of orders for present and future 

 requirements, however, has increased sufficiently 

 to stimulate manufacturing in some instances, 

 and capacity operations are being approached in 

 isolated cases. Generally, production continues 

 well below the average, and unemployment of 

 workers, if somewhat less extensive than pre- 

 viously, remains a factor in restricting retail 

 trading. While price advances have recently 

 occurred on some classes of merchandise. In 

 keeping with higher raw material costs, there 

 is pronounced resistance to Increases in consum- 

 ing channels, and offerings of goods at conces- 

 sions are still necessary to maintain distribu- 

 tion in different places. 



BRIEF ANSWERS. 



A. C. W., N. Y.— The better returns 

 would rather warrant the purchase of 

 new freesia bulbs. 



