30 



The Florists^ Review 



Apbil 27. 1922 



■tressed the name of the auxiliary rattier tlian 

 that of the Legion. 



It seems to us at national lieadquarterB tliat 

 there should be a chance for similar coSperatlon 

 between the Legion and the ftorlsts on several 

 other national holidays, chiefly Memorial day and 

 Armistice day. 



It is our understanding that the copy hereby 

 furnished will be used by your national publicity 

 organization in newspapers, window cards and 

 other forms of advertising, as well as those 

 national magazines that you will be able to 

 catch. 



Caution! 



The publicity committee of the S. A. 

 F. stresses this caution: 



' ' The announcement advertisement 

 of the American Legion is for general 

 publicity purposes only. In no way 

 must the generosity and confidence of 

 the American Legion be abused by in- 

 serting a name, or group of florists' 

 names, at the bottom of, or in connec- 

 tion with, the advertisement. It would 

 be poor business to do so anyway. The 

 general publicity is worth every cent 

 of the cost of space used." 



Send for your poster and your 

 matrix, and, in the words of the circu- 

 lar, "Tell every florist you see about 

 this plan. The more posters and ad- 

 vertisements used, the greater the at- 

 tention that will be given Mothers' 

 day." For the posters and advertise- 

 ment matrices or electrotypes,' address 

 H. V. Swenson, 225 North Michigan 

 avenue, Chicago. 



CAPE JASMINES ARE COMING. 



Grown at Alvin, Tex. 



Ere long will begin the annual busy 

 season of the town of Alvin, Tex., when 

 the shipments of cape jasmines to all 

 parts of the north fill trucks and cars. 

 These flowers are particularly in de- 

 mand at Memorial day, but their use is 

 not limited to that occasion. A dozen 

 or so firms do an extensive business in 

 them at Alvin and in the vicinity. Dur- 

 ing the next month all the available 

 population will be employed by these 

 concerns. The details of this enterprise, 

 so extensive there, may be of interest 

 to those not familiar with the crop; 

 some information regarding the cultiva- 

 tion of the plants and the handling of 

 the flowers is supplied by W. L. Heller, 

 manager of the Alvin Cape Jessamine 

 & Floral Co. 



The plants arc started from cuttings, 

 which are cut about seven inches long 

 and set in the nursery row about six 

 inches apart. They arc hard to start. 



and great care must be given them for 

 the first six months. The soil must not 

 be allowed to bake or form a crust 

 around them, and at the same time the 

 cuttings must not be moved; to do so 

 would prevent them from setting roots, 

 a process which requires from four to 

 six months. 



After remaining in the nursery row 

 for two years they are ready to be set 

 in the orchard. If they start growth 

 promptly after the transplanting, a 

 light pick of buds may be obtained the 

 second season thereafter, or about six- 

 teen months after transplanting. The 

 third, fourth and fifth season is when 

 the plants are in their prime; after the 

 fifth season, if the plants are not prop- 

 erly pruned, the growth becomes slow, 

 and the result is small buds of an infe- 

 rior quality. However, if the plants are 

 scientifically pruned and fertilized, 

 their useful life can be prolonged for a 

 number of years. 



Picking, Packing and Shipping. 



The buds are picked just as they be- 

 gin to unroll and show white seams at 

 the edges of the petals. They are picked 

 into baskets and carried to the packing 

 house, where they are placed on the 

 grading table and sprinkled. They are 

 then graded according to the length of 

 stem, and placed on the counting table. 

 Here they are counted, twenty-five to 

 the bundle, and wrapped tightly in pa- 

 per to prevent their opening. They are 

 then passed on to the water, or dipping, 

 division, where the bundles are held un- 

 der water till all air is forced out of the 

 bundle. They are then drained and are 

 passed on to the packing division, which 

 is the most important part in the whole 

 operation. Here is where one must 

 strongly emphasize the fact that it 

 must be done right or not at all. If 

 packed right, the buds can remain in 

 transit for a week and arrive at des- 

 tination in as fresh condition as when 

 first packed. A great many buds are 

 shipped into the New England states 

 and even into Canada with perfect suc- 

 cess. 



Handling Buds When Received. 



The proper method of handling the 

 buds after a long trip is to lift the 

 packages out and hold them in cool wa- 

 ter until all air is forced out of the bun- 

 dle. Then replace the packages in the 

 case and store them in dry storage at 

 about 40 degrees' temperature. The 



buds will remain in good condition for a 

 number of days. 



There is no question that the cape 

 jasmine is one of the best of floAvers 

 for general floral work, for they con- 

 tain four of the essential requirements; 

 they supply an abundance of wonderful 

 fragrance; the flower is a beautiful, 

 spotless white; the leaves supply the 

 green to go with the flowers; their last- 

 ing qualities are such as few, if any 

 other, flowers can equal. 



On this page is a view showing the 

 truck and trailer loaded with cape jas- 

 mine buds ready to start for the ex- 

 press office from the packing house of 

 the Alvin Cape Jessamine & Floral Co. 

 Some of the packing force is in the fore- 

 ground. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



The 1921 Proceedings. 



The volume of the 1921 proceedings 

 has been delayed in publication through 

 the great activities of the society, due 

 to the national flower show and other 

 matters. The volume is now in press, 

 and will be mailed in about two weeks 

 to all members. The volume will contain 

 an up-to-date list of all members in good 

 standing and, if any members' dues ac- 

 counts do not bring them into the good 

 standing list, publication of their names 

 in that list is still possible if they will 

 make immediate remittance to the secre- 

 tary. It is some time since such a list 

 has been published, and, surely, it is an 

 advantage to have a place in it; so this 

 section of the book is being kept open to 

 the last minute. 



Kansas City Convention. 



The dates for the Kansas City conven- 

 tion are near at hand — August 15, 16 and 

 17. A preliminary plan covering the 

 trade exhibition section has been pre- 

 pared, but not for reservation purposes. 

 The final plan will be settled as soon 

 after May 1 as possible, and all copies 

 for distribution mailed at one time, so 

 that all prospective exhibitors will be 

 treated alike in the matter of choice of 

 location. The exhibition building is well 

 suited to the purposes of our exhibition 

 and all locations are good, but selections 

 will be booked on the order of first come 

 first served. John Young, Sec 'v. 



NATIONAL PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN. 



The publicity campaign continues in 

 aetive progress and a batch of subscrip- 

 tions will be reported at the end of tho 

 jnoscnt month. 



Tlie value of our slogan was well dem- 

 onstrated in the April 15 issue of the 

 Saturday Evening Post, which used the 

 slogan as a subhead to one of its most 

 amusing stories. It might be well to 

 remember that a page in this wonderful 

 publication costs in the neighborhood of 

 *6,000. 



Proof sheets of the advertisements to 

 bo used in the summer month.s, as author- 

 ized by the publicity committee at its 

 Indianapolis meeting, will shortly be 

 iiiailod to all subscribers. 



John Young, Sec 'y. 



Soon Truckloads of Cape Jasmines Sach as This Will Gjmc North. 



Benton, lU.— Mrs. 0. H. Machiels has 

 sold the Mrs. O. H. Machiels Co. to Mrs. 

 C. G. Heasley. Mrs. Machiels purchased 

 this business from Mrs. Heasley some 

 time ago. 



