36 



The Florists^ Review 



Mabch 2. 1922 



fl 



Eatabllshed 1897. 

 by a . L G rant. 



PnbllBhed erery Tharsday by ' 

 The Florists' Publishino Co., 



600 660 Oaxton Bulldinir. 



BOe South Dearbora St., Ohlcagro. 



Tel., Wabash 8196. 



Berlstered cable address, 



Florvlew, Ohlcago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 8, 1897. at the post-office at Ohl> 

 ca«o, IIL, under the Act of March 

 8. 1879. * *w^» 



Subscription price, 12.00 a year. 

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



AdTertlslng rates quoted on 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 Tertlslnff Moepted. 



EESULTa 



We give them. You get them. 



We both have them. 



Too few florists pay enough attention 

 to the looks of their stores. An occasional 

 tidying up during the day would add 

 much to the appearance. 



The so-called percentage plan of local 

 cobperative advertising is now used by 

 florists, in varying forms, in twenty- 

 seven cities of the United States. 



The strong demand for flowers in the 

 last three years has led many growers 

 to place orders for additions to their 

 glass area now that building prices are 

 down. 



It is merely the part of prudence to 

 stock up at once with coal suflBcient to last 

 to the end of the firing season. Well in- 

 formed men predict a strike of miners 

 April 1 and the railroads are known to 

 be storing large quantities of fuel. 



The first thing anyone starting in the 

 florists' business should do is to get a 

 printed letterhead. Many of the firms 

 most worth dealing witli do not allow 

 trade prices to those who do not show 

 evidence that they buy to sell again. 



Demand for flowers has grown rapidly 

 in the laat few years, while the output 

 has not been increased. No let-up in the 

 call for flowers is expected. It is up to 

 the trade to meet the demand. If you are 

 not adding any glass, plan this summer 

 to put your range in the best possible 

 condition for production. 



A SUBSCRIBER advises The Review "to 

 play havoc with unbusinesslike practices," 

 such as failure to acknowledge orders, 

 holding checks without notifying the 

 senders and neglect of correspondence. 

 Such practices in themselves will play 

 havoc with those guilty of them, if con- 

 tinued. The Review wishes to avert the 

 havoc by persuading the florists who 

 court it to discontinue such unbusiness- 

 like ways. 



If you have not the time to handle 

 correspondence, find a high school girl 

 who will devote a couple of hours each 

 afternoon to writing letters and filing 

 orders for you. But, above all, do some- 

 thing to run your business in a business 

 way. The trade has less and less tolera- 

 tion for the man who neglects the ele- 

 mentary needs of his business, even 

 though his time is worthily spent in the 

 greenhouses, and his customers will drop 

 away if he shows them no consideration. 



Any grower who has a surplus of gera- 

 niums above his own requirements can 

 easily sell them by offering them in the 

 classified columns. 



Familiarity, not only with the bo- 

 tanical names, but also with the care and 

 culture of the stock carried in the flower 

 store, is always of assistance to those who 

 wait on customers. 



Do not allow shelves or tables, espe- 

 <'ially within customers' view, to become 

 catch alls. Patrons are apt to judge your 

 ability to arrange flowers by the way you 

 arrange your store. 



The Illinois State Florists' Association 

 will hold its annual meeting at the Uni- 

 versity of Illinois, Urbana, Tuesday, 

 March 14. At 2 p. m. will be a business 

 meeting, to be followed by an entertain- 

 ment in the evening. On Wednesday 

 morning an open forum will be held in 

 the greenhouse. 



Bituminous coal production continues 

 to climb upward, due to a complication 

 of circumstances. In the first place, more 

 and more steam coal buyers are beginning 

 to recognize the eflfect which a prolonged 

 strike may have upon their storage stocks 

 and since they are convinced that prices 

 are as low as they will be pending a re- 

 adjustment of union miners ' wages, there 

 is a better buying by this class of trade — 

 a buying for storage rather than for con- 

 sumption. Public utility plants, as well 

 as the railroads, are beginning to store 

 coal against the expected shutdown of 

 union operations April 1. The result has 

 been a somewhat better tone in the screen- 

 ings markets, since domestic demand is 

 not sufiicient to make slack adequate to 

 meet the inquiries. 



DON'T WHISPER NOW! 



"Don't Whisper Now!" advises the 



Pittsburgh Cut Flower Co. on a recent 



price list, paraphrasing a verse from 



Printers* Ink in the following form: 



The mnn who whispers clown the well 

 About the posies he has to sell 

 .Shall never reap the shinlnc dollars 

 I.Ike the florist who ".Says It with Flowers" hol- 

 lers. 



DUSTING OFF THE OLD ONES. 



Four weeks ago a prominent man in 

 the trade, who wished his name with- 

 held, forwarded to The Review a copy 

 (if an article entitled, "Are Our Fruit 

 and Grain Exports in Danger 1" and 

 signed with the name, .John Kingdon 

 Smith. Since the article contained state- 

 ments of sucli weight as to demand as- 

 sumption of responsibility, The Review 

 ondeavnrod to ascertain the identity of 

 .Tohn Kingdon Smith before publishing 

 the article. Its efforts — and those of 

 others interested — have been fruitless. 

 No one knows who is .Tohn Kingdon 

 Smitli, nor will he — if he exists — re- 

 veal himself. 



Rut the statements made in the article, 

 which apparently had circulation in 

 mimeograph form, have aroused Dr. C. 

 Ti. Marlatt, who has issued, over his 

 signature as chairman of the Federal 

 Horticultural Board, a lengthy defense, 

 headed, "A Quarantine Bugaboo Laid 

 to Rest." Dr. Marlatt calls the article 

 "a phase of the now waning propa- 

 ganda against quarantine 37" and terms 

 Mr. Smith's fear "that Europe will re- 

 taliate and cut off our grain and meat 

 exports unless we open the door again 

 to the practically unlimited entry of 

 European plants," a contention sup- 

 ported by statements "either diamet- 



rically wrong or at least distinct mis- 

 representations." Dr. Marlatt gives 

 instances in proof of this, but spends the 

 greater part of his lengthy reply in a 

 recapitulation of the arguments he haa 

 before advanced in defense of the 

 quarantine. In fact, he c\oses with the 

 remark that "this propaganda of Mr. 

 John Kingdon Smith is of the same order 

 as that dealt with in a statement issued 

 by this board February 15, 1921" — a 

 year ago. So Dr. Marlatt encloses a 

 copy of the year-old arguments with his 

 reply to Mr. Smith. Before long Dr. 

 Marlatt will cease to write replies to 

 critics of quarantine 37; instead he will 

 cite chapter and verse in his previous 

 writings on "Why Quarantine 37 

 Is a Good Quarantine." There ap- 

 pears no hope that Dr. Marlatt will 

 alter his original views — not a favor- 

 able omen as regards the conference 

 to be held April 19. 



PLEASURES OF FUBLISHINa. 



The publishing business affords its 



fair sharp of vexations, but there are 



compensating features. Letters like 



this one: 



I sent you my check for $2 to renew my sub- 

 scription, but evidently it went astray, because 

 the paper was stopped. There hasn't been a 

 bright day since. — J. K. Postma, Proprietor 

 Anderson Floral Co., Anderson, S C., February 

 14, 1922. 



Of course any business man would 

 take pleasure in making the sun shine 

 again for a customer, especially when he 

 had the incentive of permanence, like 

 this: 



I enclose my check for $4, for which please 

 extend my subscription two years in advance. 

 I have been with you from the first issue and 

 The Review sure has grown Into a wonderful 

 Journnl. — Alfred B. Lee, Bedford, O., February 

 14, 1922. 



The Review recently reminded some 

 of its last year's advertisers that it 

 had not heard from them this year. 

 Some of the responses were interesting. 

 Like this: 



We have not overlooked sending you our ads. 

 The reason is that our ads in The Review pre- 

 vious to 1922 arc still selling our stock and we 

 do not find it necessary to advertise to sell at 

 present. When it becomes necessary, we surely 

 will advertise In The Review, as there is no 

 P,",P*™"''* It-^J- A. Swartley & Sons, Sterling, 

 111., February 14, 1922. 



East and west it's the same, because 

 it is where a paper is read, and not 

 where it is printed, that counts. Like 

 this: 



Kindly discontinue our advertisement of car- 

 nation cuttings, as we have sold all we had to 

 offer, thanks to The Review.— W. J. Evenden's 

 hons, Williamsport, Pa., February 11, 1922. 



If you hear a man complain of the 

 cost of advertising, you can be pretty 

 certain he spends a good bit of money 

 elsewhere than in The Review. 



DOES A READER KNOW? 



Do you know of any firms that manu- 

 facture a hotbed heater which burns 

 coal, coke or oil and does satisfactory 

 service for growing early vegetable 

 plants in place of manure! It is almost 

 impossible to obtain manure here. I 

 have fifteen standard hotbed sashes 

 which I wish to heat. E. F. K. la. 



BRIEF ANSWERS. 



E. & E. A., la.— Begonia Gloire de 

 Lorraine. 



Q. H. G., O.— Spotted plant is Begonia 

 albo-picta; small green one, B. foliosa; 

 other variety so discolored it could not 

 be identified. 



J. G., Mo.— Coleus frozen and unrecog- 

 nizable. * 



