Skptembke 18, 1913. 



The Florists^ Review 



9 



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THE RETAIL 





FLORIST. 



! 



CROTON FOLIAGE AND FLOWERS. 



Crotons as pot plants recently have 

 ad a wonderful increase in apprecia- 

 tion, but the foliage also has not been 

 backward in coming forward, as the 

 saying goes, for the retailers are using 

 it in considerable quantity wherever 

 the price will permit. Croton foliage 

 is not in the same class as galax leaves 

 or prepared magnolias as a filling for 

 wreaths; it never will be used on the 

 three-dollar designs. But where color 

 is wanted and cost is not an objection, 

 there is nothing finer than croton 

 foliage. 



The accompanying illustration was 

 prepared from a photograph of a design 

 made by H. E. Lozier, Lozier the 

 Florist, at Des Moines, la. The flowers 

 used with the croton foliage are Mrs. 

 Aaron Ward roses and lily of the val- 

 ley. 



THE LATEST PARIS FAD. 



A. fad lately adopted in Paris is to 

 farry fresh flowers in the hand — a 

 pretty habit always. To carry one long- 

 stemmed flower in much the same way 

 I as the parasol is carried lends a touch 

 I of novelty that is artistic and something 

 'lifferent from the ordinary custom of 

 wearing flowers. The American girl is 

 likely to adapt this fashion to her own 

 tastes, carrying the flower that best 

 I matches her gown. 



THE COMMONEST SWINDLE. 



Florists are not, as a rule, what are 

 hailed "easy marks," and it is sur- 

 prising how frequently they fall for 

 the bogus check swindle. Here is the 

 story^ as told by a police reporter for 

 I a Chicago daily paper: 



" 'I am going to put this on the 



Israve of my dear wife,' a man about 



4.5 years old said to Mrs. Anna L. 



Silverman, owner of a florist's shop at 



•401 West Madison street, as she 



•landed him a large floral piece valufed 



h't $15 late yesterday. He gave her a 



rheck for $22 drawn in favor of 



^^eorge Cater in jjayment for the flow- 



rrs and after receiving $7 in change he 



'ej'arted. Mrs. Silverman later found 



'fie check, which was one on the Rail- 



y^p' Exchange Bank, to be worthless. 



'he asked the police to search for the 



nan." 



Dozens of times it has been reported, 



■'oin all sections of the country. There 



■"■<^ many variations. Usually the 



hwiiidler does not venture to take the 



I"ow«>rs away with him; it is safer to 



I'Si^ to have them delivered at a house 



I ^'I'l-o there is to be a funeral. Some- 



L"J"^ the swindler is sufiiciently pains- 



,^'^"'Ji: in his attention to details to 



io Vi ^°°sulted the death notices in the 



V paper and orders flowers sent to 



r/imeral for which the florist has other 



r^Ork. 



"It there are two points that always 

 similar; never any variation: In 



the first place, the customer is a 

 stranger; and, in the second place, a 

 check is presented that calls for cash 

 change. 



When a stranger presents a check 

 for more than the amount of the pur- 

 chase and asks cash change it always 

 is time to sit up and take notice — fre- 

 quently it is time to call the police. 



PRIVILEOE. 



Philip Breitmeyer, of Detroit, says 

 that one of the most important things 

 for a florist to do is to please his cus- 

 tomers — to be ready and able to serve 

 them on any occasion. Mr. Breitmeyer 

 told the Florists' Telegraph Delivery, 

 at its Minneapolis meeting, that the 

 privilege of serving customers in the 

 v/ay that members of the association do 

 is of even greater value to him than the 

 mere matter of profit to be derived 

 from the exchange of orders. And yet 

 the profit is worth while. At the same 

 meeting Albert Pochelon, also of De- 

 troit, reported on the volume of ex- 

 change business handled at his store 

 in the first seven months this year. 



This is the record: 



Direction. Number. Vnlue. 



Outgoing 185 $ 9."i2..^5 



Incoming 73 336.50 



Total 258 $1,288.85 



On the outgoing orders he received 

 twenty per cent, or $190.47, while on 

 the incoming orders the profit was 

 whatever circumstances permitted him 

 to make on a run of orders averaging a 

 little less than $5 each. 



At the same meeting E. Wienhoeber, 

 of Chicago, said he wanted to endorse 

 what Mr. Breitmeyef had said about the 

 value of the facilities to satisfy custo- 

 mers by delivering flowers at .a dis- 

 tance. He said that many of the 

 orders call for extra effort, but that 

 the effect of being able to accomplish 

 what the customer wants is .of in- 

 estimable value. 



A NEW HAMPSHIRE CUP WINNER. 



Nashua, N. H., opened its great white 

 way September 3. Prizes were awarded 

 for the four best decorated motor cars. 

 The first position was easily taken by 

 W. W. Powers, the well known local 

 florist, whose prize was a silver cup or 

 $50 in gold. 



The entire car was first covered with 

 white cloth. The arches were made of 

 %-inch gas pipe, fitted and bent into 

 the desired shape and puffed with white 

 cloth. At each puff pink asters and 

 hydrangeas were tied. From the front 

 arches were hung twenty-four white 

 doves, fastened together with narrow 

 pink ribbons. All arches were then 

 wound with Asparagus plumosus. Thie 



Wreath of Croton Foliage, Ward Roses and Valley. 



