MAX 21, 1914. 



The Florists' Review 



29 



tion of a condition that is misunder- 

 stood only because it has not been in- 

 vestigated. 



"We realize that the flower business 

 each year, as our cities are growing 

 bigger and our gardens are growing 

 smaller, is becoming more and more im- 

 portant, and we know of the great 

 good, and elevating and soothing effect 

 of our material wherever it is placed; 

 so we hope that you will assist us to 

 dispel the idea that we carry on our 

 business for purely mercenary reasons, 

 but you will also understand that with- 

 out a sound financial basis of profit we 

 cannot continue to exist." 



Show House of John A. Keller, Lexington, Ky. 



buying public; that is, that the price is 

 raised by the storeman to increase his 

 profits. Such is not the case with the 

 great majority of flower stores. Let 

 me assure you that when carnations 

 sell at $1 to $1.50 per dozen the per- 

 centage of profit is less to the retailer 

 than when they sell at 50 cents per 

 dozen, for the competition to secure a 

 supply to satisfy the retail trade is the 

 cause of the just increase in price by 

 the grower. The grower disposes of 

 every bloom, good, bad and indifferent, 

 at such seasons, while at times when 

 he offers the same or better flowers at 

 half the price he cannot get rid of his 

 stock. 



More Flower Days Wanted. 



"You might say, 'Let us abandon 

 such days as Mothers ' day, and keep an 

 even market price. ' i That would not 

 be a solution of the problem. What we 

 want is more such days, so that there 

 . will .be a market twelve or - fifteen 

 tin\es a year for large quantities of 

 blooms. Then greater quantities will 

 be grown and sent in to a more even 

 market, and all will be supplied, at 

 prices that will pay a profit without 

 recourse to heavy ineresises, arid as the 

 periods between big demands will not 

 be so great, there will be no necessity 

 to sell below cost or to give large quan- 

 tities to flow«r guilds -or hospitals. 



' ' * Do' riot - misunderstand our last 

 statement ; we ieach and all. give cheer- 

 fully to brighten the hour of pain or 

 to assist in charity; but if you come to 

 our establishment, you will find, that, 

 were, other lines of trade- to contribute 

 to the above-mentioned in the same 

 proportion that the florists' does, there 

 would be no necessity for campaigns 

 for money. 



' 'Our business is in its infancy, and 

 because of the peculiar conditions gov- 

 erning our -stock, and its production, 

 m«pgc.! people,- as^is evidenced by your 

 lettferj still idii^ upon-, " an(^think' of, 

 a flower as something plupked from the 

 garden. 



Supply and Demand. 



' ' You do not expect to buy straw- 

 berries in April for the same price that 

 you pay in June. You do not expect 

 to buy a hothouse grape for the same 

 price as our own garden varieties. Gold 

 is more valuable than iron, and the 

 price is regulated by the law of supply 

 and demand, the same law of supply 

 and demand that regulates our mer- 

 chandise; only we are not so fortunate 

 as those who supply material that can 

 be stqred to meet a heavy demand. 



"We trust your society will accept 

 this letter in the spirit in which it was 

 written and we thank you for the op- 

 portunity given us to offer our explana- 



AT THE KELLER RANGE. 



One of the largest ranges in tlie state 

 of Kentucky is that of John A. Keller, 

 at Lexington, Ky., which consists of 

 about 60,000 feet of glass. It is asserted 

 to be the best equipped in the state, and 

 the stock it produces is of high quality. 

 One of the carnation houses in this 

 range is shown in one of the illustra- 

 tions; the other gives a view of the 

 show house, which is filled with fine pot 

 plants. Cut flowers and pot plants com- 

 prise almost the entire stock; but little 

 bedding stock is now grown. The man- 

 agement of this establishment is in the 

 hands of J. F. Keller, a son of the late 

 J. A. Keller. The business is both 

 wholesale and retail. A large part of 

 the output is handled by J. P. Keller, 

 a brother of the manager of this con- 

 cern, who conducts a downtown store 

 under the name of Keller, Florist. 



A MICHIGAN FLORIST'S HOME. 



People who work in glass houses have, 

 as a rule, handsome and substantial 

 residences in which to pass their few 

 leisure hours. They have, of course, 

 the talent and experience of their 

 trade, which will enable them to put 

 on those finishing touches that add so 

 much to the beauty of a home. Per- 

 haps it is for this reason that a florist's 

 residence usually looks like that of a 

 man of foi;tune. Perhaps, too, it is 



.y 



One of John A. Keller's Carnation Houses, at Uxlngton, Ky. 



