22 



The Florists' Review 



I 



Februabt 11, 1915. 



Established, 1897. by G. L. GRANT. 



Published every Thursday by 

 The Florists' Publishing Co., 



630-S60 Caxton Buildinfir, 



608 South Dearborn St., ChlcaifO. 



Tele., Wabash 8195. 



Refrlstered cable address, 



Florrlew. Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3. 1897 , at the post-office at Chi- 

 cago, 111., under the Act of March 

 3. 1879. 



Subscription price, $1.00 a year. 

 To Canada, $2.00; to Europe, $3.00. 



AdvortlsluK rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising; accepted. 



NOTICE, 



It it impossible to {guarantee 

 the insertion, discontinuance 

 or alteration of any advertise- 

 ment unless instructions are 

 received by 



5 P. M. TUESDAY. 



BOdSTY or AlCERICAV ZXOBISTS. 

 Zneoiporsted by Aot of OongreH, Xaroh 4, 1901. 



Officers for 1916: Presideat, Patrick Welch, 

 Boston; vice-president, Daniel MacRorle, San 

 rrandsco; secretary, John Yonng, 6S W. 28th 

 St., New York City; tressarer, W. r. Kasting, 

 Baffalo. 



Thirty-flrst annual conyentlon, San FranclKO, 

 Oal.. August 17 to 20, 1916. 



Results bring advertising. 

 The Beview brings results. 



Can you count the buds on your lilies? 

 Only six weeks to Easter. 



There is no white carnation in sight 

 that looks as though it is as good as 

 Matchless. 



Do you realize we are halfway from 

 Christmas to Easter f High time to get 

 busy Avith preparations. 



With wheat selling above $1.60 per 

 bushel it looks as though the middle 

 west could afford a few geraniums in 

 the front yard this spring. 



Collections have been slowing up. 

 The business will no longer stand for the 

 lax methods that once suflBiced to turn a 

 profit in this trade and it is necessary 

 to watch credits closer and push collec- 

 tions harder. 



From the quantity of advertising 

 literature the trade is sending to The 

 Review, it is apparent a greater effort 

 than ever before is being made this 

 week to interest the public in the use 

 of flowers for valentines. 



This is the month of Washington, 

 who formed the Union; of Lincoln, who 

 saved the Union, and of St. Valentine, 

 who kindled lots of other unions; each 

 helping those who help themselves, in 

 this year of grace, to sell flowers. 



Secretary Young has this week dis- 

 tributed the proceedings of the thirtieth 

 annual convention of the S. A. F. The 

 volume runs to 348 pages and for the 

 first time is freely illustrated, the views 

 being those of the convention gardens 

 of the last two years. 



HOW LONG, O LOBD, HOW LONO? 



The other day a stranger handed a 

 florist a check for $50 to make "a de- 

 posit" of $10 against an order. The 

 flower man did not have $40, but offered 

 to go out after change! "Never mind,"' 

 said the stranger, "give me what you 

 have; you can send the rest later." 

 And the florist cleaned his cash drawer! 



Which leads to the question: Did the 

 faker figure the neighbors were some 

 smarter than the florist; that the grocer 

 might put him wise if he went out 

 looking for change for the check of a 

 stranger ? 



How long, O Lord, how long can that 

 hoary swindle be worked on men in 

 this trade? Will the day never come 

 when small florists can distinguish be- 

 tween men they know and men they 

 never saw before? Will repeated ex- 

 posures of this petty swindle never 

 teach the trade to "Stop, Look, 

 Listen" and THINK when a total 

 stranger asks cash change for a check? 



UABIUTY FOB LSAHY MAINS. 



Florists who are considering action 

 against gas companies for loss of stock 

 from gas escaping from mains will find 

 of great value the article published in 

 The Review December 25, 1913, review- 

 ing court decisions in reference to the 

 right of a florist to recover damages 

 against a gas company for negligently 

 permitting gas to escape from leaky 

 mains and percolate through the ground 

 into the florist's greenhouses and there 

 kill or injure his stock. The law of lia- 

 bility in such cases is supported by a 

 decision which has just been handed 

 down by the Oregon Supreme court, in 

 the case of Sharkey vs. Portland Gas & 

 Coke Co., 144 Pacific Reporter 1152. 

 This case involved recovery for the loss 

 of shade trees caused by gas leaking 

 from a main near by. The trial court 

 rendered judgment in favor of the com- 

 pany, but the Supreme court reversed 

 the decision, saying: 



"Illuminating gas is a dangerous 

 thing when it eludes control, and it is 

 incumbent upon those who deal in it 

 as an article of merchandise to use care 

 commensurate with its harmful nature. 

 Of course, the diligence must be such 

 as an ordinarily prudent person would 

 exercise under like circumstances in 

 managing such an article. In brief, 

 the care must be proportionate to the 

 danger to be reasonably apprehended 

 from the agency under consideration." 

 S. 



FLORISTS AND PARCEL POST. 



The parcel post has not proved of 

 great value to florists — generally con- 

 sidered too slow and too rough. 



For the shipment of supplies and for 

 small quantities of cuttings and other 

 stock that can be packed tightly enough 

 to resist mailbag transportation and 

 crushing, the parcel post is extremely 

 useful, but not so much so for cut 

 flowers or plants requiring quick service 

 and careful handling. 



The insurance feature of the parcel 

 post is not what the trade wants; it 

 covers loss, not damage. The special 

 delivery feature is fine; it is of great 

 service to retailers in the large cities. 

 But the C. O. D. service does not seem 

 to be understood by the trade. Parcels 

 can be sent C. O. D. by mail the same 

 as express and the trade could make 

 important use of the service. 



HONORABLE MENTION. 



Not a few subscribers save them- 

 selves the bother of annual renewal by 

 sending The Review $2, $3, or some- 

 times $5, instead of the dollar-bill that 

 insures fifty-two visits of the paper. 

 Among those who have this week en- 

 rolled themselves for more than one 

 year in advance are: 



five years. 



Winkler, Edward. Wakefield, Mass. 



TWO YEARS. 



Swan & Bemdtson, Lawrence, Mass. 

 Glauner, Wm. J., Morton Grove, 111. 

 NelUst, John F., Grand Rapids, Mich. 



The Review stops coming when the 

 subscription runs out. The green no- 

 tice with the last copy tells the story; 

 no bills are run up; no duns sent. 



MARK YOUB VALUES. 



A point of perhaps greater signifi- 

 cance and importance than appears on 

 the surface is brought up by the claim 

 of the Pittsburgh Cut Flower Co., con- 

 signee, against the American Express 

 Co., growing out of the loss of a com- 

 bined shipment of violets at Christmas. 

 The loss was approximately $900, on 

 violets from Rhinebeck, N. Y., which 

 should have reached Pittsburgh Decem- 

 ber 24, but which were laid over twen- 

 ty-four hours at Buffalo, the transfer 

 point, and which therefore were too 

 late for the Christmas trade. 



The express company refuses to ad- 

 just the claim on the ground that no 

 valuation was declared at the time the 

 freight was receipted for by its agent. 

 It seeks refuge in the ruling of the. 

 Interstate Commerce Commission and 

 in the interpretation of the law which 

 has said a carrier is entitled to know 

 in advance the value of anything for 

 which it may later be held responsible. 



If the express company persists in 

 its attitude the matter will no doubt 

 get into court, as the consignee believes 

 it can prove gross negligence. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



In this year of things military, prob- 

 ably we should say that the market per- 

 formed a right-about-face toward the 

 close of last week, as. February 8 found 

 conditions radically different from what 

 they were seven days before. Dark, 

 cold weather was one of the influences 

 that caused supply to fall off sharply. 

 But another strong factor was the pass- 

 ing off of the heavy crops of carnations 

 which have been the rule so far this 

 season. While roses are less plentiful 

 than at any time heretofore this year, 

 the principal change is on carnations. 

 These are much less abundant. Prices 

 are considerably stronger than they 

 were. Splits are not now so much in 

 evidence and the average quality of the 

 carnations is excellent. Of course, with 

 decreasing supplies there began to be a 

 scrambling for stock, but the increase 

 in demand was more apparent than real. 



The dark weather has done serious 

 damage to Killarney. There are not 

 many short stems, but enough of the 

 longest grade. While the buyers require 

 few of the extra long stems, the stock 

 in general is decidedly off color. The» 

 result is that the flowers are not mak- 

 ing the prices they usually have under 

 like conditions of shortage. The ab- 

 sence of Russell is explained by the 

 statement that growers are busy propa- 



