24 



The Florists' Review 



Fbbbuaby 18, 1915. 



Besnlts bring advertising. 

 The Beview brings results. 



It 



pm 



srs' 



I Established, 1897, by Q. L. aRANT. 



Published every Thursday by 

 Thk Flokists' Publishing Co., 



630-660 Oaxtoa Building, 



608 South Dear bora St., Chicago. 



Tele., Wabash 8195. 



Reorlstered cable address, 



Florvlew, Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3. 1897, at the post-ofBce at Chl- 

 caKo, 111., under the Act of March 

 3, 1879. 



Subscription price, $1.00 a year. 

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



Advortlslnsr rat<»s quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 vertising accepted. 



NOTICE. 



It U impossible to guarantee 

 the insertion, discontinuance 

 or alteration of any advertise- 

 ment unless instructions are 

 received by 



5 P. M. TUESDAY. 



BOOIETY OF AMEBJCAX FL0BIST8. 

 Incorporated by Aot of Oonsreu, Marok 4, 1901. 



Offlcera for 1915: President, Patrick Welch. 

 Boston; vice-president, Daniel MacRorle, San 

 ■"randsco; secretary, John Yoanj, B8 W. 28th 

 St., New York City; treasurer. W. F. Kaatlng, 

 fiolfalo. 



Thlrty-flrst annual convention. Ban Francisco. 

 Osl., August 17 to 20, 191S. 



The spring business is opening nicely; 

 it may not prove a record season, but 

 there is no reason to feel dissatisfied with 

 the outlook. 



It isn't corn, or wheat or cotton that's 

 king — it's cash. The florist who pays 

 his bills on the dot is the care-free 

 power behind the throne. 



Thk rate at which geranium stock is 

 selling with those who use The Review's 

 classified ads does not indicate pessimism 

 in the ranks of the country florists. 



A POST-OFFICE circular offering city 

 people the opportunity to buy in the 

 country via parcel post lists "Whit- 

 minie" ferlfs as available at 30 cents 

 each. 



Printers are not busy now; an ex- 

 cellent time to get your local job shops 

 to print up that batch of letter-heads 

 that will show you are a sure-enough 

 florist. 



The Dutch bulbous stock has realized 

 unexpectedly but none the less welcome 

 good returns so far this season, but 

 lower prices are sure to come as the 

 supply of flowers increases. 



Business is subnormal in almost every 

 line, but it is improving, and probably 

 a readjustment to a little more conserva- 

 tive basis will be really a good thing 

 for a lot of people who will not enjoy 

 the process. 



With two such roses as Mrs. Russell 

 and Ophelia demanding additional bench 

 space this season, some of the old stand- 

 bys will have to be set back a bit. In 

 most cases the space will be taken from 

 Beauty, Killarney and Richmond. 



HONOBABU: 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: 



TWO YEARS. 

 Arnold, C. 11., Springfield, Mass. 

 Chambers, James, Hartford, Conn. 

 Denllnger, Walter R., Vintage, Pa. 

 Walker, Kate E., Klamath Falls. Ore. 

 PUat, V. H., KlngsvUle, Ter. 



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. 



IT PAVES THE WAY. 



If you have something good to sell. 



It pays to advertise It well. 



Let people know what you're about 



And sales will come beyond a donbt. 



"The man who whispers down a well 



About the goods be has to sell 



Will never reap the golden dollars 



Like him who climbs a tree and hollers." 



So climb a tree right o'er the crowd 



And holler long and holler loud. 



And when you've got 'em on the run 



Your selling game Is well begun — 



Which is another way to say 



That advertising paves the way. 



— Charles L. Tompkins. 



AFTEE THIS, THE DELUGE. 



To the mind of the disseminator, this 

 is a poor year for introducing a nov- 

 elty. Early in the season it became ap- 

 parent that the number of novelties to 

 be offered this year would be less than 

 usual, and recently two of the new car- 

 nations previously announced to make 

 their debuts this season have been with- 

 drawn — held over to 1916, it was an- 

 nounced. 



Perhaps it is a good thing. If the 

 trade has been surfeited with novelties, 

 the surcease will give the opportunity 

 for resting up — it may whet the ap- 

 petite for something new, with the re- 

 sult that next year's introductions will 

 meet with an unusually cordial recep- 

 tion. 



That the number of novelties to hq 

 offered after the war will be larger than 

 in other years is a foregone conclusion. 



COOPERATIVE ADVERTISING. 



Cleveland, O. — Under the stimulus of 

 the cooperative advertising, St. Valen- 

 tine's day business this year went 

 ahead of any other year by at least 

 thirty per cent. Judging from reports 

 received from grower, wholesaler and 

 retailer, violets, valley and Ward roses 

 led in demand, but carnations, tulips,' 

 narcissi and daffodils went along with 

 the rush. 



Topeka, Kan. — Four retail and two 

 wholesale florists cooperated to run a 

 half page ad in the leading paper for 

 St. Valentine's day, only the names 

 of the retailers appearing in the ad. 

 The idea and a part of the copy came 

 from the article in The Review of 

 January 21. The result was the best 

 business thus far experienced for this 

 special flower day. 



Bloomington, HI. — Five florists here 

 took up the idea of cooperative adver- 

 tising for St. Valentine's day as ex- 

 ploited in The Review of January 21. 

 The expense was only $80 and, in the 

 words of A. Washburn & Son, "the 

 results were gratifying." 



THE SUBSCRIPTION SWINDLER. 



The Review warns the trade not to 

 pay money to strangers for its account. 



It is a petty swindle, but every now 

 and then a florist writes that he has 

 paid $1 to some traveling solicitor for 

 a subscription to this paper, and wants 

 to know why the paper has not come. 



The Review employs no traveling 

 solicitors. Its representatives all are 

 members of the trade, each well known 

 in his own community. Any itinerant 

 solicitor who states that he represents 

 this paper does so without authority. 



Don't pay money to anyone you do 

 not know personally — if it is for a sub- 

 scription to The Review, mail the dol- 

 lar to this office. 



FIRES HIT FLORIST^. 



Muncie, Ind. — Fire in the boiler house 

 of the Riverside Floral Co., February 

 1, was communicated to the adjoining 

 greenhouse, and both structures were 

 badly damaged. It is estimated the 

 loss was $500, covered by insurance. 



Warsaw, N. Y. — During the night of 

 January 30 the barn in connection with 

 the greenhouses of Clair G. Norris was 

 totally destroyed by fire. The intense 

 heat broke a large quantity of glass 

 and some of the sashbars of the 

 greenhouse were burned, but the stock 

 was saved by covering the openings 

 with canvas and carpets, as the heat- 

 ing plant was intact. A new steel barn 

 and boiler room will be erected im- 

 mediately in place of the one destroyed. 



CHICAGO. 



The Market. 



With the approach of St. Valentine's 

 day the market enjoyed the best week 

 of the season. Of course business did 

 not in any way approach a holiday 

 volume, but it was far more satisfac- 

 tory than at Christmas, as everything 

 cleaned up in fine shape at excellent 

 prices. The business was much heavier 

 than at any previous St. Valentine's 

 day and the trade is encouraged to be- 

 lieve that the use of flowers as valen- 

 tines will keep on increasing from year 

 to year until the day assumes a place 

 as one of the leading flower holidays. 

 A half dozen of the local retailers 

 helped it along by large and attractive 

 ads in the best daily. 



This week the market opened strong. 

 Several factors contributed to the un- 

 usual firmness of prices. To begin 

 with, a day of springlike weather was 

 succeeded by a return of winter con- 

 ditions, cold and sunless; it checked 

 production. Second in importance, 

 everything was cut so tight for St, 

 Valentine's day the growers were tak- 

 ing things easy for a day or two. But 

 of principal importance, the retailers, 

 both in the city and out of town, 

 seemed to have had a splendid St. Val- 

 entine's day business and all wanted to 

 replenish stock February 15. 



Beauties continue decidedly on the 

 short side. There is some excellent 

 stock, but much more that is of low 

 grade. It seems that higher prices 

 would be warranted for all good Beau- 

 ties except that the buyers, after the 

 low prices that prevailed at Christmas, 

 now push other flowers when ordinary 

 seasonable rates are asked for Beau- 

 ties. There are increased supplies of 

 short roses, growers who cut big crops 



