22 



The Florists' Review 



APKlL. 1, 1915. 



(T 



Established, 1897, by G. L. GRANT. 



Published every Thursday by 

 The Florists' Publishing Co.. 



630-660 Caxton Buildini;, 



608 South Dearborn St., OhlcaifO. 



Tele., Wabash 8196. 



Rei;i8tered cable address, 



Florrlew, Chicago. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Dec. 3. 1897, at the poet-offlce at Chl- 

 catro. 111., under the Act of March 

 3. 1879. 



Subscription price, $1.00 a year. 

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



AdvertlslnK rates quoted upon 

 request. Only strictly trade ad- 

 Tertisinff accepted. 



NOTICE. 



It it impossible to guarantee 

 the insertion, discontinuance 

 or alteration of any advertise- 

 ment unless instructions are 

 receiTed by 



6 P. M. TUESDAY. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FL0BI8T8. 

 Incorporated by Act of Consrresa, March 4, 1901. 



Offlcere for 1915: President, Patrick Welch. 

 Boston; vice-president, Daniel MacRorle, San 

 Francisco; secretary, John Young, 53 W. 28th 

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

 Buffalo. 



Thlrty-flrst annual convention, San Francisco. 

 Cal., August 17 to 20, 1915. 



Besults bring advertising. 

 The Beview brings results. 



Why is it that, when the average flo- 

 rist finds another owing him more money 

 than he should, he is afraid to refuse 

 further credit? 



It develops that azaleas are not among 

 the short items for Easter, in spite of 

 the difSculties the. Belgian growers had 

 in getting their shipments out. 



This is All Fools' day and tomorrow 

 will be Good Friday, almost the end of 

 Lent, with the busiest season of the 

 whole year close at hand. It looks like 

 a big spring. 



An early Easter is an advantage to 

 the man who must prepare his largest 

 crop for bedding out before Memorial 

 day — but next year Easter comes April 

 2.3, three weeks later than in 1915. 



Times have changed — are changing — 

 and it will take always closer application, 

 more conservative management and 

 harder work to make the business go in 

 this trade. But it always will be a good 

 business for those who work it right. 



If one gets a certain slant it may 

 appear that Lent no longer is a season of 

 dull business for florists — quite the con- 

 trary, it is a busy season, as the quan- 

 tity of stock marketed is much greater 

 than in the pre-Lenten period and fully 

 accounts for the fall in prices. 



When the theater proves short of 

 dressing-rooms the actors who are com- 

 pelled to don their' makeup as best 

 they may are said to dress "at large." 

 Next Saturday night the dressing of 

 plants and filling of orders will be done 

 at large in the majority of flower stores. 



BETTEE AND BETTER. 



Of course The Keview is looking up; 

 the paper has made more progress in 

 the last seven months, since it adopted 

 the magazine style, than in any equal 

 •length of time in its seventeen years 

 of life. And, quite naturally, the ad- 

 vertisers are getting the benefit. Like 

 this: 



In sending my check I can say I never had 

 an ad that brought me so much money aa 

 this one has done. — Henry I. Faust, Merlon, 

 Pa., March 24. 1915. 



Advertisers in the eastern trade 



centers rapidly are awakening to the 



special value of The Review for their 



use. 



WE DON'T KNOW iT. DO YOU? 



A subscriber writes: "A customer 

 asks me what is Mexican Pink, recom- 

 mended as 'fine for window or porch 

 boxes, and smiling under the fiercest 

 sun.' Information as to the identity 

 of the plant and its botanical name I 

 should appreciate most heartily." 



WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK? 



No one will question that the florists 

 of the United States will prosper at 

 least as well as the general public. Con- 

 sequently, the trade is interested in 

 the general business situation. 



A large brokerage concern with con- 

 nections all over the United States re- 

 cently consulted a large number of 

 men in many different lines of busi- 

 ness. To these men they put seven 

 questions, the answers to which would 

 make clear actual conditions through- 

 out the United States and forecast, so 

 far as is humanly possible at the pres- 

 ent moment, the outlook for the future. 



The questions and the answers were 

 as follows: 



1. Have the Jobbers and distributors in your 

 section large or small stocks of goods at present? 



Fifty-five answered large. Six hundred forty- 

 six answered small. 



2. Are those who are able to save Investing 

 their savings or allowing them to accumulate in 

 tbe banks? 



Two hundred sixty answered investing. Four 

 hundred forty-one answered not investing. 



3. Is the unemployment of labor in your sec- 

 tion unusually large for the season? 



One hundred twenty-nine answered unusually 

 .small. One hundred thirty-seven answered about 

 as usual. Four hundred thlrty-flve answered unu- 

 sually large. 



4. Do the higher freight rates which the rail- 

 roads are now permitted impose an appreciable 

 burden on domestic trade? 



Sir hundred eighty answered that the Increased 

 cost of freight is not appreciable. Twenty an- 

 swered the increased cost of freight has checked 

 business. 



5. We have heard it said that "while money 

 is cheap, credit Is subnormal." Is this true of 

 your section or can the average borrower obtain 

 the money he requires with the usual facility? 



Three hundred ninety-three answered credit is 

 closely scrutinized. Three hundred seventeen an- 

 swered facilities about as usual. Fifty-eight an 

 swored accommodation unusually abundant. 



6. Are people generally disposed to economize 

 and if so Is this economy caused by reduced earn- 

 ing power or increased thrlftlness and sobriety 

 of thought and living? (If it be true that "econ- 

 omy is wealth," this is the most Important of all 

 the questions submitted.) 



Four hundred fifty-eight answered economy gen- 

 eral from necessity. One hundred eighty-four 

 answered economy general from choice. One hun- 

 dred four answered no unusual economy notice- 

 able. 



7. What, In your opinion, is the outlook for 

 American business during the year 1915? 



One hundred sixty answered disconraging. One 

 hundred twenty-one answered normal. Fonr hun- 

 dred twenty answered encouraging. 



From the answers it is plain that 

 jobbers and distributors generally have 

 small stocks of goods on hand and need 

 supplies; that of such persons as are 

 able to save, the majority are not in- 

 vesting; that unemployment is unus- 

 ually large; that the five per cent in 

 crease in railroad rates has not affected 

 business adversely; that the supply of 

 money is normal, but credit is closely 



scrutinized; that economy is becoming 

 general both from choice and necessity, 

 and that the general outlook is en- 

 couraging. 



LILIBS PLAINED OUT. 



It develops that quite a few growers 

 planted more or less of their Easter 

 lilies in benches this season, instead of 

 potting the bulbs. There are a great 

 many short lilies, as usual, this year, but 

 the most uneven lots not unnaturally are 

 the lilies planted out in the benches. 

 Growers offer various reasons for bench- 

 ing their bulbs, but the results seem 

 to indicate that none of them is a good 

 reason and that a grower should not 

 buy more bulbs than he is able to han- 

 dle by the approved methods of culture. 

 If there were fewer lilies grown it would 

 be no disaster, especially if the reduc- 

 tion came out of the considerable pro- 

 portion of the stock that can be sold 

 by no one but a department store. 



NORTH OR SOUTH, IT'S THE SAME. 



The Review does its work impar- 

 tially for advertisers east or west, north 

 or south. It isn't where a paper is 

 printed, but where it is read that counts 

 — and The Review is "black on white 

 and read all over," as the old conun- 

 drum puts it. Like this: 



We used The Review exclusively and had 

 good results; the stock Is cleaned up. — The Ave- 

 nue Floral Co., New Orleans, March 16, 1915. 



We are sold out; the ads in The Review worked 

 fine. — J. A. Farnworth & Son, Gallon, O., March 

 17, 1915. 



CHICAOO. 



The Market. 



At the opening of the present week 

 the market was hesitating. Last week 

 business was rather quiet, as not unusu- 

 ally is the case as Easter is approach- 

 ing. There was less than the normal 

 supply of stock, but enough in practi- 

 cally all lines so that prices would 

 have sagged had it not been for the 

 approach of the big flower day. The 

 early orders did not quite come up to 

 expectations. Some houses are able to 

 report advance orders ahead of other 

 years, but with the majority this is not 

 the case. Many houses have booked 

 as many out-of-town orders as in other 

 seasons, but quite a few of them re- 

 port the orders are not so large as they 

 would like them to be. The city buy- 

 ers have not booked the usual orders 

 for cut flowers; they have been buying 

 plants, counting on there being enough 

 cut stock so that they can get all they 

 need the last day of the week. 



As the week progressed orders have 

 been coming in steadily and there is a 

 big business in sight, principally for 

 shipments to go out April 1 and April 

 2. The general impression is that there 

 will be enough stock in all lines except, 

 possibly, carnations, but there is no 

 specially large supply in any line this 

 year. Lilies, of course, are abundant, 

 but certainly not more so than in other 

 years. Carnations are in much lighter 

 crop than usually is the case at Easter. 

 Cattleyas are scarce. Violets have 

 been on the short side for several days 

 and probably the end of the week will 

 see no unusual quantities in the market. 

 Bulbous stock is no more than ordi- 

 narily plentiful. Consequently, some 

 of the wholesalers feel that the market 

 is sure to stiffen as the Easter business 

 develops, but the local buyers feel con- 



