Mat 31, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



95 



The Sabin Adjustable Plant Stand 



The Cleveland Cut Flower Co 



Long Distance Phones CLEVELAND, OHIO 



Mention Tbe RcTlew when yon write. 



CLEVELAND. 



The hot weather last week has brought 

 in an abundance of everything, and 

 prices have gone down several notches 

 and a large surplus has found its way 

 to the rubbish pile, even the fakers re- 

 fusing to hustle while it was so hot. 



All the plantsmen seem to be right 

 on the dot with more stock than ever, 

 and almost without exception the best 

 line of stuff the writer has seen for a 

 long time. 



In spite of the hot weather Isaac 

 Kennedy is sending the Cleveland Cut 

 riower Co. some of the finest white 

 roses from his sport of Bride that the 

 market can show. His Maids are also 

 fine. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



The Market 



Last week saw an immense quantity 

 of flowers marketed at low prices. 

 Bright, warm weather increased produc- 

 tion and transient business. The mid- 

 dle of the week was unsatisfactory from 

 a wholesaler's standpoint, but the end 

 of the week was much better. The first 

 of the school commencements created 

 more demand for flowers especially 

 suited to youth, such as sweet peas, 

 daisies, etc., Queen Alexandra having a 

 lively run. 



Peonies are coming into town in larger 

 numbers. Some are very fine; some are 

 affected by the drouth prevalent dur- 

 ing their development. Outdoor sweet 

 peas are an important factor. The grow- 

 ers who took care of their plants will 

 reap a harvest, the quality of their prod- 



uct putting the fag end of the indoor 

 grown, and of the unwatered stock, to 

 the blush. Wild smilax and southern 

 asparagus are over. 



The earlier date of going to' press pre- 

 cludes anything but a forecast of this 

 week. The horse show. Memorial day 

 and the first of the June weddings prom- 

 ise a week of floral activity that will 

 tax the resources. There will be but 

 little advance in prices except on high 

 grade stock of a few varieties. 



The See-Saw System. 



It is a recognized fact that the won- 

 derful development in the cut flower 

 business is largely due to the wholesale 

 commission florists. They now market a 

 large majority of the flowers grown com- 

 mercially. With a continuance of their 

 present high standards of business 

 sagacity and integrity their strength 

 will increase. 



The business of the wholesalers has 

 not been obtained without overcoming 

 many difficulties, with the growers, with 

 the buyers, and with the express com- 

 panies. Some are settled permanently, 

 some only temporarily. All require fore- 

 sight, tact, and vigilance to be properly 

 met. One of the most curious of these 

 difficulties is what may be termed the 

 see-saw system of shipping. It is the 

 playing of one commission man against 

 another. 



Originally the see-saw system con- 

 sisted in sending flowers to a wholesaler 

 a few times, then discontinuing without 

 notice when some one else offered more, 

 returning again to the first wholesaler 

 when his bid went one better. Gradu- 

 ally this method was abandoned by de- 



sirable growers. It was looked down 

 upon as not the right thing. In its place 

 was substituted the division of shipment 

 by which the cut was divided in given 

 proportions between two or more whole- 

 salers. This system is practiced by some 

 large and some medium places. It has 

 advantages and disadvantages. From it 

 has been evolved the present see-saw 

 system. This see-saw system consists 

 in dividing the product in certain pro- 

 portions and increasing or decreasing 

 these proportions according to the re- 

 turns. The see-saw system of shipping 

 requires weekly returns to be carefully 

 compared and used in next week's dis- 

 tribution. 



The devilish ingenuity of the see-saw 

 shipping system from a wholesaler's 

 standpoint is apparent at a glance. Sup- 

 pose he is receiving this week a certain 

 lot of stock for which he has orders next 

 week, but, his returns being lower than 

 his competitor's, his supply is cut down 

 and his customers are disappointed, 

 while his competitor may or may not 

 have a market for his increased receipts. 



I am opposed to the see-saw shipping 

 system. It is ingenious, but it is not 

 based on sound business principles. 

 Business relations wherein one individual 

 represents another necessitate mutual 

 confidence. Mutual confidence is an im- 

 possibility under the see-saw system of 

 shipping. Reliability is as essential in 

 a wholesaler as it is in a retailer, and 

 reliability is impossible in a wholesaler 

 who is not in close touch with his 

 growers. 



I have dwelt at length on this point 

 because it is of vital interest. The evil 

 is small as yet, but it must be checked. 



