926 



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The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



August 30, 1906. 



pieces which signify much more than is 

 found in our ordinary run of baskets, 

 wreaths, pillows, etc. 



Store An-aosement 



Great improvement has been noticed in 

 late years in the arrangement of the 

 flower stores. It is essential that the 

 arrangement "of the up-to-date flower 

 store be such that it is just a trifle be- 

 yond the finest customer who enters, if it 

 is to elicit, particularly from the femi- 

 nine flower expert, admiration, respect 

 and, last but not least, patronage. Ham- 

 pers and baskets, also vases and boxes 

 of flowers, are at all times in plain 

 view, and present suggestions and ideas 

 to any one entering. Oftentimes many 

 of these arrangements go to waste, but 

 they give prestige to the retailer who 

 has energy enough to gain ideas and pre- 

 sent them to his customers in a practical 

 manner. An apology is no longer a 

 necessity in the flower business as it was 

 years ago. Suitable stock can be had at 

 all times, though of course this varies 

 with the season. The store man, who 

 takes it for granted that a customer 

 should know without being shown how to 

 use flowers, is lost. It takes constant 

 arrangement and a lot of new ideas to 

 please the better class of trade. It was 

 but a few years back that all customers 

 looked alike to the clerk as they entered 

 the store toom. It is now necessary to 

 grasp the idea of catering to different 

 •'lasses of people. The rich, the poor, 

 the artistic, those of poor taste, those 

 who want a lot for their money, those 

 who want only the best, arranged in the 

 most artistic manner, those who want 

 certain color combinations, these quali- 

 ties must all be grasped at a glance by 

 the clerk, or he will lose many a cus- 

 tomer who would have been well satis- 

 tied had the former been a judge of hu- 

 man nature. The clerk no longer presents 

 his wares in the timid way of years gone 

 bv; he knows the value of his stock and 



a more expensive plant carelessly ar- 

 ranged. 



Better Transportation Facilities. 



One of the most recent improvements 

 the retailer has is the great network of 

 interurban systems which is being built 

 throughout the country. This is par- 

 ticularly true of my own state, Indiana. 

 The close proximity of the greenhouse 

 and the store, due to the electric lines, 

 makes it possible for the retailer to have 

 fresh stock at all times. There is no 

 longer room for old stock, as this is 

 many times due to carelessness in order- 

 ing. It only takes a telephone call, and 

 fresh flowers will be on hand in a few 

 hours, whereas in years gone by large 

 amounts had to be ordered at one time. 



New Views Taken by the Public. 



As we all know, the day of the stereo- 

 typed flower piece is a thing of the past. 

 The florist now confines his funeral work 

 almost entirely to baskets, bunches, 

 wreaths and blankets. The view is now 

 takeu by those who are accustomed to 

 buying fiowers that offerings are sent 

 to lighten the suffering of the bereaved, 

 not to make it look more funereal. As 

 many colors are used as is consistent 

 witli ^ood taste. 



The general public now appreciates 

 the various flower seasons. They under- 

 stand that ciirysanthemums are not to 

 be had in March or Alpine violets in 

 July. They look for the store man to 

 have select, seasonable stock on hand at 

 all times. It is possible for him to keep 

 things moving briskly almost the entire 

 year. The dull summer season is not 

 nearly what it used to be, and the ener- 

 getic tradesman can make much of it by 

 handling and arranging the choicest ob- 

 tainable stock. Seasonable novelties are 

 now always sought for in the flower 

 shops. Small turkeys, ducks, and various 

 novelties must be on hand at Thanks- 

 giving. Chimes, bells, wreaths, sleighs. 



House Built by W. W. Coles, Kokomo, Ind. 



is not to be bluffed by any customer, 

 but stands firmly with any position he 

 may take. 



Advantage is now taken of the possi- 

 bilities of each plant; a ribbon bow or 

 cord placed in the proper manner and to 

 the advantage of tne plant, a pot cover 

 in perfect harmony, a bit of moss or a 

 little foliage, enhances the value from 

 ten to fifty per cent. It is the neat and 

 natty plant or flower that attracts and 

 sells quicker and at a better figure than 



etc., must lie on hand for Christmas, and 

 so on for every festive period. The 

 public has learned to know that the 

 flower shop is the proper place to obtain 

 novelties which are not to be had else- 

 where. 



Flowers are no longer offered in re- 

 ceptacles which were formerly supposed 

 to heighten the beauty of the contents 

 by contrast with their shabbiness. The 

 grower now affords good glass vases and 

 his swell brother, the retailer, finer 



articles, not excluding cut glass, or 

 precious metals. .. >.. '. ^ 



Better System Used. 



The growth of the retailer has been 

 such that the modus operandi is pat- 

 terned after the larger department 

 stores, and matters are systemized so 

 that, for instance, an employee ^o sup- 

 posedly does nothing but wait on cus- 

 tomers does not hide the broom or 

 emerge from the cellar looking as if ho 

 had been in an encounter with the coal 

 pile or moss bin. 



The use of the telephone, long distance 

 and local, in offering flowers is increas- 

 ing with the enlightenment of the public 

 in regard to them. A fair estimate of 

 the amount sold in this manner is forty 

 per cent of the gross sales, so the im- 

 portance of having the phone answered 

 in a proper manner is readily seen. The 

 brainiest, shrewdest, best informed and 

 most resourceful man in the establish- 

 ment is now employed to answer the 

 telephone. The fisherman at the phone 

 must offer the most tempting bait, play 

 with the game, hook the fish, reel it in 

 and place it securely in the net before 

 his work is accomplished. In many in- 

 stances two or three telephones are 

 placed in one store so the impatient 

 customer may not turn to a competitor. 



The art, and it is one, of arranging 

 boxes or select, long-stemmed flowers, 

 skilfully finished with violets, mignon- 

 ette, pansies, and valleys, has now 

 reached the point where to the unin- 

 itiated "Excelsior" need no loBger be 

 proclaimed, it is here where proof of 

 skill, discernment of color and deftness 

 in arrangement are most apparent. 

 Oftentimes choice boxes are lined with 

 silk and the exterior ornamented with 

 bows of ribbon or bunches of violets, 

 valleys and roses, softened with sprays 

 of maidenhair and Farleyense ferns. 

 This perfection in the make-up of cut 

 flower boxes is one wo may justly feel 

 proud of. For the custom of sending 

 fine boxes of beautuul flowers, like the 

 American Beauty, gained prominence 

 with us — the Americans. 



A COLES HOUSE. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 the interior of one of the new houses 

 built by W. W. Coles, Kokomo, Ind. 

 The house is 31x300 and was photo- 

 graphed before the glass was in the 

 walls and before the benches were built. 

 It is the King trussed construction, with 

 cement walls three feet high, and four 

 feet of glass, the plate supports being 

 iron. The house is tied together by 

 cross wires which remove the side pres- 

 sure on the posts and the trussed purlin 

 does away with the need for purlin 

 posts. 



Watertown, Conn. — The new green- 

 house at Dr. Jackson's sanitarium has 

 been completed. 



Philadelphia, Va.— H. M. Dilks is 

 planning the erection of a house 16x7;") 

 at Twentieth and Atlantic streets. 



Decatur, III. — The Illinois Central 

 has begun work on a small park, to take 

 the place of an unsightly vacant lot 

 to the east of the depot. 



Red Lake FalIs, Minn. — The House- 

 keepers' Club is nolding a flower show, 

 to last two days, August 30 (today) and 

 31. The proceeds go to the public book 

 fund. 



