Sfu-tembeb 20, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



JU9 



MARKETING AT 



WHOLESALE..... 



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Not an Academic Question. ' ' 



The subject assigned to the essayists, 

 namely, * ' The Best Method of Market- 

 ing the Product of the Wholesale Plant 

 and FloAver Growers, ' ' is the one of 

 many that has in all probability caused 

 many a grower to "pause, ponder and 

 reflect. ' ' Strictly speaking — and in the 

 words of the sage of Princeton, "It is 

 not a theory, it is a condition that con- 

 fronts the grower." 



How best to market one's product is 

 in no wise an academic question, nor is 

 it one to be answered by an essayist in 

 a manner satisfactory alike to all grow- 

 ers. 



The subject, old and hackneyed though 

 it is, lends itself nevertheless to a deal 

 of serious thought and honest reflection. 

 Since time immemorial, down to the 

 present day, market conditions, the law 

 of supply and demand, the merit of the 

 product itself and a multitude of other 

 reasons, both local and general, have 

 been largely responsible for the va- 

 rious methods employed in marketing 

 products. 



Superior Product Sure of Market. 



The manufacturer producing an article 

 of superior merit need not rack his 

 brains about devising methods of mar- 

 keting it. He is sure of his market, de- 

 spite the most ingenious methods em- 

 ployed by the host of his competitors to 

 undermine his chances. His success is 

 assured not because of some invisible, 

 lucky star in the heavens above, as 

 some are prone to think, but because 

 of an earnest, honest and conscientious 

 effort on his own part to achieve his 

 success and to base it upon true merit, 

 on this earth below. This is certain. 



After all, what is success? Perhaps 

 this question can best be answered in 

 the words of Taine. Says the eminent 

 Frenchman: "Success and failure are 

 products, like vitriol and sugar." No 

 methods, be they ■ ever so clever and in- 

 genious, can possibly win, unless founded 

 upon true merit. 



Approaching the subject from a nearer 

 viewpoint, we can easily point out a 

 number of growers who have achieved 

 success, who have created a demand and 

 a market for their product by the simple 

 method of producing goods of superior 

 quality. I lay stress upon the words 

 simple method because the simplest 

 methods are invariably the straightest 

 and the surest in the end. It is a mat- 

 ter of record that high grade stock, be 

 it roses, carnations or chrysanthemums, 

 coming into our markets, is the first to 

 leave the commission man's place, is 

 the first to be disposed of by the retailer, 

 that the so-called seconds are next in 

 line, while flowers of an inferior quality 

 and of questionable age either find their 

 place in the waste barrel or else are 

 offered to the public by the street ven- 



A paper by S. S. Skldelsky. prepared In re- 

 sponse to the W. F. Kastlng prize offer, but ex- 

 ceedlnK the limit In length, and withdrawn from 

 competltton. 



der at 10 cents per, or three dozen for 

 a quarter. "What is the result? It is 

 simply this: The man producing goods 

 of quality has at the same time evolved 

 a splendid method of marketing his 

 product, while he who lacks in the qual- 

 itative attribute stares failure in the 

 face, pondering all the while upon means 

 and ways and the best methods to "un- 

 load." 



Selling Inferior Stock. 



' ' To unload ' ' — it would be hard to 

 find another word in the English com- 

 mercial vocabulary that is fraught with 

 such sinister meaning alike to the pub- 



date methods employed in marketing or 

 unloading such products, as a matter 

 of course "the best that ever came out 

 of a seed pod." How alluring the ad- 

 vertisements, how convincing indeed! 

 And what are the results? How many 

 of these "breadwinners" have stood the 

 test of time? How many have proved 

 meritorious enough to be worthy of a' 

 second year's trial? 



One can easily count them on his fin- 

 gers with some fingers to spare. What 

 is wanted is less of the unloading pro- 

 clivities and more of the genuine, old- 

 fashioned honesty. There is no question, 

 however, but that we are making rapid 

 strides along the highway of progress, 

 both material and moral. The day is 

 well-nigh drawing to a close — and let Us 

 hope never to return — when questionable 

 means were regarded as the alpha and 

 omega of success. Experience has 

 taught us to take broader views and to 

 follow straighter paths. 



Sound Business Methods Best. 

 But to return to the subject under 



S. S. Skidelsky. 



lie and to the one who bears the imme- 

 diate or ultimate weight of its burden. 

 To the former it means a bad bargain, 

 dear at any price, while to the latter 

 it means both financial loss in the end, 

 plus loss of reputation almost at the 

 start. 



Thus both are the losers, the heavier 

 one, however, being he with the ' ' unload- 

 ing" tendencies uppermost in his mind. 



The history of our carnation seedlings 

 during the last decade amply illustrates 

 my idea. Who will question the up-to- 



consideration. Granted that the best 

 method of marketing one 's product is 

 to be sought for and found in the green- 

 house itself, the question nevertheless 

 arises, how should the grower attend to 

 both ends of his business? 



While it is undeniably true that by 

 "one's deeds one shall be judged"; 

 in other words, that the quaifity of a 

 grower's stock, coupled with his own 

 honesty, reliability and business integ- 

 rity, will soon win him a host of buyers, 

 the fact must not be overlooked that 



