156 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Dkckmbkk (}, 15)06. 



rectors of the league that this system, 

 which has jtroved such a decided success 

 in the seed trade, ouglit with equal suc- 

 cess to be extended to embrace the allied 

 florists ' trade, and to work just as satis- 

 factorily for them as it does for the 

 seedsmen; that its work covering both 

 of these somewhat related trades ought 

 to make it more valuable to the members 

 of each. And in this connection 1 may 

 say that the matter also has been dis- 

 cussed with officers of the American As- 

 sociation of Nurserymen, and it is lfope<l 

 that at no far distant date the bureau 

 will have the cooperation of that trade. 

 Then, with the acceptance of the sug- 

 gestion, that ought to be made, it will 

 thoroughly and comprehensively cover 

 the Avhole of the affiliated lines of flo- 

 rists, seedsmen and nurserymen. 



The suggestion which 1 speak of as re- 

 lating to the florists is an invitation 

 which the Wholesale Seedsmen 's League 

 is about to extend to the Society of 

 American Florists, and through it as an 

 organization to its members individu- 

 ally, to become active users of and co- 

 Avorkers with the Bureau of Credit or 

 the Wholesale Seedsmen 's League ; to 

 make fullest use of its various depart- 

 ments, for the collection of overdue ac- 

 counts and for the prevention of unsat- 

 isfactory ones; for the adjustment of 

 business controversies when its services 

 can be of assistance ; and as a florists ' 

 mercantile agency, just r.s it now acts 

 as a seedsmen's mercantile agency. 



How Collections Are Made. 



As the workings of the Bureau of 

 Credit are unfamiliar to most of the 

 members of the S. A. F. it may not be 

 amiss to say a few words in general ex- 

 ])lanation of them. Perhaps the first and 

 most important province of the bureau 

 is as a trade collection agency. A brief 

 outline of its collection methods will, 1 

 am sure, show why the bureau has proved 

 to be the most thorough, most economi- 

 cal and by far the most effective collec- 

 tion agency in operation today: 



The first step the bureau takes with 

 a debtor is to notify him that unless he 

 pays tlu' overdue account within a speci- 

 fied time his name will be reported to 

 the firms Avhose names appear on the 

 back of that notification sheet, and that 

 those firms will refuse to sell to him ex- 

 cept for cash until the debt is settled 

 and his name reinstated. On the back of 

 this letter appear at present the names 

 of the members of the Wholesale Seeds- 

 men 's League and the American Seed 

 Trade Association, which means practi- 

 cally the whole seed trade; to which list 

 will be added the membership of tlie 

 S. A. F. if favorable action is taken on the 

 suggestion which the league makes. This 

 notification shows a debtor that unless 

 he pays up promptly he is without credit 

 in the trade, as every important firm in 

 the trade Avill be made acquainted with 

 his non-payment. Such a condition is, 

 of course, disastrous to any man who 

 intends to stay in business, and even the 

 hardiest debtor is quick to realize the 

 importance of satisfactorily adjusting 

 the debt then before him, for which 

 he knows he will be reported if he does 

 not pay. In addition to this purely busi- 

 ness rieason for paying an account so 

 discussed, there is in every man a moral 

 objection to being made known to a 

 whole tra<le as a man who refuses fi^^y 

 his honest debts; who is to be avoided 

 as a customer and not to be trusted ; 

 and this purely psychological effect of 

 the bureau 's demand letter has in more 



thnn oi e cite been sufficient to bring 

 settlement from a man who was abso- 

 lutely uncollectible by any legal process. 

 The fee on collection made through 

 the demand letter and resulting corre- 

 spondence is five per cent of the amount 

 collecte<l, or just one-half of what is 

 charged by any other reputable collec- 

 tion agency. When one considers that 

 fifty per ' cent of the dead accounts 

 which the bureau collects are gotten 

 througli this department, he can see what 

 a saving to members this means. 



In addition to the demand depart- 

 ment the bureau maintains a fully 

 equipped attorney's department; for, as 

 potent as is the demand letter and its 

 followers, it is frequently necessary to 

 resort to more drastic measures. When 

 a debtor fails to reply satisfactorily to 

 the demand letter the member is notified 

 of the fact and advised that with his 

 consent the case will be put in the at- 

 torney 's department, which will have an 

 attorney at the debtor's place act vig- 

 orously, not, however, entering actual 

 suit or incurring expense without specific 

 authority. Through the attorney 's de- 

 partmert of the bureau any account 

 which is collectible by any legal process 

 is collected at the minimum of expense 

 to the member. 



The fees for collecting through the 

 attorney 's department vary from five per 

 cent to ten per cent of the amount col- 

 lected, depending upon the size of the 

 claim. All collection fees, however, are 

 entirely contingent, no charges being en- 

 tered where an actual collection is not 

 made. 



To sum up in a few words: I am sure 

 that every one who is familiar with the, 

 work of the Bureau of Credit will agree 

 that as a trade mercantile and protect-' 

 ive credit agency it is in advance of 

 any movement there is in operation to- 

 day. Five years of actual work among 

 the seedsmen have proved conclusively 

 its superiority to any other collection 

 system; and there isn't any doubt that 

 the movement will work just as success- 

 fully and advantageously among the flo- 

 rists, whose interests are allied to the 

 seedsffien 's. The florists ' trade needs 

 huch an organization just as much as did 

 the seed trade before the establishment 

 of tlie present bureau, and the bureau is 

 willing to offer its splendid facilities to 

 the florists to fill that need. The bureau 

 is thoroughly organized, legally incorpo- 

 rated under the laws of the state of 

 West Virginia, with a special provision 

 in its charter to conduct a full mercan- 

 tile and collection agency, and by rea- 

 son of its covering of the combined field 

 of florists, seed growers and seed dealers, 

 can work more eftectually for the florists 

 than wouhl even a like bureau organized 

 in this particular trade, limiting its 

 scope to just the one line of business. 



How Florists May Participate. 



Before the individual members of the 

 S. A. F. can avail themselves of the 

 Bureau of Credit it will be necessary for 

 the .society as such to go through the 

 formality of becoming a member of the 

 Wholesalf* Seedsmen 's League. This 

 formality is easily arranged. The one 

 expense the society would be put to 

 would be yearly dues of $25 as a stock- 

 holder of the Wholesale Seedsmen's 

 League. After the action outlined had 

 been taken the members of the S. A. F. 

 woulJ be entitled to the use of the bu- 

 reau with full privileges of all its de- 

 part ,ients, those so (lesiring receiving 

 the notification .sheets of delinquent, un- 



desirable and unworthy buyers in both 

 the florists' and seed trade, having at 

 their disposal the mercantile agency fa- 

 cilities of the bureau for obtaining spe- 

 cial reports on concerns desiring credit 

 at their hands. Each member so making 

 use of the bureau, and receiving its ben- 

 efits, would be asked to subscribe $10 

 per year toward the actual expenses of 

 maintaining the bureau ; which, being 

 conducted on co-operative lines, is not 

 self-supporting. This is exactly the ar- 

 rangement under which the Bureau of 

 Credit works with the members of the 

 American Seed Trade Association, and 

 which has proved so eminently satisfac- 

 tory to them. I might say here that the 

 balance of the expense of maintaining 

 the bureau above these subscriptions and 

 collection fees is borne by the members 

 of the Wholesale Seedsmen 's League and 

 amounts to considerably more than $10 

 per year for each member. 



The Present Sponsers. 



In closing I Avould call yotti" attention 

 especially to the fact that the Bureau 

 of Credit is distinctively a trade fac- 

 tor, vouched for by the most important 

 firms in the seed trade. Take for in- 

 stance its present board of directors: 

 1'. W. Bruggerhoff, president J. M. Thor- 

 burn & Co., New York; Charles H. 

 Breck, president Joseph Breck & Sons, 

 Boston; Jerome B. Eice, of J. B. Kice 

 Seed Co., Cambridge, N. Y.; W. Atlee 

 Burpee, of W. A. Burpee & Co., Phila- 

 delphia; Burnett Landreth, of D. Lan- 

 <lreth Seed Co., Bristol, Pa.; L. L. May, 

 of L. L. May & Co., St. Paul, Minn.; 

 S. F. Willard, of Comstock, >erre & Co., 

 Wethersfield, Conn.; Albert McCullough, 

 of J. M. McCullough Sons Co., Cincin- 

 nati. 



I am sure the fact that the bureau is 

 under the direct supervision of these men 

 will sufficiently indicate its character and 

 that steps soon will be taken to bring 

 about co-operation between all branches 

 of the trade. In fact, I feel sure that 

 the facilities of the bureau thus being 

 open to the florists will be an added, in- 

 ducement to florists doing a wholesale 

 business to keep up their membership in 

 the S. A. F. 



ROMNEYA COULTEEI. 



Those who are not conversant with 

 Komneya Coulteri should lose no time in 

 procuring it, choosing a suitable site, and 

 growing it well. It is the magnificence 

 of its blossoms individually rather than 

 the number it produces at one time that 

 renders the plant so interesting, and 

 blooms seven inches in diameter are com- 

 mon on vigorous plants. The pure .white, 

 crinkled petals, set off in the center by 

 a deep yellow mass of anthers, have a 

 pleasing appearance, and like all poppies, 

 the blooms suddenly burst into full 

 beauty, especially during a bright, morn- 

 ing. The perfume, too, is distinct and 

 pleasing, quite different from the ordi- 

 nary aroma emitted by the papaver 

 family. 



Plants should be procured established 

 in pots, as they are impatient of root 

 disturbance; turn them out carefully, 

 and dp riot plant too deep, pressing the 

 soil firmly about the roots and keeping it 

 moist until growth is fairly on the way, 

 when abundance of moisture, both over 

 the leaves after a hot day and at the 

 roots will create a luxuriant growth, 

 without which it is useless to expect good 

 flowers. 



Mulchings of horse manure aid growth 

 l)y feeding the roots and conserving 



