December 20, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



339 



Christmas Preparations. 



There should be nothing left undone 

 that can possibly be done to prepare 

 for the Christmas trade, which from all 

 signs is going to be a merry time for 

 all and- a specially busy time for all flo- 

 rists. As a rule shoppers buy toys, books 

 and all other articles that will keep 

 ahead of time, but they put off till 

 the last few days all purchases in our 

 line. The rush comes the last two days, 

 in spite of all we can do, and three 

 weeks' honest work must be crowded 

 into forty-e%ht hours. So be prepared 

 with ev^rj_ facility at hand. 



A sufficient number of plants of each 

 kind should be trimmed and decorated. 

 It is only in our largest cities that the 

 basket arrangements of plants meet with 

 a rea!dy sale, but a few of different 

 designs should be on display, wherever 

 you are, and if they sell it is easy to 

 make up more. Last week's Review 

 contained many examples of such ar- 

 rangements, and these can be varied to 

 a great extent. If our goods could be 

 packed up and put on the shelf for 

 future customers, as most of the articles 

 handled by a department store can be, 

 how simple, it seems, would our business 

 be! 



Alas, we can do no such thing. If a 

 customer wants a dozen fine carnations 

 or roses, you must show them a vase of 

 100 and the dozen will be selected out 

 of the lot, and a box ready-lined should 

 be on hand, with suitable paper and 

 other frills that go along with the 

 flowers in these up-to-date days. Have 

 plenty of boxes ready, paper of all 

 qualities, string, etc., so that the least 

 possible delay may occur. This Christ- 

 mas is likely to be as this day has been 

 for years — a plant festival. 



This exchange of gifts at Christmas 

 time has become a greafcwfad; especially 

 is it a burden to grandpas, and yet we 

 florists are the last who should say aught 

 against it.y~~it^ is beautiful in every 

 way. There are just two things that 

 can be given to anyone without the 

 slightest suspicion that anything serious 

 is meant, and they are a beautiful book 

 or a pretty plant or box of flowers. 



Don't Ovcrtrim. 



The writer is not a believer in the 

 overtrimming of plants. You cannot en- 

 hance the beauty of a plant by tiny 

 bells or rosettes of ribbon. The plant 

 is beauty enough in itself, or should be. 

 Make the receptacle in which it comes 

 as decorative as you like, but don't 

 smother the growing plant with inani- 

 mate, lifeless material; but please your 

 customer's taste, whatever it may be. 

 The writer can remember the day when 

 it was thought not improper to send out 

 a plant as a gift with ^ the bare, un- 

 adorned red pot. That 'would not do 

 nowadays with the cheapest purchase. 

 Some green and white tii^sue paper must 

 envelope the pot of a humble primrose, 

 while a pan of poinsettias or azaleas 

 may have all the frills that your cus- 

 tomer is willing to pay for. 



This expense is not often of cost to 

 the florist. It can and should be at the 

 expense of the customer, and there is a 

 margin of profit in the mat or pot cover 

 that goes with the plant. It may be 

 necessary with those who do a retail 

 business entirely to display every plant 

 ready for delivery. Those who have 

 greenhouses a|t their backs have a great 

 advantage on such occasions. They can 

 have a sufficient quantity of plants ready 

 for sale and delivery, and a lot more in 

 the greenhouse that can be trimmed up 

 as soon as sold. 



The Division of Labor. 



Let me remind you that, whether you 

 have greenhouses adjoining your sales- 

 room, or only a shop, you should under 

 all circumstances have a counter, base- 



Gladiolus Harvard* 



ment, upstairs room or some place de- 

 voted exclusively to the trimming, tying 

 up and delivery of the plants. To mix 

 this up with the selling or waiting on 

 customers is a fatal mistake. Different 

 men are suitable for different jobs. I 

 have known men who were excellent 

 salesmen, who could satisfactorily wait 

 on three customers at the same time, but 

 when it came to getting off a load of 

 plants were lost. So study just what 

 your help is best at and let each one 

 stick to his part. 



Handling the Orders. 



If you have greenhouses, clear out a 

 house, or part of one, and let there be a 

 space devoted to Sunday, Monday and 

 Christmas day deliveries, and let each 

 salesman be instructed to place each 

 plant in the division set apart for that 

 day. When a purchaser buys only one 

 article', or maybe two, I see no difficulty, 

 but when there is an azalea, an orange 

 tree, a bunch of stevia and a dozen 

 roses, the cut flowers are liable to be 

 forgotten or a long special journey made 

 for their delivery. Therefore, on every 

 tag should be written all that is going 

 to that person's home. For instance, it 

 may read: "^Mrs. W. Jennings Rich- 

 ards, two holly wreaths, one pan poinset- 

 tias, one pan Roman hyacinths and one 

 dozen Enchantress carnations. ' ' If this 

 is faithfully called out, not only will the 

 delivery boy not leave before the order 

 is complete, but it will save a lot of 

 vexation to both ends of the business. 



Careful Routing Needed. 



I have had occasion before to men- 

 tion the great importance of a good 

 routing clerk, a man who knows the city 

 well. Department stores doubtless have 

 this down fine, but we so seldom get such 

 a widespread delivery as these occasions 

 require. Divide your delivery into dif- 

 ferent sections of the city. People are 

 good-natured at this time of the year, 

 but there are a lot of cranks still on 

 the earth and everyone considers his the 

 most important order given to the firm. 

 When the telephone rings at 8 p. m. 

 and says that "This is Mrs. Jones; 

 where is that azalea that you promised 

 to deliver before 6 p. m.," it causes 

 gray hair to come and wears on your 

 vitality. It behooves you to organize 

 your force to the very best of your 

 ability. William Scott. 



GLADIOLUS HARVARD. 



The accompanying illustration is from 

 a photograph of the latest novelty in 

 gladioli. The variety, named Harvard, 

 originated by Mr. Tracy, is to be intro- 

 duced by W. W. Rawson & Co,, Boston. 

 It is described as the largest and richest- 

 colored gladiolus thus far introduced. 

 The color is a rich, velvety maroon 

 slightly flushed dark scarlet and is ex- 

 pected to make Princeps take a back seat. 

 In size the flower is among the largest 

 known, the spikes often measuring seven 

 inches across and not many of them less 

 than six inches. The plant is a tall 

 grower, the stems straight but not stiff 

 and are lined with eight to fifteen flowers 

 and buds. Six to ten open flowers usu- 

 ally appear at the same time. The flow- 

 ers do not interfere with each other, as 

 in some of the older types, and the 

 undeveloped buds will open perfectly 

 after the spike is cut. 



GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. 



Should I syringe the carnations and 

 roses on all bright days to prevent red 

 spider? Is fumigating with tobacco 

 stems, or spraying with a solution of 

 nicotine, the best remedy for greenfly, 

 and about how often should it be used? 

 The leaves on my Ponderosa lemons curl 

 up and fall off. What is the cause; also 

 oranges and crotons? E. H. O. 



Roses should be syringed on all bright 

 mornings and always early enough to 

 allow time for the foliage to dry. I 

 know one or two growers who syringe 



