474 



The Weekly Florists' Revfew* 



JANUABY 3, 1907. 



It seems to me, and I say it without 

 any fear or reservation, that some of the 

 best men in our business have but a mis- 

 taken idea as to the duties and obliga- 

 tions they owe to a business house. Just 

 because they see fit to patronize a busi- 

 ness house it does not necessarily follow 

 that they have the right to ignore the 

 business terms, as laid down by that 

 house. 



I do not mean to convey the idea that 

 I am an advocate of ironclad rules, that 

 none but strict conditions should govern 

 all business transactions transpiring be- 

 tween buyer and seller. On the con- 

 trary, I believe in liberal business meth- 

 ods. I believe in liberal business terms. 

 I hold that any man, worthy of credit, 

 is entitled to all due consideration and 

 liberal treatment, but I likewise believe 

 that privileges of this sort should not be 

 abused. 



Resolutions of G-edit Men. 



Assuming, for the sake of argument, 

 that such a thing as a committee of 

 credit men, appointed by, and acting un- 

 der the direct supervision of the Society 

 of American Florists were possible; 

 assuming furthermore, that such a com- 

 mittee had the power to act, to pass 

 judgment and to lay down rules and 

 regulations in all matters pertaining to 

 our business or credit system; would it 

 not appeal to each and every one of us, 

 if this committee saw fit to pass a 

 resolution — something of the following 

 order? 



First. Eesolved, that no business 

 house is worthy of patronage unless it 

 manifests a liberal spirit towards its 

 patrons. 



Second. Eesolved, that no business 

 house need or dare expect the good will 

 of any florist in good standing, unless it 



good standing reserves the right to exact 

 the most liberal terms possible, but, 

 when once agreed upon, such terms are 

 to be honored, not in the breach, but in 

 the observance, and 



Fifth. Be it further resolved, that if 

 any florist finds himself in strained cir- 

 cumstances and is not able to meet his 

 obligations in due time, such florist is 

 obliged to write and explain matters to 

 his creditors, said creditors to make all 

 due allowances and to show all due con- 

 sideration aa the case might warrant. 



The Florist and the **Four Hundred." 



One of our greatest shortcomings in 

 the regulation of our credit system, it 

 seems to me, Ues in the fact of our very 

 loose methods in dealing with the "four 

 hundreds" of our towns.. It is a matter* 

 of record that society folks, while in no- 

 wise backward in following the dictates 

 of fashion, are decidedly so in paying 

 their flower bills. 



It is not unusual to hear that, Mr. 

 So-and-So, a prominent man about town, 

 occupying a magnificent mansion, driving 

 fast horses, or a $5,000 automobile, has 

 not paid his flower bill since "June, a 

 year ago." 



Nor is it out of the ordinary to learn 

 that Mme. Blanc, who gave Mr. Florist 

 a carte blanche order some ten months 

 ago, has left for the seashore, the moun- 

 tains, or for Europe without giving her 

 flower bill the least thought. "Of 

 course," Mr. Florist tells us, "the 

 money is good, and it won't do at all 

 to send a second bill, much less to press 

 for a settlement." Mr. So-and-So or 

 Madame Blanc might feel offended. No, 

 it won't do at all! 



Then, there is another reason to be 

 considered. There is a competitor around 

 the corner who is just looking for the 



W^hite Form of the Lorraine Begonia in a 6-inch Pot. 



shows consideration for and a good will 

 of its own towards its patrons. 



Third. Resolved, that no florist is en- 

 titled to credit and to all advantages ac- 

 cruing therefrom, unless he realizes the 

 need of paying heed to statements, of 

 answering business letters and of honor- 

 ing drafts. 



Fourth. Eesolved, that any florist of 



chance of carrying such accounts on his 

 books for one or two years. 



A Serious Question. 



That our credit system is defective, 

 antiquated and out of accord with our 

 present business conditions is self-evident 

 and need not be dwelt upon at greater 

 length here. Nor is it my object to sug- 



gest any new methods to you or to point 

 out the remedy. I submit this question 

 to your own good judgment and sin- 

 cerely hope that you may give it your 

 earnest and serious consideration. It is 

 a question that concerns us all alike, the 

 wholesaler as well aa the retailer, the 

 man who has already made his start in 

 life as well as the young man who bends 

 all his energies and all his ingenuity 

 towards that end. 



Philadelphia, the horticultural center 

 of the United States, a city whence so 

 many good things have sprung in the 

 past, is preeminently fit to take up the 

 work of reform. And this is a most op- 

 portune time to undertake a work of this 

 sort. 



Our national society meets here in 

 August. There are many good things 

 in store for us, we may be sure of that. 

 Some may tell us something about the* 

 ideal gardener or employer, some about 

 conducting our stores, others about oper- 

 ating our greenhouses with profit. Let 

 us hope that some good soul may tell us 

 how to bring about the much needed re- 

 form in our credit system; a subject 

 well worthy of the earnest consideration 

 of the best men in our society. 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 



Size Up Your Records. 



Again the holiday time, with its hurry 

 and anxieties, its successes or failures, is 

 over and as you settle back to the regu- 

 lar routine work it is well, ere you go to 

 planning for the coming season, to take 

 time to go carefully over your records of 

 cuts, sales, prices received, kinds sold, 

 when the largest crops were on, etc.; in 

 fact, all the different items that, taken 

 together, go to make the complete record 

 by which you can judge of your success 

 or failure, and where you can improve 

 in your methods, where you have made 

 failures or partial successes. Do you 

 find that your records are not complete 

 enough, laclang in one or more things 

 that you would like to know? Then make 

 a New Year's resolve to rectify this and 

 commence at once to keep a record of 

 every item, so that you will have it at 

 your next review, a year hence. 



You see that it is none too early to 

 make this general review of facts, for 

 before you hardly realize it, it will be 

 time to be starting your new stock for 

 next season, and unless you have looked 

 these matters over thoroughly, you will 

 not know which is your most profitable 

 variety, or where your best stock is, or 

 what kind sells best, grows best, etc. 



Violets in Pots. 



Besides having your regular house or 

 houses full for cutting, did you have 

 some nice plants in pots, well established 

 and in full bloom, for the holiday trade? 

 I do not know what your experience 

 may have been, but we have never found 

 anything better than the Lady Hume 

 Campbell for this work, as it stands a 



