January 17, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



615 



House 50x300 of the F. R. Pierson Co.. Scarboro, N. Y., with Winsor Carnation in Solid Beds. 



were picked; in December, 20,000, and 

 it is figured January will give 30,000. 

 The yield at present for these 12,000 

 plants averages 1,000 blooms a day. It 

 apparently is not a cropper. It brought 

 $20 per hundred wholesale at Christ- 

 mas and now averages from $8 to $12. 



Because this house has solid beds it 

 must not be inferred that the Pierson 

 Co. either argues in favor of this sys- 

 tem or that Winsor is particularly sus- 

 ceptible to its advantages, for in one 

 of the other large houses mentioned it 

 is shown grown on benches and looks 

 just as well. Tor instance, the plants 

 on one elevated bench were from 2^4- 

 inch pots and planted August 1. Flow- 

 ers were gathered from these in Octo- 

 ber and there is a fine crop now on. 

 This particular bench is the wonder 

 and admiration of all visitors. 



Winsor made a hit at the fall shows 

 and will be much in evidence at Toron- 

 to next week. It looks a good thing 

 and will be widely tried next season. 



THE TORONTO CONVENTION. 



The Event of the Carnation Year. 



Next week the greatest event of the 

 year as regards the carnation industry 

 takes place at Toronto. It would be 

 diflScult to estimate in dollars and cents 

 what this annual event is worth to the 

 carnation industry and, in fact, to the 

 whole floricultural world. Its influ- 

 ence is felt in every branch of the 

 business, and especially does it directly 

 benefit the locality in which the conven- 

 tion is held. Nothing will bring this 



flower before the public as do these ex- 

 hibitions; and in every case a larger 

 demand for high grade blooms follows. 

 The sacrifices and expenses incurred by 

 any florists' club or society in entertain- 

 ing this society is quickly repaid in that 

 way. There is no movement that can be 

 and deserves more universal support 

 from the whole craft than does this 

 society. All benefit in about the same 

 degree and, being national in extent, 

 local jealousies are more easily kept in 

 the background than in the case of local 

 exhibitions. 



Personal Benefit. 



Just how much you benefit by its 

 work and influence will depend, in a 

 large measure, on your own efforts. No 

 man gains prominence by sitting back 

 and folding his hands. The men who 

 gain prominence are those who take 

 active part in whatever is doing and are 

 always ready and willing, and it is 

 prominence that draws business. It 

 makes no difference whether you are 

 grower, Retailer or commission man; 

 whenever your patrons recognize the fact 

 that you are prominent in your profes- 

 sion, they gain respect for you and, 

 other things being equal, they will trade 

 with you in preference to your less 

 prominent competitor. You don't need 

 to be president, either, but it is a good 

 idea to be pres-ent. 



If you are in a little town and your 

 townsmen hear that you traveled a thou- 

 sand miles to attend the convention they 

 will sit up and take notice. We have 

 members in our state society who de- 

 clare that the fact that they come to 

 our city and occasionally win a premium. 



causes their city to feel that they are 

 about the whole show, and trade fol- 

 lows. 



Make an Exhibit. 



If you have some good stock take 

 some along and see how it compares 

 with the best there is, and show others 

 what you can do. It will be a great 

 satisfaction to yourself if it grades up 

 to the best, and will win you respect 

 from the others. If you have a pet 

 seedling of your own, and I'll guaran- 

 tee that you have, you can find out 

 whether it will "trot" or not. If it is 

 a crackerjack you will be able to con- 

 firm your good opinion. 



Just how full developed the blooms 

 should be when you pack them up will 

 depend somewhat on the distance you 

 have to ship them. If the distance is 

 short they can be cut quite full when 

 they are packed, but if shipped a long 

 distance you would better allow for de- 

 velopment on the way. A fully de- 

 veloped bloom will suffer much more 

 in transit than a young bloom and there 

 is considerable development during a 

 two-days ' journey. 



Be sure the blooms are in good ship- 

 ping condition. They should be in water 

 several hours before being packed; and 

 do not crowd them in the vases, but al- 

 low each bloom to stand out separate, 

 so it can develop all around. Try to 

 have your blooms reach the show in 

 such condition that they will last 

 through the two days. They may not 

 score quite so high the first day, but if 

 your variety is one of the few that look 

 fresh on the second day it will gain 

 many friends, especially if it is a new 



