JCLy 1,1, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 





only as long as it appears to them to be 

 worth while to do so. After they think 

 they have satisfied you so that you will 

 trust them they begin to be slow pay, 

 and if you are not careful the account 

 soon amounts to several hundred dollars. 

 This all occurs in a short time. Natur- 

 ally you have a limit on your customer; 

 however, one has run over his limit. 

 You press him for a settlement; no at- 

 tention is paid to your demands; you 

 bring suit, with the usual result — no as- 

 sets, everything liabilities; you lose the 

 account and are out your attorney's fee, 

 costs, etc. 



Therefore sharp collections reduce the 

 percentage of losses and the expense of 

 running a business, and increase sales. 



A retail store should make its collec- 

 tions like a wholesale house, but the 

 method of work is different in different 

 stores. The whole matter of collections, 

 even more than that of making credits, 

 depends upon a store's class of patrons. 

 A wealthy patronage needs an entirely 

 different and much less strenuous collec- 

 tion system than do customers who be- 

 long to the less wealthy classes. 



A Frequent Mistake. 



A mistake the average florist frequent- 

 ly makes is this, that after taking an or- 

 der he neglects to ask, ' ' Shall I make 

 this a cash purchase!" Let your cus- 

 tomer advise you if it is to be charged. 

 Many cash sales are lost in not making 

 this inquiry instead of, "Shall I charge 

 this?" 



In conclusion I will say that the gen- 

 eral idea of the public is that the florist 

 has enormous profits. This is frequently 

 expressed, and should it ever be brought 

 up with you be ready with a good, 

 strong negative answer. I do not know 

 of any business man who devotes so 

 many hours to his business as the florist 

 and gets so little out of it. Other mer- 

 chants devote eight to ten hours to busi- 

 ness, can arrange a half holiday Satur- 

 day and are able to observe Sunday with- 

 out being disturbed. The florist is never 

 don^ nor do I believe he would if he 

 could. 



BEGONIA WORTHIANA. 



The great value and possibilities of 

 Begonia Worthiana are apparently not 

 yet fully recognized, says an English 

 contemporary, for, although the plant is 

 becoming more widely cultivated for 

 bedding purposes, its good qualities en- 

 titles it to special notice for other deco- 

 rative uses. 



tor filling hanging baskets in sunny 

 situations this begonia is unsurpassed, 

 its floriferousness being remarkable. The 

 bright display of orange-scarlet* blos- 

 soms, contrasted with the narrow green 

 foliage, renders it conapicuous. For con- 

 servatory decoration B. Worthiana is 

 splendid, but the plants should be given 

 full advantage of a sunny position, and 

 be well treated as regards soil, potting, 

 etc., it being practically impossible to 

 overpot. We have made a feature, too, 

 of growing these plants in window-boxes, 

 especially where the aspect is south or 

 southwest, using white-flowered or white- 

 foliaged plants as an edging, and the 

 masses of fiery flowers are exquisitely 

 set off by the fringe of white. Those 

 who have not tried B. Worthiana for 

 this purpose will be surprised at the 

 superb picture produced, especially as 

 the plants have a long season of flower- 

 ing. 



B, Worthiana is a sport from the B. 



.•«»/* 











t^^ ^^ 





Kuroki's Wreath of Jasmine. 



Boliviensis, the first of that group of 

 tuberous species which has combined to 

 make the present-day begonias the glo- 

 rious race they are. The usual method 

 of propagation is by cuttings, which can 

 be rooted easily in an ordinary green- 

 house at any time during spring and 

 summer; the cuttings strike as readily as 

 tho^ of ^brous varieties, and as the 

 plants are naturally bushy in habit, one 

 can soon secure a good stock from a few 

 strong plants. Another effective mode 

 of increase is by cutting the tubers. 

 These should be allowed to start into 

 growth in spring," and when the shoots 

 are an inch high the operation may be 

 performed, using a sharp knife and cut- 

 ting the tubers in sections with one shoot 

 attached to each. They should then be 

 potted, using 3-inch pots, and placed in 

 a warm house, where they will speedily 

 form new roots and make splendid plants 

 by bedding time. 



Then there is the question of raising 

 plants from seed, and perhaps my expe- 

 rience on this point may lie of interest. 

 B. Worthiana has many times been de- 



scribed as producing no seed, but such 

 statements have been erroneous. The 

 chief point is that the blossoms are not 

 pollinated, unless the work is done by the 

 hand of the florist. When fertilized with 

 pollen the blossoms quickly fall, and the 

 seed-pots (which otherwise fall off) rap- 

 idly swell up, and in the space of three 

 or four weeks they ripen a splendid crop 

 of seed. The seed, as I have proved, 

 germinates exceedingly well, but the 

 later results are not so satisfactory, for 

 the plants are not so vigorous as those 

 from cuttings, neither do they form so 

 large a tuber, but as a means of obtain- 

 ing a large stock of plants seed raising 

 has certain advantages. 



WiLLMAR, Minn. — George Irving has 

 sold his interest in the business of 

 George Irving & Co. to W. I. Phare. 



LOGANSPORT, IsD.—C. F. Markert, who 

 has been erecting a range of green- 

 houses for forcing vegetables at his home 

 on College Hill, has almost completed 

 the work. 



