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Jni-Y 18, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



13 



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^'^ FIRST FLOOR 



BROAD ST. FRONT 



2x4 Jloer. 



Diagram of Floor Space Available for^Trades Display at the S. A. F. Cmvention. 



(David Bust, Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia, la Superintendent.) 



CREDITS AND COLLECTIONS. 



The paper of T. P. Langhans, pub- 

 lished in the Review of July 11, has 

 again called attention to one of the 

 greatest evils whieh besets the florists' 

 business — that of lax credits and lack 

 of system in collections. The house Trhich 

 draws the credit line the sharpest, and 

 which insists on prompt payments wher- 

 ever credit is extended, is not always 

 the one with the largest business, but it 

 is almost invariably the one which shows 

 the best percentage of profits at the 

 end of the year. 



There are two factors which make for 

 loose credits. One of these is increase in 

 competition. A florist, either wholesale 

 or retail, is reluctant to refuse a cus- 

 tomer credit when he is almost certain 

 that his competitor will extend such ac- 

 commodation. Again, florists have been 

 prosperous, and when prosperous they are 

 willing to carry more money on the 

 books than they otherwise would. Neither 

 of these conditions should have any in- 

 fluence. In other lines of business the 

 merchandise is considered as so much 

 cash and much care is exercised in mak- 

 ing credits and collections. For in- 

 stance, the packing house of Swift & Co, 

 employs forty-two people regularly in its 

 Chicago general office in the mere making 

 of credits and collections. 



One by one the Chicago wholesale flo- 

 rists are learning that it is unwise to ex- 

 tend promiscuous and unlimited credit. 



A couple of years ago they organized an 

 association for the purpose of exchang- 

 ing information as to the credit stand- 

 ing of buyers in the Chicago market, but 

 as the management of the association 

 was in the hands of those engaged in the 

 trade it was not as successful as had 

 been hoped. Upon the dissolution of the 

 association the business was turned over 

 to a commercial agency which makes a 

 specialty of florists' credits. Now any 

 wholesaler paying a small annual fee to 

 the agency can call upon it at any time 

 for information with regard to a customer 

 who asks credit or whose account is run- 

 ning dangerously high. The result is a 



considerable saving to those who avail 

 themselves of the facilities offered, and 

 as time goes on the usefulness of the 

 agency will increase. 



In practically every city there is some 

 commercial agency which may be em- 

 ployed In a similar manner. 



MIGNONETTE FOR MARKET. 



Please tell us how to grow mignon- 

 ette for market. I intend to grow it on 

 a side bench, eighteen inches from the 

 glass. The bench is five inches deep. 



C. U. 



Mignonette for early flowering can be 

 sown from July 25 to August 10. "We 

 would suggest August 1 as a good date. 

 This will give you fine spikes by Christ- 

 mas,, This plant succeeds better in solid 

 bed»~than benches, but can be success- 

 fully grown in five inches of soil. It 

 prefers a rich and moderately heavy soil. 

 Sow two or three together, a foot apart 

 each way. Look out for green cater- 

 pillars, which are partial to mignonette 

 foliage. Kill all the white butterflies you 

 see in the house and if you see any 

 leaves attacked, search for the worms 

 at once. A night temperature of 40 de- 

 'grees to 45 degrees, with a rise of a 

 few degrees in the daytime, is suitable. 

 Your bench is a trifle near the glass, ^ut 

 you should be able to get fair spikes 

 from it. I hope no heating pipes are 

 under the benches, mignonette prefer- 

 ring to be cool at the root. There are 

 several fine forcing varieties offered by 

 the vatious seedsmen. C. W. 



OXALIS BRASILIENSIS. 



Whoever has, in a temperate or cold- 

 house, or even in a box, a very sunny 

 place, should not fail, says M. Herb, of 

 iNaples, Italy, to prepare in winter sev- 

 eral pots with bulbs of Oxalis Brasilien- 

 sis. His reward will be a rich flowering 

 during the months of April, May and 

 June. The trefoil-leaves are of a nice, 

 .dark green, and the peduncles bear an 

 umbel of six to eight magnificent purple- 

 crimson flowers, growing up to seven 

 inches in height. If the bulbs, which 

 should be kept dry during the summer, 

 are kept in the same pot for several 

 years, they will form beautiful regular, 

 compact-growing plants. 



Des Moines, Ia. — William Trillow, 

 who has had charge of the greenhouses 

 of the Iowa Seed Co. for several years, 

 has leased the Lambert greenhouses and 

 will engage in business for himself. 



Herrinqton's Mvfclook sent by the 

 Beview for 50 cents. 



Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia. 



(Where the S. A. F Trades Display will be held, Au«rust 20 to 23.) 



