• Jp: >.:?■■■ ',^Tr;- 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



SIPTBKBXB 6, 190T. 



iog sjstem of a plant is om the same 

 Uoes as the human syetem, and that a 

 variety of foods will better supply the 

 plant's needs than a surfeit of any one 

 particular thing. 



Liquid from natural manures may also 

 be used too strong. A safe proportion 

 is to use half a bushel of sheep or cow 

 manure, putting this into a sack and let- 

 ting it soak in fifty gallons of water for 

 three or four days. Chicken or pigeon 

 manure is very caustic in its action and 

 should be used in much less proportion. 

 A quarter of a bushel, instead of half a 

 bushel, would be plenty to use. 



Charles H. Tottt. 



APHIS ON MUMS. 



How much water, sulphuric acid and 

 cyanide are required for fumigating for 

 black aphis, without injuring the plants, 

 in an even-span chrysanthemum house 

 .28x180 feet, walls five feet high, twelve 

 feet from floor to ridge! 



The proportions for cyaniding are as 

 follows: One pint of water, one pint of 

 sulphuric acid and two and a half ounces 

 of cyanide of potash to each 1,500 cubic 

 feet of air space. Personally, I have 

 never had to use it on mums, as I have 

 always found tobacco dust euflScient for 

 any insects that I have had to contend 

 with. C. H. T. 



NEPHROLEPIS GENYII. 



Nephrolepis Genyii is another of the 

 crested forms, the names of which now 

 are legion. This originated last season 



PHILOSOPHY OF VHOLESALING. 



[A paper by C. B. Meeban, read before the 

 Florists' Club of Pblladelpbla, September 3, 

 1907.] 



It has been suggested by a friend that 

 I call this short paper by the above title. 

 I am rather in doubt as to the amount of 

 philosophy contained herein, but, never- 

 theless, we will let the title stand. 



The wholesale florist has, I believe, 

 done more for the advancement of the 

 flower business in general than any other 

 branch of the florists' business. He has 

 been the outlet for the enormous 'quanti- 

 ties of cut flowers which have been com- 

 ing to our large cities and which could 

 not be disposed of, in many^instances, if 

 it were not for him. It is his business 

 to hunt for business wherever he can find 

 it, whether it be in his home town or 

 whether it is 1,000 or more miles away. 

 He has created markets for cut flowers 

 and plants that would have been impos- 

 sible but for his push and energy. His 

 relations to both growers and retailers are 

 of a peculiar character. I have often 

 heard^ it said that he is " between the 

 devil and the deep sea," and I think this 

 is, in a measure, true, as he has a hard 

 time to please both parties. If flowers do 

 not bring as much as the growers think 

 they should, he hears about it, and if 

 they bring good prices, the retailer calls 

 him a robber and other names of like 

 nature, or worse. 



What the Grower Has Gained. 



Now, let us take up this matter from 

 the standpoint of what the grower has 

 gained. In the first place, I think it 

 must be generally admitted that under 



-J. 



Nephrolepis Geoyii. 



with Geny Bros., of Nashville, Tenn. It 

 is a sport from the Pierson fern and it 

 dops not revert, either to the Pierson or 

 the Boston type. The illustration gives 

 a good idea of the character and growth. 

 Messrs. Geny Bros, think they have in 

 ■this novelty one of the best things the 

 «porting proclivities of this nephrolepis 

 have yet produced. 



present conditions there is only one right 

 way to sell flowers and that is through 

 the wholesaler. 



Years ago all t&^ flowers that came to 

 this city were sold direct by the grower 

 to the store men. This was a satisfactory 

 way at that time, but would never do 

 under present conditions. Other and 

 more satisfactory methods have gradu- 



ally been adopted and at this time I can- 

 not recall in our city a single instance of 

 a grower who, having once tried the 

 wholesaler, has gone back to his former 

 ways. This, it would seem to me. i» 

 fairly good evidence that it must be satis- 

 factory to those who try it. 



The reasons for this are many. Ill the 

 first place, whete a man may be the finest 

 kind of a grower, he may be the poorest 

 kind of a Salesman. Also, as before 

 stated, there are so many flowei^s grown 

 around the larger centers, they could not 

 possibly be consumed, but have to go to 

 other points. The wholesaler has created 

 markets and business by his up-to-date 

 methods; he has careful men to handle 

 and pack the stock, storage boxes in 

 which to keep the stock in good condition, 

 proper boxes to pack in, telephones, a 

 place of business close to railroads and 

 express companies, and, in fact, has 

 worked and developed his business until 

 today he is indispensable. He, however, 

 cannot do business unless he has the 

 stock to do it with, whidi means he must 

 give his growers satisfaction. 



I believe if the growers would see their 

 wholesaler more often, see how their stoek 

 arrived from the express company, how 

 it is handled, etc., and keep in closer 

 touch with the wholesaler, it would be to 

 their advantage, as many times flowers 

 which are in seemingly good condition 

 when shipped arrive in bad condition, due 

 to improper packing and other causes 

 which could be remedied, and it does seem 

 too bad that in a few short hours all the 

 work and trouble which has been taken 

 to produce good stock should go for 

 naueht, simply for the want of proper 

 packing, cutting or keeping. Therefore, 

 I say again, Mr. Grower, keep in dose 

 touch with your wholesaler. 



Specialization Pays. 



I also believe in these times of speciali- 

 zation that it will pay the good grower to 

 grow what he can grow best in quantity 

 rather than to grow a number of things 

 indifferently. Get the opinion of your 

 wholesaler on this. He can do better for 

 you if you have a large quantity of first- 

 class stock rather than a number of small 

 lots of poorer stoek. I think this is gen- 

 erally recognized by growers, although 

 some of them still send all kinds to the 

 wholesalers and expect the same results 

 as the man who sends good stock. 



Tt is often said by retailers that the 

 price of flowers is so much higher than it 

 used to be, but do they take into con- 

 sideration that the quality is just as much 

 better? A wholesaler cannot sell the fine, 

 long-stemmed stock of today at the price 

 of ten years ago for short-stemmed stock 

 and please his growejrs. 



In this connection I want to say that 

 the wholesaler is. accused unjustly many 

 times of raising prices unnecessarily, but 

 do his accusers ever stop to think that the 

 law of supply and demand does more to 

 control prices than any wholesaler or com- 

 bination of wholesalers f 



One trouble with a great many of the 

 wholesale man's customers is that they 

 want to be both buyer and seller. ^ I 

 might also say a word in this connection 

 about the retailer who takes advantage of 

 a falling market by not dropping his 

 prices, but that would not be pertinent to 

 the subject, perhaps. 



AdvantagA for Retailers. 



I said, in speaking of the growers, that 

 a wholesaler could not do business unless 

 he has the stock to do it with, nor eould 

 he do business if he had no customers to 

 whom to sell. I do not believe the retail- 



