«*"^""«"- '■ The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 7 



Peony Boule de Neise. 



iiess I have lionestlj' emleavorod to con- 

 sider the finani'ial obligation to them 

 pven more than my own, so much so tliat 

 while the above })ercentage Of increase 

 has been made since Mr. ])ah>'s death, 

 the executors have not asked for, nor re- 

 ceived, any increased allowance, although 

 the burden has been very nuich heavier, 

 and the business five times as great aw 

 'when we first took charge. 



Employees Not Mere Hireliags. 



Men, however, arc not influenced by 

 money considerations alone, and 1 have 

 felt it desirable to treat them, not as 

 hirelings, but as associates, as good as J 

 am in every respe<'t, and make them feel 

 in every possible way that they are neces- 

 sary parts of our successful business, and- 

 to the visitor and public generally bring 

 them forward as deserving of notice and 

 praise. Out of business, too, I think 

 they ought to be recognized as ecjuals, 

 which they are, and i believe it is jiossi- 

 ble to do all this and still have all the 

 respect that is due to the management. 

 Although we have a staff of about 120 

 men, more than half of them growers, we 

 iiave remarkably few changes, aiul have 

 not in seven years lost more than two or 

 three men that we would hav<' cared to 

 retain. 



In connection with the new office and 

 shipping room building recently erected 

 we have made provision for a reading 

 room, and adjoining bath-room, etc., and 

 (irovide magazines ami daily papers, 

 where our men can while away the time 

 during the noon hour, or before or after 

 work, and while all has not been done 

 that we would like to do, and that may 

 yet be done, we have honestly endeavored 

 to show our men that we think of them 

 in every respect, and in this way we re- 

 tain their confidence and get from them, 

 in most cases we believe, the best that 

 they can give us. 



Character Its Effect on Patrons. 



Allow me to turn away in the relation 

 of character from ourselves to our pa- 

 trons. In this resj)ect I was glad to fol- 

 low in the footsteps of the founder of 

 the business, Harry Dale, than whom, 1 

 believe, a more honest grower never live<l. 

 His ideal was a high grading, and a stick- 



to-it under all circumstances, and it is 

 well known to the trade that we have 

 followed this out in every respect. The 

 customer ought to know what he may ex- 

 pect when he gives an order, and neither 

 scarcity of .stock, nor any other contin- 

 gency, is an excuse for dej)arting from 

 tlu' proper line of <'onduct. 



Our staff — specially set a|)art for grad- 

 ing the stock after it is cut, and before 

 it is j)ut in the cellar — have positive in- 

 structions about the grading of stock as 

 brought in from the growers. Then, 

 again, the shipper and his assistants are 

 warned in their reselection prior to pack- 

 ing, that each individual flower as han- 

 dled must be inspected and set aside, no 

 matter how great the hurry, or how scarce 

 stock is, if it is not up to the ])r(tper 

 standard. 



We believe it is very short-sighted pol- 

 icy for the grower to attempt to substi- 

 tute a lower grade for a higher grade 

 under any circumstances. It might pass 

 by unuoticed, or, being noticed, without 

 comment by the consignee, but it is a 

 . suicidal jtolicy that will injure the busi- 

 ness. It will not do to get the confidence 

 of your customer, and think you have 

 him, and then take advantage of his 

 trust. Every consignment ought to con- 

 sist of stock selected and packed as if 

 his business were dependent upon the re- 

 sult of that shipment, and once your cus- 

 tomer believes that he can depend im 

 plicitly upon the character of the grower, 

 his business is not likely to go elsewhere. 

 I might say, in passing, that so fi^r as 

 my memory serves me we have not lost 

 more than one customer during these 

 seven years, and have gained vtry many 

 new ones, largely, we believe, because of 

 the reputation of the firm for H«|uare 

 dealing. 



Capacity. 



.\s to the second item, ca[)i*city, I do 

 not j)retend to be able to give the mem- 

 bers of this association any pointers on 

 how to grow stock. That is not the pur- 

 pose of this ])aper, nor have I the ability 

 to contriV»ute anything in that direction 

 if it were desired. There must, however, 

 in any medium sized business at least, be 

 some capacity for nmnagement, as well 

 as for growing. The late Harry Dale, 

 who was a king among rose growers, and 

 a very clever mechanic as well, had sense 

 enough to recognize his deficiency in this 

 respect. I remember very well his send- 

 ing for me and telling uw honestly that 

 while he could grow roses, do steam fit- 

 ting and other mechanical work, he felt 

 that the business must have some better 

 management than he could give to it, and 

 asked nie to join him and take charge of 

 this jiiirt of the business. The results 

 speak for themselves. .\ doubling up of 

 this nature, or even a partnership, may 

 not in many instances be either wise or 

 desirable, even to get the benefit of busi- 

 ness training, but there ought to be, on 



Peony Mme. de Vemeville. 



