The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



JULX 16, 1908. 



at a time, it would be far better to let 

 one go for the season than antagonize 

 the whole staff by the compulsory sys- 

 tem. 



Expensiveness of Cheap Help. 



We want to put in a word against the 

 cheap help idea, which happily is not 

 very extensive. There seems no room 

 for doubt that a cheap man is cheap iu 

 every sense of the word. True, there 

 are those who are receiving small re- 

 muneration for large work, but they will 

 find their level. Then there are many 

 in the business who are cheap in the 

 number of dollars paid them, but who 

 cost twice as much as the better man, 

 in the profit column. 



The best is hardly good euough in 

 your store. 



We should also remember that every 

 employee is entitled to consideration 

 from' the head. Above all things, do 

 not listen to the petty bickerings, but 

 do with the "knocker," whether true 

 or false, as was done by a department 

 manager of our acquaintance. One of 

 his clerks had carried a tale — whether 

 true or false was apparently of little 

 consequence — to the general manager, 

 who, holding the clierk, sent for the man 

 in question, and requested the clerk to 

 repeat the accusation, which was done, 

 with the result that the clerk lost his 

 po8)ition. 



The moral is: If you cannot trust 

 those in charge they should not be there. 



F. C. W. B. 



THE GALAX HORSEHEAD. 

 The accompanying illustration ia re- 



ployees of W. J. Smyth as a part of a 

 window decoration for horse-show week 

 in 3906. The wire frame of the horse's 

 head had been about the place for years 

 and in fixing up a " horsey ' ' window the 

 boys covered it with bronze galax leaves, 

 adding a few chrysanthemums for color. 

 The piece was in the window when C. W. 

 Marks, a well-known horseman and large 

 flower buyer, happened by. It chanced 

 that an old horseman friend of his, 

 named Sanford, was to be buried the 

 next day and nothing would dp but that 

 Marks should send to the funeral this 

 horsehead from the show window. It 

 pleased hin\ so well that he had the pho- 

 tograph made from which the illustra- 

 tion is reproduced. There is just one 

 little detail which would have added a 

 great deal to the appearance pf the 

 piece. The ribbon which served as bridle 

 rein was drawn too tightly when the 

 photograph was made. The letters 

 ''San" were added at the buyer's re- 

 quest, because that was the nickname of 

 the man to whose funeral it was sent. 



C. W. Marks is well-known in the trade 

 in Chicago and it is said he buys as 

 many flowers as some retail florists. He 

 is an old friend of 0. P. Bassett and 

 was the owner of the building in which 

 A. L. Randall did business for a number 

 of years when located on Washington 

 street. 



HOUSE-CLEANING. 



Do Not Neglect the Opporttinity. 



If the houses which contained bedding 

 stock are to be used for carnations, vio- 



A Window Display Piece that Went to a Funeral. 



produced for the purpose of showing that 

 one can never tell when he will make a 

 ■ale. This is a piece made by the em- 



lets or late chrysanthemums, do not wait 

 a minute with getting them ready and in 

 jiroper shape to receive the new stock. 



This is the only chance in the year for 

 the average retail grower to give a proper 

 house-cleaning, which is so necessary to- 

 ward having success with the cultivation 

 of plants under glass. 



In places where a large variety of 

 plants are grown, as is the case with most 

 retail growers, more or less stuff not 

 salable is bound to accumulate during the 

 year. Only too often stock of this kind 

 occupies valuable bench room longer than 

 it ought to. It seems to break the own- 

 er's heart to part with it. Another con- 

 dition, not at all proper, which is liable 

 to exist at this time of the year is the 

 presence of small, scattered lots of ge- 

 raniums, cannas, or other bedding stock 

 all over the houses. All this stock could 

 be moved into one house or bench, where 

 it would require not half the attention, 

 and thus the other houses could be got 

 ready for cleaning. 



Do not wait for a rainy day, when 

 nothing can be done outside. Do not lay 

 off two or three hands because you are 

 through with bedding out. No, hire as 

 many more to help to get the place in 

 tiptop shape, so that by convention week 

 your carnations will all be planted. 



. The Cleaning. 



The cleaning can begin on the benches. 

 Every bit of soil, or whatever material 

 has been used to stand pots on, should be 

 removed. Do not overlook the corners, or 

 the space between the bottom boards 

 where they rest on the 2x4 's, for these 

 are the lodging places for insects and 

 disease germs. After this give the 

 benches a good cleaning with the hose. 



Now is the time to do such repairing 

 as will be needed. It is no economy to 

 put a lot of lumber into an old bench. It 

 is cheaper to build a new one; but some- 

 times it is advisable to repair a weak 

 spot in a bench when it is empty, to 

 avoid a breakdown in midwinter. 



As soon as the benches of a house are 

 in good shape and before any painting or 

 whitewashing is done, clean underneath, 

 and the same care in getting into the cor- 

 ners and around the pots should be prac- 

 ticed as with the benches themselves. Do 

 ■ not level soil which may have accumulat- 

 ed from canna roots just over, but re- 

 move it. While working below the 

 benches there is a good chance to exam- 

 ine the supports of the heating pipes. 

 Weak ones or leaky joints should have 

 attention now. 



If the interior of the houses is to be 

 painted, as it should be every two years, 

 a thorough cleaning of the rafters, pur- 

 lins and gutter sides is the next thing on 

 the program. A good, stiff brush and a 

 putty knife are the tools necessary for 

 this job. 



Painting and Whitewashing. 



The time to paint a house is when it 

 is empty. The man who has to cover his 

 plants with newspapers in order to paint 

 is working at a disadvantage. It only 

 costs a few dollars to paint the interior 

 of a house and it adds so much to the 

 apearance of a place that it should never 

 be looked at as an unnecessary expense. 

 There are a number of ready mixed 

 paints and preparations offered, but a 

 good coat of white lead and oil is hard 

 to beat. Wherever wooden gutters are 

 still in use, July is the best month to 

 clean and wash them out thoroughly. Let 

 them get dry again and apply a thick 

 coat of white lead and oil. 



While no time should be lost in paint- 

 ing after the houses are cleaned and the 

 benches repaired, it is well to put off the 



