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22 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



Dbcbmbbb 10, 1908. 



Ideas Again. 



You cannot get ideas, or produce new 

 things, if your surroundings are out of 

 harmony with your soul. 



You must first get in line with your 

 inner self and nature; then you must 

 radiate that feeling, that sincerity, that 

 enthusiasm, to those about you. Create 

 the atmosphere of happiness; advance 

 good cheer around your assistants; ele- 

 vate their thoughts, their standing, make 

 them respect themselves, their business 

 and you. Pay them well, so they can 

 say, with pride, "I am a florist." 



Then charge well for your goods and 

 brains. That is the only way to evolve 

 ideas. You, your assistants, your store, 

 must be in harmony with the most beau- 

 tiful things of nature — flowers. 



CHRISTMAS WREATHS. 



Make the Better Kinds. 



Leave the simple, single holly wreath 

 to the corner grocer; perhaps he can 

 make some money on it at 15 cents, or 

 two for a quarter. The florist should 



prices. There are many kinds of 

 wreaths — even of holly wreaths — and the 

 people who buy flowers generally will 

 know and appreciate the difference. 

 Make good wreaths and ask fair prices. 

 Show some of the 15-cent kind just to 

 demonstrate the difference, but keep the 

 cheapest ones in the background if you 

 expect to ao a high-class trade. It pays 

 florists, as other merchants, to work 

 steadily toward a higher class of busi- 

 ness, not by asking higher prices for the 

 same old article, but by offering goods 

 of better quality. Don't force your 

 trade — or try to — to buy beyond their 

 means, but look up, not down. The man 

 with his eyes on the ground may occa- 

 sionally pick up a i)enny, but he misses 

 the fairest sights of this world. 



Some Different Wreaths. 



A well made but conventional holly 

 wreath is shown in one of the accompany- 

 ing illustrations. It is a difficult thing 

 to show in a picture, but this was made 

 of good holly, dark, rich green and well 

 berried. You can't make that kind of 

 wreath of the holly you buy from the 



A WeU Made HoUy Wreath. 



get out of the grocers' class by offering 

 something better — something that is 

 worth more money and that pays a bet- 

 ter profit. 



Of course a good many florists who are 

 located where the corner grocery flour- 

 ishes will have to supply the grade of 

 wreaths their trade calls for, but even 

 these can better compete by offering a 

 finer article at a slightly higher price 

 than by trying to meet the grocer's 



vegetable commission houses at half 

 regular rates — that kind niay have been 

 well berried when it left the southern 

 speculator who shipped it, but if it was 

 the chances are two to one the berries 

 will mostly be in the bottom of the case 

 when you come to start your wreaths. 

 Of all expensive things, poor holly at any 

 price is the dearest. The best article al- 

 ways is cheapest in the end. 



The wreath illustrated not only was 



made of good holly, and did not have to 

 be pieced out with winter berries, but 

 plenty of material was used and these 

 wreaths sold in good numbers while the 

 grocer just around the corner was hav- 

 ing his fling with the 15-centers. The 

 ribbon used by the florist ^dded consider- 

 ably to the cost of the wreath as well as 

 to its appearance. 



Boxwood, Holly and Heather. 



Boxwood makes a handsome wreath 

 and, combined with the red winter Tjer- 

 ries, it sells well at Christmas. Boxwood 

 also may be made up into a ball and, 

 with red berries or red ribbon, makes a 

 pleasing variation. To make the ball, 

 have your wire-worker make up some lit- 

 tle square wire frames and stuff them 

 with sphagnum; then put in the boxwood 

 good and thick. 



Boxwood is the basis for the wreaths 

 illustrated in this issue, which are the 

 work of Charles Henry Fox at the Sign 

 of the Eose, Philadelphia. The effect of 

 the scarlet berries on the selected sprays 

 of hoUy, added over the boxwood, is en- 

 hanced by the silvery white of the Scotch 

 heather, and it makes a beautiful com- 

 bination. The wreaths may be varied 

 greatly by simply changing the propor- 

 tion of heather, hoUy and boxwood. 



The Immortelle Wreath. 



The immortelle wreath in scarlet is an 

 old favorite Christmas feature. It is 

 sold by thousands every Ciiristmas. The 

 conventional wreath may be varied by the 

 simple addition of a red ribbon, and an 

 immortelle Christmas bell also may be 

 hung in the center of the wreath, but the 

 way Mr. Fox varies the. design as shown 

 in the illustration is especiaUy effective. 

 One fine selected branch of holly is 

 thrown across the wreath, attached at 

 the lower end with a bow of wide red 

 ribbon. 



Display a few of these exceptional 

 wreaths in your Christmas stock and you 

 will not fail to find appreciative people. 



SYLVESTER'S SUCCESS. 



A Story Told Hit Home Paper. 



J. H. Sylvester, of Oconto, Wis., was 

 interviewed by a reporter for the Eepub- 

 lican, his home paper, October 29. What 

 he said will interest all florists, and to 

 some it will point a moral. The inter- 

 view was as follows, under the caption: 



BUILDING LAKGE TRADE. 



EXPRESSED FOUETEEN TONS. 



"There are probably few people in 

 Oconto who realize what an enormous 

 wholesale floral business is being car- 

 ried on at J. Sylvester's greenhouses. 

 The writer called "upon Mr. Sylvester 

 and obtained some facts . which aston- 

 ished liim and which wUl, no doubt, be 

 of interest to every person interested in 

 the growth of business in Oconto. 



"Coming here fourteen years ago, Mr. 

 Sylvester built his first greenhouse. He 

 catered strictly to the home trade, which 

 was sufficient to demand another green- 

 house, which he built five years later. 

 But as retailing was not of sufficient 

 amount to satisfy him, he decided to see 

 what he could do at wholesaling and 

 began to specialize. Pelargoniums, prim- 

 roses, cinerarias and calceolarias were 

 taken as specialties and a small adver- 

 tisement inserted in the Florists' Re- 

 view. This ad created such a demand 

 that orders were filled with difficulty. 

 Cyclamen was added to the specialties 



