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Januabt 14, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



Saltfofd's Flower Store, at Potighkeeptie, N Y. 



peas. The stems are now stronger, 

 haulm more vigorous and flowers £ier 

 than at Christmas. A month hence they 

 will be even better. 



Where the plants have been flowering 

 since the end of October, a little fee^g 

 will now prove helpful. This may be 

 ^ther bone meal or fine sheep manure, 

 which can be broadcasted over the sur- 

 face of the beds, which should then have 

 a light forking over before water is ap- 

 plied. Be sure to keep all seed pods 

 removed, also any dead haulms. Tying 

 up will need constant attention, for it 

 never pays to have bent or twisted stems. 

 Give the flowering plants 48 to 50 de- 

 grees at night, which can be advanced 

 15 degrees on bright days. On dull days 

 55 to 58 degrees is sufSciently high. 



Keep a sharp lookout for mildew. 

 Dust the steam pipes with sulphur on its 

 appearance and carefully avoid cold 

 drafts, which usually cause the trouble. 

 Eed spider is the worst of all foes and 

 once it gets a foothold is hard to eradi- 

 cate. A spray nozzle and sixty pounds 

 pressure is probably the best way to com- 

 bat it. In fumigating, if you use to- 

 bacco stems, remember that the odor 

 hangs to the flowers a long time and ren- 

 ders them practically unsalable. Better 

 use some other fumigant, the odor from 

 •which passes away more speedily. 



Eecently sown seeds come in useful now 

 for running up the posts in carnation 

 and other houses of suitable temperature. 

 For present sowing, it is not necessary to 

 rely on the regular forcing kinds. Such 

 sorts as Countess Spencer, Gladys Unwin, 

 Dorothy Eckford, Miss Willmott, Helen 

 Pierce, John In^an and Frank Dolby 

 are all suitable. Start either in flats of 

 sandy loam, or in small pots containing 

 two or three seeds each. 



CONNILLSVILLE, Pa. — S. P. Minster- 

 man has started in the florists' business 

 at 608 Connell avenue. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



A Letter From President Valentine. 



To each member of the S. A. F. I send 

 greeting and best wishes for the new 

 year. 



This is to be an important year for 

 the florists. The tariff is to be revised 

 and you are all interested in the result. 

 In addition to that, it is necessary to fol- 

 low up the work which has previously 

 been inaugurated in the way of securing 

 equitable rates from express and rail- 

 road companies, and the recognition of 

 just claims presented against them. It 

 is evident that a society that is strong 

 numerically and flnancially can do more 

 for its members than a weak one can, 

 and I appeal both to your loyalty and 

 to your self-interest when I ask you to 

 at ' once assist in securing additional 

 members. There are about 9,000 florists ' 

 establishments of all kinds in this coun- 

 try and our society has a total member- 

 ship of 900, so that each member might 

 find it possible to secure nine new mem- 

 bers. 



Of course we can hardly expect such 

 results, but it is not too much to expect 

 that each member will get at least one 

 new member, and thus quickly double 

 our membership. No florist can con- 

 sistently say you "Nay," for there is 

 not one of them whose business impor- 

 tance has not been increased by the fact 

 that for over twenty years our society 

 has been consistently working to pro- 

 mote the calling in which he is engaged. 

 If any men could afford to stay out of 

 the society it would be the big concerns, 

 whose financial strength and whose vol- 

 ume of business would entitle them to a 

 respectful hearing from any corporations 

 with which they do business. But these 

 viBry concerns are the ones you are cer- 

 tain to find enrolled on the books of 

 our society. May it not be that some 

 portion of their success is due to having 



associated with other bright men at our 

 conventions, and to the added enthusi- 

 asm bound to come from contact with 

 successful men in the same line of workf 



To my mind, the annual report which 

 is mailed to each member is of great 

 value. It contains a complete list of 

 the members, with their addresses, and 

 to those who do not have a regular di- 

 rectory of the florists of the country it 

 fumi^es names of florists in nearly dll 

 the states. This list contains the live, 

 progressive men, with whom it pays to do 

 business. 



If you had to send an order to be filled 

 in a town where there were two florists 

 and you knew nothing of either except 

 that one belonged to the S. A. F. and 

 the other did not, would it take you long 

 to decide as to which one you would 

 take a chance onf Is not that point 

 alone enough to bring the retailers into 

 the foldt 



We hope that the tariff and transporta- 

 tion committee will be such diplomats 

 that they will secure just what they want 

 from Congress and that the express com- 

 panies will concede all the things that 

 can reasonably be asked of them. 



But if a strong navy is a guarantee 

 of peace to a nation, we may well assume 

 that a strong membership and a full 

 treasury will be our best reliance in se- 

 curing the remedies we seek. 



When the next annual report is pub- 

 lished it will show how many new mem- 

 bership fees have been sent in by each 

 old member. Let your name be promi- 

 nent among these active workers for the 

 good of the society. 



So I urge upon you to at once go to 

 work and secure new members — not next 

 month, but now — and thus render to 

 the society the loyal service it has a right 

 to expect from yon; at the same time 

 making your membership more valuable 

 to yourself. 



Yours for a larger and more powerful 

 society, J. A. Valentine, Pres. 



