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8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Januabt 13, 1910. 



ing that he is necessarily more up-to-date 

 and more competent. It is only by shcTw- 

 ing the people that we are capable of the 

 same work as the city florist that we are 

 able to get them to trust us with their 

 orders. Decorating and the use of flow- 

 ers and plants is an art which cannot al- 

 ways be acquired. It is not merely the 

 mechanical part, but the knowing how to 

 blend colors and the proper arrangement 

 to give the best effect. I have seen a 

 bouquet spoiled where the mechanical 

 woik was excellent, but where the ribbon 

 with which it was tied did not blend in 

 color, and the trade of an artistic person 

 was lost by this error. 



Advertisiog is Neglected. 



I feel we are in a transition stage in 

 our business, when new methods and new 

 ideas are needed. What was considered 

 beautiful ten years ago is in many cases 

 ■distasteful now. One point in which we 

 are far behind other lines of business is 

 in advertising. I would advocate the 

 sending out with the monthly bills a 

 small card, calling attention to some spe- 

 cialty which we have for sale during the 

 next month. I am anxious to see our 

 business put on a higher plane, to make it 

 more of a profession, not mere labor. It 

 is a shame to see the way the shrubbery 

 is butchered in our suburbs, just because 

 the work is entrusted to a^nyone who 

 comes along. We are far behind our 

 European neighbors horticulturally, and 



should do. As people are becoming more 

 cultivated, the love of the beautiful is 

 growing, and it is time for us to wake up. 

 In many cases the public is far ahead of 

 the florist, knowing far more about the 

 business in general than he does. 



I am afraid the desire to get money 

 quickly has done more to put our busi- 

 ness on a wrong basis than anything else. 

 So many people have been advised incor- 

 rectly, and have got such poor results, 

 after a large expenditure of money, that 

 they have given up in despair. 



In conclusion, I would not advise any- 

 one starting a business in a suburban 

 community, unless he is well trained and 

 has sufficient capital to purchase enough 

 ground to erect a store, office and green- 

 house, in a prosperous locality. Even 

 with this equipment it will require pa- 

 tience and probably a loss of money until 

 one is thoroughly established, after which 

 I see no reason why it should not be a 

 profitable investment. 



RENTING DECORATI VE PLANTS. 



In all large cities there is a demand 

 for plants for temporary decorations, and 

 the average retailer is without conserva- 

 tory space sufficient to permit him to 

 carry this stock, so there is a field for 

 someone to do a good business in the 

 renting of palms and similar plants. 



Appreciating the opening for this line 



Beautiful 

 Plants 



We'll Rent or 

 Sell Them 



You'll enjoy having one 

 of these beautiful plants. 

 Get one for your home, 

 rent one or two for your 

 office, or rent a wagon 

 load (30 plants in a load) 

 for banquets, social func- 

 tions, etc. 



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^" The price will sink into 

 significance in comparison with the enjoyment you '11 have with beautiful plants. 



'Phone us — tell us the. variety that you would like and we'H tell you 

 the price. 



No doubt you have often thought you would like to have a beautiful plant, 

 but never took the trouble to buy one. Take the uiitiative now and 'phone us. 



PHONE LAKE VIEW 857 



WITTBOLD 



737-739 BUCKINGHAM PLACE, CHICAGO 



Newspaper Advertisement for the Rent and Sale of Plants. 



we can only attain to their high standard 

 by teaching the people that their grounds, 

 gardens and plants should be taken care 

 of by a man who has been trained in all 

 departments of the business. 



There is great need for young men in 

 this work. I would lik^ to see a course 

 in floriculture started in our colleges, on 

 the same plane as the course in agricul- 

 ture. For experimental purposes the pub- 

 lic parks could be utilized. The school 

 gardens are a step in the right direction. 

 I do not know what our florists '. clubs are 

 doing to help along this work, but they 



of business in Chicago, Fred Wittbold 

 proceeded to develop this branch for the 

 George Wittbold Co. He has now been 

 at it several years, and has so worked it 

 up that last year the company received 

 more than $18,000 for the rental of 

 plants. The entire range of glass on the 

 Clark street side of the city establish- 

 ment is devoted to the storage of stock 

 used exclusively by Fred Wittbold in con- 

 ducting the renting department. The 

 volume of business done hardly would be 

 guessed at by one not familiar with the 

 circumstances. Think of it! Eighteen 



thousand dollars for plants that were 

 brought back, usually the next day! 



Of course, there always is a demand 

 for plants for wedding decorations, but 

 Mr. Wittbold has encouraged the use of 

 plants at funerals, and the undertakers 

 are among his best customers. He gets 

 $10 and up for a few hours' use of palms 

 and ferns from hundreds of funerals 

 each year. 



Of course, the retail florists are the 

 best customers of Mr. Wittbold 's renting 

 business. Comparatively few of the re- 

 tailers undertake to carry stock of dec- 

 orating sizes in sufficient quantity to keep 

 them going; when they have weddings 

 they simply order the plants of Wittbold. 

 So general has the practice become that 

 Fred Wittbold in the social season has 

 thirty to forty wagonloads out most of 

 the time. 



The Wittbold plant-renting depart- 

 ment, like all the other branche*s of the 

 Wittbold business, has the cooperation of 

 the Wittbold advertising department, 

 which is in charge of Louis Wittbold, sec- 

 retary of the* corporation. Eeproduced 

 herewith is one of the daily newspaper 

 advertisements for this end of the busi- 

 ness, one that is reported to bring excel- 

 lent results. 



HOV TO KEEP GREENS. 



Will you please tell me the best way to 

 keep galax, magnolia leaves, leucothoe 

 sprays, and hardy and dagger ferns f 



E. O. E. 



There are various ways of keeping 

 such necessary greens as leucothoe, galax, 

 fern leaves, magnolia, etc., for use in a 

 retail store, and all are more or less sat- 

 isfactory. 



Galax leaves, leucothoe sprays, fancy 

 and dagger ferns — ^in fact, all greens of 

 this nature having st.ems — will retain their 

 fresnness best if kept in water and stood 

 in a cool place. Do not immerse the 

 leaves in water; the stem only should 

 get into the water. 



In the case of leucothoe or fern leaves, 

 keep about two or three inches of water 

 in the receptacles. Galvanized pails are 

 best suited for this purpose. Avoid 

 crowding too many leaves into one pail, 

 as this will injure the leaves. 



Magnolia leaves, Italian oak, etc., 

 which have no stem to speak of, should 

 be kept in the same baskets in which they 

 are received, or in boxes. In either case 

 the air should be excluded by a wrapping 

 of heavy paper. A layer of damp — not 

 wet — sphagnum moss should also be kept 

 over the leaves to preserve their fresh- 

 ness. These cases should then be kept 

 in a cool, not too dry place. 



If you have not the room to keepi 

 ferns, etc., in pails of water, then they 

 may be kept in the same manner as the 

 magnolia. 



After considerable experimenting, I 

 have found the foregoing methods the 

 best and most practical. H. S, 



TAX ON GROWING STOCK. 



Attempts have been made, at various 

 times, in various parts of the United 

 States and with various degrees of suc^ 

 cess, to levy a tax upon the growing 

 stock of florists. At no other time op 

 place, however, has the movement towarfl 

 such taxation been so persistent and So 

 systematic as the present movement in 

 Massachusetts, which was described in 

 the Review of December 23 and Decetn- 

 ber 30. Since the situation in Massachu- 



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