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8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



FKBUUAnY 3, 1910. 



day, not many were made up in excess 

 of early orders, so that at the last mo- 

 ment it was impossible to find these 

 heart-shaped boxes. This year a large 

 early business has been done in them. 

 "While the combination of red with the 

 blue of violets may not appeal to the 

 color critics, it seems to touch the public 

 eye, and there is no box which is more 

 effective for trimming St. Valentine's 

 day windows. 



Advertise If You want Business. 



Every retail florist ought to do more 

 or less regular advertising in the best 

 newspaper in his town. Gradually retail 

 florists are coming to appreciate the 

 enormous power of well directed advertis- 

 ing and, as they awaken to its possibili- 

 ties, they are coming to employ the news- 

 papers more and more. S. A. Anderson, 

 Buffalo, is one of those who prefers to 

 use liberal spaces at special seasons, in- 

 stead of regular daily or weekly adver- 

 tisements. Eeproduced on page 7 is his 

 1909 St. Valentine's day advertisement. 

 It appeared in the best newspaper in 

 Buffalo for a couple of days before St. 

 Valentine's and W. A. Adams, of the 

 Anderson establishment, says it aided 

 materially in increasing the business for 

 that day, which exceeded all previous 

 records. The Review commends the ad- 

 vertisement not only for its good dis- 

 play, but for the fact that it contained 

 a price list. It often is argued that 

 the people who buy flowers are persons 

 of means and are not so much interested 

 in prices as are the customers of the de- 

 partment stores. This may be true of 

 the trade of a few high-class stores, but 

 the average florist will find that he can- 

 not increase his business so fast in any 

 other way as by educating the people 

 to the fact that flowers are not pro- 

 hibitive in cost. Where one customer 

 may be turned away by any "cheapen- 

 ing" of flowers through advertising their 

 prices, there are hundreds who will be 

 awakened to the fact that they can af- 

 ford these best-of-all valentines. 



Valentine 'a day is February 14. This 

 year it falls on Monday, a little dis- 

 advantageous for selling, but counter- 

 balanced by the fact that many valen- 

 tines will be sent on Sunday, as well as 

 on Monday. Plan to do something to- 

 ward exploiting flowers as valentines, and 

 plan it now. Then when St. Valentine's 

 day arrives devote your best energies to 

 seeing that the customers get their flow- 

 ers in absolutely the best condition of 

 which you are capable. When customers 

 are pleased, the florist finds satisfaction 

 in his business, and with satisfaction 

 comes profit. 



McKINLEYDAY. 



Since McKinley day, January 29, has 

 ceased to be considered by florists as a 

 flower holiday justifying a raise in prices 

 it has been growing steadily in value to 

 those who make an effort to increase their 

 sales that day at regular prices; indeed, 

 quite a few stores that usually get 75 

 cents a dozen for carnations have found 

 it good business to sell them at 5 cents 

 each January 29. This year, as usual, 

 Gen. Robert P. Kennedy, head of the 

 Carnation League of America, sent out 

 notices to the press calling attention to 

 McKinley 's sixty-eighth anniversary and 

 the custom of honoring his memory by 

 wearing "the people's flower." This, 

 with what advertising the florists did and 

 the work of some other patriotic bodies, 

 made a quite noticeable call for bouton- 



Back View of Fleischman's Corsage Bouquet of Violets. 



nieres, more in some places than in 

 others, but welcome business wherever it 

 showed. In no wholesale center was the 

 carnation business last week any the less 

 because of McKinley day, and it is in 

 poor taste to belittle the day just because 

 it didn 't amount to as much as was ex- 

 pected the first year or two. Have it un- 

 derstood that carnations can be had at 

 wholesale at not over $3 per hundred, and 

 the retailers will in a few years work up 

 McKinley day to a point where there will 

 be a demand for every flower available. 



BOSTON RETAIL BUSINESS. 



Now that the activities of the social 

 season are at their height, it is in- 

 teresting to note one thing in which the 

 winter of 1909-10 is achieving a record 

 which has not been equaled by any other 

 winter of the past ten or fifteen years. 

 This is with respect to the increase in 

 the use of flowers for personal adorn- 

 ment at house affairs, at the opera and 

 the theaters and at large balls and 

 parties. William E. Doyle, Thomas F. 

 Galvin, Hoffman, Newman, and, in fact, 

 all the leading florists, declare that more 

 orchids, for instance, and the same is 

 true of other expensive varieties of 

 flowers, have been used this winter than 

 in any preceding two; that bouquets in 

 general are on a grander scale as to size 

 and richer as to blooms used. Good flow- 

 ers constitute the rule, and, of course, 

 the cost is enhanced. But as a com- 

 pensation for the additional outlay in 

 money there is the decidedly enhanced 



esthetical gain. The custom of floral 

 New Year's remembrances is growing 

 year by year. The opening day of the 

 present year witnessed greater activity 

 among Boston florists in filling such or- 

 ders than any former one within their 

 memory. The gain was in the best varie- 

 ties, such as orchids, lily of the valley, 

 gardenias and other like choice flowers. 

 Good roses also have been much used. 

 It is expected that Valentine's day wiU 

 see another large increase, violets and 

 sweet peas sharing in the gain. 



DELIVERING CEMETERY ORDERS 



In the Review of January 13, page 5, 

 J. Dunstan asks the readers of the paper 

 for suggestions regarding the delivery 

 of cemetery orders in cases where th re 

 is no regular attendant to "take caro of 

 the grounds or receive the flowers, "d 

 where the florist, after losing valu.'le 

 time in hunting for the right lots, is lOt 

 unlikely to discover, after all, that lie 

 flowers have been misplaced or af < •' 

 ward stolen. In reply I have the fol' ^v- 

 ing idea to offer: 



Provided a record has been kept of li*^ 

 burials, I would suggest that Mr. I' 'D- 

 stan go to the superintendent or pei-on 

 having the cemetery in charge, borroiv a 

 map of the grounds and make a o 'py 

 of it or have one made, to be retained 

 for his own use. Then his custouiprs 

 could give him their lot number or point 

 out the lot or grave to him on the mnp- 

 If no record of the burials has been k<"pt> 



