October 20, 1921 



The Rorists^ Review 



27 



felt was expressed by Miss Hester Getz 

 in her resolution of thanks presented at 

 the closing session, which was adopted 

 by a rising vote. 



* * * 



Cooperation is so marked in Toronto 

 that even a brewing company, in a quar- 

 ter-page advertisement while the florists 

 were there, told them of the qualities 

 of its ale and stout, heading its mes- 

 sage, " 'Say It with Flowers' and do 

 your toasting with O'Keefe's." No, 

 not the major's. 



• • • • 



Much publicity was given the conven- 

 tion in the local newspapers. A car- 

 toonist interpreted George Stumpp's 

 statement that a $5 bill is the common 

 sum spent for a gift in an illustration 

 reproduced on page 24. 



GRADING CUT FLOWERS. 



Most Needed for Roses. 



The committee on standardization and 

 grading of cut flowers stated, in the re- 

 port presented at Toronto by Max 

 Schling in behalf of himself, William 

 F. Gude and Irwin Bertermann, that 

 this question is mainly one between re- 

 tailer and grower. It has been taken 

 up by the Society of American Florists 

 and in an address presented at the 

 Washington convention Joseph Kohout 

 stated that roses should be sold to re- 

 tailers, not by names or numbers, but 

 by inches, according to the length of 

 stem. From their point of view this 

 method is of benefit to grower and re- 

 tailer alike. It yields a better return 

 to the grower, and the retailer knows 

 just what he gets for his money. 



"General standardization is improb- 

 able if not impossible," said the report. 

 "Chrysanthemums and dahlias cannot 

 be standardized. Cosmos or any other 

 such outdoor flowers cannot be standard- 

 ized any more than the reverend gentle- 

 man in Westchester county could stand- 

 ardize dandelions for Mothers' day. 



Our Main Item. 



"The flowers which represent sixty- 

 five per cent of the volume of florists' 

 business, as roses do, can be standard- 

 ized, and not only the grower and the 

 retailer, but also the public, profits by 

 it. Approximately fifty per cent are in 

 the short grades, thirty per cent 

 medium grades and twenty per cent in 

 the long grades of the roses that reach 

 the market. The big centers, with their 

 shipping facilities, are really ruling tlio 

 prices. If the market is cleared out 

 day by day and prices stiffen locally, 

 then the outside shipping points covered 

 bj' these markets are affected in the 

 same proportion as the center, not in 

 price but in size. Naming roses No. 1, 

 extra and fancy is not fair to the re- 

 tailer on the part of the grower or 

 commission dealer, and not to the public 

 on the part of the retailer. Roses ad- 

 vertised for holidays fron eighteen to 

 twenty inches long and ordered two or 

 three weeks ahead of time are found 

 to be three or four inches shorter than 

 they should be when delivered. To re- 

 turn the stock is out of the question. 

 The retailer has to fill his orders. His 

 customers are the ones who suffer, in 

 ])roportion as he does. Complaining 

 after the holidays does not help. The 

 retailer used his flowers and that's all 

 there is to it. The shipper does not want 

 to sting the retailer and the grower does 

 not want to get more for his stock than 

 it is worth, but in the rush of business 



Robert L. Graham, Jr. 



(Whose Powerful Plea Helped Win the 1»22 F. T. D. Meeting for Baltimore.) 



these things happen and they are not of 

 benefit to the trade. Just as retailers 

 should adopt the method of marking 

 with a price all stock put on sale so 

 that the customer can select his own 

 goods according to what he wants to 

 buy, so the retailer should be able to 

 know, when his roses come in, what they 

 cost according to length. 



Service Is Our Object. 



"Good service from the florist to his 

 patrons increases the buying of flowers, 

 and the buying of flowers becomes a 

 habit and a necessity. When flowers 

 are not in a home, the home is incom- 

 j)lete. The more we teach the people 

 that fact, the more we shall increase 

 the demand for our products. Stand- 

 ardization is important, not only ini- 

 jiortant for the grower and the retailer; 

 it is just as important for the public. 

 The grower and the retailer should com- 

 bine and act as arbitrators for the con- 

 sumer (the public), because the public 

 is the most important party, and by 

 taking care of the jniblic we are taking 

 care of ourselves. It will mean a steadier 

 business and steadier prices both for 

 the grower and the retailer at all times. 

 Mr. Kohout considers that the most im- 

 portant factions concerned are the 

 grower and the retailer, but we should 

 change that and say there are three 

 factions, the grower, the retailer and 

 the public. If the committees of the 

 National Flower Growers' Association 

 and the F. T. D. will worjt together on 

 this important question and will make 

 it the custom to sell roses not only by 

 inches but by numbered grades accord- 

 ing to size instead of by names, all over 

 the country alike, these three interested 

 parties, the grower, the retailer and the 

 public, will profit." 



BADGERS TO CONVENE. 



The Wisconsin State Florists' Associ- 

 ation will convene at Milwaukee Novem- 

 ber 3 to 4. The business session will be 

 called promptly at 1:.30 p. m. of the 

 opening day and a banquet will be the 

 feature of that evening. 



The second day will be devoted to 

 sight-seeing and the inspection of grow- 

 ing establishments. Particular atten- 

 tion will be given to the entertainment 

 of the visiting ladies. 



The out.standing feature of the meet- 

 ing will be the flower show, which will 

 be staged at the convention hall of the 

 Milwaukee Athletic Club. The exhibi- 

 tion will be non-competitive and a gen- 

 eral invitation is extended to growers 

 who have anything to show exceptional 

 in the cut flower or plant line. Con- 

 signments should be addressed to H. K. 

 Welke, 'secretary, 752 Third street, or to 

 one of the Milwaukee wholesalers. 



Pueblo, Colo.— The Pueblo Floral Co. 

 has recovered from the damage suf- 

 fered during the flood in Pueblo and 

 is once more doing an excellent busi- 

 ness. Due to the unbounded energy and 

 watchful alertness of manager George 

 Bolt, Jr., the firm has worked up an 

 exceptionally good outside trade, which 

 stimulates business to a high degree. 

 The new store, regarded as being one 

 of the finest in the Rocky mountain re- 

 gion, is decorated in a unique manner, 

 'ihe color scheme is work«d out in gray 

 and turquoise blue. The new lighting 

 system is adequate and up-to-date 

 and adds much to the already exquisite 

 appearance of the display window. The 

 range consists of three sections, totaling 

 75,000 square feet of glass area, and the 

 wholesale business of the company is 

 inereasinsr rapidly. 



