14 



The Florists^ Review 



OCTOBBB 8, 1914. 





with the chi^f steward the day before 

 sailing, and for a small monetary con- 

 sideration the instructions are carefully 

 executed. My experience with several 

 such orders sent recently proved quite 

 satisfactory, as the recipients of the 

 flowers informed me upon their return 

 that my instructions were faithfully car- 

 ried out. 



Notice by Mall. 



"For, every steamer order which 

 leaves my place, there is a notification 

 mailed to the passenger on the steamer, 

 stating that a box or basket of flowers 

 has been placed on board, and if not re- 

 ceived within a reasonable time should 

 be inquired for of the steward." 



The practice referred to in Mr. 

 Stumpp 's • last paragraph has been 

 adopted by most of the leading New 

 York retailers. In this connection, 

 Alexander McConnell, who handles a 

 large share of the steamer business in 

 New York, says: 



"For twelve years we have adopted a 

 system of placing a letter in the ship 's 

 mail, properly stamped and addressed 

 to persons for whom flowers are in- 

 tended. If they have not already re- 

 ceived the flowers, they will certainly 

 inviBstigate and claim the package ad- 

 dressed to them. We have had little 

 tronble since adopting this arrange- 

 ment. ' ' 



Other such checks and helps have 

 been devised by the New York retailers 

 to make the delivery of flowers sure 

 and satisfactory. All go to form the 

 perfected system which makes com- 

 plaints rare and dissatisfied patrons ex- 

 iceedinglyjfew and far between. 



Further Suggestions. 



• Further improvement is possible in 

 every line,i and, with this end in view, 

 New York retailers have pointed out 

 conditions %hich lead to complaints, 

 some valid, some groundless. Says Alex- 

 ander McConnell: 



"Frequently we have disappointments 

 as a result of receiving telegrams with 

 names of the passengers, or even of the 

 ship, misspelled. Again, inquiry is made 

 frequently by patrons who become im- 

 patient at not receiving acknowledg- 

 ments of the flowers; they do not seem 

 to realize that it takes twelve to fifteen 

 days to receive a return message ex- 

 cept by wireless." 



Equally to the point is the following 

 from Charles A. Dards, whose experi- 

 ence in this line is of the largest: 



"A great many of the out-of-town flo- 

 rists' orders are telegrams, which reach 

 New York on the day of sailing, some- 

 times one hour before sailing. Consid- 

 ering the difficulties in handling these, 

 for which no receipts are given at the 

 dock, I think there are an extremely 

 small number of boxes lost. 



"Some people do not send cards, and 

 even when there is a card with the 

 flowers, the recipient is often neglect- 

 ful about acknowledging at once, all of 

 which causes more or less trouble for 

 the florist." 



From the Other End. 



While on the subject of suggestions 

 in this connection, one from Boyle & 

 Darnaud, of San Diego, Cal., who are 

 at the other end of the business as well 

 as of the continent, is in order. To 

 prove to impatient customers who oc- 

 -easionally register complaints that their 

 orders have been properly handled, they 

 would like to have on hand the receipt 

 the New York retailer receives from 



the steamship company. In their own 

 language: "Now one suggestion would 

 be that this receipt be sent along with 

 the bill to the orderer. That would show 

 that the order was received, filled and 

 delivered, thus insuring the satisfaction 

 of all concerned." 



Much good may be gained by the in- 

 terchange of suggestions for the im- 

 provement of this business, and they 

 are timely, when the steamer business 

 is just picking up from the interruption 

 caused by the canceling of many sail- 

 ings. 



THE THIRD PRINTING. 



The third printing of The Review's 

 Album of Designs has been completed 

 and all orders for single copies have 



The Third Edition. 



been shipped — wholesale orders will go 

 out within a day or two. 



The new book is of the same high 

 character as the two previous editions, 

 the great success of which made an- 

 other printing necessary. Just as the 

 second book was an improvement over 

 the first, the third edition is better than 

 the second — a still more attractive 

 cover, with simplicity its keynote; a 

 better selection of designs for illustra- 

 tion. 



This book has had a wonderful sale. 

 Practically all the florists' supplies 

 dealers carry it and it is to be found 

 in use in a majority of the retail flower 

 stores all over the United States. Hun- 

 dreds of florists have equipped their 

 undertaker and druggist agents with 

 the album. It is a splendid help in 

 taking orders, even in a well stocked 

 flower store, for by its use the customer 

 can be given a clear idea of how one 

 design will look as compared to an- 

 other; orders can be taken much more 

 easily than where the florist must rely 

 on mere words to convince the buyer 

 that a certain style of work will please. 



The album of designs is sent postpaid 

 at 75 cents per copy, or by express at 

 $6 per dozen. 



Council Bluffs, la. — L. H. Reams has 

 completed the erection of three green- 

 houses on his property on North Twenty- 

 sixth street. Two of the buildings are 

 30x160 feet and the third is 27x110. 

 They will be devoted to tomatoes and 

 cucumbers exclusively. 



VAEIEaATED SALVIA. 



I am sending a few spotted leaves of 

 Salvia Zurich, which I raised from seed. 

 The whole plant is beautifully spotteil. 

 Do you think it would be. advisable to 

 propagate from it and registei" it to be 

 sold as a novelty! W^l you kindly 

 give me some information in regard to 

 this? J. S. 



This is a pretty variegated form of 

 Salvia Zurich. I have seen occasional 

 variegated plants before, but none ex- 

 actly like yours. This would be an 

 ornamental plant even without flowers, 

 and I certainly think it would pay you 

 to progagate and advertise it. I do 

 not know, of anything like yours being 

 in commerce. C. W. 



LARV^ EILLINQ CYCLAMEN. 



I have a fine batch of cyclamen, but 

 recently some of them have died, the 

 bulb and roots having evidently been 

 eat«n by white larvae about one-eighth 

 of an inch long. The plants look 

 healthy and robust up to the last day, 

 except for a wilted appearance, as if 

 they had been kept too wet or too dry. 

 I have found as many as ten of the 

 larvffi on one plant. Do you know of 

 anything that will kill this pest without 

 injury to the plants f I am trying car- 

 bon bisulphide, but have had little ex- 

 perience with this. H. A. N. 



Your cyclamens have undoubtedly 

 been attacked by a white grub, which 

 is the larvae of the May beetle or June 

 bug. The eggs are commonly deposited 

 in clods of cow manure, and if you will 

 take note you will find pieces of this 

 manure simply alive with these grubs. 

 As a remedy you have selected the thing 

 which will certainly kill these and all 

 other soil pests. Make a hole in the soil 

 with a pointed stick, and pour in a few 

 drops only for a 4-inch pot, and as much 

 as half a teaspoonful for a 6-inch or 

 7-inch pot. Cover the hole as soon as 

 you have poured in the carbon, which 

 will not harm the plants. As carbon 

 bisulphide is of an explosive nature, do 

 not use any naked lights while apply- 

 ing it. 



Possibly many of your plants are too 

 far gone now to reclaim, but another sea- 

 son, if you have facilities, sterilize your 

 compost with steam. If not, bake the 

 cow manure over a fire, to kill all the 

 grubs. C. W. 



STEM-ROT ON ASTER& 



Can you tell us what the trouble is 

 with our asters f The stem and leaves 

 turned yellow in August, while the 

 bloom, which does not open, is of a 

 greenish color. These are planted on a 

 gentle slope in a medium red loam, not 

 heavy. Would some spraying solutim 

 help them. I am enclosing a diseas 'd 

 stem. The seed was purchased from a 

 reliable firm. W. N. & S. 



The most probable cause of the con- 

 dition of your asters is lack of moisture 

 and plant food in the soil. The spe^'i- 

 men forwarded had stem-rot, usually 

 due to leaving the seedlings too crowded 

 in the early «tage8 of growth, or, wht^n 

 transplating, burying the stems of t^e 

 little plants too deep. The trouble does 

 not show until late in the season. I '1° 

 not think the seed is at fault at all, for 

 experiments have shown that even seeds 

 secured from diseased plants have pro- 

 duced perfectly clean, healthy stock. 



