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AUOOST 22, 1912. 



The Florists^ Review 



48 



opment should be encouraged by every 

 means n oar power. 



Tariff and Legislative Committee. 



The affiliation of all horticultural 

 societies and florists' clubs would go 

 far toward strengthening the hands of 

 the gentlemen composing that commit- 

 tee, inasmuch as in numbers there is 

 strength. The work this committee is 

 called upon to handle is mainly of a 

 nature which brings it into contention 

 with great interests, such as the rail- 

 roads, the express companies, the vari- 

 ous national and state legislative 

 bodies, as also the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission. From this it will 

 readily be seen that when this com- 

 mittee succeeds in winning a decision 

 on a contested case or in obtaining a 

 concession, it is doing great work, not 

 alone for the society, but for the trade 

 at large. 



Work Be^trvreen Conventions. 



We should make a strong effort to 

 check the deadness which so often 

 characterizes this society between its 

 annual meetings. A real, live society 

 should have something doing all the 

 time. It should not be like the annual 

 circus which comes to town, pitches its 

 tent, performs for a week and then 

 fades away to remain unheard of and 

 unnoticed for a year to come. 



Affiliation of societies, committees 

 working on live issues, the National 

 Flower Show and a progressive secre- 

 tary always on his mettle and on the 

 move for betterment of the society, 

 will help greatly to remove an apathetic 

 condition which has too often been 

 directed against us in reproach. 



Horticulture Flourishing. 

 For years past our successive pres- 

 idents have felt called upon to make 

 remarks Bpon the improvement of flori- 

 cultural conditions, and I find myself 

 joining in this acclaim with my pred- 

 ecessors, for certainly the development 

 of our product has lji;ept pace with that 

 of all other arts and sciences which 

 tend toward the betterment of the con- 

 dition of the people of our commoii 

 country. Within the last ten years 

 there has been a wonderful "back to 

 the land" movement on the part of 

 our wealthy men. Consequently great 

 amounts of money have been spent in 

 the embellishment of estates; this 

 movement Has been in no way confined 

 to that class, for we find that the de- 

 sire is becoming universal on the part 

 of all who own their homes to make 

 their grounds beautiful. Civic im- 

 provement is the order of the day 

 everywhere. The demand for the best 

 in horticulture is increasing accord- 

 ingly. As this added knowledge of 

 plant life is gained it becomes neces- 

 sary that we keep progressing, furnish- 

 ing not only better but more diversi- 

 fied stock, meeting present wants, yet 

 encouraging the call for more expen- 

 sive stock. 



The Experiment Stations. 

 These are valuable educational fac- 

 tors in the working out of experiments 

 in regard to insect pests, diseases of 

 plants, and in solving matters which 

 could not be handled by the general 

 horticulturists. As a trade, we are in 

 a position to obtain bulletins, state and 

 federal, practically free of cost, and in 

 fact any information on any reason- 

 able subject when it is asked for of 

 the proper authorities. In the proposed 



"Annual" could be incorporated a list 

 of the experiment stations and the 

 names of the officers to whom to refer 

 for guidance on the various subjects of 

 insect pests, diseases, etc. The society 

 and its members should endeavor to 

 aid the experiment stations in every 

 way in their power, in order that their 

 managements may be provided with 

 sufficient funds that they may be in no 

 way restricted in their researches for 

 practical knowledge. Efforts should be 

 made to interest' the stations in horti- 

 cultural studies as well as in studies 

 purely agricultural, to which latter 

 they mostly incline. 



Permanent S. A. F. Headquarters. 



The national charter granted our S. 

 A. F., and signed by President McKin- 

 ley, requires that we maintain perma- 

 nent headquarters in the city of Wash- 

 ington. We have dodged action on this 

 subject from year to year. It is time 

 that we took it up, got down to busi- 

 ness, and instituted our home in that 

 city, even though its start be on a most 

 humble scale. Let us begin by making 

 a beginning. We want a home there 

 for our society. With this we should 

 institute a practical school of horticul- 

 ture for our children and a permanent 

 trial ground for our members. If this 

 convention will take the necessary pre- 

 liminary steps to establish such a home, 

 this desirable institution can be 

 brought about. What we will, we can 

 do. The permanent headquarters 

 should contain the offices of the secre- 

 tary of the S. A. F.; our executive 

 board meetings can be held there; it 

 could be made the rallying point of 

 horticulturists; and, in fact, the insti- 

 tution can be so handled as to create 

 an added attraction to that Mecca of 

 America — the city of Washington. 

 Possessing such an institution, the soci- 

 ety would take on additional vigor; 

 it would add to its name and to its 

 reputation, and would then be in a 

 position to assert itself and its infiu- 

 ence. There are many things this 

 society should do, but none more im- 

 portant. If this matter is placed in 

 the h&nds of an able committee at this 

 present convention, I have no doubt 

 that it will find ways and means to 

 make an early start. 



Publicity. 



To still further advance the cause of 

 horticulture, the subject of florists' 

 publicity is expected to be brought be- 

 fore this meeting. We have many 

 important subjects before us, .none 

 much more important than this. I 

 simply allude to the subject in order 

 that not one of you be absent when the 

 matter is brought up for discussion. It 

 is one which appeals to your pocket- 

 books in that it is desired to' plan ways 

 and means whereby a much greater 

 interest in our business may be stim- 

 ulated, to the end that a still greater 

 volume of business may be transacted. 

 It is proposed to do this through co- 

 operation, and I sincerely trust that a 

 practical method of working out this 

 idea will be evolved. For instance, if 

 through publicity we could influence 

 every man on the street to wear a 

 boutonniere and every lady a corsage 

 bouquet, can any one figure just how 

 many cut flowers would be required 

 daily for this one particular custom? 



Overhead Costs. 



Here is a subject which must appeal 



tous all. How many of our members 

 have put into practice a system where- 

 by they can tell, weekly or monthly, 

 just what their overhead expenses 

 amount to in actual money? There is 

 no point more vital to success in any 

 business than the possession of this 

 knowledge. Houses which understand 

 fully their overhead costs seldom go 

 into bankruptcy; on the other hand, 

 they will generally be found among the 

 more prosperous of our country's es- 

 tablishments. By overhead costs I 

 refer to the thousand and one expenses 

 of a business which, being indirect, 

 are all too often lost sight of when 

 making a price. These overhead ex- 

 penses comprise all details of cost which 

 are responsible for the ability to pro- 

 duce your goods but which do not 

 appear as direct expenses; for instance, 

 rent, coal, original cost of building and 

 ordinary wear and tear on same, the 

 keeping up of horses and wagons or 

 automobiles, advertising, taxes and in- 

 surance, necessary travel, the salaries 

 paid to all non-producers and petty 

 expenses. In clearer words, overhead 

 expenses consist of the non-productive 

 factors in a business, all of which, 

 however, have to be reckoned with and 

 provided for in making a scale of 

 charges for your product. 



I would like to see a committee 

 appointed on overhead costs, to be 

 directed to present a report at the 1913 

 convention, with such figures and data 

 as they could bring to bear on this 

 progressive subject. ^ When a man in 

 business has the certainty that the 

 price at which he is selling his stock 

 includes all the indirect charges inci- 

 dental to its production, he can feel 

 that his business is being run at a 

 profit, but with these factors unknown, 

 it must ever be a case of "hit or 

 miss." With the establishment of the 

 cost system, we will soon be made 

 acquainted with those stocks we are 

 handling on which we are making a 

 profit and those on which we do not 

 make a profit, and as the tendency of 

 modern business is to throw out every- 

 thing on which it is impossible to make 

 money, this knowledge, once fixed, will 

 certainly be of untold value to all of 

 us who lack that knowledge, and who 

 set a price on their goods, not because 

 they know it will pay them, but be- 

 cause of the fact that others are sell- 

 ing the same stock at an approximate 

 price. 



This committee, if agreed upon, 

 should have an appropriation of $100 

 for advice from experts as to how to 

 correctly take up the consideration of 

 the subject. 



National Flower Show. 



The chairman of the National Flower 

 Show committee will make his report 

 at this meeting, and, from what we 

 have gathered, the same will contain 

 much cheering information, prospects 

 being exceedingly bright for a first- 

 class exhibition. Chas. H. Totty, its 

 chairman, having visited the great 

 International Exhibition at London 

 which took place toward the close of 

 last May, has undoubtedly gathered 

 together many pointers which will be 

 of service to him in handling our own 

 American enterprise. Now that a per- 

 manent flower show committee is in 

 operation, it should not be too much to 

 expect that, before many years have 

 rolled around, this society will be 



[OontlDaed on pa^e 86.] 



