6 



TheWcckly Florists' Review. 



JDLY 14, 1910. 





riariar3^riarjag::^EgLsgr:a5f:3tg::^rxg:s5ra^:a^:aa:; 



i THE RETAIL 



1 



FLORIST 



»^.<*^.<<^.<»^.<<^.<»^.<*^.<»^<»^'fe»>'fer»>'fe»>'fef»>'fe^>'fer»)'^r»)'fec»!i''^^ 





COST or AUTO DELIVERY. 



In these days, when the use of auto 

 mobiles for delivery is becoming more 

 and more common in tlie trade, it may 

 be inferred that columns of figures, rep- 

 resenting the prices of machines and 

 the cost of running them, are more in- 

 teresting to many florists than love sto- 

 ries are to the sentimental youth or the 

 baseball scores to the lover of manly 

 sports. Opinions as to the cost of this 

 sort of delivery vary considerably, of 

 course, for the differences in the ma- 

 chines, methods, circumstances and con- 

 ditions all have their effect on the ex- 

 pense account. 



H. F. Littlefield, of Worcester, Mass , 

 recently became the owner of an auto- 

 mobile, a photograph of which is here 

 reproduced. This machine was made by 

 the Autocar Co., of Ardmore, Pa. Mr. 

 Littlefield makes the following state- 

 ment with reference to the cost of run- 

 ning it: 



"We have not yet had it long enough 

 to give accurate information, but our 

 estimate for a year is: Driver and boy, 

 $1,200; gasoline, $250; tires, $500; de- 

 preciation, $750; repairs, $100; interest 

 on cost, $110; liability insurance, $50; 

 fire insurance, $40; estimated total cost 

 of running one year, $3,000. 



"The capacity of the machine is one 

 ton; its speed, twenty-five miles an 

 hour. It will do the work of three 

 teams, as we have a large and scattered 

 delivery. We find it very convenient." 



The S. S. Pennock-Meehan Co., of 

 Philadelphia, is also using an autocar 

 of the same make and the same capacity 

 as Mr. Littlefield 's. A picture of the 

 Pennock-Meehan car, with a brief de- 

 scription of its equipments, appeared in 

 The Review of February 24, page 14. 



AIB PLANT OR SEA MOSS. 



What is the nature of the so-called 

 air plants that are so popular at the 

 present timef Is there a real air plant 

 that can be easily propagated? A. A. 



The air plant sold so largely by retail 

 florists is frequently called sea moss, 

 which is a better descriptive name, 

 tliough the other is in line with the 

 popular belief that the "plants" in the 

 little baskets thrive on air. The moss 

 comes originally from Japan, but it 

 goes first to Germany, where it is pre- 

 pared for market by dyeing and treat- 

 ing with a glycerine preparation to per- 

 petuate it — in reality to keep the air 

 away. 



THE COOK STORE. 



• 



The accompanying illustration is re- 

 produced from a photograph of the il- 

 luminated store front of R. C. Cook, 120 

 Fourth street, Portland, Ore., and shows 

 Mr. Cook sitting at his doorway. His 

 is of the class of flower store which 

 is multiplying most rapidly, and which 



is becoming a steadily increasing factor 

 in the distribution of the cut flowers 

 grown for city markets. 



EXPRESS CO. RESPONSIBLE. 



The writer does business as a whole 

 sale commission dealer in a perishable 

 commodity. A considerable shipping 

 business is done and, in common with 

 other houses in the same line, effort is 

 made to avoid loss by attaching to all 

 shipments a label stating the nature of 

 the contents and the following "Notice 

 to express companies: Should consignee 

 refuse to accept shipment or fail to 

 pay c. o. d., notify us at once by wire 

 at our expense, stating reason why un- 

 delivered, or if amount is less than $4 

 sell to best advantage." A certain c. o. 

 d. shipment went out on the 11 a. ni. 

 train on a Saturday to a city eighty 

 miles distant in another state. On ar- 

 rival the consignee was not prepared 

 to pay c. 0. d. Apparently the express 

 agent, either as a matter of accommo- 

 dation to the consignee or otherwise, 

 made subsequent unsuccessful attempts 

 to deliver and collect. At any rate, 

 telegraph notice of the failure of the 

 consignee to take up the consignment 

 was not sent until Sunday, reaching us 

 at about noon. This, of course, was 

 equivalent to Monday so far as con- 

 cerns the ability to release the c. o. d. 

 or turn the shipment over to some other 

 customer in that city to be sold for our 

 account. The stock spoiled; the loss 

 was total. Now the question at issue 

 is as to whether the express company 

 is liable. We claim that the "at once" 

 in our notice means just what it says, 

 and that it does not mean sometime 

 the next day, even were the next daV a 



full business day for the express com- 

 pany and ourselves. Have the courts 

 decided what ' ' at once ' ' means? Have 

 ■X valid claim! K. B. C 



we 



The courts have had frequent occa- 

 sion to decide as to the meaning of "at 

 once." They hold that it is not to be 

 construed with absolute literalness, be- 

 cause it is impossible for a man to act 

 literally at once or instantaneously 

 upon the happening of any event in his 

 business life. Accordingly, such terms 

 as "forthwith," "immediately," "as 

 soon as possible" and "at once" (all 

 of which are held to be practically 

 synonymous) are construed with refer- 

 ence to the special occasion. The words 

 mean, as the courts hold, that action is 

 to be taken without unreasonable de- 

 lay, all the circumstances of the case 

 being considered. When perishable 

 goods are sent out and the carrier un- 

 dertakes, as in this case, to notify the 

 shipper "at once" of the consignee's 

 refusal to accept the goods, the car- 

 rier's agent certainly has not time to 

 make "subsequent unsuccessful at- 

 tempts to deliver" before sending the 

 notice. An act is not done at once if 

 other unnecessary acts are allowed to 

 intervene. The correspondent is en- 

 titled to recover his loss of the express 

 company. See 40 N. Y. Suppl., 8; 101 

 111., 621, and cases cited in the course 

 of these decisions. — Journal of Com- 



merce. 



AMERICAN GLADIOLUS SOCIETY. 



The schedule of prizes and entry 

 blank for the Rochester exhibition are 

 now ready to mail, and anyone inter- 

 ested that does not receive them, may 

 obtain them by applying to the secre- 

 tary, L. Merton Gage, Orange, Mass., 

 before August 12. Geo. B. Hart, the 

 Rochester florist, has offered a silver 

 cup for the exhibit containing the larg- 

 est number of standard named varieties. 



When it is desired that exhibits be 

 staged by the society, notice should be 

 sent as early as possible to the corre- 

 sponding secretary. Exhibits sent by 

 express should be addressed to Ameri- 

 can Gladiolus Society, Convention Hall, 

 Rochester, N. Y. 



President Hendrickson has appointed 



The Car that Does the Work of Three Delivery Teams. 



