46 



The Florists' Review 



APRIL 2, 1914. 



it. This time the name used was Al- 

 bert Trei and the address was 2509 

 Penn avenue, Pittsburgh. Although 

 written with a typewriter and signed 

 on the machine, the communications of 

 Miller and Frei were so similar in ap- 

 pearance as to leave no doubt they 

 were written by the same man. Con- 

 sequently, The Review did not print the 

 Frei advertisement. Although the ad- 

 vertisement promptly appeared in an- 

 other paper, The Beview turned its 

 order over to the postoflfice inspectors. 

 Right on the heels of it there came an- 

 other advertising order, this time 

 signed Fred Klein, Colona, Pa. The 

 Klein letter was so like the others in 

 appearance that the postoffice inspect- 

 ors started at once for Pittsburgh. The 

 arrest followed in due course. The Fred 

 Klein advertisement appeared in an- 

 other trade paper, even after ' ' Klein ' ' 

 was in jail on The Review's complaint. 

 Investigation showed that Pajonk 

 was widely known among florists in 

 western Pennsylvania, where he had 

 worked for a number of them before 

 removing to Chicago. He is well in- 

 formed on the trade. What was most 

 surprising was the evidence found in 

 his room that he also was operating a 

 swindle, using the names Miss Anna 

 Klein and Miss E. Schwartz. These fic- 

 titious persons advertised in various 

 German papers, for husbands. When a 

 nibble was received a photograph of a 

 good looking young woman was sent. 

 If the game worked, money was asked 

 so that the lady could come on to be 

 married. Because of the vigilance of 

 The Review, and the promptness of the 



postoffice authorities, Pajonk 's opera- 

 tions were cut short. 



The Review does not undertake to 

 decide the merits of controversies be- 

 tween reputable florists who disagree 

 as to the quality or value of the stock 

 they buy or sell, but it is keenly watch- 

 ful to see that all those who use its ad- 

 vertising columns conduct their business 

 with its subscribers in such a manner 

 as to be above suspicion. 



FACTS ABOUT BULB BXnnNa. 



A Holland Grower Addresses Britishers. 



Writing to a horticultural trade paper 

 published in England, a Holland bulb 

 grower makes certain comments that 

 will be of interest if not of value to 

 American buyers: 



"The complaint is often made that 

 Dutch bulb growers, who solicit orders 

 from the trade, do not fulfill their obli- 

 gations properly, particularly with re- 

 gard to quality, and that they often 

 send out something much inferior to 

 that promised to the buyer. 



"To those who know the bulb dis- 

 trict, the reason for this procedure is 

 quite plain. Although bulbs nowadays 

 are sold in ever-increasing quantities 

 all over the civilized world, and com- 

 paratively little is left over at the end 

 of the seasons in Holland, competition 

 among growers is keen, and the num- 

 ber of exporting firms in comparison 

 with the size of the trade far too great. 

 As a result, English buyers receive vis- 

 its from Dutch bulb growers every day 

 during the spring months, and in order 

 to gain an advantage over their com- 



An Easter Basket of the Mixed Cut Flowers of Spring. 



petitors these salesmen hold out all 

 sorts of inducements to tempt the buyer. 

 For instance, one man grows a specially 

 fine stock of a certain article, which 

 often means that he does not grow it 

 at all, but speculates in it because he 

 expects the price to come down; an- 

 other quotes a very low price for mam- 

 moth bulbs, etc., etc. 



"Through all this the English seeds- 

 men and florists are inclined to believe 

 that there is a constant overproduction 

 of bulbs in Holland, or that the cost of 

 producing bulbs is next to nothing, and 

 that by placing orders with several 

 Dutch growers, selecting the articles 

 which each grower offers cheapest, he is 

 xeally buying at lowest cost the best 

 produce, because according to their own 

 words the low quotations are made to 

 get rid of large stocks. 



' ' And yet he is in many cases quite 

 wrong. He thinks that he has done his 

 buying in the most economical and sen- 

 sible way, but the Dutchman is more 

 sensible even; a low price serves as a 

 bait to get orders for better paying 

 articled, and without a substantial order 

 for the latter he will supply a quality in 

 accordance with the low price. 



"With the exception of some orders 

 from customers who know conditions in 

 Holland better, or who have been 

 taught by experience that dealing with 

 too many Dutch growers is far from 

 satisfactory, the majority of orders 

 which reach the Dutch bulb growers now- 

 adays from England have been skimmed 

 of all cream, and form a sad contrast 

 with the more general orders received 

 from continental Europe and America, 

 usually at much better prices, because 

 these countries buy their bulbs much 

 earlier in the spring, when competition 

 has not reached the high water mark 

 of May and June, and also because in 

 more distant countries even large buy- 

 ers do not split up their orders between 

 more than two or three houses they 

 rely upon. Moreover, where cases and 

 packing may seldom be charged in Eng- 

 land, it is the rule to charge them else- 

 where, and few customers are so ever 

 ready to claim small allowances from 

 accounts for a few bulbs decayed in 

 transit or under-sized as the English 

 buyer, even if the consignment as a 

 whole is satisfactory. 



"The consequences are that more and 

 more of the best quality bulbs which 

 Holland produces pass English shores 

 or travel eastward, while English or- 

 ders are filled with what is left over, 

 always excepting such orders as are 

 given by firms who insist on having the 

 best quality, and who are willing to pay 

 the price it is worth and who do not 

 threaten the Dutch seller not to give 

 an order, or only a small share, if ho 

 does not compete with a dozen of hin 

 countrymen. 



"Now, how is it that some English 

 firms always get excellent bulbs from 

 Holland, and others are often wonder- 

 ing why they get one article good, the 

 next indifferent, and another decidedly 

 poor? 



"Dissatisfaction with the English 

 buying methods has been pretty general 

 among Dutch bulb growers, and is grow- 

 ing every year, and it is often incompre- 

 hensible how a buyer can claim the best 

 quality, true to name, when he places a 

 skeleton order at minimum prices. 



"At the present time, with a growing 

 love for flowers in other countries which 

 have rapidly grown in wealth and pop- 

 ulation, best quality bulbs find a ready 



