Aprii, 9, 1914. 



'he Florists' Review 



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Designs Furnished for One Funeral by Charles P. Dudley, of Parkersburg, W. Va. 



the statements may be. A plant will 

 generally appear beautiful to a cus- 

 tomer just to the degree that a sales- 

 man makes it clear that this particular 

 plant is most appropriate for this par- 

 ticular time of the year, or explains 

 the possible future of the plant when 

 it receives the proper care. 



A customer will readily acknowledge 

 how handsome a basket really is if his 

 attention is drawn to the wonderful 

 harmony of color or, in some cases, to 

 the striking contrasts of color. Tlowers 

 should always be explained from the 

 existing lines of art. The beauty of a 

 basket will be made clearer by a de- 

 tailed explanation of the quality of the 

 flowers as well as of the quality of 

 the basket itself. 



A customer will accept your sugges- 

 tions for a table decoration usually to 

 the degree that you make it clear why 

 you make such suggestions. This will 

 be possible if you have a knowledge of 

 the size and shape of the table to be 

 decorated. The salesman will then be 

 in a position to explain why he sug- 

 gests certain flowers and how they 

 should be arranged to secure the best 

 effects. A customer will have confi- 

 dence to the extent that a salesman 

 proves his self-reliance, which is uncon- 

 sciously expressed by a thorough knowl- 

 edge of the material to be used. This 

 brings us to the third point, that the 

 goods or materials for sale are perish- 

 able. 



Consider Stock on Hand. 



The salesman who has, through a 

 diplomatic way, found out for what 

 purpose a customer wishes to make a 

 purchase, will immediately be in a posi- 

 tion to make proper suggestions from 

 the stock at his disposal. A successful 

 florist salesman is one who considers 

 the importance of this point, because, 

 with the best of care and under the 

 most favorable conditions, some stock 

 is sure to be a dead loss. An unex- 

 pected change in the weather, which 

 results in a slump in the market for 

 a day or two, will necessitate the rapid 



moving of certain stock. On the other 

 hand, an unexpected rush in business 

 will put a premium on certain stock. 

 These changes or fluctuations are care- 

 fully watched by all successful sales- 

 men. 



This paper was not written for the 

 purpose of outlining any stereotyped 

 method for selling flowers, for, in fact, 

 no two customers can be treated ex- 

 actly alike, with the same results. 



The proper filling of all orders as 

 well as quick and timely delivery will 

 have considerable to do with the cus- 

 tomer's return and his feeling toward 

 the salesman. Therefore, it can be 

 easily seen that a successful florist 

 salesman cannot wholly depend upon 

 his own resources, but must have the 

 harmonious coiiperation of all the other 

 departments in the business. 



DUDLEY'S FUNEEAIi DESIGNS. 



Funeral work provides steady- business 

 for the florist; it also provides him 

 with an exceedingly profitable business 

 when the pieces for one funeral are of 

 the number and qualitj' of those shown 

 in the accompanying illustration. These 

 are the pieces furnished by Charles P. 

 Dudley, of Parkersburg, W. Va., for 

 the funeral of the late Thomas Hawks, 

 secretary of the Anglo-American Oil 

 Co., the London branch of the Standard 

 Oil Co. Roses and carnations were 

 largely used, and Eastej lilies, callas, 

 sweet peas and valley to a less extent. 



PALMER'S PBLSE TABLE. 



Out of the twelve entries at the Bos- 

 ton spring show, the table decoration 

 of Fred E. Palmer, of Brookline, which 

 is shown in the illustration, was selected 

 as the winner of the first prize by the 

 society ladies who acted as judges of 

 this class. The table, laid for eight 

 covers, was effectively got up, and had 

 for its principal components daffodils 

 and Acacia pubescens. 



PLANTS FOR FUNERALS. 



In The Keview of March 19 we no- 

 ticed an inquiry concerning the use of 

 blooming plants for funerals. We have 

 sold azaleas, hydrangeas, lilies and 

 palms for funerals. They are espe- 

 cially desirable when well done and 

 always please the family. The great 

 drawback to their use is the delivery, 

 as it is hard to handle both plants and 

 funeral pieces in a rush. We have 

 also used palms and ferns for decorat- 

 ing around the casket, at the home 

 and also at the cemetery, but the lat- 

 ter is not advisable on account of the 

 danger from frost. 



J. L. O 'Quinn & Co. 



SCALE ON BOSTON FERNS. 



We have found some ferns which 

 are infested with a sort of small white 

 scale, and the leaves so infested turn 

 yellow. Can you give us any informa- 

 tion as to just what kind of scale this 

 is, and what can be done to get rid of 

 it? We are sending vou a sample 

 frond. ' D. F. C. 



The specimen fern frond forwarded 

 with this query was badly infested 

 with a scale insect that is extremely 

 partial to Boston ferns and other ne- 

 phrolepis, and one that will ruin plants 

 rapidly. If the trouble is confined to 

 a few plants, I would burn them 

 promptly in the furnace, but if the in- 

 sects have spread about, then the next 

 best thing would be to go over the lot 

 carefully and cut out the bad fronds, 

 after which the plants should be either 

 sprayed or dipped, preferably the lat- 

 ter, in a l-to-50 solution of tobacco ex- 

 tract and water. This treatment should 

 be given weekly for three or four 

 weeks at Least. If the plants are pro- 

 tected from the sun after the dipping, 

 they are less liable to suffer from the 

 tobacco treatment. W. H. T. 



Tyler, Tex. — Mrs. Frank Hewitt is 

 contemplating selling her entire busi- 

 ness anti property here. 



