16 



The Florists^ Review 



Januabt 9. 1013. 



deliver. At Christmas we have to en- 

 gage extra help. Two of these boys 

 were extras. One of them delivered 

 one package, and then, tired of tramp- 

 ing around in the snow, came back 

 with the rest. Our store, all work be- 

 ing finished, closed at 2 o'clock. This 

 boy, finding it closed, left his packages 

 in care of the taxicab man next door 

 and — skipped. A little later one of our 

 regular boys, one of the composite 

 whole, arrived and discovered the pack- 

 ages that had been left. "Great Scott! 

 This will never do, ' ' he thought. ' So 

 he hired a taxicab, delivered the goods, 

 saved the customers from being disap- 

 pointed — and turned in the bill to the 

 house. 



This boy is a 100-pointer. We need 

 more of them. Educate them! Elevate 

 them! Make them proud of the flower 

 business! 



The retailer should make an effort to 

 feature the use of flowers for every 

 occasion by having his windows appro- 

 priately decorated. Your windows are 

 the mirrors of your business. 



Organized Publicity. 



I am much in favor of a plan of or- 

 ganized publicity. Let each of us sub- 

 scribe a specific amount per year to 

 feature the use of flowers for the vari- 

 ous occasions. Give out the idea broad- 

 cast that the use of flowers is not a 

 millionaire 's luxury, that we have some- 

 thing to sell that everyone should use 

 and just as necessary to happiness in 

 civilized life as the more staple articles 

 of merchandise. Once we can start 

 this favorable impression, when the 

 man with $1 to spend for flowers feels 

 assured that he is just as welcome as 

 the man who drives up in a taxicab 

 with $25 to spend, a wonderful increase 

 will be seen in the sale of flowers. 



To show you how these suggestions 

 work, we filled our windows with cra- 

 dles of all sizes, filled with flowers from 

 $1 up to $10, and in two weeks' time 

 we sold over fifty of them. Now, re- 

 member, this was done by suggestion. 

 None of these people would ever have 

 thought of the new arrival had they 

 not seen the cradles in the window, and 

 everybody does not walk down Broad 

 street either. Let everyone of the 

 craft put his shoulder to the wheel and 

 we will sell 500 cradles instead of fifty. 



This illustrates clearly what can be 

 done to increase the sale of flowers, 

 and without any bargain business 

 either. People will pay you a fair 

 price for anything that is gotten up in 

 an attractive, unique way. But one or 

 two men cannot bring about this favor- 

 able impression. We must have con- 

 certed action. We must work hand in 

 hand and spend money on general pub- 

 licity td make flowers popular for all 

 occasions. 



Every now and again you see state- 

 ments in the newspapers and magazines 

 that "this year little French bouquets 

 of artificial flowers will be the vogue 

 for street wear." While they are ef- 

 fective and good looking, nevertheless 

 they are artificial and interfere seri- 

 ously with the sale of cut flowers. They 

 eliminate one of our most profitable 

 lines, the corsage bunch. What have 

 we as florists done to counteract this 

 whim of the public? Nothing! We 

 simply sit by and let them wear the 

 artificial flowers, while we keep the 

 fresh ones. 



This is where the advertising bureau 



will come in strong. Get a first-class 

 advertising man, have him meet with 

 us at our regular meetings, talk over 

 our plans with him, open our business 

 secrets to him. Then let him write 

 good copy, favorable to the use of flow- 

 ers. In many cases this can be inserted 

 in the newspapers for nothing; in fact, 

 the newspapers are glad to get such 

 copy, but the way it is written has all 

 to do with it. 



Do this for a year or so and you will 

 find a wonderful change in the public 

 mind in regard to flowers. 



Let Everybody Boost. 



About three weeks before the holi- 

 days four newspaper representatives 

 called on me for news on Christmas 

 flowers and their prices. I told every- 

 one this was going to be a flower year; 

 that flowers were never so good or so 

 plentiful as this year, and that they 

 will be cheap — little above the popular 



price. Everyone was amazed, for the 

 first question they greeted me with was, 

 "Flowers will be very high, won't 

 theyt" 



It was the same with customers in 

 the store. I instructed every salesman 

 not to dare mention the word "expen- 

 sive" or "scarce" in regard to Christ- 

 mas £owers. 



Did all this leave a favorable impres- 

 sion? Of course it did. It was positive 

 instead of negative. It helped the pub- 

 lic to decide in favor of flowers. 



This, gentlemen, is, I think, the 

 proper spirit. This is what we should 

 do to bring the public mind with us, 

 instead of diverting it by scaring them 

 into other channels. 



In closing, let me say once more that 

 what we want to do is to come to a 

 more perfect understanding. Get more 

 closely associated. Study each others' 

 needs and — ^boost the flower business 

 for all it is worth. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Fhalsenopsis. 



Phalaenopsis are now commencing to 

 make a fine display of flowers. Quite 

 a few were in time for Christmas, a 

 season when choice orchids always are 

 in demand. P. amabilis, grandiflora 

 and the splendid form Bimestadiana 

 are all now in season. Their large, 

 pure white flowers are superb in high- 

 class design or bouquet work. The 

 beautiful pink, P. Schilleriana, is also 

 coming into flower. Its many branched, 

 arching. spikes carry twenty-five to 100 

 flowers each, occasionally even more. 

 Even when out of flower this orchid is 

 attractive, on account of its handsome 

 variegated leaves. 



Phalaenopsis must have a warm 

 house; 65 degrees at night is a suitable 

 minimum except on zero nights, when 

 60 degrees is sufficient. They must 

 never, even in midwinter, be exposied 

 to direct sunshine, as their leaves are 

 easily burned. Neither must they be 

 exposed to anything in the nature of 

 draughts from the ventilators; the out- 

 side air must be well warmed before 

 striking them. It is a common mistake, 

 however, to grow them in heavy shade. 

 This causes handsome leaves to be pro- 

 duced, but the flower spikes are dis- 

 appointing. 



Care must, at this season, be taken 

 in watering. If the plants are too wet 

 at the , roots the foliage will decay. 

 Keep the moss on the surface of the 

 pans or cylinders slightly moistened 

 and let the plants have a genial, moist 

 growing atmosphere at all times. Lay 

 baits for snails, which are sometimes 



troublesome', and wrap some cotton- 

 wool around each flower spike as it ap- 

 pears, for protection. Damp frequently 

 on and about the plants and sponge 

 the leaves occasionally, so that thrips 

 or red spider, which terribly disfigure 

 them, may not gain any foothold. 



Calanthes. 



What superb midwinter orchids the 

 calanthes are! And how strange it is 

 that they are not yet more grown com- 

 mercially! For decorative purposes on 

 mantels or tables they are . so much 

 superior to cattleyas that comparison 

 is simply odious. Calanthe Veitchii, 

 of which there are several fine named 

 forms, is the leader, but there is the 

 older C. vestita in several colors and a 

 number of hybrids raised within the 

 last ten or fifteen years. If the Messrs. 

 Veitch had never raised any other 

 orchid than Calanthe Veitchii it would 

 in itself suffice to perpetuate their 

 memory for generations to come, and 

 it was, if I mistake not, one of the 

 first hybrid orchids raised, if not the 

 first. 



Calanthes now are, or should be, al- 

 most at their best, with the exception 

 of the later flowering C. Kegnieri. They 

 should have a rather dry house, with a 

 minimum temperature of 60 to 65 de- 

 grees. The foliage before now has all 

 left the plants and little moisture must 

 be afforded at the root. In fact, there 

 is no need to apply any; the spikes 

 will develop just as well without it, 

 and there is then no danger of causing 

 the bulbs to turn black, as is possible 

 when a little overplus of water is 

 afforded them. 



Where arranged in a greenhouse for 



