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14 



The Florists^ Review 



Febbuaby 13, 1913. 



firm of Edward Webb & Sons, seed 

 growers and merchants, Stourbridge, 

 England, died in Paris January 21. He 

 was in his sixty-ninth year. In his day 

 he did considerable work in the raising 

 and improving of strains of garden and 

 agricultural seeds, and the firm is one 

 of the largest in the country. 



David King, nurseryman, Edinburgh, 

 has been elected chairman of the Scot- 

 tish Horticultural Ajwociation. Bee. 



DAipiIA SOCIETY. 



The seventh annual meeting of the 

 New England Dahlia Society was held 

 at Boston January 29. John K. Alex- 

 ander, of East Bridgewater, Mass., was 

 unanimously reelected to a third term 

 as president. W. C. Brady, of WoUaston, 

 Mass., was reelected vice-president. J. 

 Herbert Alexander, of East BridgewAter, 

 was elected secretary, and George L. 

 Stillman, of Westerly, E. I., was elected 

 treasurer. The executive committee is: 

 Edgar W. Ela, Waburn, Mass.; J. H. 

 Flint, Salem, Mass.; C. N. Bacon, Hol- 

 liston, Mass.; L. B, E. Briggs, Cam- 

 bridge, Mass., aii4. Parker A. Mansfield, 

 Maiden, Mass. ^ 



Maurice Fuld, of the H. F. Michell 

 Co., Philadelphia, gave an interesting 

 address. 



The society accepted the invitation 

 to hold its annual exhibition in con- 

 junction with the"' dahlia show of the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 

 September 12 to 14, and to make the 

 1913 show the largest "dahlia exhibition 

 ever held in this country. Secretary 

 Alexander says: "We ought to have a 

 full thousand members before the 1913 

 show is held. Twenty-eight American 

 states, including Porto Eico, and five 

 foreign countries are Jalready repre- 

 sented in our list. The New England 

 Dahlia Society issues quarterly a 

 'Dahlia News,' which deals with all 

 phases of dahlia life, a paper of great 

 value to our dahlia-loving members." 



THE PUBLICITY PEOPAQANDA. 



[Extracts from a paper by M. C. Ebel, read 

 before the New York Florists' Club February 10. 

 1913.] 



No more perplexing problem confronts 

 the business man than what to do, and 

 how to do it, to get the greatest return 

 from his expenditures in creating a 

 selling market for his products. More 

 money is wasted in this branch of a 

 business than in any other department, 

 because it is next to impossible to trace 

 returns on all that is expended. I have, 

 however, been quietly watching the 

 course of events since I fired my first 

 shot at publicity last May, and the 

 interest which has been manifested 

 among the florists generally in this sub- 

 ject must assure anyone not a pessimist 

 that the publicity movement will not 

 be permitted to wane, but that it will 

 progress until it will finally make its 

 power and influence felt in the florists' 

 industry, just as it is doing among the 

 younger industries today. 



The Evolution Progressing. 



There is no question that the florists' 

 business is already unconsciously fol- 

 lowing in the evolution through which 

 other successful industries have passed 

 from their minor state into great enter- 

 prises. I refer principally to the large 

 commercial florierts ' establishments, 

 which are producing along the same 

 lines that the large manufacturers 

 produce, studying all the phases where 



economies may be practiced and then 

 taking advantage of the economies to 

 reduce the cost of production, and so, 

 as in other fields of endeavor, the large 

 grower can make money at prices at 

 which the small grower cannot aflEord 

 to produce. 



This feature of the florist business is 

 never again going to diminish, but on 

 the contrary will continue to increase, 

 and with this development of the busi- 

 ness the chances of your ever seeing 

 much higher prices for flowers than 

 those now prevailing become more and 

 more remote. 



Chain Stores Planned. 



Wallace E. Pierson, in his paper, 

 "The Florist and His Market," pre- 

 sents some arguments which should 

 make grower, wholesaler and retailer 

 sit up and take notice. He says they 

 are all in the same boat. He is right, 

 He urges cooperation between the 

 grower, wholesaler and retailer, rather 

 than competition, and warns of the 

 possibility of a chain of stores handling 

 flowers as they do other commodities. 



This is no longer a possibility but 

 will soon be an announced fact; for a 

 strong organization is already under 

 contemplation having associated with 

 it a man heavily interested in several 

 similar successful, what might be 

 termed, endless chain store enterprises. 

 It will seek direct outlets for its pro- 

 ductions, and as its retail business 

 expands, it can continue to increase its 

 growing capacity, if it chooses, or exer- 

 cise the privilege, if it finds it more 

 profitable to do so, of going direct to 

 growers and contracting for their en- 

 tire output. The opportunity is a great 

 one. The mystifying part of it is that 

 it has not been taken advantage of 

 before. It brings to mind an old saying 

 that it takes an outsider to discover 

 the inside of one's opportunities. 



No general publicity campaign will 

 be required by such a concern. It wiH 

 do its own advertising and create its 

 own markets; but this is individual 

 advertising and will not help its neigh- 

 bor in the business. Individual adver- 

 tising only helps the individuals by 

 whom it is directed. 



Local Publicity Campaigns. 



Then we have our local publicity or 

 advertising campaigns. They may have 

 some good features, but I have failed 

 to discern any in watching what has so 

 far been undertaken. No doubt some 

 of them have been productive of re- 

 sults, but could they be declared a 

 success when the expenditures are 

 taken into account? For argument's 

 sake, let us concede that one of the 

 local publicity committees would hit on 

 a plan whereby a greater demand and 

 better i3rices for flowers could be estab- 

 lished within its region. How long 

 would it be before the growers from 

 elsewhere would swamp that locality 

 with shipments to get some of those 

 better prices and they would again be 

 confronted with the problem of how to 

 overcome the gluts? 



Curtailment of products can not be 

 successfully maintained in the florist 

 industry, although the suggestion was 

 offered at the Philadelphia meeting, 

 where Mr. Pierson first read his paper, 

 that the florists devote some of their 

 glass for a time to vegetable growing. 

 The weak point here is that the vege- 

 table grower is confronted with the 

 same problem as the florist. 



Universal publicity, educating the 

 public to the usages of flowers and 

 plants, instructing them how to grow 

 and care for them, how to employ them, 

 and convincing them that they are not 

 luxuries but comforts which gladden 

 the heart and mitigate sorrow and suf- 

 fering, that is what is now required 

 to increase the selling market for the 

 florists, and there is nothing else left 

 to accomplish this for you. 



A National Bureau Needed. 



Mr. Pierson has struck the right trail 

 on publicity when he states that we 

 need a national publicity bureau. And 

 that bureau must be under the super- 

 vision of a man who is well informed on 

 the details of the industry he is to 

 represent, and on all the inner work- 

 ings of the press in general. He is not 

 easily found, but he exists and when 

 you do find him, give him a fair chance. 



But who is to pay the piper for this 

 music? All of us. Let the support be 

 forthcoming from the S. A. F., from thft 

 local societies and all allied interests of 

 floriculture. We shall all benefit by it, 

 growers, wholesalers, retailers, seeds- 

 men, supply men, greenhouse men and 

 all. The big men need publicity less 

 than the small men. The small grower 

 is the sufferer in a bad market and I 

 predict that the time is not far distant 

 when he will have to abandon the big 

 markets and find his own direct market 

 at home, as many are already doing. 

 Therefore, he should be prepared to 

 contribute his mite to the share ex- 

 pected of the large growers and others 

 towards making it possible to inaugu- 

 rate a campaign of publicity which 

 must be national in scope to build up 

 for him a greater demand for his 

 products. 



EVANSVILLE, IND. 



The Market. 



Business has been a little quiet in 

 the last week, which was the coldest of 

 the winter. St. Valentine's day should 

 be good for the florists, as well as the 

 stationers. Flowers are not so plenti- 

 ful, the roses and carnations being off 

 crop, but should be in good supply for 

 Easter. Considerable bulbous stock is 

 on the market, Eomans, Paper Whites, 

 etc. 



Various Notes. 



C. L. Niednagel's cut has not been so 

 heavy, but the quality is excellent. He 

 is cutting some fine long-stemmed Beau- 

 ties. He expects to go over to Hunt- 

 ingburg, Ind., next Sunday to see the 

 plant of Peter Morgen. 



Julius Niednagel reports no kick as 

 to business done. Eoses and carna- 

 tions are off crop, but will be in again 

 for Easter. The new residence is being 

 heated by steam from the greenhouse 

 plant. 



The Wm. Blackman Floral Co. is do- 

 ing the usual good business. The out- 

 of-town trade has been good all season. 



Karl Zeidler has been cutting some 

 extra fine carnations this winter. The 

 plants are in solid beds. 



J. C. Elspermann has been rushed 

 with business lately. The carnations 

 will be in good crop for Easter. 



E. L. Fenton has been elected secre- 

 tary of the Ohio Valley Fanciers ' Asso- 

 ciation. E. L. F. 



Portland, Conn. — Otto Keser has fully 

 recovered from the effects of the recent 

 storm and reports a good season. 



