October 27, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



9 



tegrity, and will also help to increase 

 your business. 



If you are in doubt about anything, 

 don't pretend to know; find the man 

 that knows and ask him. You can 

 always find him, provided you have the 

 courage to admit there is something you 

 do not know. Make your people feel 

 that nowhere else could they obtain as 

 ^'ood results as with you. It is a well- 

 settled fact that every satisfied cus- 

 tomer will make another for you. 



The Up-to-Date Salesman. 



Years ago all that was required of 

 the florist was the making of a bou- 

 quet, putting a few flowers into a 

 second-hand shoe box, making a few 

 so-called designs for funeral purposes, 

 and occasionally something more pre- 

 tentious than a bouquet for a large 

 banquet. 



Today the florist must be prepared to 

 present ideas to the customer for the 

 decoration of the dinner table, house 

 decorations for weddings, receptions, 

 teas, etc.; church decorations for all 

 occasions; the arrangement of flowers 

 in appropriate forms for birthdays, an- 

 niversaries, funerals, etc. He must 

 know what is appropriate for the occa- 

 sion and properly execute the commis- 

 sion. To the average buyer the selec- 

 tion of flowers for a special occasion 

 is a new experience, and it is the duty 

 of the florist to suggest to his customer 

 what he knows is the best thing for 

 him to have. Not only must the florist 

 do this, but he should make the expense 

 so reasonable that the customer will 

 not be afraid to look at a florist's 

 window afterward. 



There is more money in selling a man 

 $0 worth of goods a hundred times 

 than in selling him $100 worth once. 

 The florist often finds it difficult to 

 draw the line between what he would 

 like to give the customer and what he 

 wants and should have, and often the 

 addition of a few dollars to the expense 

 would act as the straw that broke the 

 camel's back. While the customer 

 would pay it, and really get his money 's 

 worth, he would still feel that he was 

 compelled to undergo an expense that 

 under the circumstances was entirely 

 uncalled for. 



One Point in Educating the Public. 



The more the general public is edu- 

 cated to the fact that it is the thing to 

 pifovide flowers for any and all occa- 

 sions, the better it will be for your 

 business. The only way to do this is 

 to make them feel that they are getting 

 their money's worth. 



While flowers vary in price at dif- 

 ferent seasons of the year, they always 

 have a price, and it should be the same 

 to everybody. It is too often the habit 

 with some florists to ask a certain price 

 for flowers that his customer will con- 

 sider more than he wants to pay, and 

 then, instead of offering something 

 more in keeping with what is wanted 

 as regards price, he will reduce the 

 price of his offerings. This is not the 

 practice in other lines of business, and 

 nothing you can do or say will convince 

 your customer that you were not at- 

 tempting to take advantage of him. 

 1 do not mean by this that a large buyer 

 should not receive concessions. It is 

 legitimate in any business to sell a 

 buyer at a less price per hundred than 

 could be made for a single article. 



Never allow one customer to say to 

 another that he can buy the same tiling 



The Bride. 



for less money than the other can. This 

 is also true when you give a purchaser 

 a price and he tells you he can get the 

 same thing elsewhere for less money. 

 Take no notice of it. The other fel- 

 low must make a profit the same as you, 

 or he could not do business. Certainly 

 he should not be able to grow or buy 

 at a less price than you can, but if he 

 does, it is your fault, and you should 

 take the necessary steps to be on an 

 equal footing with him. 



At best the retailer has a .hard road 

 to travel. Of course he has his com- 

 pensations, but he also has a few 

 troubles, one of which is the lack of 

 appreciation on the part of the grower. 

 When all is said and done, the disposal 

 of ninety per cent of the flower supply 

 depends on the retailer. 



THE BRIDE AT THE ALTAE. 



[GleanlDg of an Interview with Charles Henry 

 Fox.] 



The serious expression of the young 

 girl about to make the most solemn of 

 vows is in keeping with the moment 

 just before the marriage ceremony. Her 

 bride's bouquet of lilies of the valley 

 and white orchids, which gives the faint- 

 est touch of pale pink, is of the style 



known as the arm shower bunch. It is 

 carried in the left hand and is so ar- 

 ranged that the right is free. The idea 

 of combining grace and beauty is fur- 

 ther carried out by moderation in the 

 length of the shower, a feature that has 

 sometimes been carried to excess. 



While white is the best color to use 

 in brides' bunches, the faint pink of the 

 orchid is in good taste. The green 

 used is maidenhair fern. Phil. 



VINCA MINOR. 



I am sending under separate cover 

 some specimens of a plant which I think 

 is Vinca minor. Will you please tell me 

 if it is? I have a fine lot of it and 

 want to advertise it, if there is any sale 

 for it. C. M. W. 



The plant forwarded is Vinca minor, 

 for which you should find a good sale. 

 For use on graves, for covering bare 

 banks and for naturalizing in wood- 

 lands, this is one of the most valuable 

 evergreen plants we have. C. W. 



Petersburg, Va. — The American Bulb 

 Farm, near here, has been purchased by 

 A. K. Davis, of this city, for $1,970. 



