June 5, 1913. 



The Florists' Review 



15 



to be exploited, as a means to a selfish 



end. 



The Street Faker. 



And when the. grower finally rebels 

 and his agent, the commission man, is 

 forced to enter into a business trans- 

 action with the street merchant, or 

 faker, in order to unload his surplus — 

 oh, what a wail is raised! 



"The faker is a detriment to the 

 business," we hear on all sides. "He 

 is a nuisance; he is no good; he should 

 be swept off the street along with other 

 rubbish. ' ' 



It seems to be the unqualified opin- 

 ion of some retail men that it is the 

 duty of the grower to protect the in- 

 terests of what they call "the legiti- 

 mate trade," regardless of all other 

 considerations. 



If the stock which he, the retail 

 man, refuses to buy, finds an outlet on 

 the street, the grower, in his opinion, 

 has committed an unpardonable sin 

 •ind should be tabooed. 



Granted that the street faker is a 

 nuisance, granted that he is a detri- 

 ment to the business and that the less 

 we see of him the better for the "legi- 

 timate trade" — granted all this and 

 much more, if you please — the ques- 

 tion arises, who is responsible for such 

 a condition of affairs? 



Has not the retailer the first chance 

 to take up the surplus? Is it not up 

 to him to devise means and ways of 

 moving stock when stock is plentiful? 

 We hear much of publicity these days. 

 AVhat does publicity mean, anyway? Is 

 it an academic question, to be dis- 

 cussed and debated upon in our club 

 rooms, or does it mean advertising, 

 pure and simple, in the manner in 

 which any other business man adver- 

 tises merchandise? 



Are Bargain Sales Undignified? 



There are some retail men, and these 

 among the leaders in the business, who 

 seem to be under the erroneous impres- 

 sion that their dignity and their stand- 

 ing in the community would become 

 jeopardized if they were to hold spe- 

 cial sales in times of an overproduc- 

 tion. "Why," these men reason, 

 ' * Madam So and So, of the exclusive 

 smart set, could not bear to mingle 

 with the common herd who might be 

 attracted to our stores by a jilentiful 

 tlisplay of cut flowers in our windows 

 at special prices. It might harm our 

 standing with our best trade." 



Would it? 



As well may a .John Wanamaker or a 

 Marshall Field dispense with their 

 sales of the $1.99 woman's headgear 

 during a dull season lest their $50 bon- 

 nets might suffer in consequence in 

 the right season. 



What holds true of bonnets and other 

 merchandise holds equally true of cut 

 flowers and plants. There is nothing 

 gained by disregarding the law of 

 supply and demand; nor is it possible 

 to create and maintain inflated values 

 on merchandise, the supply of which 

 exceeds the demand, or at a time when 

 business conditions in general fully 

 warrant reductions in prices. The suc- 

 cessful business man, we all know, ig 

 he who creates the demand and keeps 

 things moving in and out of season, 

 and not he who simply waits for better 

 times without bestirring himself to 

 hasten them. 



The Wholesaler and the Holidays. 



There is, however, another side to 

 the storv. 



S. S. Skiielsky. 



The grower, in his turn, is not at 

 all slow to reciprocate or to retaliate 

 when his opportunity presents itself. 



The holiday seasons invariably offer 

 these opportunities — to hit back, to 

 hit hard and often in a way that makes 

 the retailer wince with pain and wish 

 that he were engaged in some other, 

 line. At such times not only do 

 prices rise to inordinate proportions, 

 making flowers a sort of ])rohibitive 

 luxury which the rich only dare in- 

 dulge in, but the average quality of 

 the stock thrown on the market is 

 often of an inferior grade, by no means 

 worth the price asked for it. 



Need I mention pickled stock or 

 flowers kept too long on the plants in 

 order to bring them in just in the 

 "nick of time" and thus make them 

 yield better returns? 



How often do we hear about ordi- 

 nary Beacon carnations bringing as 

 high as $15 per hundretl at Christmas 

 time! What sort of a margin can the 

 retailer make on such stock, especially 

 when a lot happens to go to the bad 

 and when his customer absolutely re- 

 fuses to pay for such flowers at the 

 time of settlement? Nor need I add 

 that under such circumstances the re- 

 tail men in general, and the small fel- 

 lows in particular, have not the ghost 

 of a chance to make their salt. 



An Undercurrent of Enmity. 

 Thus we see that an atmosphere of 

 antagonism and an undercurrent of 

 enmity, as it were, exist between two 

 progressive bodies of men, to the detri- 

 ment of the interests of both. Instead 

 of working side by side with the sole 



aim and object of giving each other 

 the square deal at all times and under 

 all circumstances, we find that the con- 

 trary is the case. Instead of regard- 

 ing the splendid work that each one 

 is doing as a contribution to the gen- 

 eral good, we hear on the one side, 

 that if it were not for the retailer 

 who educated the public and created 

 the demand for all that is best in flori- 

 culture, there would be no growers, 

 such as we see today, and on the other 

 side, that if it were not for the grower 

 who is enterprising enough to risk his 

 capital and all, the retailer of today 

 could not possilDly exist. 



I am reminded of an argument be- 

 tween two boys. Said one to the other, 

 "If it were not for the cow, we would 

 'have no milk." "If it were not for 

 the milk, we would have no use for 

 the cow," replied the other youngster. 

 [OoDtlnaed on patre S2.1 



SWEET PEA EXHIBITION. 



The annual exhibition and conven- 

 tion of the American Sweet Pea So- 

 ciety will be held July 5 and 6 at Bos- 

 ton, according to the announcement 

 made June 3 by Secretary Harry A. 

 Bunyard. The premium list will amount 

 to $2,000, of which $.500 is supplied by 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety, the show being held in the hall 

 of that organization in conjunction 

 with its own exhibition. The schedule 

 of premiums will be ready within a 

 fortnight. 



McPherson, Kan.— Chas. A. Simonson 

 will erect another greenhouse this sum- 

 mer. 



