The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 1 
Copyrighted L903 by The National Nurseryman Publishing Co.. Incorporated. 
Vol. XIII. ROCHESTER, N. Y., AUGUST, 1905. No. 7. 
OFFICE MANAGEMENT 
THOS. B. MEEHAN, DRESHERTOWN, PA. 
Abstract of address before Nurserymen’s Association, 
West Baden, Ind., June 14-16. 
We have had speakers appear before this Association 
year after year, who have told us all about “whole root” and 
piece root” grafts, crown gall, black knot, San .Jose Scale 
and other pernicious insects and diseases- and the remedies 
for them; and we have had discourses and discussions on al¬ 
most every subject under the sun, but I fail to find in the 
Annals of the Association that any one has ever had the nerve 
to tell us how to manage our offices, or to call attention to the 
mistakes we are all liable to make and the means of preventing 
them,—or to suggest any devices or forms that would be of 
help to us in our office work. 
I hope, therefore, that this may be an opening, though I 
fell that I am treading on very thin ice, and in fact I am 
creating an opportunity for some of my friends to “roast” 
me for some of the omissions or errors I probably committed 
this spring. But, to all such I would say “do as I say, not as 
I do.” 
Another thing I want to make clear. The nature of this 
subject makes it rather a personal one,—but I do not want 
you to think I am holding my office up as a model. I merely 
want to show what we do to save time and make our work 
run more smoothly,—and‘to call attention to some of the 
mistakes that have particularly come to my notice during 
the past year or so, and how they might have been obviated. 
MAY SUCCEED AS A GROWER AND FAIL AS A SELLER. 
To be successful in the nursery business it is necessary that 
we should thoroughly understand the various methods of 
production and cultivation, and to produce and handle our 
stock as economically as possible,—for in these days of sharp 
competition and small profits it is absolutely necessary that 
we practice economy in the smallest particular if we are to 
show a balance on the right side of the ledger at the end of 
the year. 
But to be a practical grower is not all that is necessary to 
make your business a profitable one. The art of selling goods 
is really more essential, than the practical experience of grow¬ 
ing them. I know a man who is a practical grower of orna¬ 
mental stock and raises some of the finest plants that come 
on the market, yet he does not understand marketing, and 
the consequence is that what he does sell is at such a low 
price that he makes no profit on it. Now if he was as good 
an office man as he is a grower he would do a big and profitable 
business. 
THE CATALOGUE. 
The preparation of a trade catalogue is one to which suf- 
ficient care is rarely given. With most of us we depend upon 
our catalogues and printers ink in general to act in the ca¬ 
pacity of a salesman, yet in many cases what an unattracti\ e 
fellow you put on the road and frequently his statements are 
very exaggerated and incorrect. For instance, here is an 
illustration that appeared in a circular this spring labeled 
“Spiraea Billardi” (showing cut). Those of you who are 
familiar with the plant will recognize Spiraea Van Houttei. 
Here is another one that looks like an electric fountain. It 
is marked ““New Hardy Spiraea Van Houttei”. Did you 
ever sec a specimen of it that looked like that? Here is a 
picture tagged “ Viburnum plicatum. ” Why use such gro¬ 
tesque illustrations as these when good half tone pictures that 
actually represent the plant can so readily be procured, and 
which would not only help to sell the plant, but aid in making 
the catalogue attractive and a work of art. 
Now I have here some circulars received this spring,—they 
are sent out to get business. Do you suppose they brought 
in as much business as one neatly gotten up, nicely arranged 
and printed in an attractive style so as to catch the eye? 
Why the first impulse would be to throw them in the waste 
paper basket,—they look cheap. There is so much printed 
matter sent out to catch business that it takes something 
more than words to draw attention to what you have to offer. 
In marked contract with these sheets, look at this trade 
catalogue. It is a work of art in itself, and even if you do not 
want to buy roses you would look through the catalogue 
anyhow. That is what your printed matter is for. Even 
small circulars can be gotten up to look well and the ex¬ 
pense is very little more than a cheap looking card or sheet. 
CORRECT NOMENCLATURE. 
Another inexcusable mistake in many trade catalogues is 
the incorrectness of names. This is a very serious one. For 
instance if you list “Syringa” do you mean the Lilac,— the 
botanical name of which is “Syringa vulgaris” or do you 
mean the “Mock Orange” botanically known as “Phila- 
delphus?” Now suppose any one sends us an order for 
“Syringa” what shall we send him—the Lilac or the Mock 
Orange? 
Here is another problem which we have to decide some¬ 
times. A customer orders Hydrangea paniculata,—does he 
really want the type, or does he want the variety Hydrangea 
paniculata grandiflora,—the large flowering sort? Nine times 
out of ten he wants the paniculata grandiflora and kicks 
because he did not get it and when we return him his letter 
to prove that we sent what he ordered, he will usually tell us 
that we ought to know what he wanted. 
CARELESS ORDERING AND STYLE OF ORDER SHEET. 
Carelessness in writing out an order for goods is one of the 
serious mistakes in office work. We have several trade 
customers who always write a three-page letter with their 
order scattered all through it, and it generally takes about 
half an hour's time to make out just what is wanted. The 
up to date office has a regular order sheet with full shipping 
instructions. It should be a printed form and nothing but 
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