WHAT OTHERS SAY. 427 



JUDGING DESIGNS. 



In selecting a judge of floral designs it is not always safe to infer 

 that because a gentleman is a good judge of plants he will do equally- 

 well with designs. He may know that the plant is true to name and 

 color and free from disease, well grown, etc., but he has lived such a 

 wholly practical life, giving all of his time to the growing of plants, that 

 he has not cultivated his taste for the beautiful, or devoted much thought 

 to the artistic side of our business. This is by no means always the case, 

 as there are a great many growers that could teach the dealer how to 

 arrange flowers. 



In any case it is important to select gentlemen of refined taste and 

 those that can decide between the work of a carpenter and an artist. 

 To avoid these mistakes let us decide upon the best points to be consid- 

 ered ; for instance, the harmonious arrangement of colors ; the graceful 

 arrangement of flowers ; the quality of flowers ; the general effect of the 

 design, and, possibly, the practicability of the same ; that is, how far 

 would it be useful in our business. This point, I think, would generally 

 be entitled to ten, but when we find a florist who attempts to perpetrate 

 a monstrosity on a confiding public and expect them to look upon it as 

 a work of art, the judges instead of allowing him ten points, which 

 should be the standard for all, they would allow say two or possibly zero. 

 If the judges see anything in the arrangement of color that they think 

 could be improved upon, allow eight, six or whatever they may think 

 just. Often the general effect will be good, but on critical examination 

 the quality is hardly up to the mark and vice versa ; mark the different 

 points accordingly. In this way not only the florist will have some- 

 thing to work for, but the judges will have the same advantages in de- 

 ciding on the merits of the designs. — American Florist. 



