570 



The Weekly Florists* Review^ 



MAY 4, 1899. 



time they are for congratulation and 

 prophecies of good. So much of the 

 pathway of life is covered up with 

 thorns we ought to cover the begin- 

 ning with orange blossoms. 

 * * * 



If you ask me the question: What 

 are flowers good for? I answer, They 

 are good to honor and comfort the 

 obsequies. The worst gash ever made 

 into the side of our poor earth is the 

 gash of the grave. It is so deep, it is 

 so cruel, it is so incurable, that it 

 needs something to cover it up. Flow- 

 ers for the casket, flowers for the 

 hearse, flowers for the cemetery. 



What a contrast between a grave in 

 a country churchyard with the fence 

 broken down and the tombstone 

 aslant and the neighboring cattle 

 browsing amid the mullein stalks and 

 the Canada thistles, and a June morn- 

 ing in Greenwood, the wave of roseate 

 bloom rolling to the top of the mounds 

 and then breaking into foamy crests 

 of white flowers all around the pil- 

 lows of dust. It is the difference be- 

 tween sleeping under rags and sleep- 

 ing under an embroidered blanket. 

 We want Old Mortality with his chisel 

 to go through all the graveyards in 

 Christendom, and while he carries a 

 chisel in one hand, we want Old Mor- 

 tality to have some flower-seed in the 

 palm of the other hand. 

 « * * 



It was left for modern times to spell 

 respect for the departed and comfort 

 for the living in letters of floral Gos- 

 pel. Pillow of flowers, meaning rest 

 for the pilgrim who has got to the 

 end of his journey. Anchor of flow- 

 ers, suggesting the Christian hope 

 which' we have as an anchor of the 

 soul, sure and steadfast. Cross of 

 flowers, suggesting the tree on which 

 our sins were slain. If I had my way, 

 I would cover up all the dreamless 

 sleepers, whether in golden-handled 

 casket or pine box, whether a King's 

 Mausoleum or potter's field, with ra- 

 diant or aromatic arboresence. The 

 Bible says: "In the midst of the gar- 

 den there was a sepulcher." I wish 

 that every sepulcher might be in the 

 midst of a garden. 



If you would ask me the question. 

 What are flowers good for? I answer. 

 For religious symbolism. Have you 

 ever studied Scriptural flora? The 

 Bible is an aboretum, it is a divine 

 conservatory, it is a herbarium of ex- 

 quisite beauty. It you want to illus- 

 trate the brevity of the brightest hu- 

 man life, you will quote from Job: 

 "Man Cometh forth as a flower and is 

 cut down." Or will you quote from 

 the Psalmist: "As the flower of the 

 field so he perisheth; the wind passeth 

 over it and it is gone." Or will you 

 quote from Isaiah: "All flesh is grass, 

 and the goodliness thereof is as the 

 flower of the field." Or will you quote 

 from James the Apostle: "As the flow- 

 er of the grass, so he passeth away." 

 What graphic Bible symbolism! 

 * * • 



Flowers also afford mighty symbo- 



lism of Christ, who compared Himself 

 to the ancient queen, the lily, and the 

 modern queen, the rose, when He 

 said: "I am the rose of Sharon and 

 the lily of the valley." Redolent like 

 the one, humble like the other. Like 

 both, appropriate for the sad who 

 want sympathizers, and for the rejoic- 

 ing who want banqueters. Hovering 

 over the marriage ceremony like a 

 wedding bell, or folded like a chaplet 

 on the pulseless heart of the dead. 

 Oh, Christ! Let the perfume of Thy 

 name be wafted all around the earth 

 — lily and rose, lily and rose — until 

 the wilderness, crimson into a garden, 

 and the round earth turn into one 

 great bud of immortal beauty laid 

 against the warm heart of God. 

 Snatch down from the world's banners 

 eagle and lion, and put on lily and 

 rose, lily and rose. 



But, my friends, flowers have no 

 grander use than when on Easter 

 morning we celebrate the reanimation 

 of Christ from the catacombs. The 

 flowers spell resurrection. There is 

 not a nook or corner in all the build- 

 ing but is touched with the incense. 

 The women carried spices to the tomb 

 of Christ, and they dropped spices all 

 around about the tomb, and from 

 these spices have grown all the flow- 

 ers of Easter morn. 



NEW YORK. 



The Market. 



We are having summer weather here 

 today. May 2. The thermometer is 

 somewhere above the eighties, and 

 that means an exodus of the wealthy 

 folks to all kinds of country homes, 

 and besides that a great many are 

 going to Europe. We would not men- 

 tion these facts, only that the circum- 

 stances have an important influence 

 on the florists' trade here. Still, it's 

 an "ill wind," etc., and the prospects 

 for a good Newport and other summer 

 resort trade are very bright, looking at 

 it from this end of the line. 



Flowers, particularly roses, are com- 

 ing in very poor, but they find an out- 

 let somewhere. We notice that in 

 Brooklyn they sell the roses direct 

 from the gi-owers' boxes on the prin- 

 cipal streets at 2 cents each. Mr. 

 Weir's daily purchase in the flower 

 market these times could fill a good 

 sized furniture van. There are 

 the usual small wedding and other 

 decorations, and the steamer work, 

 which all require a certain amount of 

 stock, but there is really nothing 

 worth recording, either in quality of 

 flowers or in elaborate work. 



The very warm weather we have 

 been having since I sent you my last 

 notes has most wonderfully advanced 

 all manner of vegetation. The trees 

 and shrubs have bounded into leaf and 

 bloom and the parks are once more 

 places of pleasure and interest to the 

 general public. "There is one thing to 

 be seen and admired most of all others 

 in our city just now; here and there 

 one comes across some grand old mag- 



nolias, all in full bloom; even if they 

 have dirty red brick walls as a back- 

 ground, they appeal to us in all their 

 loveliness, and we wonder why more 

 of them are not planted. 



There is a most decided increase in 

 the use of window boxes and vases 

 filled with pansies; almost all the ho- 

 tels and clubs have them, and many 

 of the small plots in front of private 

 dwellings are brightened with them. 



Death of J. M. Thorturn. 



We regret to have to record the 

 death of one of the oldest pioneers of 

 the seed trade. Mr. James M. Thor- 

 burn died here on April 24, aged 79 

 years. He was the head of the firm 

 of J. M. Thorburn & Co., which has 

 been established in the seed business 

 here since 1802. "Thorburn's seeds" 

 always were and are a guarantee of 

 quality. 



The deceased was ever ready to help 

 the advancement of horticulture, and 

 many there are in every branch of 

 gardening who will regret to learn of 

 his death. 



Club Meeting. 



The New York Florists' Club will 

 hold its regular monthly meeting on 

 Monday evening next. May 8, at 19 

 W. 27th street. Mr. E. M. Wood, of 

 Natick, Mass., will open a discussion 

 at this meeting; subject. "The Cut 

 Flower Trade, Its Limitations and Its 

 Possibilities." This promises to be a 

 most interesting topic, and it is hoped 

 there will be a large attendance. 



The bowlers will meet that after- 

 noon at 3 o'clock at 57th street and 

 Sixth avenue. 



Auction Sale of Orcliids. 



Orchid experts and others were very 

 much in evidence at Cleary's auction 

 rooms April 28. Sander & Co., of St. 

 Albans, England, sent a thousand Cat- 

 tleya labiata; they were in good con- 

 dition and brought good prices. There 

 were also some fine C. Gigas and a 

 few other varieties of orchids which 

 went at bargain rates. Dr. Kitchen, of 

 Orange, N. J.; J. Roehrs, of Carlton 

 Hill, N. J.; A. Herrington, of Madi- 

 son, N. J., and H. A. Siebrecht, of 

 New Rochelle, N. Y., were among the 

 principal buyers from these parts. We 

 were informed, however, that most of 

 the stock was sold to growers out 

 west. This looks as if the west was 

 awake. However, orchids are destined 

 to become even more popular than 

 they are today; they represent the 

 refined element, as it were, of flori- 

 culture. 



Cleary conducted the sale very suc- 

 cessfully. I tried to average up his 

 talk and gave it up when he had 

 spoken over 200,000 words in four 

 hours, and you wouldn't think the fel- 

 low had a word in him when you meet 

 him away from his place; he is cer- 

 tainly one of our wonders here. 



Various Notes. 



Our city is barricaded with cases of 

 imported nursery stock; they are piled 

 up everywhere. There never were so 



