204 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



jni>Y 19, 1900. 



is the possibility of the dollar gli tar- 

 ing. Of course no one can be blamed 

 for clearing out perishable stock at 

 a remunerative price to any comer, 

 but street peddlers have a habit of 

 making all the stock in a place look 

 as cheap as possible, and they are not 

 very particular how they do it if they 

 are allowed their way; a bruise can 

 easily be put on any flower, but never 

 taken off. 



The Retailer at the Convention. 



A prominent Broadway florist whom 

 we met last week asked us if the re- 

 tailers were going to make a display 

 at the exhibition to be held in con- 

 nection with the coming florists' con- 

 vention. We told him we didn't think 

 they were, because so far there was 

 no provision made for such a display. 

 In the first place, there are very few 

 retailers proper who are members of 

 the New York Florists' Club. There 

 is no committee of retailers. The 

 chairman of the hall decoration com- 

 mittee is a wholesaler, who cannot be 

 expected to represent the artistic abil- 

 ity of the New York florist. There is 

 neither certificate nor medal offered 

 for competition among retailers, so at 

 present it looks as if visitors must be 

 satisfied with heaps of plants and gen- 

 eral supplies. 



There is no mistaking the fact that 

 a great majority of those coming here 

 next month would prefer to see work 

 put up by the retailers, for that is al- 

 ways the most instructive part of an 

 exhibition. Not seeing it at the show, 

 there is no doubt the stores will be 

 visited in an endeavor to see what is 

 the latest, but here again nothing 

 but disappointment will be met with, 

 for a New York florist's store in Aug- 

 ust is at its very worst, and there will 

 be no effort made to make them appear 

 otherwise. It was hoped by many that 

 such as table decorations would be 

 made a feature one day, funeral de- 

 signs another, and that other forms 

 of important branches would be shown 

 the other, in order that many would 

 gain knowledge or see what New Y'ork 

 styles were; but no, for some reason 

 or other the retailei-s here do not take 

 any interest in such matters — many of 

 them tell us for the reason that their 

 efforts are always sneered at by the 

 officers and members of the club. 



They themselves know best. We 

 regret a recital of the facts are pain- 

 ful enough. Y'et we cannot help but 

 laugh at the inconsistencies we hear, 

 and quite frequently, too. There is 

 not a grower or wholesaler who cares 

 to fall out with, say, any of the prom- 

 inent retailers, and yet at a club 

 meeting it is common to hear adverse 

 criticisms passed. The easiest way 

 out of the difficulty is often best, and 

 we are sure it would require very lit- 

 tle to Induce these men to make a 

 creditable display. The retailer should 

 not be classed with a grower at an 

 exhibition; the latter generally shows 

 to advertise his goods, the former to 

 show his ability. One, as the things 



of to-day go, is held more valuable 

 than the other. 



It should be remembered that all 

 branches of the trade depend on the 

 retailer. The man who finds an out- 

 let for your products is a man to cater 

 to, not he to you, because it isn't 

 necessary: and again, in the matter 

 of shows, whatever a retailer makes 

 up in design work is rendered useless; 

 what a grower shows can be used 

 again. One is most often a total loss; 

 the other is usually sold. The ex- 

 pense in both cases should be fair.y 

 recognized. 



We wonder how things would be if 

 the retailers organized a club, if only 

 for the purpose of holding an exhi- 

 bition. It will be readily admitted 

 that no other element in a city would 

 attempt a rival show, and the very 

 fact that all sections could be brought 

 together in such a way makes it all 

 the more puzzling why something is 

 not done; but there is seldom any 

 good got from quarreling, yet much 

 less from supine indifference — good 

 feeling among all is the most desir- 

 able. 



If in your show schedules you have 

 not made any provision for artistic 

 ability, do so, and at the same time 

 make provisions that merit shall not 

 be measured by ignorance, 



IVERA. 



THE PHIPPS CONSERVATORIES. 



Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, Pa. 



These conservatories are the green- 

 house department of the public pirks 

 of the city of Pittsburgh, and were 

 erected and donated to that city by 

 Mr. Henry Phipps. one of its most es- 

 teemed and wealthy gentlemen. The 

 first or main block of buildings was 

 built in 1S93 at a cost of $110,000, and 

 an additional range, costing $30,000. 

 was added four years later. Besides 

 these handsome and spacious struc- 

 tures there is an adjoining village of 

 growing and propagating houses erect- 

 ed five years ago by the city at a cost 

 of $32,000. 



The conservatories are most sub- 

 stantially built, with heavy stone foun- 

 dations and walls, the roofs are cur- 

 vilinear and iron framed with cypress 

 bars; benches are of iron and slate, 

 and the floors concrete, and there is 

 hot and cold water in every compart- 

 ment. They are heated by steam from 

 four 50-horse power boilers for the 

 conservatories and two .50-liorse power 

 boilers for the propagsting houses. The 

 fuel used is natural gas. The gas 

 costs 15 cents a thousand feet, and 

 the fuel bill for the year amounts to 

 between $4..500 and $4,800. 



The palm house — the large central 

 compartment — is 131 feet long, 61 feet 

 wide and 60 feet in height to the ridge. 

 Everything is planted out in undulat- 

 ing beds and borders; there are no 

 benches in it and no plants in pots. 

 To the right and left are curtains 104 

 feet long, 30 feet wide and 20 feet in 



height; these are filled with miscel- 

 laneous seasonable plants in pots. At 

 the end of the left-hand curtain is the 

 Victoria Regia house, 53 feet long, 52 

 feet wide and 34 feet high in center. 

 The whole central portion of the house 

 is a concrete water basin for the ac- 

 commodation of the royal water lily. 

 To the right and left of this house are 

 compartments, each 84 Vi feet long, 36 

 feet wide and 20 feet high, devoted to 

 tropical aquatics and other plants, 



A similar building to the Victoria 

 house, at the end of the right curtain 

 from the palm house, is occupied by 

 Australian tree ferns, planted out in 

 natural style. On its right hand is a 

 spacious compartment now filled with 

 Brazilian caladiums; in the left one of 

 corresponding size devoted to nepen- 

 thes and the better tropical fine-foli- 

 aged plants. 



The newer addition is known as the 

 economic house, because in it are gath- 

 ered together a large assortment of 

 these useful subjects. Its full length 

 is 238 feet. Its central portion is 90 

 feet long, 5S feet wide and 35i^ feet 

 high. Each of the side wings is 90 

 feet long, 36 feet wide and 18 '/^ 

 feet in height. The whole is one open 

 room; there are no divisions what- 

 ever in it. 



The Phipps Conservatories are main- 

 tained by the city of Pittsburgh as a 

 part of its park system, and are filled 

 with all manner of choice and showy 

 plants, and special exhibitions of flow- 

 ers, as at Easter and chrysanthemum 

 time, are gotten up in them. They are 

 free and open to the people every day 

 in the year, Sundays and holidays in- 

 cluded, from 7 a. m. till 6 p. m., and on 

 application to the superintendent or 

 foreman, horticulturists who cannot 

 readily visit them in the day time can 

 have access to them any time — day or 

 night. 



The people of Pittsburgh are very 

 proud of these conservatories and 

 there is no institution in the city more 

 appreciated by them than these are. 

 On the occasion of big flower shows — 

 Sundays are the biggest days — over 

 30,000 visitors pass through the con- 

 servatories in a day! To some this 

 number may not seem extraordinary, 

 but it is by actual count, and it means 

 one continual jam all day long, every- 

 body going one way; and thousands 

 upon thousands visit the conservato- 

 ries on these special days who do no' 

 enter because they do not care to 

 stand in a jam so long to get admit- 

 tance. Every traction company in the 

 city advertises the show and every 

 steam railway entering the city runs 

 excursions from many milts out to see 

 the show. 



Although the Pittsburgh parks are 

 well policed, no policeman is allowed 

 inside of any of the conservatories; 

 the people are put upon their honor, 

 and their conduct is excellent. No 

 flowers or plants are ever broken cr 

 stolen. 



The grounds in front of the conser- 



