AUGUST 18, 1898. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



285 



Liberal Arts Building, Omaha Exposition. 



from these two plants no less than 

 sixty thousand young palms and seeds 

 have been distributed throughout the 

 cities and territories, which coming 

 from the United States Botanical Gar- 

 den may really be attributed to the 

 one seeding plant rather than to the 

 two. 



I think also that generosity should 

 be one of the virtues of the florist; 

 that is, he should not be too narrow 

 and selfish in the matter of discov- 

 eries. Being united for our common 

 good, should entitle the widespread 

 distribution of thoughts and ideas 

 concerning plants and flowers in every 

 particular, so that a new and rare 

 plant in one section should give the 

 benefit of its beauty an<l of its rarity 

 to all interested in the art through- 

 out the whole country. 



The time will come when the flower 

 that is "born to blush unseen" will be 

 receiving the adulation of countless 

 thousands of our people. The evolu- 

 tion of the field daisy, once a common 

 weed, and the chrysanthemum, with 

 its hundred of varieties of gorgeous 

 development, are probably two of the 

 most wonderful exempliflcatinns of 

 what may be done by concentration of 

 thought and by experiment. Who 

 knows but that the microscopic flow- 

 ering plants of the prairie may in 

 coming years become the glnd adorn- 

 ment of the richest feasts? Who 

 knows but that the tiny forget-me- 

 not, with its sweet delicate shade of 

 heaven-reflected blue, may become a 

 giant flower in company with those 

 representing the hardiness and 

 strength and the beauty of some of 

 the greatest botanical specimens? 



Referring to strong flowei's, color to 

 the eye is the indication of force and 

 strength; therefore red flowers should 



be more in evidence — the rose, "Queen 

 of Flowers," the red poppy, the red 

 dahlia and red carnations. Then also, 

 as the coming flower, the orchid, mar- 

 velously mysterious in its growth, 

 most delicate in its formation, and 

 most exquisite in its tinting, should 

 receive more general study in its cul- 

 tivation. Hydrangeas, in their num- 

 berless varieties, for outdoor orna- 

 mentation, and hardy-blooming plants 

 for out-of-doors, form one of the 

 grandest opportunities for a profitable 

 field of labor in the future. 



It is useless, however, for me to take 

 up your time with these suggestions, 

 as who among you is not familiar with 

 the subject we so dearly love and of 

 which we are so great a part? Indi- 

 vidual interest and advancement mean 

 our united progress. With genuine 

 interest each should enter into the 

 knowledge, by any one of our mem- 

 bers, of any discovery or any advance 

 in the development of floriculture 

 that may be made by him. 



Our art has become one of the great 

 bread-winners in the country and for 

 the country, and its increaso natural- 

 ly becomes a matter of national in- 

 terest and national pride. It is your 

 duty to encourage the taste that is be- 

 ing manifested everywhere for the 

 love of flowers and tor the use of 

 them. Show me one who cultivates 

 flowers and beautifies the domestic 

 hearth-stool, and I will show you a 

 home in which love prevails. Show 

 me devotion to the growing plant and 

 the budding rose, and I will show you 

 maternal and paternal devotion in the 

 rearing of the children of the home. 

 Show me flowers without, and I will 

 show you the presence of education 

 and the taste and culture that belong 

 to them within. 



There Is no more potent antidote to 

 evil thoughts, corrupt natures and low 

 sensuality than the adoration of the 

 beautiful; and what can lay greater 

 claim to all that is expressed by the 

 word "beautiful" than flowers? They 

 are present in our midst upon almost 

 every occasion, be it joyous or sad. 

 The wedding bells ring out their glad 

 sounds of greeting; all around and 

 about the bridal pair are the ornamen- 

 tations of loveliness and floral beauty. 

 The muflled tolling of the solemn bells 

 in mournful strains, indicating the 

 passing away of a soul, — and there, 

 too, we find the tributes of love, af- 

 fection, and respect, and tokens of 

 sentiment expressed in flowers. Come 

 to the happy feast, where the songs 

 are sung and the wine goes round, 

 and there, too, shedding forth the lus- 

 tre of their beauty and speaking words 

 of welcome and hospitality, are the 

 sweet products of our Art. 



Increase the love of flowers, develop 

 the taste, and in that proportion is 

 the demand greater. The business 

 grows necessarily with the demand; 

 therefore it behooves you to strive 

 that this end may be attained. There 

 is no better place to set a good exam- 

 ple than in and around and about your 

 own homes and gardens. A shoema- 

 ker, it is said, keeps the poorest shoes 

 upon his wife's feet. Such reputation 

 as that should never be attributed to 

 the floriculturist. Become a part ben- 

 efactor on your own premises, as he 

 who plants a tree or flower, or cul- 

 tivates a spot of ground, is a benefac- 

 tor, because the result being a de- 

 light to the eye contributes to the 

 pleasure of mankind. Don't fear the 

 criticism of advertising business, as 

 there is no occupation that could pos- 

 sibly be purer, more benevolent or 

 more god-like than our own. There- 

 fore it is not with shame but pride 

 that all of you, at this occasion, at 

 every place and in every section, and 

 among all people, say "I am a florist." 



You should "let your light so shine 

 before men that they may see your 

 good works." It London can produce 

 monthly a great flower exhibition, 

 surely there is no reason wh.y Ameri- 

 ca could not have annually, at some 

 great metropolis a flower Exposition, 

 wherein the whole counti'y could join; 

 and before concluding I trespass this 

 suggestion upon you that steps will be 

 taken here at this meeting looking 

 to carrying out this idea. 

 , In conclusion, while not endeavoring 

 to enter into sentimentality, I may be 

 pardoned if I trespass a little into the 

 poetry of our art, and speak in the 

 language of the flowers the sentiment 

 of the hour. 



First, to Woman. Our devotion to 

 her should be next to that to our Cre- 

 ator, but I cannot pay more pleasing 

 compliment to her than to spread at 

 her feet "the Austrian Rose." which 

 silently expresses this sentiment, 

 "Thou art all that's lovely!" Woman! 

 — our mothers, our wives, our sisters, 

 and our sweethearts — how grandly 

 glorious thy mission! 



