290 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



AUGUST 18, 1S9S. 



time conduct the growing successfully. 

 I am sure increased business will come 

 to many who will give these sales ex- 

 hibits more attention. Get out of the 

 ruts, be different, so a fellow will 

 know just when he has come to 

 Smith's stand by its style and malie 

 up. Give it an individuality in some 

 way, so you will be known from the 

 half dozen neighbors near by. 



Trade requires you to show the new- 

 est and best you have. You must fu'l- 

 fill this requirement, or lose custom. 

 Show your goods, is a law of trade as 

 essential to us as to any other line. 

 Business men fully realized this hence 

 the great combinations spending mil- 

 lions of dollars and resulting in our 

 great expositions. Go into our cities 

 and see the quantities of valuable 

 goods placed attractively in large 

 show windows, placed with all the 

 skill and art that trained help and 

 costly fittings can command, and you 

 can form some idea of the value placed 

 on trade displays in other lines of bus- 

 iness. Our retail flower stores are not 

 behind in this grand effort at display, 

 for they, too, are abreast of the times 

 in showing their beauties, with all the 

 accessories of glass, gilt and electric 

 lighting. 



Trade displays, yes, these are the 

 very essence of trade displays. It is 

 not possible for me to approximate the 

 value of these displays to the business 

 itself. I know a prominent florist who 

 estimates the actual value of his win- 

 dow display at not less than fifty dol- 

 lars per day, what its direct value to 

 him is, I cannot say, but that this one 

 window has been of great indirect val- 

 ue to the balance of the city's flower 

 trade. I have but little doubt. Through 

 blistering summer, and frosty winter, 

 that grand, beautiful live flower pic- 

 ture is feeding the hungry, who can- 

 not possess, and drawing the dollars 

 from the rich who see only to possess. 

 In the language of the proprietor of 

 this store, "they walk right m and 

 buy." Truly I believe this display is 

 richer than the eye can see, and he 

 who makes it is a benefactor of his 

 race, be he the individual taken as an 

 illustration, or any one of the hundreds 

 making the same efforts. 



Florists should be strong supporters 

 of every effort to beautify public 

 grounds, for they bring to the public 

 eye the uses and beauties of our goods, 

 and in a measure are trade exhibits. A 

 beautiful plant, flower or combination 

 of both, seen for the first time at some 

 park, or exposition, stamps itself on 

 the memory, awakens a new interest, 

 and desire which at the first oppor- 

 tunity will be gratified, and some 

 tradesman will have made a sale and 

 be benefited. 



Realizing the value of showing our 

 goods, it behooves us as a society and 

 as individuals, to let no opportunity 

 pass that we can utilize for the pur- 

 pose of these displays. Many local 

 clubs and individuals are. and can do 

 much to increase trade by making 

 these displays. We can greatly in- 

 crease the love for flowers by showing 



the people what to have, and how to 

 have it, and when they have it at its 

 best. I hope to see this trade feature 

 extended, improved and worked up to 

 the highest degree of effectiveness. 



A FEW REMARKS ON THE DAHLIA. 



BV L.UVKllNCF. K. I'EACO. K. 



[Read bclore the Omaha Convention ol the So- 

 ciety of .American Florists.] 



With the revived popularity of dah- 

 lias comes a renewed interest in any- 

 thing pertaining to their development 

 and culture. 1 regret recent ill health 

 prevented my presence with a more 

 exhaustive article, but 1 will be 

 pleased to give any further informa- 

 tion in my power or answer questions 

 in any of the trade papers. During 

 the present year there was an increase 

 of fully fifty per cent, in the sale of 

 dahlia plants and bulbs and during 

 the past six years over five hundred 

 ner cent., or an average of nearly one 

 hundred per cent, for each year since 

 1892. 



In reference to the different classes 

 I am compelled to say that the 

 cactus type has been a source 

 of great disappointment in many 

 ways first, they are not so free 

 in blooming as the other class- 

 es; second, they will not keep so long 

 after cutting; third, except in a few 

 cases, they have very short stems, un- 

 less disbudded; fourth, they are the 

 latest of all dahlias to bloom. There 

 are, of course, some exceptions, that 

 is, some of the true cactus dahlias do 

 not have all of the above failings. For 

 instance, the cactus dahlia, Henry F. 

 Michel, is an immense fiower of per- 

 fect form and an early and continuous 

 bloomer, but, like other cactus varie- 

 ties, will not stand up well after being 

 cut. Of their form, however it can 

 be said that their beautiful forms and 

 exquisite blending of colors, make 

 them the most delicate and graceful 

 of all dahlias. Of the cactus dahlias 

 Delicata, Perle de la tete d'or. Lady 

 Penzance, Gloriosa and Countess of 

 Pembroke, if it can be called cactus, 

 are the most valuable. 



Show and fancy dahlias still seem to 

 be the favorites, judging from the 

 bulk of sales, but they are closely fol- 

 lowed by the decorative class, or as 

 they are sometimes called, semi-cac- 

 tus, decorative cactus, etc. This is, 

 perhaps, the most valuable type of 

 dahlias for florists' use. They are 

 strong, vigorous gi-owers, free bloom- 

 ers, full range of colors and have long 

 stems. The most valuable of this 

 class are Clifford W. Bruton, Wm. Ag- 

 new. Grand Duke Alexis, Mrs. E. C 

 Monroe, Henry Patrick, Maid of Kent! 

 Nymphaea and Black Prince. Another 

 fine variety is the Weeping Dahlia, 

 "Lemon Giant." It is of pale yellow 

 color ."> to 6 inches in diameter, deep 

 and full; they are borne on long 

 drooping stems and from a distance 

 resemble large, fluffy bulbs. 



The pompon dahlia seems to be 

 holding its own in the race and with 

 such beautiful varieties as Eleganta 



Snowclad, Rosalia, Daybreak, Fairy 

 Queen, Little Beatrjce, Little Prince. 

 Little Diavolo, and' a score more of 

 equal merit it is not surprising. Lit- 

 tle Beauty is the name of a new deli- 

 cate pink variety to be introduced in 

 1890. The petals are perfectly quilled 

 and it is a valuable acquisition. 



In single dahlias great advance has 

 been made with a corresponding in- 

 crease in popularity. The greatest ob- 

 jection to Paragon Nance. Cloth of 

 Gold, and other old favorite single 

 dahlias, were their great height and 

 lateness of bloom. We now have sin- 

 gle dahlias of large size and same 

 length of stem on plants 18 inches to 

 two feet high. Of these varieties St. 

 George leads them all; color pure yel- 

 low; height, 2Vi ft.; size, 4 to 5 inches 

 in diameter; a strong, sturdy grower, 

 free, early and continuous bloomer.' 

 Ada, Edina, Irene, Luxury, Vernie, Lit- 

 tle Dorothy, Corrine and others, inclu- 

 ding Novelty, the new fragrant dahlia, 

 combine in making the new dwarf" 

 large, early, flowering, long stem' 

 single dahlias one of the most valu- 

 able sections of the entire dahlia fam- 

 ily. 



I had not intended to say anything 

 regarding our single stem branching 

 system, but after the past heavy storm 

 I must mention it even at my own ex- 

 pense. During April and May we had 

 rain almost every day for six weeks 

 which prevented early planting. This 

 was followed by a severe drouth brok- 

 en only two weeks ago with thunder 

 storms and very heavy winds. Now 

 as we were late and very busy we con- 

 cluded that our dahlias— 31 acres- 

 would bloom earlier if not pinched 

 back. This was a big item as we had 

 a large number engaged as soon as 

 ready. We were perhaps two weeks 

 ahead by not pinching, but had taller 

 plants by one third and shorter stems 

 by one half. On Thursday evening. 

 August 4th, we had an acre and a half 

 of Clifford W. Bruton coming into full 

 bloom standing about ."> feet high 

 During the night we had a heavy 

 storm, with wind blowing a gale On 

 Friday morning, August .->th. our block 

 of Bruton dahlias were flat and it took 

 six men a half day to stand them up 



A friend of mine, Mr. C. E. Varnum 

 had two rows of specimen blooms 

 grown to the single stem branching 

 system; out of 3(M> plants exposed to 

 the gale one plant was blown over and 

 two or three leaned a little, the bal- 

 ance were standing as erect as ever. 



In conclusion, I would like to call 

 attention to the possibilities of the 

 dahlia as a florist's cut flower, both for 

 bouquets and decorations; varieties 

 like Countess of Pembroke, Nvmphaea 

 and Clifford W. Bruton, have "size col- 

 or and length of stem all that can be 

 desired; also to the possibilities of the 

 dahlia as an exhibition flower. The 

 exhibitions of the past two vears in 

 both Philadelphia and Madison Square 

 Garden, N. Y., have demonstrated 

 their value better than I can express. 

 I sincerely trust that at the next 

 meeting of this society the American 



