AUGUST 31, 1899. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



343 



Newspaper Descriptions. 



Business is almost at a standstill 

 unless it be with a few of the stores at 

 the fashionable resorts. The reports 

 we occasionally see in the daily papers 

 describing the "paradise" and "fairy- 

 land like" scenes of some of the big 

 events are vastly amusing. There is no 

 limit to the expansive imaginations of 

 the up-to-date society repot ter. The 

 product of his pen must be sensational 

 and poetic. With him the daisies from 

 the meadows of Hackensack are 

 turned into jeweled orchids from the 

 Antilles. That smilax from Paddy 

 O'Dowd's ramshackle greenhouse along 

 the boreen at the swamp beyond is de- 

 scribed as "shimmering vines from In- 

 dia and Japan, specially grown for the 

 occasion." 



It's a ticklish question, this of news- 

 paper reports of floral decorations. 

 The quantity of flowers used is gen- 

 erally multiplied by 1,000. so is the 

 price. Retailers become envious and 

 growers desperately discontented. 

 Some of the wealthiest people like this 

 style of advertising of themselves and 

 their affairs, others will not permit it. 

 and great care must be used not to 

 give offense to this class. Yet, on the 

 whole, these reports do not injure the 

 business; rather the reverse may be 

 said, yet it would be much better for 

 all in the end if at least the truth were 

 told. There is another side to this mat- 

 ter. History is wholly compiled from 

 these misleading reports, and it is safe 

 to imagine that future generations will 

 be more affected by the reading of all 

 this humbug than we are of what we 

 read concerning the chaplets sold in 

 the myrtle market of ancient Athens, 

 or the showers of violets in Roman 

 banquet halls, or the overwhelming 

 splendor of Persian rose gardens, or 

 the indescribable magnificence of the 

 French courts several centuries ago — 

 all these pal? before the descriptions 

 of the Astor, Vanderbilt and Bradley- 

 Martin festivals of to-day. and yet 

 much of it is just as false. People on 

 earth are like fishes in the sea, they 

 are ready to swallow anything, and 

 the more glittering the object the more 

 maddening the desire to gulp it. 



The Coming Season. 



The prospects for next season are 

 brighter than they have been for many 

 years. You do not feel it just now, but 

 the country in general is moving on 

 a wave of prosperity. It takes time for 

 it to reach the florist; people don t 

 usually buy flowers unless they are 

 justified in doing so by the condition 

 of the pocket. You need not be 

 afraid to spend a little yourself on 

 extra stock and refurnishing; it will 

 all come back to you, and don't forget 

 there will be a demand for novelties, 

 and nothing but the best of everything 

 will suit. 



The growers will not have many 

 new things to offer this season, except 

 a few new roses, and they have, as 

 usual, been so overpropagated that the 

 flowers will not be of much account; 

 thus many a good thing is killed be- 

 fore its merits are known. 



In the dullness of the present time 

 we should not forget to p:epare for an 

 abundance of the good flowers for next 

 summer. Of course the retailer who 

 buys all his stock doesn't usually care 

 or think about the future supply; it is 

 more his concern to bother about the 

 conditions of today, but there are oth- 

 ers, and it's lucky there ai< . 



There will be a call for the better 

 grades of plants, and be careful how 

 much you buy of hastily grown, cheap 

 stock, for it seldom pays. Don't go in 

 so much for foreign curiosities early 

 in the season; the people generally 

 prefer the good well-grown palm or 

 fern; the sale of these promises to be 

 phenomenal, and it's wise to have a 

 few on hand early. 



The florist who today uses immor- 

 telles and cape flowers when it is un- 

 necessary scarcely advances the inter- 

 ests of American floriculture; he is 

 rather an injurious element in the 

 trade. 'Tis quite true that the very 

 poor people want and should get the 

 most for their money, but there never 

 was a time when natural flowers were 

 so cheap as they are today, and a good 

 profit can be made on any kind of an 

 order, no matter how big and showy 

 it is wanted. In using immortelles and 

 cape flowers we enrich the South of 



France and Africa. There was a time 

 when their use was absolutely neces- 

 sary, but now it is not even excusable, 

 and the time is coming when the poor- 

 est won't touch them. The American 

 people despise artificiality; natural 

 flowers appeal to them most, and flori- 

 culture is taking such gigantic strides 

 here that the people can get what they 

 want. 



What a pity it is that the petty jeal- 

 ousies cannot be replaced by a united 

 desire to elevate our art. A little con- 

 certed action would make glutted mar- 

 kets unknown, there would be a tre- 

 mendous increase in the use of flow- 

 ers, artificial elements would be prop- 

 erly placed and their use deprecated, 

 and there is no limit to the amount 

 of good that could be done. There 

 would be no standard in either ancient 

 or modern history for a floral artist to 

 look up at, but as we are going one 

 often finds himself wondering if floral 

 art will ever go any higher. 



The ever-increasing tendency here 

 is for concentrating. Sooner or later 

 the majority of flowers will be bought 

 in public markets, and there will be 

 less desire to bother with the beauty 

 of arrangement as we know it today. 

 The florists themselves have the future 

 of their business in their own hands, 

 and if some method is not adopted to ' 

 relieve the market you cannot blame 

 the spirit of revolution for trying to 

 change matters. The retail florist is 

 the missionary or mouthpiece of the 

 trade, and he only too often makes the 

 mistake of imagining that his cus- 

 tomers lead him, when it is he who ed- 

 ucates their tastes by exhibiting goods 

 which appeal to them. This is where 

 one should keep both eyes on the mar- 

 ket. If a new flower appears, appre- 

 ciate it as a new flower should be, and 

 point out its merits; this not only 

 feeds your own intelligence, but you 

 encourage advancement, and what is 

 the world, life or business if there is 

 no advancement? 



Seasonable Flowers. 



Colored water lilies and lotus con- 

 tinue to be some of the most popular- 

 flowers for the table at ultra-fashion- 

 able events. Wild grasses and flowers 

 are being extensively used in decora- 

 tions. Cut glass bowls on mirrors 

 promise to be the "right thing" 

 to use on table decorations the com- 

 ing season; the principal crockery 

 stores are pushing them to the front"; 

 these are by no means new, but they 

 are very pretty. Large ivies will be 

 scarce. Field grown ivies are next to 

 useless for the retailer; give your 

 grower a hint to dig his up and pot 

 them that they may have roots when 

 you need them; he is inclined to think- 

 that such plants will grow in a dwell- 

 ing house just as well as in the green- 

 house; you know different. By the 

 way, variegated ivies will be popular, 

 too, and they deserve to be; hunt some 

 up.. 



The finest flower out today for black 

 dress or brunette type of beauty is a 



