SEPTEMBER 21, 1899. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



415 



used in that particular work. Cur- 

 tains of vines are no longer tolerated 

 in the finest work; if they are, they 

 must be worked out in a more artistic 

 manner. A naturally arranged cluster 

 of vines and a good loose bunch of 

 flowers on the top of the mirror is 

 best. The bottom shelf should contain 

 your finest flowers and greens. 



If a garland of roses or vines is 

 wanted in any high place, you can sus- 

 pend it with a gummed parchment 

 hook, which is capable of holding up 

 a hundred roses. By the use of some 

 little device one is often permitted to 

 use more material; the dread of nails 

 makes many customers do without 

 decorations altogether. Strong, short 

 pins or thin screw-eyes are silent 

 helps, and where it is absolutely neces- 

 sary to use a hammer the double- 

 headed tack is almost all that is 

 wanted. 



The purpose of these notes is to 



create harmony. You may be sure 

 madame will soon order you to take 

 down whatever is bad. Never mix 

 your colors or have many of them in 

 one room, if it is possible to avoid, and 

 never scatter your flowers around; one 

 good bunch is more effective than 

 many small ones. 



Often the question of vases is hard 

 to handle. There are several here 

 worth thousands of dollars. You 

 would not give a dollar for some of 

 them, still you must reverence them, 

 and if they are of a hard color put a 

 graceful plant in them; if a self tone 

 color use a flower to match; in either 

 case don't hide the vase, and if you 

 can avoid using them at all so much 

 the safer for you.' 



Hanging and wall pocket vases are 

 destined to be used in the future in 

 preference to set designs, and there is 

 nothing more beautiful than such 

 vases filled handsomely with o'erhang- 



Specimen Gloxinias. 



show a few of the technicalities of 

 decorating. Although we have only 

 been dealing with a treatment of one 

 room, still the same principle applies 

 to all rooms done in modern style. For 

 instance, here is a Pompeii paneled 

 staircase. We must put nothing there 

 but neutral tones or the brightest con- 

 trasting color, or our work will suffer 

 most. Here is a marble nymph or 

 Venus. To hide its beauty by vine or 

 plant would be a crime, but to drop a 

 cluster of roses at its foot would be a 

 tribute to all that is good. Yonder is 

 a "de Longpre." Shall we put a gar- 

 land of wired, sickly looking buds be- 

 side it? No, but we will get a bunch 

 of open roses and put them where the 

 picture and they will appear as one. 



A great many rooms are paneled in 

 silk and decorated with the exquisite 

 traceries of Louis XV. style. You 

 must not do anything here that would 

 look formal or cumbersome, rather in- 

 terlace your most delicate vines with 

 these traceries. Take care not to hide 

 any beauty, but enhance it with your 

 work; that's what you're there for. 

 The intelligent artist of today first 

 studies his color effects. You cannot 

 throw stuff around promiscuously and 



ing flowers and vines. The rough ma- 

 terial, such as ivy, laurel, hemlock, 

 etc., can no longer be used in the up- 

 to-date American mansion unless it be 

 to cover up some element we intro- 

 duce. Thus the growth of art in this 

 country influences those who have no 

 direct knowledge. Finer flowers are 

 demanded because more vases are 

 used. 



You will find most growers today 

 turn up their noses and wonder why 

 such a thing is not good enough. Many 

 and many there are in other lines of 

 our business, even among the retailers 

 themselves, who refuse to accede that 

 any special qualifications are necessary 

 to be a floral artist. Any of you may 

 sell this lady a plant or bunch of 

 flowers because you are either cheap 

 or it pleases her fancy to patronize 

 you thus, but when she wants fine 

 work done she goes where she is sure 

 she can get it. That's where the dif- 

 ference lies, and in order to be able to 

 keep first class trade one must be ac- 

 quainted with more than the average 

 surroundings of the florist. 



Americans may not be the most pic- 

 turesquely dressed people in the world, 

 but all admit they are the best dressed. 



Fashions may appear in Paris, London 

 and Berlin; only the best are adopted 

 here, and those which are created here 

 are better than all. So it is with all 

 things down to floriculture, and what 

 is there in this you can learn abroad? 

 Aye, some whim, some fancy, but not 

 a substantial principle. To show you 

 are equal to the requirements of every 

 case, more particularly to be able to 

 advance ideas of refinement, is a sus- 

 taining pleasure in itself. IVERA. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 



Cool nights are here and it is time 

 to pay more attention to the ventila- 

 tion. All through the summer as much 

 air as possible has been left on the 

 houses night and day, but now the 

 chilly mornings warn us that frost is 

 at hand. We never like to let our 

 houses fall below 45 degrees. It is not 

 safe much below that when you are 

 handling crown buds, though houses 

 planted late and intended for late 

 flowers will not hurt. In case of a 

 really cold night the houses should 

 never be closed down tight just for the 

 sake of being economical with the 

 steam. It is far better to leave quite a 

 little air on and run a coil of heat 

 through the house. This keeps the at- 

 mosphere moving in the house and 

 moisture does not settle on the plants. 



As the early varieties begin to show 

 color, syringing should be discontin- 

 ued, and if they are planted by them- 

 selves as they should be, the atmo- 

 sphere at that end of the house can be 

 kept dry without interfering with the 

 later kinds. These should be syringed 

 every bright day to keep the foliage 

 healthy. 



If you are growing Glory of the Pa- 

 cific be careful to stop feeding as soon 

 as the bud shows color. If feeding is 

 continued too long it takes the color 

 out of the flower. 



As the flowers develop it will be 

 found that less and less water will be 

 needed, and always be sure to do your 

 watering in the morning to have the 

 atmosphere dry and buoyant by night- 

 fall. This is important because if the 

 foliage is wet at night mildew will 

 soon make its appearance and fine foli- 

 age is needed today, just as much as 

 fine flowers, to command top prices. 



Black fly must be all cleared out be- 

 fore the buds show color, as plants 

 cannot be fumigated when they are in 

 flower. Though you don't see any fly 

 in the house it is just as well to smoke 

 because if there is an odd one or two 

 they will increase very fast when the 

 house is kept dry. The green fly has 

 been more numerous with us this year 

 than the black. 



BRIAN BORU. 



SPECIMEN GLOXINIAS. 



The accompanying engraving, which 

 we have reproduced from the Garden- 

 ers' Magazine, shows a pair of speci- 

 men gloxinias shown by Messrs. J. 

 Veitch & Son at a recent English exhi- 

 bition. They are certainly fine exam- 

 ples of the results of cultural skill. 



