September 10, 1901. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



475 



V«^(«^<*^(«^*«^(«^.(«^<*T^.*^l*^'*^<«^*^ <*^.<«^.<*^^^l*^l»^ 



The Careful Buyer. 



These few remarks are intcmled as a 

 continuation of last week's notes for the 

 careful buyer. Market values do not 

 ditler much in the large cities at this 

 time of the year; that is on common gen- 

 eral stock. It is only when and where 

 specialties or novelties are offered or 

 sought that prices go up very high, 

 making transactions disagreeable, more 



with the same ultimate results and more 

 profit. Some people cannot "make up" 

 unless they are supplied with first-class 

 stock ; it would not be safe for such to 

 invest much money in a business for 

 themselves. The best test of artistic abil- 

 ity is to "make up" fine work out of 

 poor material, and in our climate we 

 should remember that the despised flow-_ 

 er of one day. may be a gem the next. 



you can often make a good profit on a 

 .small job if you buy and properly use 

 the right material. 



Wild srailax is obtainable and in good 

 condition; a little of it goes a long way 

 providing you use other greens, and slen- 

 der branches of red maple or cut-leaved 

 oak are excellent for panel or garland 

 work. Wild smilax can be used for the 

 drop-loop or to lighten off the others. 

 Vou can well afford to leave out ever- 

 greens in fall wedding decorations. 

 Honeysuckle vines are good for light 

 trimming, and there is nothing choicer 

 nor more effective than Clematis panicu- 

 lata; it is in full bloom at present, can 

 be had cheaply from any large nursery 

 and you can use it anywhere to advan- 

 tage," If you make curtains or arrange 

 tliis vine in a low position it should be 

 tied up as if growing, foliage facing up; 

 where it is used suspended overhead, ar- 



IN IV1EIV10RI3IM. 



Window of John Mangel, Chicago, this week. Designed by Andrew Miller. 



on account of the sudden rise than of the 

 size of the rise. If the growers or whole- 

 salers would agiee to put a set weekly 

 or semi-monthly price on certain grades 

 of flowers there would be more pleasure, 

 less cussing and more profit in the busi- 

 ness. The majority will agree that the 

 present system is a bad one. 



The cut flower trade will not he very 

 brisk for the next month or so, and 

 though top grade quality will always be 

 snapped up at whatever the price, still 

 with the exercise of some common scn.se 

 and plenty of artistic ability in the ma- 

 jority of cases poorer grades can be used 



Just at the present we are getting in the 

 last of the outdoor flowers. 



Seasonable Material. 



Let us classify the week's possible 

 business and the material. Many are 

 getting orders for wedding decorations 

 now. Except in a few rare cases the 

 prices are not as high as they might be, 

 but care should be taken to get all the 

 people are willing to spend, and in your 

 estimates don't say or intimate that you 

 will do the work for nothing just for the 

 sake of keeping you in practice. What- 

 ever the price give the people full value; 



range so as the flowers will face down; 

 this rule applies to most vines. 



Very fine effects can be got from 

 sticking some long Clematis paniculata 

 vines in a ball of green moss and hang- 

 ing it up where it can be seen to advan- 

 tage. Of course it just depends on the 

 size of the decoration, but to do fine 

 woik you must use variety in greens, 

 be it wild material or greenhouse grown, 

 even more so than in the case of flowers. 

 The background or greening is all im- 

 portant. Bulrushes, broom corn stalks, 

 eulalias, especially E, gracillima, can 

 often be used with splendid results; we 



