604 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



OCTOUEK 17, 1901. 



cent of what is annually offered, re- 

 quires to go through the hands of the 

 artist in order to either make it pre- 

 sentable or to get out its full value. 

 The only chance the retailer has of 

 making a little extra money on plants 

 is to use his utmost ability in arrang- 

 ing them; his investment may turn out 

 to be a dead loss were he to offer the 

 stock as received from the grower; it 

 is the setting of the diamond that shows 

 the gem to advantage, and every plant 



hi' iiHi~t reckless buyer will 

 ubjKt lo the fancy prices 

 ly fur such stock. The most 

 proiit lies in the medium and very cheap 

 urades, and by utilizing a little of your 

 ingenuity you can make the cheapest 

 often look more enticing than the cost- 

 liest. 



For instance, suppose you buy some 

 flats of tulips or hyacinths; you can- 

 not offer them in those dirty boxes; if 

 you do, you'll never sell them. We 



in the store should be so placed or 

 trimmed as to show up its best points. 

 Plant baskets and Porto Eican pot cov- 

 ers are going to be very popular the 

 coming winter and spring. 



It will be absolutely necessary for the 

 principal city florists to use their wits 

 in order to get more for their stock 

 than the "Cheap Johns." The man or 

 woman who pays from $2,500 to $7,000 

 a year for rent cannot afford to sell 

 cheap in the sense of the street fakir or 

 basement store; a large volume of 

 cheap trade would not mean as much to 

 them as a select trade, and in order to 

 attract and keep that class they must 

 show quality in art, even more so than 

 in stock. Your best customers may oc- 

 casionally roam away and purchase 

 cheaply elsewhere, but for choice flow- 

 ers or good work they will always re- 

 turn to you, providing you have that 

 about you and your store that appeals 

 strongly to their eye. The study of 

 plant trimming is therefore of the ut- 

 most importance to all. At all times 

 of the year, but most particularly at 

 Christmas and Easter, it is the_ most 

 important and attractive element in the 

 store. 



One great and prevalent trouble we 

 find is that though we are sure the 

 ability is there, there is a general lack 

 of originality shown among retailers in 

 the matter of supplies. Orders for 

 baskets, etc., are given at the last mo- 

 ment, and it's a matter of being satis- 

 fied with whatever is offered, whereas 

 if at this time of the year the retailer 

 would only stop and think out some- 

 thing new, or give his supply man some 

 idea of what is best, more satisfaction 

 and profit would result. Now, there 

 will always be a limited demand for very 

 rich and expensive baskets, but you will 



of matting costing a few cents and 

 without a necessary blush ask a dollar 

 or two more than you intended for the 

 work. 



You can get the baskets ased by fruit- 

 erers for a few cents a hundred; they 

 will fit any size pot you have. Grt 

 some, trim them as above with matting 

 and ribbon and they are ready for in- 

 stant use. Basket dialers may not like 

 some things we write, but we don't al- 

 ways like what lliey offer; the colors 

 of their baskets are extremely difficult 

 to compromise with; they can do better 

 by offeiing the above. 



The great trouble with trimmers is the 

 inclination to overdo the work; there is 

 a tendency to put too many frills on 

 things, and everything but good taste 

 is the result. Harmonious colors and 

 simplicity of arrangement are the two 

 principal webs of success. 



The illustration we' sfiow this week 

 depicts only one class of work. It may 

 be classified as a mixture of Paris and 

 Philadelphia. The designs appear much 

 stiffer than they are ; with the ends twice 

 as much shirred, and softer ribbons used 

 they would appear entirely different. As 

 it is, if plants and flowers were shown 

 in these they would show up much bet- 

 ter. In New York here we hp,ve methods 

 of using almost everything in a pecu- 

 liarly American way, and we hope to be 

 able, from time to time, to illustrate it. 



Many times in decorations you will 

 come across badly colored walls, etc., 

 where something is necessary to bring 

 out the full value of even green decora- 

 tions; others where greens fail to em- 

 phasize the color effect of flowers. This 



The Chicago Market. Views in Kennicott Bros. Co.'s. 



would advise you to cover that box with 

 a thick layer of any kind of paper, tack 

 it tightly to the box, then get a sheet 

 of some appropriate colored Porto Rican 

 matting and cut it in two or three 

 widths, unravel the ends of the parts to 

 be attached to the upper part of the 

 flat, so as there will be fringe of from 

 four to si.K inches; you can make the 

 bottom band smaller and can fasten all 

 with tacks and trim off with ribbon to 

 match either flowers or matting. You 

 can trim a good sized box with one sheet 



can all be accomplished by a judicious 

 use of the matting referred to; with a 

 good contrasting color it makes an ex- 

 cellent panel-like background. For in- 

 stance, you have a hall to decorate. 

 Suppose you get a sheet of white mat- 

 ting, cluster it cornerwise and fringe out 

 all round to a depth of six to nine 

 inches; arrange a loose cluster of yel- 

 low, pink or red flowers and tie with a 

 flowing bow of ribbon to the mat; at- 

 tach eSi to the wall and frame off with 

 light, irregular greens and you will have 



