NOVEMBER 30, 183!). 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Christmas Stock. 



Every florist is now tliinking more 

 or less about Christmas. It is good to 

 think, but go slow on buying unless 

 it be to secure some extra fine and 

 scarce stock. In the matter of holly, 

 etc., you have lots of time; 'tis better 

 to wait and get the best than to rush 

 and regret. 



The question of a cheap pot cover 

 is a very serious one to the plant 

 trade; ordinary baskets come high, 

 crepe paper gets mussed or wet and is 

 often worse than nothing. In the in- 

 terest of our readers we are always 

 on the search, and down in the whole- 

 sale fruit market the other day we 

 discovered what could be made the 

 cheapest and a pretty cover. These 

 were pot-shaped spill-baskets made 

 for tomatoes or fruit; they are of all 

 sizes and can be bought for from $3 

 per 100 up; of course they need to be 

 painted, but that is a small item; for 

 about 5 or 7 cents It is possible to get 

 u . a very pretty 6 or S-inch cover. 

 Of course there is, and will continue 

 to be. a limited demand for fancy bas- 

 ket pot covers, but a stock of them 

 comes high and the majority of peo- 

 ple won't stand for it. Make all you 

 can on your flowers and plants, the 

 customer is willing to pay for them 

 but not often for baskets. 



(lood, showy flowering plants will 

 lie popular this Christmas. Pans of 

 dwarf poinsettias dressed with well 

 berried holly and tied with a band of 

 silk ribbon to match will be a quick 

 seller. Speaking of poinsettias, there 

 will be lots of them used at Christmas. 

 Get the best; they ought to bring a 

 good price. Cut flowers promise to be 

 scarce next month; the weather has 

 been against greenhouse crops for the 

 great event. Berries were never so 

 plentiful, and holly should be better 

 than ever. We expect some shippers 

 of wild smilax to ship their material 

 in match boxes soon; there's less and 

 less in their cases every year. It is 

 early yet to see what we are going 

 to get from Europe, but we will keep 

 you posted on all that's good and novel 

 in due time. 



The palm and general decorative 

 plant trade in and around New York 

 is very good and promises to be a 



record breaker. Much of the trade at 

 present is due to refilling house con- 

 servatories and general home decora- 

 tions, but everything points to our 

 having a fine season's trade. We are 

 pleased to note that exterior winter 

 decorations of shrubs are more in style 

 than ever, though many of those seen 

 are badly arranged and some of the 

 conifers are too tender for northern 

 winters. 



Such a grand season for outdoor 

 planting of trees, shrubs and herbace- 

 ous plants has never been known. If 

 you have any of this work to do push 

 it on at once. Don't forget the good, 

 showy flowers; plant some around' your 

 place for show, and remember a shape- 

 ly tree or shrub is a standing adv. for 

 you. Sell off or throw away whatever 

 is rubbishy in greenhouse stock. Noth- 

 ing but the very best is the magnet 

 for trade. 



We notice that many small growers 

 around the large cities have been doing 

 quite a lot of wedding decorations this 

 season. That is good, but to this sec- 

 tion of our readers we would say don't 

 undersell your city friend. It is not 

 always the quantity of material you 

 put in a house that counts, it's rather 

 the way you arrange it. 



Here's a subject every florist should 

 know, some of them do; it's the value 

 of a servant's friendship. There are 

 but a few in this world who wear 

 crowns but there's a vast army who'd 

 like to, and whew, what a place this 

 earth would be if the thin garb of in- 

 solent arrogancy could hide the chunks 

 of low stupidity. There are many in 

 our business who deserve all the credit 

 due to those who succeed, but few wish 

 to remember the narrow, slippery 

 planks they once walked; this all bears 

 on our subject. There is no one with 

 whom the florists deal that has more 

 power or influence than the servant in 

 the mansions of the wealthy, and what 

 do they get in return? Let us look at 

 the matter more clearly; you have a 

 decoration in the house and want lad- 

 ders, sheets, and lots of things, and 

 you imagine these people are there to 

 wait on you. You are late, or make a 

 mess and allow them no time to clean. 

 Perhaps you have a dinner decoration ; 

 you've been busy and are late, you 



know • the result; or maybe you 

 want to collect a bill. Perhaps the 

 butler or housekeeper can order 

 where he or she pleases. Yes, it's 

 a serious matter any way you look at 

 it. These people can make it warm or 

 pleasant for you, and they deserve re- 

 spect and (consideration. A small plant, 

 a few flowers, yes, a fair commission 

 should be given them; you have to 

 throw much more away on desperate 

 ami futile attempts to win trade. 

 Live and let live. IVERA. 



FLOWERS AT THE VICE-PRESI- 

 DENT'S FUNERAL. 



.1. H. Small cS: Sons, of Washington 

 and New York, had charge of the flow- 

 ers and decorations for the funeral of 

 the late Garret A, Hobart, vice-presi- 

 dent of the United States, who was 

 laid to rest at Paterson, N. .J., Nov. 

 25. Your readers will have seen de- 

 tails of the funeral in the great dailies, 

 it is only our province to inform them 

 of the flowers, which were many and 

 very beautiful. Over one hundred de- 

 signs were sent from all over the coun- 

 try, and they were of such a size and 

 quality that makes it safe to say there 

 were never so many flowers seen at a 

 funeral in this part of the country be- 

 fore. 



In our capacity as representative of 

 The Florists' Review we were given 

 special privilege to examine the floral 

 tokens of respect, and though many of 

 them had been sent from long dis- 

 tances and had been "made up" for 

 days, still they were all beautiful. Of 

 course there were many grades of 

 work there, and an occasion like this 

 gives great opportunities for study (we 

 would be almost tempted to say that 

 a walk through some large cemetery 

 would be a good chance for some flor- 

 ists to learn the difference between 

 good and bad work). But to return to 

 our subject. 



Though there were a few designs 

 such as floral chairs. Faith, Hope and 

 Charity, etc.. which reminds you of 

 the past, we noted with pleasure that 

 the vast majority of the designs were 

 wreaths and bunches. A well made 

 standing cross of violets looked fine. 

 Strange to say. there were few violets 

 and chrysanthemums used in the work 

 President McKinley sent a wreath of 

 white carnations and orchids. There 

 were two wreaths in which Golden 

 Gate roses were the principal flowers — 

 the rose is fine for this w-ork. 



An immense wreath of Asparagus 

 Sprengeri and Dendrobium formosum 

 giganteum we took to be the finest of 

 all the work, though it was closely fol- 

 lowed b.v a great double wreath of 

 Cycas revoluta with a large cluster of 

 mixed orchids. These wreaths were 

 four and five feet in diameter and 

 made a grand appearance. Three of 

 the standing wreaths were over six 

 feet in height and the same in diame- 

 ter; they were of white and pink roses, 

 the bases American Beauties. One of 

 these huge wreaths was made to rep- 

 resent or signify "from childhood to 



