276 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



FEBRUARY S, 19J0. 



important thing is quality, the next 

 variety, and the third quantity. In 

 these days of oversupply (so-called) 

 and quick transportation, you can 

 easily fill orders, but have your sam- 

 ple to sell from. Never under any cir- 

 cumstances permit a good customer — 

 or, for that matter, any buyer— to see 

 stale and withering flowers in your 

 store; they generally prove to be your 

 worst enemies. An oversupply of any 

 particular flower, whilst it may enable 

 you to make a great display, only 

 tends to cheapen it in the eyes of 

 many. 



Funeral Flowers. 



What can be responsible tor the 

 cold and miserable request, "Please 

 omit flowers"? Is it the awful designs 

 and colors we see sent (for which the 

 poor florist is very often unjustly 

 blamed), the attributes of economy, or 

 the throbs of a calloused heart? What- 

 ever it be, 'tis an unpleasant thing to 

 investigate, but we notice that though 

 the "requests" are becoming more fre- 

 quent, they are in most cases being 

 ignored; this is particularly the case 

 among the wealthier classes. We 

 know it is not uncommon for clergy- 

 men to advise poor people not to spend 

 their money for floral tokens for their 

 beloved dead, but the same men do not 

 hesitate in asking these poor people 

 to buy flowers for the churches. Oh, 

 consistency, what a jewel thou art! 



A wealthy invalid lady died in New 

 York last week, and despite the "omit 

 flowers" some of the finest floral work 

 seen here for some time was sent to 

 the funeral; she was buried at New- 

 port, R. I., and J. H. Small & Sons 

 had charge of the flowers; one of the 

 designs made by this firm was a heart 

 containing two thousand lily of the 

 valley and a cluster of Testouts in the 

 center; no green was visible; it was 

 very pretty. Another was an eight- 

 foot cross of Lilium Harrisii. There 

 were several fine designs in violets, 

 orchids, and valley. Arthur Merritt, 

 who had charge of the flowers at New- 

 port, says that the weather was in- 

 tensely cold there, and that the lilies 

 when frozen were stiff and even more 

 beautiful than when not; violets 

 turned a bluish black, but most of the 

 other flowers looked grand with their 

 crystallization of frost. This, of 

 course, would not be the case were the 

 flowers taken to a house or church in- 

 stead of direct to the cemetery, so 

 don't bother protecting your flowers 

 in such a case; rather sprinkle them 

 and let them freeze. IVERA. 



THE SILVER LEAF. 



We have received from Mr. E. Rud- 

 owsky, Dresden, Germany, samples of 

 the "Silver Leaves" prepared by him, 

 and he asks if we think they would be 

 apt to meet with favor in America. 

 The leaves are 4 to 5 inches long, 1 to 

 114 inches broad at the widest part, 

 and covered with fine white hair that 

 give^ them a remarkable silvery effect. 

 It is a natural leaf, but is prepared 

 tor use by some process after being 

 taken from the tree. He gives the 



name of the tree as Leucodendron ar- 

 genteum. 



He states that these leaves are ex- 

 tensively used in decorative work in 

 Germany, in wreaths, boiiquets, etc., 

 and for Christmas, New Year and 

 birthday cards. 



We sent the specimens to "Ivera" 

 tor his opinion, and he replies as fol- 

 lows: 



"The samples of silver leaves sent 

 by Mr. Rudowsky are very fine. Al- 

 though very little is known of this 

 material in connection with American 

 floral art, many of the oldest artists 

 are cognizant of its existence. It was 

 first introduced in New York as decor- 

 ative material a little over twelve 

 years ago. Very little of it has been 

 used, for since then we have only very 

 rarely seen it arranged in wreaths as 

 a show-piece for the florist's window. 

 All these years we have known of but 

 one sale as an exclusive design. They 

 have been used scantily in dried work, 

 but the days of that class of work in 

 this country have passed away, never 

 to return. 



"The smaller sized leaf is purchas- 

 able in New York at present at 75 

 cents per 100 up. They make a beau- 

 tiful wreath and can be bent to any 

 curve, but they are only adaptable 

 here for silver weddings, for which 

 they are specially suitable. We have 

 such an abundance of fine natural 

 flowers and greens always on our mar- 

 ket that anything prepared or artificial 

 (except in the cheaper grades of trade) 

 is unpopular. Still, these silver leaves 

 are so pretty that a more extensive 

 use of them might be encouraged, not 

 only in the obscure uses they are put 

 to here, but as an important item in 

 the finest of decorative work." 



THE AMERICAN CARNATION 

 SOCIETY. 



Next week, February 15th and 16th, 

 will be held in Buffalo, N. Y., the 

 meeting and exhibition of this so- 

 ciety, and the promise is that it will 

 be the banner meeting of the society. 



No matter what the promise is, we 

 want everyone interested in carna- 

 tions to try and attend this meeting. 

 If we can get the attendance as near 

 the two hundred mark as we usually 

 have it to the hundred mark, we can 

 by another season easily procure from 

 the railroads the rate and one-third 

 usually enjoyed by societies of this 

 kind, and after the attendance from 

 outside points is once brought up 

 to the two hundred mark, the attrac- 

 tion of the meetings and exhibitions 

 will easily keep it up to that mark. 

 All that is necessary to get a regular 

 attendant to these meetings is to get 

 him there once, and there will have 

 to be something very serious inter- 

 fere if he is not back the next year. 



With carnations such a prominent 

 feature with so many growers all 

 over the country, there is no reason 

 why the membership of this society 

 should not be five times its present 

 enrollment, and all that is needed to 

 get it up to this point is the proper 

 presentation of facts by the members 



in their various localities and the 

 bringing along to the meeting of a few 

 of the stragglers. 



Retail men and commission men are 

 quite as much interested in the wel- 

 fare of the carnation as the growers, 

 and should be well represented at 

 these meetings to see that their end 

 of the business receives proper atten- 

 tion. The silver cup ottered by the so- 

 ciety to the store men should bring 

 out an exhibit worthy of the prize and 

 Buffalo will no doubt be the beginning 

 of a new era on these lines. 



It is too late now to get a premium 

 list sent you for the meeting, but any 

 grower who has an exhibit need not 

 be deterred from bringing or sending 

 it along and being assured that it will 

 receive proper attention. Exhibits 

 must be prepaid and addressed to 

 Chas. H. Keitsch, 4S1 Washington St., 

 Buffalo, N. Y. 



The meetings will be held in the 

 Genesee Hotel, and the exhibition in 

 the hall next door. 



Registration. 



Mr. J. L. Dillon, Bloomsburg, Pa., 

 registers: Queen Louise — A strong 

 grower, no grass, every shoot produc- 

 ing a flower; very strong stem; an 

 early and continuous bloomer; pure, 

 white, fragrant, does not burst, and 

 as large as Bradt. 



Mr. A. R. Walker, Flint, Mich., reg- 

 isters: "Michigan" — Color dark red; 

 a seedling from McGowan; freer in 

 bloom than Scott, and blooms the 

 whole season through from time of 

 planting in until thrown out. Stem 

 wiry and from 15 to 24 inches long. 

 Foliage dark green and healthy; the 

 cuttings easy to root and the plants 

 easy to lift in the fall. 



ALBERT M. HERR, Secy. 



Lancaster, Pa. 



The ninth annual convention of the 

 American Carnation Society will be 

 held in Buffalo, N. Y., next Thursday 

 and Friday, Feb. 15 and 16. Headquar- 

 ters will be at the Genesee Hotel. 



With so many promising new car- 

 nations in the field, the exhibition 

 promises to exceed all previous ones 

 in interest, and the attractiveness and 

 practical value will be intensified by 

 the competitions in the classes provid- 

 ed for specimen blooms of standard 

 varieties. It is always good to see 

 the best that can be done with exist- 

 ing sorts by other growers, and such 

 an exhibition is apt to upset previous- 

 ly conceived ideas as to the limit of 

 perfection to which certain varieties 

 can be brought. 



The essays and disaussions at these 

 meetings are always interesting and 

 instructive. There seems more to dis- 

 cuss, more doubtful points to deter- 

 mine, and a livelier interest than at 

 the meetings of any other trade or- 

 ganization. But far above all this is 

 the practical demonstration of the 

 progress in carnation culture seen in 

 the exhibition hall. 



The Carnation Society has proved 

 an exceedingly valuable organization, 

 and it is steadily improving the abund- 

 ant opportunities presented It. 



