MAKCH I. 1000. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



381 



M. is L'l; iihli'a from .1. ;iiicl tin Ijox 

 Of plants was valvied at $19.U0. Who 

 should stand the loss in this caso? 

 M. 



SAM'S IMPRESSIONS. 



We wci'c awfully Khid to kni>\v Ihat 

 our worthy friend. W. T. Bell, o£ 

 Franklin, I'a., brought along to the 

 carnation convention his in.sepaiahle 

 friend, old Sam Do (!raw. We are apt 

 to call him old, but ho is little more 

 than in the very prime of life, but hav- 

 ing hibernated tunong tho rocky ra- 

 vines of the AUeghanies his environ- 

 ment has left its mark on his rugged 

 character and he has become slightly 

 fassilized, which has adde<l angularity 

 and grotes(iueness to his natural rock 

 ribbed character. 



Every one who has the ph^asiuo to 

 know Sam intimately knows full well 

 that Sam's personality is of the juirest 

 gold without alloy and thtit the exte- 

 rior imperfections in both appearance 

 and rays of character have been pro- 

 duced by the friction and repelling op- 

 eration that has been continually war- 

 ring against baser metals. More could 

 be said in favor of old Sam's sterling 

 worth, but with all that admitted it is 

 a pity that he emerged from his moun- 

 tain fastnesses with such a pessimistic 

 temperament when visiting Buffalo on 

 the 15th. Some of his impressions are 

 liable to go abroad and create an un- 

 favorable and erroneous impression. 



He is undoubtedly a good observer, 

 but on this occasion preferred to look 

 through the wrong end of the telescope 

 or he would never have discovered 

 that quarter of an inch which was 

 shy. Some reliable men say that ■■G66" 

 will measure a plump four inches. 

 Hurry, boys, especially you whose 

 name Sam wants to mutilate, and get 

 that extra quarter of an inch on, and 

 then perhaps old Sam will be satistled. 

 Why quibble over a quarter of an inch? 

 If Sam had taken home a flower of 

 "666" and compared it with the best 

 of his home product it must have sat- 

 isfied him of the marvelous advance in 

 the carnations of today over those of 

 ten years ago. 



We last saw Sam going down the 

 elevator, and with a chuckle and wave 

 of the hand he exclaimed: "I am glad 

 I came; yes, I'm glad, for there is no 

 4-inch carnation yet." One would think 

 from the exultation displayed and ra- 

 diance of victory that Sam had the 

 only 4-inch flower in his native valley 

 and that he had achieved a great con- 

 quest. 



He is an observer true enough, for 

 he mentions the best appearing flowers 

 as they appeared in their "party 

 dresses." This would lead one to sup- 

 pose that there was some method pur- 

 sued by exhibitors to artificially pre- 

 pare the flowers, while I feel sure there 

 is none. They are merely the best 

 flowers picked and packed in the ordi- 

 nary way and displayed In very ordi- 

 nary vases. 



Sam does not "burst." True enough, 

 raore's the pity that he did not burst 

 just a little bit with enthusiasm at the 



woiKlerful flowers wlii(li inu.^i, have 

 been a revelation to him, if not to 

 those who have been constant attend- 

 ants at these annual shows. 



Sam remarks about each class being 

 staged together and remaining so dur- 

 ing the show. That was never followed 

 out so consistently as at Buffalo, and 

 the writer had no little to say about it. 

 It is the only way. To dot exhibits all 

 over the halL to suit the fancy of every 

 exhibitor is a relic of the pumpkin 

 fair. So instead of telling us what we 

 should do, Sam might have made us 

 feel gooil by a remark of this sort: 

 "Considering the lateness of arrival of 

 many of the flowers, the exhibits were 

 staged in gooil ord(>r and the judges 

 had not to wander all over the hall to 

 make comparisons." But bless old 

 Sam's heart, you could not get a com- 

 pliment out of him with a post auger. 



Sam condemns again the method of 

 scoring or scaling points in judging the 

 applicants for certificates, but his last 

 remark leaves the matter in chaos. It 

 is a windy, voluminous subject, Mr. 

 Editor, but as one of those who have 

 judged in the certificate class for the 

 past four years, I must say a word in 

 its defense. Whatever they had the 

 misfortune to do in Chicago we have 

 nothing to do with, and the judging 

 committee of the A. C. S. has never 

 scored on a flower yet that came near 

 perfection in all points. It is by com- 

 parison that points are scored. When 

 a flower appears with the stem of a 

 Jubilee, the size of "666," the form of 

 Gov. Roosevelt, the substance of Day- 

 break, the calyx of Mrs. Bradt, with a 

 strong clove fragrance, it will score 

 full points on those qualities. If it is 

 a white, that is. pure white, or a scar- 

 let the shade of old "Dazzle," it will 

 deserve full score for color. In inter- 

 mediate shades it must rest on the 

 judgment of the judges. 



Don't you think that the men who 

 have judged the seedlings for several 

 years know what is about the highest 

 standard and in all the qualities that 

 go to make a fine carnation? They do, 

 aa the result of their judging for sev- 

 eral years past will show. And with 

 a remarkably small exception their 

 judgment has been verified by the va- 

 riety v?hich scored high, or on the 

 other hand by the poor success of va- 

 rieties that did not receive a certifi- 

 cate. To appoint men as judges who 

 had been in the backwoods for ten 

 years and had not watched the grad- 

 ual but certain development of the car- 

 nation would be unwise, but men who 

 are acquainted with all the varieties of 

 the past ten years are well aware of 

 what is the present standard of per- 

 fection, and no flower possesses them 

 all. So it is by comparison that we 

 judge and score the points, and I be- 

 lieve it is entirely satisfactory at pres- 

 ent. A proof that it is is evidenced 

 by all the leading growers submitting 

 their seedlings to be passed on. 



The cruelest cut of all that old Sam 

 gives us is his remark about the con- 

 vention room. He says he looked in 

 and thought it was a smoker. Now, 

 truthfully, there was not 5 per cent, of 



the men pi'i-:.iiil ..uioklu;^. li lie li.nl 

 been among us, which was his right 

 place, he would have seen young .\Ir. 

 Craig ably presiding over an earnest 

 lot of men discussing very practical 

 questions connected with the culture 

 of the carnation and the very faint 

 odor of nicotine would have dispelled 

 that halo of victory which tho absent 

 qiutrter of an inch produced. Men 

 have been known to die with too 

 much and too sudden joy. Sam's 

 imaginary victory weighed on all his 

 iieive centers and clouded his i)ro- 

 found intellect. 



It was no smoker, gentlemen, far 

 from it; it was an earnest and in- 

 structive meeting, and what would 

 have added greatly to it would have 

 been the sound sense and shrew^d ob- 

 servations of such men a.'? old Sam De 

 Graw. Always speak your piece in the 

 'nicetin' house;" don't go outside and 

 'find fault with what occurred unless 

 you fought against it. 



It can be proved with slight argu- 

 ment that these conventions are to the 

 credit and glory of all concerned. The 

 man who does not participate is a ben- 

 eficiary just as much as those who 

 spend their time and money to attend. 

 All are benefited. Whether you will or 

 not, you can't help but reap a benefit, 

 ;uid among other blessings Is the op- 

 portunity to meet dear old Sam De 

 Graw. BUFPWLO. 



ST. LOUIS. 



Floral Euclire. 



The floral euchre party given by 

 the club last Friday evening was a 

 grand success, considering the wea- 

 ther. 



The prizes, 58 in all, consisting of 

 palms of all kinds, ferneries, bloom- 

 ing plants and boxes of cut flowers, 

 were donated by the following flor- 

 ists: F. C. Weber, Beyer Bros., Wm. 

 Schray, F. J. Fillmore, Julius Koenig, 

 Geo. Windier, C. C. Sanders, C. 

 Young & Sons Co., John Kunz, John 

 Steidle, J. F. Ammann, C. A. Kuehn, 

 I'". J. Windt, Henry Emundt, Max 

 Herzog and J. J. Beneke. 



Although there were 260 in attend- 

 ance, the cold weather no doubt kept 

 many away. The arrangement com- 

 mittee had everything in readiness at 

 S p. m., and after playing twelve 

 games the 58 prizes were given to the 

 winners. 



Dancing, which the young folks en- 

 joyed, was then begun, and not until 

 2 a. m. did the last person leave the 

 hall. 



The euchre, which will net the club 

 aliout 1100, was voted a success and 

 uiaif.v expressed the wish that the 

 club repeat it before the winter season 

 ends. 



The Market. 



Business is still very good and all 

 florists report an exceptionally good 

 week. Plenty of funeral work and 

 plenty of weddings and parties. The 

 West End florists report a good Feb- 

 ruary trade. The do\vn town florists 

 also say that February was a good 



