MAKi'II S, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



407 



Electricity. 



Electricity is still an untcnowii iiuan- 

 tity; no one now living can tell what 

 uses it may yet be put to. The possi- 

 bilities are immeasurable. The great 

 benefits it has rendered to floricul- 

 ture will never be fully appreciated, 

 because we live in an age when people 

 are accustomed to all manner of phe- 

 nomena, and quickly cease to wonder 

 at; anything e.xcept. perhaps, the cu- 

 pidity of fame and fortune according 

 to magnified ideas. 



Let us consider electricity as an ad- 

 junct to decorative art, or merely as 

 a means of illuminating your place of 

 business. Some of you even today 

 continue to use gas, to the detriment 

 of plants and flowers, and consequent- 

 ly your purse. Any florist with any 

 pretension to either artistic tempera- 

 ment or any degree of ambition has 

 his store illuminated by electricity; 

 but what puzzles us most is the poor 

 taste displayed in the arranging of the 

 lights. Everything seems to be left 

 to the electrician, who, although a 

 good mechanic, is more often a bad 

 artist, and despite the fact that ev- 

 erything about one's store is sup- 

 posed to reflect the judgment or abil- 

 ity of the proprietor. 



Electricity employed in lighting up 

 a store should not be considered mere- 

 ly from an economic point of view, but 

 as a means of producing and illustrat- 

 ing beauty. The manner of doing this 

 depends much on your own ingenuity, 

 because recent inventions and im- 

 provements place almost ev*ry effect 

 within easy accomplishment. Now 

 supposing you took away those even- 

 ly arranged rows of incande.sceut 

 lamps 'round the framework of your 

 window and inserted, say, six or ten 

 of them, in a large cut glass globe in 

 the center of the top of the window; 

 the effect ig far more beautiful. What- 

 ever pretty effect may be got from 

 frosted electric globes there is abso- 

 lutely none in plain ones, especially 

 when arranged in rows and devoid of 

 reflectors. If you will study your win- 

 dow you will find that more pleasing 

 results will be obtained from shaded 

 lights: the glare of the light is too 

 common to attract; hide it with a 



shade that will cast the rays on your 

 plant.9 ami flowers. 



Electric signs outside your window 

 are not only a foolish waste of money 

 and effort, but are an indication that 

 you ape the sporty and vulgar. .\ 

 good name and business need no bra- 

 zen illumination; have all your light 

 artistically arranged inside, for even 

 if your trade be in poor quarters the 

 poorest appreciate the refinement of 

 quietness; people will not patronize 

 you for the quantity of lights you dis- 

 play, but rather tor yourself and your 

 methods. 



Now, when we consider electricity 

 from a decorative standpoint, we must 

 cut loose from any indifferent feel- 

 ing. We are too well aware of the fact 

 that there are many florists who imag- 

 ine they cannot be taught anything, 

 but most of their work cannot stand 

 analysis: that's where bluffs are 

 boomerangs. We must first remem- 

 ber how diflicult it was and is to 

 decorate where gas ig used; the dread 

 of fire many times prevented the ex- 

 ecution of certain designs and made 

 our work seem incomplete. It is not 

 so with the light of the times; electric- 

 ity not only adds its glory to decora- 

 tive work, but it has encouraged and 

 increased the fashion and forms of 

 floral art by its imparting a confidence 

 of security. We should not be con- 

 tent to rest at that, but convert it in- 

 to being a part of our design. You 

 may hang all the garlands you like 

 among incandescent lights; the effect 

 is glarish and spoiled, unless you take 

 steps to make the whole a symphony. 



Colored glass is undesirable because 

 the colors and effects are circum- 

 scribed: much more satisfactory re- 

 sults .can be got from shaded lights; 

 the shades can be made of silk, cheese 

 cloth or crepe paper; these can be had 

 in every shade of color; they cost 

 very little and can be used for many 

 affairs. Decorations always appear 

 best under a mildly subdued light, 

 such ag that as is commonly known as 

 Oriental: this is particularly so where 

 a large quantity of greenery is used, 

 but even in the most brilliantly light- 

 ed hall or ballroom soft hued lights 

 are best. 



There Is no reason why you should 

 iioi take entire charge of the total ef- 

 lc( t In a particular decoration; we 

 have often done so. In rooms where 

 an abundance of vines and plants 

 were used we have covered the lights 

 with green silk shades; if we thought 

 a contrast would emphasize beauty we 

 have put red in some alcove or comer 

 to bo used for a cozy retreat. In rooms 

 where yellow, pink or red prevails 

 there is no reason why the lights 

 should not be the same shade, always 

 remembering that harmony is the 

 greatest producer of pleasure in art as 

 in society. 



I'lio time will come when electricity 

 will be used instead of the, in most 

 cases, dirty and annoying candles for 

 table decoration. Nay, even now it 

 is often used more satisfactorily in 

 this way; not only can batteries be 

 placed beneath the table, but the 

 power can be obtained from any ordi- 

 nary circuit: careful insulation is all 

 that is necessary: the wires can be 

 hidden Ijeneath rugs. As for a lamp, 

 you can get them in any shape, size or 

 color, and they can be inserted inside 

 many kinds of flowers; only one color 

 is permissible on a table. 



Alexander McConneli, at 45th street 

 and Fifth avenue. New York City, has 

 had a small electric fountain in one 

 of his windows all this season; it is 

 veiy attractive; six distinct colors are 

 shown: it is conducted by connection 

 to the wires in the store and doesn't 

 cost very much. The possibilities in 

 this line are very great, not only in 

 store and decorative attractions, but 

 they might also be a leading feature in 

 flower show.9. 



The florist who is ahvays anxious to 

 be ahead will find much to help him in 

 a study of light and shade. It is pos- 

 sible now to have shower effects in 

 "fairy lamps"; they can be made very 

 beautiful where the electrician works 

 in harmony with the florist. Keep the 

 wires, even the lights, away from 

 your plants, for they will not stand a 

 too close proximity: 'tis better for you 

 to use string than wire when working 

 close to electrical wires. 



There were many thousands of in- 

 candescent lights used in the decora- 

 tions illustrated this week, and though 

 the whole scene was very brilliant, 

 there were places here and there 

 where if clustered shaded colors were 

 used the effect would have been still 

 more beautiful. 



Ball Decoration. 



The Arion Society of New York is 

 perhaps the leading German society in 

 the United States. Every year they 

 give a carnival ball in the Madison 

 Square Gardens, New York. The ex- 

 penses amount to about $28,000. The 

 price of admission for ladv and gen- 

 tlemen is $10.00. The affairs are very 

 successful. 



Hanft Bros, have always had charge 

 of the decorations, and "this year we 

 had some photogi-aphs of them speci- 

 ally taken for this department of the 



