MAY 17, laoo. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



755 



Decoration Day. 



Let us stop a moment and think, and 

 ask ourselves these questions: Are we 

 alone responsible for our success? Do 

 we owe nothing to this country? Have 

 we done or do we do our duty as Amer- 

 icans? Do we realize or appreciate the 

 full meaning of Decoration Day? Or 

 has life any ambition or thought be- 

 yond that of self and its gratifications? 

 Many may read this and mutter, "I'm 

 satisfied; I'm making a living — what 

 else should I care for?" 



How small man appears as viewed 

 from a high pinnacle; how often he 

 really is so when judged from the point 

 of true patriotism! "The land we live 

 in" means only the land we rob or 

 despise to many, but we are glad to 

 say that element is daily becoming 

 smaller. Yet to-day we may see many 

 who forget their disguise and become 

 ridiculous in their adoration of some 

 foreign and corrupt monarch. But 

 they will not go back and enjoy the 

 glory of living under that potentate, 

 not they, indeed, for they'd go hun- 

 gry if they did. They like the United 

 States, for the dollars are large and 

 plentiful here. 'Tis a queer world and 

 this country is the amphitheater for 

 its tragedy and comedy — a stage upon 

 which tolerance is forever flghtiug ig- 

 norance and on the latter prosperity 

 with inexcusable impartiality often 

 smiles in vain. 



It is impossible for us to picture the 

 American to whom the numerous 

 small mounds in Arlington yonder are 

 mere tufts of grass and nothing more; 

 such a person doesn't exist. Yet It is 

 true that there is a vast army of peo- 

 ple here who eat up the products of 

 the land and enjoy all its munificence 

 without knowing or caring how such 

 was made possible; envy cannot en- 

 ter into any argument here, for there's 

 room for all, but time is an impa- 

 tient master and the ideal of every- 

 thing depends on unity. That is the 

 principle, the ambition of floriculture; 

 our standards may vary exceedingly, 

 but it is idealism we aim for; we mis- 

 take in not more forcibly applying it 

 to the nation. Decoration Day should 

 mean more to the florist than it does 

 to the average citizen, because in addi- 



tion to the sentiment or the eruption 

 of memory, it is a day of special recog- 

 nition of his art; the public turn to 

 him, for materials by which they may 

 express all that is best in them, and if 

 betimes the result-s are unsatisfactory 

 the florist is often to blame, mostly 

 for two reasons: he is not in sym- 

 pathy with the occasion or the stock 

 is inappropriate or tco poor. 



In our business it pays to foster 

 patriotism and the best way to en- 

 courage is to set example. Even a 

 mercenary motive behind such exam- 

 ple need scarcely be discernible and 

 the habit may become a virtue. Life, 

 after all is said and done, is but a 

 short hit of road; it is immaterial 

 what part of the world it may be in, 

 'tis all the same and just as short. 

 The ruins or glories strewn along 

 it are but the results of our own acts; 

 many times the river of adversity can 

 be bridged only by the strong and am- 

 bitious; those who fail should not be 

 condemned, at least hastily. What 

 we have been writing here applies to 

 the average American florist. We 

 know — you all know — some particular 

 man who grows his plants well for 

 certain special occasions and his suc- 

 cess comes quickly; others who either 

 cannot or will not produce good 

 stock, their struggles are pitiable. 



A vastly larger quantity of good 

 plants could be dispofed of on Mem- 

 orial Day if individual and united ac- 

 tion would be concentrated to that 

 end. We don't believe in giving away 

 stock where such would tend to 

 cheapen, demoralize or degrade the 

 business. Heaven knows it costs 

 much to produce plants and flowers 

 and the public only too seldom recog- 

 nize that fact. It is only that in the 

 failure to push business on a day like 

 this the florist is at fault, and may 

 also be suspected of lack of interest 

 in the event. 



Last year we advocated the plan of 

 having the local florists decorate the 

 public soldiers' monument gratis. 

 This would not have cost them much, 

 it would be patriotic and remind the 

 public of their duty. There is scarcely 

 a town or city in the Union without 

 some monument of national signifl- 



lann-. ami tlii'y slioiild In- il'n orated 

 by the florists. Inasmuch as otherwise 

 they will not be attended to. Years 

 ago it was customary to elaborately 

 decorate all the public statues; some 

 vile work used to be done on them, 

 too. We've seen Lincoln's arm filled 

 with potted plants, sometimes a 

 wreath of hemlock 'round his neck. 

 Grant's chest covered with an immor- 

 telle shield or a wreath on his hat. 

 Farragut grasping a tin-foiled an- 

 chor. And Washington and Lafay- 

 ette would be transformed into come- 

 dians. 



We would rather assert that the 

 reasons for the lack of monument de- 

 orations to-day are due more to the 

 bad taste displayed in the work of 

 former years than to the decline of 

 American patriotism. We have seen 

 the beautiful creation, the soul-dream 

 of some eminent sculptor, made a 

 thing of ridicule by the florist whose 

 duty it was to still more beautify, and 

 can we blame the people if they stop 

 it, or if other arts refuse to recognize 

 the full importance of ours? The 

 sculptor of to-day may in confidence 

 procure his models from the floral 

 artist of ancient Athens, and the 

 floral artist of to-day should be equal 

 to the highest standard of refined art. 



We may imagine that the tendency 

 of current styles incline to the large 

 and gaudy displays, but it is our duty 

 to advocate substance and beauty; for 

 instance, a laurel wreath of two or 

 three thousand leaves carefully ar- 

 ranged can be more expressive than 

 a quantity of laurel streamers or en- 

 twinements. In this class of work 

 we should not go in so much for 

 covering space as we should to con- 

 form to the outlines of the subject 

 and yet individualize our own design. 

 Harmony in work is like that element 

 in society — both produce pleasure. In 

 the case of equestrian or other stat- 

 ues, the florist's work should be con- 

 fined to the base or pedestal, and even 

 there a concentration of effort gives 

 best results. It may be different in 

 the decoration of monoliths or other 

 forms, but clumsiness or indifferent 

 work will spoil all. 



Appropriate material is a very im- 

 portant matter to consider. Decora- 

 tion Day should not be considered in 

 any funereal light; it is no longer a 

 day of mourning; it is a day of fond 

 memories and great joy, for with gar- 

 land and flower we pay our tribute to 

 the dead and our joy has its spring in 

 the fact that the country is secure and 

 prosperous because of the sacrifices 

 made and the ever present spirit of 

 emulation. 



Fortunately, the celebration occurs 

 at a time of the year when an abund- 

 ance of material is available, and the 

 lateness of the season this time will 

 provide even a greater variety than 

 usual. Colored flowers are most suit- 

 able; the variety of color is immater- 

 ial — the grouping of them is essential. 

 In extensive work of course a separa- 

 tion of color is desirable, such as 



