Decbuber 12, 1901. 



TheWeekly Florists' Review. 



71 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Holly and Green. 



From the actual non-observance of one 

 liundred years ago and but slight recog- 

 nition fifty years ago, Christmas time is 

 now the most joyous and most widely 

 commemorated day in this broad land. 

 It's a grand sign of the advancement of 

 man when all so-called Christian denom- 

 inations unite in keeping this day as one 

 of joy and happiness. And perhaps ba- 

 bies are breathing today who will live 

 to see but one church where now there 

 are forty varieties (each one the only 

 one) and whose teaching will be that if 

 all will "do unto their neighbor as he 

 would they should do unto him" our race 

 on earth will have advanced many de- 

 grees nearer an earthly heaven than It 

 is today. And so what was the associa- 

 tion of Christmas in our mother coun- 

 tries had to be revived here. No doubt 

 the holly and mistletoe were obnoxious 

 to the sight and ears of a Puritan, but 

 the Puritans are only a memory and 

 now in less than thirty years in our 

 northern states, where few knew that 

 the tree grew on the continent, its uses 

 as an emblem of the season and to dec- 

 orate the home from that of the hum- 

 blest to the palace is simply enormous. 



As in many other things (mostly all) 

 we go the whole hog or none, and it is 

 pretty safe to say that in no cities of 

 Europe of the same size is holly used to 

 the e.xtent it is in all our northern cities. 

 Wide must be the forests of the south, 

 where it grows, to stand the enormous 

 drain that is annually made upon it. 

 Two years ago our city was flooded with 

 many carloads of poor stuff, but last 

 year the shippers were a little shy and 

 there was less of it and of better quality. 

 The holly is no longer exclusively a flor- 

 ists' article. Ever corner grocer handles 

 it and lots of people who strive to turn 

 an honest penny buy a few cases, make 

 it into wreaths and peddle them from 

 door to door. We must not grumble at 

 that any more than the grocer does at 

 the huckster who sells you, or rather 

 your wife, potatoes, apples and "nice 

 banan" at the door every day of the 

 year. 



The florist will always have his share 

 of this holly and green business, be- 

 cause he makes them better, and all our 

 good people are willing to pay a little 

 more for a good article. Retailers who 

 ihave but the limited space of a store can 

 scarcely go into the making up of holly 

 wreaths and wreathing, and it is much 

 Ibetter to let out the job to some one 

 who will make the wreaths for you at 

 so much a hundred, but you had better 

 always furnish the material or there 

 •will be an inclination to scrimp the ma- 

 terial and make it go too far; that's an 

 instinct of the savage breast as natural 

 iis love or appetite. 



Many of us have the room and help to 

 make our own, and the great thing is to 

 i;pt a lot made and ready for sale a few 

 days ahead of Christmas, for with us 

 that time brings its other cares and if 

 you had double force of help, which we 

 usually do, we would be all busy selling. 



wrapping, delivering, and what is sure 

 to occur, decorating houses or churches. 

 So get all wreathing and wreaths made 

 just as soon as the material arrives. 



Holly should not be exposed to hard 

 frosts or many of its berries will drop; 

 plenty drop from dryness. A cool base- 

 ment or cellar is the best place to keep 

 the cases till you can use them. Bou- 

 quet green can be kept out of doors, as 

 no amount of freezing hurts it, but an 

 old carpet or cloth of some kind should 

 be thrown over it or the outer exposed 

 ends will soon turn brown and you can't 

 afford to lose any of it. Where to keep 



black, but we do soak it for a few min- 

 utes; you can use it much quicker when 

 moist and pliable. 



It is needless to remark that even at 

 this simple job division of labor should 

 be carried out. Don't expect the man or 

 boy, or maybe girl, that is making the 

 wreath to cut and sort the material. If 

 four pairs of hands are making the 

 wreaths it will take one good helper to 

 chop off the stems and lay before the 

 operators nothing but good material. 

 Every time the busy hands encounter a 

 yellow piece of pine there is wasted en- 

 energy in throwing it away. An irritation 

 of the nervous system, followed by ex- 

 haustion, and perhaps a cussword, 

 shakes the cobwebs on the roof of the 

 shed. 



Holly wreaths after being made up are 

 more difficult to keep fresh and green 

 than the pine. A dark, moist, cool cel- 

 lar is the ideal place. We know that to 

 be so, for we have room for 200 or 300 

 in such a place, but that is not enough, 

 and other places must be found. Be- 



Holly Wreath with Winter Berry Worked in and Ribbon to Match Berries. 



this wreathing and wreaths when made 

 up a week or more before time is often 

 puzzling. The wreathing and wreaths of 

 the bouquet green we have found keep 

 best out of doors in a cold frame, with 

 something opaque over the glass, and if 

 there is any snow around throw a little 

 snow among it. It is not well to pile too 

 much in depth, as it flattens out very 

 easily. It will keep in a cold frame for 

 several weeks if the light is kept away. 

 We used to throw all the bundles of 

 greens into a tub of water before using 

 and sometimes a tubful would be left in 

 this bath over night. This we found 

 would not do, for in a day or so it turns 



neath a bench in your coolest greenhouse 

 will do. Lay down some coarse paper, 

 wet it so that the ground beneath is 

 moist, and then lay on your holly 

 wreaths, but not more than three deep, 

 and cover with newspapers. 



We like to make our holly wreaths 

 on No. 16 wire, but your wireworker 

 will make them cheaper for you than 

 you can, and for the best wreaths we 

 twine a very thin covering of bouquet 

 green around the wire before the holly 

 is tied on. It is well to have several 

 different sizes of holly wreaths, some on 

 12-inch wires, some on 15 and some on 

 18-ineh; larger than that you can wait 



