72 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Dbcember 12, 1901. 



till they are ordered. Many holly 

 wreaths are now taken to cemeteries and 

 we find that those made with holly at 

 one side (or on top, shall we Bay?) and 

 the back of bouquet green, are preferred. 

 However, be well supplied. I have never 

 known us to have enough. It's one of 

 those bits of our business that only 

 comes once a year and you have not 

 much faith in it, but it comes and all in 

 a heap the last day or two. There is 

 very liberal profit in it, so be well sup- 

 plied. 



Laurel. 



There is a gn xt deal of laurel (Kal- 

 mia latifolia) used as wreathing nowa- 

 days, and it is much richer looking than 

 the roping of bouquet green, particularly 

 in large decorations. It can be bought 

 made into wreathing much cheaper than 

 you can buy the material and make it 

 up yourself, but it is sadly crushed 

 and flattened out by the time it reaches 

 the retailer, and if we get well paid for 

 its use we prefer to get the branches and 

 make it ourselves. 



Just here allow me to mention what I 

 had forgotten to speak of. Bouquet 

 green wreathing and laurel wreathing is 

 always made on a coarse string or rope. 



etable parasites. We have made a little 

 money from a case or two of imported 

 mistletoe if handled properly. For sev- 

 eral years we used to buy a case. It 

 was left in a dry warm basement and if 

 a piece was wanted the whole case was 

 mauled over to get the right piece. In a 

 few days there was nothing but leaves, 

 berries and bare stems. Now, directly it 

 arrives, unpack it and lay it out in a 

 cool, moist, dark cellar, and sort every 

 branch and handle just as little as pos- 

 sible. If a customer asks you for 50 

 cents or a dollar or two dollars' worth 

 you know at once where it is and you 

 "will make some returns and please your 

 customers. William Scott. 



CHRISTMAS WREATHS. 



We present herewith engravings from 

 photographs of three Christmas wreaths 

 that we noted last week at the estab- 

 lishment of ilcKellar & Winterson, Chi- 

 cago, who made them and others to or- 

 der for an out of town florist. 



The first one is made entirely of the 

 bright red "Winterberry," which seems 

 to be in fine shape this year and which 

 makes a particularly bright and attract- 



Wreath of Bouquet Green with Clusters and Statof Scarlet Immortelles. 



It seemed to us that pictures of these 

 wreaths might be interesting and sug- 

 gestive to many of our readers at this 

 time. The winterberry has not to our 

 knowledge ever been illustrated before 

 though now fairly well known. Though 

 devoid of foliage the branches are so 

 thickly covered with bright red berries 

 that they are remarkably effective in 

 Christmas decorations. In plant ar- 

 rangements in Chicago stores we have 

 seen small branches worked in among 

 the plants with fine effect. 



Now, this rope should always be dipped 

 in a dye of dark green. It costs next to 

 nothing and will cover a multitude of 

 siiis, for glimpses of the rope will occur 

 occasionally, and if green it will never 

 be noticed. Laurel is perfectly hardy, 

 but keep it covered in a cold-frame if 

 you want to retain its bright, glossy 

 color. 



Mistletoe. 

 The European mistletoe is the real 

 mistletoe that was according to legend 

 worshiped by the barbarians called Dru- 

 ids, who were a brave people and ate each 

 other to keep down the population. Our 

 American species is nothing like as hand- 

 some, but with those who know no bet- 

 ter it goes all right, and a kiss stolen 

 from beneath it is as good as that four 

 feet from the French or English mistle- 

 toe. It depends more on the "variety" 

 under the bough than the species of this 

 parasite, for it is the truest of true veg- 



jve Christmas wreath. The star in the 

 center is scarlet immortelle?. Some of 

 the wreaths had this star and others 

 were without. 



The second wreath is of holly "ith 

 winterberrv worked in to add color and 

 the wreath is tied with a bow of ribbon 

 to match the berries. On both wreaths 

 the streamers of the bows were much 

 longer than shown in the picture, and 

 of course the length is a matter of taste 

 and price to be asked for the wreath. 

 It is certainlv true that the ribbon adds 

 wonderfully to the efltectiveness of the 

 wreaths, and as the bows can be quickly 

 attached a few sample wreaths with 

 bows would meet demands till others 

 could be supplied. 



The third wreath is heavily made of 

 bouquet green, with four clusters of 

 scarlet immortelles and a star of the 

 same. Of course the star can be omit- 

 ted. 



DO THEY DO IT ? 



Under the above title [the title was 

 written by us.— Ed.l the East Side 

 Floral Co.. in the last issue of the Re- 

 view, complain of wholesale houses sell- 

 ing flowers at wliolesale prices to peo- 

 ple who are not iu any way connected 

 with the trade, and I am sorry to say 

 that I know several cases where there 

 was no question that "they do it." In 

 one. case where I figured on some Beau- 

 ties, the same were supplied by one of 

 the largest growers and wholesalers in 

 Chicago— sold to a purchasing agent. 

 \vhom°the house knew, perfectly well had 

 no connection with the trade. I have 

 not bought a flower of them since, and 

 I won't. . . 



I began buving from a commission 

 house, only to" find that they also "do 

 it." Thev send price lists to under- 

 takers, retail buyers just as well as to 

 florists, and when they sold to a party 

 who was buving of me regularly, and I 

 complained, ' "It was an oversight," I 

 was assured, and "It will not happen 

 aoain." Thev made a note of it right 

 there and when a little later two of the 

 firm ^•isited Aurora they proceeded to 

 explain to the same buyer the advan- 

 tages he would enjoy by dealing directly 

 with them. 



1 tried another house, one that claimed 

 to be as straight as can be, and before 

 I dealt there a month an undertaker 

 who wished to open an account with me 

 showed me several receipted bills (by 

 way of reference) all billed at wholesale 

 prices and from the same angelic house. 

 I did not say, "Uo they do it?" but 

 "Why, and what can be done about it?' 

 It occurred to me that if the retailers 

 depending on the Chicago market for 

 flowers would form the Retail Florists' 

 Protective Association, inform each other 

 and every florist they can reach of all 

 such transactions and never buy a thing 

 from a house guilty of such practices, 

 they would do something toward putting 

 a stop to it. While I know several cases 

 where orders were accepted and even 

 solicited from people outside of the 

 trade, I know only one case where a 

 Chicago house refused an order from an 

 undertaker, advising him to buy of one 

 of the local retailers, and now several 

 florists think more of E. H. Hunt than 

 they did before, for good actions become 

 known just as readily as bad ones. Now 

 that the wholesalers have heard from 

 us, let them present their side of the 

 story. J. M. Smely. 



Aurora, 111. 



I was much pleased to see the letter 

 of the East Side Floral Co., Champaign, 

 111., in the issue of December 5. 



This is something we have had to 

 strive against at different times, though 

 it does not usually last long. However, 

 it is hard to feel that persons not in the 

 business receive circulars of wholesale 

 florists and buy at wholesale prices. 



