JVNE 19. 1902. 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



99 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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School Closings. 



Prohibiting the public presentation of 

 flowers at school closings is a matter for 

 serious consideration and action by flor- 

 ists and florists' associations. Every 

 efl'ort to prohibit or decry the use of 

 flowers should be met by intelligent and 

 determined opposition. Two motives 

 may be assigned as actuating the school 

 authorities in this matter. One, selfish- 

 ness, the other charity, and in any action 

 to be taken these must be fully consid- 

 ered. The extra appreciative or wealthy 

 parents may delight for apjiearance sake 

 in sending their children flowers, but 

 there are very many poor people who 

 through ignorance of the present price 

 of flowers or pure inditference or possi- 

 bly inability to go father than pro- 

 viding the necessary graduating outfit, 

 welcome the rule of prohibition. 



It may be rightly argued that the 

 school is no place for a display of the 

 powers of wealth, at least in such a way 

 as to create unhealthy jealousies in the 

 juvenile heart. The school is supjjosed 

 to be a place where all are ecjual except 

 in the matter of intellect. True it is 

 that merit is rewarded in several ways 

 and pity it seems to us that provision 

 could not also be made to use flowers in 

 addition to the many vulgar brassisms 

 sanctioned by the powers that be. There 

 can be no disputing the fact that plant 

 life and flower beauty constitutes 

 (though meagerly recognized by almost 

 all school boards) the great refining in- 

 fluences of all lives, be they ever so high- 

 ly educated ; in fact education is lost 

 where there is a lack of appreciation of 

 nature's most beautiful gems, conse- 

 quently the florists' argument is clear 

 and the arbitrary rules should be modi- 

 fied or so amended as to permit the pro- 

 fuse use of flowers as a crown to youth's 

 first accomplished ambition. 



It devolves upon those who have the 

 training of children to devote a portion 

 of their time to a child's life to some- 

 thing beyond and above that all-devour- 

 ing spirit of commercialism that tends 

 to absorb or choke the finer instincts of 

 matured life. It will be a sorry day for 

 America when the education of its boys 

 and girls is entirely devoted to measur- 

 ing the circumference of the dollar and 

 placing within that circle the whole path 

 of their lives. In bestirring ourselves to 

 in every way protect the interests of flor- 

 iculture it can never be charged that 

 there is an entirely mercenary spirit be- 

 hind our efforts, because flowers in a 

 thousand ways are a real necessity. A 

 luxurious necessity if you will, but an 

 aosolute one on the occasions that mark 

 the important events in human life. And 

 if narrow minded despotism will persist 

 in oozing out from those who by their 

 acts prove themselves unfit for the posi- 

 tions they hold in municipal or state af- 

 fairs, then it is the duty of every florist 

 to see to it that such are replaced by 

 those who know better the requirements 

 of advanced civilization. 



It appears to us that there is very 

 little that is impossible to determined 

 concerted action. Every section of the 

 commercial community is organized to 

 protect their particular interests, and 

 florists have in numerous cases a double 

 incentive to work; they are those of 

 self-preservation and public education. 

 Here in New York, too, pupils are not 

 permitted to have flowers presented to 

 them on the platform during the cere- 

 monies on graduating days, but they can 

 be and are sent to the class rooms, and if 

 it should come to pass that they be pre- 

 sented to them even at the door of the 

 school when departing, it should be done. 

 During the present condition of affairs 

 florists should advocate the importance 

 of presenting flowers to graduates and 

 guarantee their safe delivery. 



We must say that there are very many 

 poorly executed and inappropriate de- 

 signs sent to these affairs. Any kind of 

 flower is suitable but they should be tied 

 in loose light bunches and have ribbon 

 attached when possible and the name 

 and date painted on the streamers. 

 Boxes and baskets are not suitable for 

 these events. The former hides what is 

 intended to be seen and the latter is too 

 cumbersome for young hands to struggle 

 with. Therefore let us show in our work 

 that we understand what is best for 

 all. We hope to see the day when the 

 main hall of every school will be decor- 

 ated with plants and flowers on the first 

 and last days of attendance. 



Summer Vases. 



There has been during the past few 

 years quite a revolution in the way of 

 filling summer vases and in general ex- 

 terior plant decorating. Formerly the 

 material used to a great extent in this 

 class of work consisted of geraniums and 

 other such flowering plants. Now it is 

 Aucuba japonica, furnished well down, 

 and heavy vines of ivy, and exceedingly 

 well they look and stand the trying cli- 

 mate of New York. Plenty of water is 

 all the care they need. Palms, particu- 

 larly latanias and phoenix, look well sep- 

 arately, and some very fine effects are 

 obtained by using a variety of palms, 

 ficus and general or highly colored foli- 

 age plants with vincas and ivies. 



It is surprising to notice that many 

 of the plants hitherto considered too del- 

 icate for outdoor work are now used 

 with impunity. Sub-tropical effects are 

 the most jjopular, and a vast amount of 

 stock is being used up that could not 

 be offered in the ordinary market chan- 

 nels. 



A summer vase needs be well filled to 

 be effective, and while it is necessary to 

 put in some good plants almost any- 

 thing will do for filling in. There has 

 been and will be a big run on ivies this 

 year; not nearly enough of good stock 

 is grown. The same may be said of 

 variegated vincas. Last week cannas and 

 geraniums were sold here at auction at 



$1 per 100, with scarcely enough 

 buyers even at that price. Better for 

 the growers to use them at home to heljl 

 hide the rubbish heaps or beautify theit 

 grounds. We cannot help thinking also 

 that a vast amount more of this kind of 

 stock could be used profitably in the 

 cities were it offered at right figures 

 earlier in the season. 



Bobbink & Atkins' Ligustrura ibota 

 compacta makes up a pretty vase or 

 window box, and is destined to become 

 very popular for use in such work. A 

 little green of ajiy kind is welcome to the 

 eye in the sweltering city, and even it 

 there be but very little money in some 

 of the work, one never knows what a 

 small order may lead to. 



Ivy is being used entwined up the 

 stems and tacked round the tubs ot 

 standard Bay trees, and it takes away 

 the objectionable stiffness of thes<5 

 trees. 



There are several new varieties of the 

 Boston fern to be offered next spring 

 and some that we have seen are fine ac- 

 quisitions. Pity we have to wait so long 

 for them. 



There are many lovely flowers to be 

 seen in the herbaceous gardens now, 

 such as delphiniums, phlox. Clematis 

 recta, thalietrums, Chrysanthemxim car- 

 neum, aquilegias, Spiraea aruncus, and a 

 whole regiment of others, which can be 

 utilized for all manner of decorative 

 work, and an eye ought to be kept on the 

 best. Nothing finer now than masses of 

 Liliums umbellatum, elegans, elegans 

 roseuin and E. robustum. A vase of 

 mixed outdoor flowers can be made equal 

 to any, no matter how beautiful. One 

 or two or a larger cluster — yes, even a 

 wreath of white or blue passifloras — 

 look pretty and are very expressive. 



Dendrobium superbum is a pretty 

 white orchid in bloom at the present 

 time. 



We congratulate the American Eose 

 Company on the beauty and adaptability 

 of the White Golden Gate rose for fu- 

 neral work. We recently made up for 

 Weeber & Don 's employes a wreath con- 

 taining 300 of this rose. The design was 

 sent to the funer;;! of the late E. Downie, 

 for many years with Peter Henderson 

 Co. Everyone admired the rose. 



IVERA. 



CARNATION NOTES. 



if you have kept any carnation plants 

 growing in pots, intending to plant them 

 on the benches this spring, you shoula 

 lose no time now in getting them planted. 

 Two years ago we planted a house with 

 Jubilee and America early in May, and 

 it paid us well. They got a good hold on 

 the soil before the extreme summer heat, 

 and they suffered very little, with almost 

 no shading on the glass all summer. Last 

 spring we did not have a house ready to 

 plant that early, so we tried a little ex- 

 periment which worked real well. To 

 avoid disturbing the roots was one rea- 

 son, and to prevent stemrot was another 

 reason for having 3,000 4-inch pots made 

 with holes 1^4 inches large in the bot- 

 tom. We potted the young plants into 

 them in the spring and grew them along 

 until we were ready to replant the house. 

 Then, instead of taking the plants out of 

 the pots, we just plunged pots and all 

 into the soil up to the lower edge of the 

 brim. There was no more disturbance 

 than if the plants were moved over and 

 weeded, and the reason we felt sure it 

 would help to prevent stemrot was be- 



