Deckmbkh l(i. 1897 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



147 



of securing a number of ladies who will 

 act as patronesses and interest others in 

 tlie umlL-rtaking. Then mail a neat card 

 of invitation with the names of these 

 patronesses on it to one member of every 

 familv of prominence, if possible, thus 

 niakinn; the exhibition a social affair. 

 This plan would prove a tremendous un- 

 dertakini; in the great cities, but I be- 

 lieve it would be well worth a trial if the 

 work were carefully ami systematically 

 done. 



With regard to the second question — 

 that of decreasing the expenses, I was 

 .struck at one of our large exhiliitions, 

 which by the way, while well attended, 

 was a pronounced financial failure, with 

 the number of classes in which there was 

 little or no competition and which might 

 just as well have been omitted from the 

 schedule. Take the roses for an example. 

 A solitary bunch of Perles, that would 

 hardlv be better than seconds in all 

 markets, two weak stemmed lots of 

 Niphetos, a poor vase of Mad. Watteville 

 blooms that could not compare with the 

 fine Meteors, Maids and Kaiserins near 

 them, and yet those poor roses cost the 

 Society just as nmch as the others, for 

 few judges like to withhold a first premium 

 if it is possible to award it, while thej' 

 actually detracted from the general ex- 

 cellence of the tables. 



Ought not the schedules lie so changed 

 from vear to year that as new features 

 are being added, old ones be dropped 

 when they have lost their attractiveness? 

 The aim being a schedule in which every 

 premium would bring out sharp compe- 

 tition, giving the Society full equivalent, 

 and not one calling for everything under 

 the sun, good, bad or indifTerent. 



The story of the man who advertised 

 that he would pay f5 for the best bushel 

 of potatoes put in his cellar and after pay- 

 ing the successful competitor kept every 

 bushel sent, certainly applies — the socie- 

 ties might do likewise. 



John Welsh Young. 



A HANDSOME FLORAL STORE. 



We present in this issue several views 

 of the new store of Mr. Fre<l C. Welier, 

 St. Louis, Mo. We have seen stores that 

 were more elaborately decorated and with 

 more expensive furnishings but we have 

 never seen one that more thoroughly 

 pleased us than this charming store of 

 Mr. Weber's. The view of the exterior 

 shows the store and adjoining conserva- 

 tory but hardly does justice to the sub- 

 ject, as the new building presents a much 

 finer appearance than is shown in the en- 

 graving. While the interior views are 

 very good, the store must really be seen 

 to be appreciated. The stj-le of decora- 

 tion is plain but exceedingly rich and, to 

 our mind, it is the neatest thing of the 

 sort in the countrj-. Over the store is 

 Mr. Weber's residence, as will be noted 

 in the engraving. The store is situated 

 at 4326 and 432S Olive street, directly op- 

 posite St. George's Episcopal Church and 

 in the very heart of the most fashionable 

 residence district of St. Louis. 



The store is 20x52 feet. The floor is 

 Italian mosaic work, the counters of 

 enameled white tiling, with a border of 



Exterior of the new store of Mr. Fred. C. Weber, St. Louis. 



festooned tile just below the top; this 

 simple decoration seems to be just enough 

 and not too much to meet with the ap- 

 proval of everyone. The counters are 

 thirty -four feet long, thirty inches wide 

 and thirty-two inches high. Not an inch 

 of wood is used in the construction. On 

 the top of part of the counter is laid rub- 

 ber cloth to prevent the possibility of the 

 breaking of bottoms of vases when setting 

 them down upon the counter. 



The fixtures of the store are all finished 

 in pure white, while the walls and ceil- 

 ings are frescoed in a delicate pea-green 

 and French plate mirrors are freely used 

 around the walls. The ice box is of mas- 

 sive construction and is divided into three 

 parts or sections. The top is u.sed only 

 for the ice and the bottom is fitted witli 

 galvanized iron trays, which can be re- 

 moved at will and then afford a large 

 space for the keeping of filled designs 

 which are ready for delivery. The mid- 

 dle part is for cut flowers in vases and is 

 fitted with large plate-glass doors. The 

 inside is lined with French plate mirrors 

 and the interior is lighted with incan- 

 descent electric lights. The show win- 

 dow of the store is 8x12 feet and the bot- 

 tom is lined with white tiling and the 

 sides and ceiling are French plate mirrors, 

 which are bordered with sixteen incan- 

 descent li.ghts. 



To the west of the store is the conserva- 

 torj-, 17x52, which is connected with the 



store in front by a door 8x12. A glimpse 

 of the conservatory is shown in one of the 

 illustrations. In the middle of the store, 

 light is admitted from the conser\'atory 

 through a window SxS feet , and at the rear 

 is another door entering into the conserva- 

 tory which is 5x 1 2. There are in the con- 

 servatory two large show windows which 

 face another street and which can be seen 

 many blocks away. In the front there is 

 also a grotto of fancy rock work, planted 

 with many varieties of ferns. In the 

 middle is a large bench for palms and a 

 bench all around the west side of the 

 house. In the rear of this and connected 

 with it is another greenhouse 18x20 feet 

 which is for blooming plants only. This 

 is also connected with the store in the 

 rear by a large door and there are other 

 large plate glass w-indows. In the middle 

 of this greenhouse is a large grotto of 

 fancy rock work planted with ferns, and 

 there is also a pool containing many va- 

 rieties of gold fish. 



There is a drive-way from the front to 

 the alley which makes it possible to load 

 and unload plants at the side of the small 

 house. In the rear, there is a large yard, 

 with stable, etc. In the basement is a 

 large andcommodius work-room and here 

 is placed the boiler which heats both 

 store and greenhouses. 



It is certainh- a model store in every 

 respect and the style of decoration reflects 

 great credit upon the taste of Mr. Weber. 



