FEBRUARY 10. 1S9S. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



473 



Few Entertainments. 



Few events calling for any elaborate 

 display of flowers, either joyous or fu- 

 nereal, have happened of late. Worthy 

 of mention, however, was an event 

 occurring on Saturday evening last. It 

 was the wind-up of the "House Com- 

 mittee on Interstate and Foreign Com- 

 merce." They came at the request of 

 our congressmen to consider the ad- 

 visability of connecting the mainland 

 of the state of New York with Grand 

 Island, situated in the middle of the 

 Niagara river. The island is fourteen 

 miles long and seven broad, so it is 

 worth connecting, especially to those 

 who own land on this island. It will 

 be a mammoth bridge, and is strongly 

 opposed by the residents of the second 

 largest lumber city in the world, situ- 

 ated a few miles further down the 

 river. But this is not floriculture. The 

 committee did not promise to report in 

 favor of the bridge, but that did not 

 prevent them from partaking of re- 

 freshments on numerous occasions 

 during the day. In fact, the frequency 

 of the irrigations would lead one to 

 think it was July. 



It wound up with a banquet at the 

 Ellicott club rooms, largely attended by 

 representative citizens. What was there 

 in floral work was well described in a 

 daily paper and is. I think, more likely 

 to be correct than the average attempts 

 of that sort. Joseph H. Rebstock was 

 the artist, and it did him credit. If 

 Toronto is ever joined to their island 

 by a bridge and they have a banquet 

 before it is built, here is a model for 

 Mr. Tidy or John Dunlop. or whoever 

 may be the fortunate one. 



"When the guests gathered at the EUicott 

 Club at S o'clock for the banquet tendered b.v 

 the City to the visiting committee, they found 

 on the center-table in the reception room, a 

 representation of the coveted Grand Island 

 bridge in flowers. It was about six feet long 

 and four feet high. The abutments were of 

 white and pink carnations. The roadway and 

 approaches on the Buffalo side were made of 

 roses and carnations and violets and lilies of 

 the valley with the word "Buffalo" in purple 

 cording on the approach. The Grand Island 

 approach and roadway were of pink carnations 

 with roses and lilies of the valley and the 

 words "Grand Island" in iiurple cording. The 

 bridge span was of pink and white carnations. 

 Two blue and two white incandescent lights 

 burned, one at each corner of the bridge. The 

 parapet was trimmed in smilax. A red light 

 gleamed underneath the bridge and soft green 

 leaves represented the water and the land. 

 The House committee admired it greatly and 

 it certainly was a beautiful embodiment of the 

 bridge iiroject. 



Carnation Society Meeting. 



I know of two at least of our towns- 

 men who will attend the Carnation 

 Convention in Chicago the 17th. If 

 there are any New England men go- 

 ing, we shall be glad to know of the 

 fact, for we might get aboard the same 

 train, and there is no better way 

 for New Yorkers than via the 

 N. Y. C. & H. R. and Lake Shore. 

 If the display is anything like the 

 one in Cincinnati last year, it will 

 be worth a long journey. We shall 

 miss the pentrating treble of Mr. 

 Giesy. and it is to be hoped that 

 the secretary has found a use for the 

 domestic piece of furniture presented 



to him last year. But if all these things 

 have failed, the president of the society 

 is well worth seeing, and so is that city 

 where growth is unparalleled in the 

 world's history — Chicago. W. S. 



BOSTON. 



Mass. Hort. Society. 



At the meeting of the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society last Saturday ap- 

 propriations for the year were made 

 and considerable routine business dis- 

 posed of. At the suggestion of Presi- 

 dent Appleton. a committee of five was 

 appointed to give special attention to 

 the preservation and improvement of 

 the woodlands of Massachusetts. Seven 

 applicants for membership in the so- 

 ciety were duly elected. 



At the weekly exhibition Mr. Carl 

 Blomberg, gardener for Oakes Ames, 

 exhibited 61 vases of orchids. Among 

 them were noted Cattleya Trianae in 

 variety, C. speciosissima. C. labiata, 

 Laelia harpophylla. L. anceps, Coelo- 

 gyne cristata, Odontoglossum Roezlii- 

 alba (a very charming species). Den- 

 drobium Wardianum, D. Devonianum, 

 D. crassinode, D. c. Barberianum, D. 

 nobile. Cypripedium Bellona, C. Calyp- 

 so Oakwoodensis (a very fine variety), 

 C. Dayanum, C. Lathamianum aureum, 

 C. Germinyaiium. C. Lynchianum. and 

 a fine variety of C. villosum. For this 

 exhiljit he was awarded first prize. 



Wm. Nicholson. South Framingham, 

 staged 13 vases of carnations and re- 

 ceived first prize. M. A. Patten. 

 Tewksbury. showed 16 vases of flowers 

 that were also very fine, and which re- 

 ceived second prize. E. A, & W. K. 

 Wood were awarded a gratuity for two 

 vases of E. A. Wood and Ferd Man- 

 gold. 



Mrs. E. M. Gill exhibited 13 vases of 

 cut flowers, among which were On- 

 cidium flexuosum, Lycaste Skinnerii. 

 and a variety of clivia. First prize for 

 violets went to Alex McKay, gardener 

 to David Nevins, second to W. C. Win- 

 ter. James Comley displayed 50 vases 

 of camellias, for which he was award- 

 ed both first and second prizes. 



There was a large and interesting 

 display of vegetables and quite a num- 

 ber of prizes were awarded in this sec- 

 tion. 



Correction. 



In my report of the carnation exhi- 

 bition at the flower market I was in 

 error in stating that the new white car- 

 nation Genesee was staged by Mr. Wra. 

 Nicholson. It was sent here by Mr. D. 

 B. Long, of Buffalo, N. Y. 



A Heavy Snow Storm. 



During the past week New England 

 was visited by one of the heaviest snow 

 storms during nearly 40 years, and 

 there was considerable damage to 

 greenhouses by the great weight of 

 snow on the roofs. Suburban trains 

 were blocked and traffic in the city was 

 largely suspended. Practically no flow- 



ers reached the wholesale houses from 

 Monday till Wednesday morning, but 

 there was no demand to meet as pur- 

 chasers could not get downtown. War- 

 ren Ewell, of Dorchester, had one 

 house cave in, but most of the stock 

 was saved. M. Aylward, Dorchester, 

 had two houses badly damaged. It will 

 take 75 to 80 boxes of glass to replace 

 the broken lights in the Waban Con- 

 servatories at Natick. Others who suf- 

 fered damage were W. A. Bock, of 

 North Cambridge, and Mr. Dunbar, of 

 Watertown. 



The Market. 



Trade has been just about the same 

 as the previous week. There is plenty 

 of supply in the shape of Inilbous stuff 

 which meets with tolerably ready sale. 

 No alteration in prices this week. 



New Store. 



Mr. Cohen, corner of Chapman Place 

 and Bosworth street, has taken an ad- 

 ditional store on Chapman Place, to be 

 devoted entirely to the sale of plants. 



C. H. J. 



WASHINGTON. 



An Era in Decorations. 



The week past has been an era in the 

 history of floral decoration entirely un- 

 surpassed. Never before have so many 

 thousand yards of smilax. hundreds of 

 crotons and thousands of orchids and 

 roses wilted for the glory of effect in 

 evenings shortened by much cham- 

 pagne. The most perfect triumph of 

 the decorator's art was seen last week 

 at the dinner given by the Secretary of 

 the Interior and Mrs. Bliss at the Ar- 

 lington in honor of the President and 

 Mrs. McKinley. The dining room walls 

 were entirely concealed by foliage and 

 clusters of Marguerites and white 

 azaleas. The center of the room was 

 a glen of ferns in which trees of pink 

 roses and lilacs towered fragrantly. 

 Crescents of purple and green orchids 

 on mounds of terns and galax, border- 

 ed the huge circle about the wilderness 

 of flowers which formed the banquet 

 table. The social calendar for the com- 

 ing week shows many dinners and so- 

 cial events among the diplomatic corps 

 and will no doubt eclipse the week just 

 closed. 



Among the Retailers. 



The retailers report good business. 

 They have quantities of bulbous stuff 

 on hand, but roses and carnations of Al 

 quality are scarce. Of tulips red has the 

 lead and is most in demand. Azaleas 

 were never prettier or as well grown 

 as this season, there being some es- 

 pecially beautiful specimens in the 

 windows. Vervaeneana takes the lead 

 and is in great demand. 



Some Cattleya Gems. 



There may be seen at present in the 

 large and valuable collection of orchids 

 of Messrs. Field Bros, a lovely pure 



