70 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



Copyright 1899 by H. P. Kelsey. 

 Leucothoe Sprays. 



more pliable and easier to work up, 

 but don't leave it in the tub over night 

 or it will turn black after you have 

 made it into the wreaths. 



Mistletoe is imported from France. 

 We have the southern mistletoe, but 

 it is not the kind the Druids worshiped 

 and has no such associations, and al- 

 though it may answer the purpose 

 (the pleasant purpose) of kissing your 

 wife's sister beneath, it is not the real 

 thing. It seemed in better demand 

 than ever last year, and as its privi- 

 lege powers are better known it will 

 be a favorite with young and old of 

 both sexes. I think last Christmas 

 was the first season that we had any 

 more than realized thei cost of it. It 

 had been in other years mauled about 

 in a dry store for a few days till there 

 was nothing but the bare twigs left. 

 We placed it in a cool, moist, dark 

 cellar, and handled it just as little as 

 possible, only to sort it over into 25 

 cent, 50 cent, $1, $2 or $3 sprays, and 

 in that way were not only able to fur- 

 nish nice berried pieces, but made a 

 little money besides. It's not a large 

 commercial transaction, but you may 

 as well do it fight. 



Laurel, so called (Kalmia latifolia), 

 is the finest material for wreathing, 

 and thousands of yards are used for 

 many and various kinds of decora- 

 tions. It lasts a long time in good ap- 

 pearance, fresh and no dropping of 

 leaves. It is clean and pleasant to 

 handle. Though not so cheap as the 

 ground pine wreathing, it is a _hun- 

 dred times richer in effect. Laurel is 

 procured from the Allegheny moun- 

 tains at any time and is widely distrib- 

 uted. It will keep after cutting a long 

 time in any cool place. 



The branches of the noble Magnolia 

 grandiflora, which grows in latitudes 



where the thermometer does not go 

 below 15 degrees of frost, makes a 

 fine decoration, and should always be 

 used in sprays or branches. The fine, 

 bright glossy green of the leaf is seen 

 to great advantage contrasting with 

 the bronze old gold color of the 

 underside of the leaf. The branches 

 when received should be kept cool and 

 moist and not exposed to hard freez- 

 ing or allowed to shrivel from dry- 

 ness. 



The leucothoe sprays are a more re- 

 cent introduction and are very orna- 

 mental. They make magnificent 

 wreaths or wreathing, being excep- 

 tionally easy to handle for this pur- 

 pose. Their use is not confined to the 

 'holidays; like the laurel, they are 

 used thoughout the winter months. 

 Keep cool and moist. 



Though small in bulk, the greatest 

 in value of all the wild plants is the 

 galax, the leaves of which are used 

 for wreaths, panels, all designs em- 



blematic and of good luck. It is, how- 

 ever, for funeral designs that the 

 greatest quantity is used. They have 

 grown steadily in favor till last year 

 an aggregate of twelve millions were 

 sent north. The small, green leaves 

 are now largely used to encircle a 

 bunch of violets. They have one great 

 quality, for whatever purpose used 

 they are most lasting, and when a de- 

 sign has to be sent away a few hun- 

 dred miles they are often chosen for 

 that excellent quality. 



Mr. Harlan P. Kelsey, of Boston, 

 who introduced the galax leaves to 

 our northern market in 1890, says the 

 sale has steadily increased till last year- 

 he alone handled some seven millions, 

 while the price has come down from 

 $3 per 1,000 to $1 to the retail florist, 

 and inferior leaves much below that 

 even. There has been a considerable 

 lot exported to Europe the past two 

 seasons, and Mr. Kelsey says Ger- 

 many takes the bulk of them. 



Florists who have not the conven- 

 iences for keeping them over winter 

 in large quantities had better get 

 them in moderate quantities occasion- 

 ally from those who understand keep- 

 ing them in cold storage. We saw a 

 case of twenty thousand put down in 

 a warm cellar last November, just as 

 they arrived in the box, and we saw 

 'most of (those come up the cellar 

 stairs again at intervals this winter 

 and spring heated and useless. If they 

 had been unpacked, the bunches laid 

 out and a little damp sphagnum laid 

 between each layer, this careless and 

 ignorant mistake would not have oc- 

 curred, but the cooler the cellar the 

 better. 



This instance of how not to keep 

 galax leaves was not an accident; it 

 was neglect, for which in the old 

 harsh days men used to lose their 

 jobs; but since store clerks (alias 

 shopmen) wear five-inch stiff collars 

 and part their hair in the middle, it 

 hurts their feelings to instruct them. 



There are besides the southern 

 material, evergreens from our north- 

 ern woods that we use for different 

 decorations. The common hemlock 

 (Abies canadensis) is quite graceful in 

 wreathing, and the American arbor- 



Kelsey's Southern 

 Galax Leaves and Leucothoe Sprays 



Write the introducer for latest prices and information. 



Brilliant Green and Bronze. Only the Richest Colored 



Long Wiry Stems. Packed in Original Cases. Firm Leaves sent out. 



IralOLD direct or drop a postal and the name of the whole- 

 M sale florist handling my superior stock will be sent 



you. You will save disappointment by insisting on 



having my stock. Most of the "cheap" leaves offered are 

 my discarded "culls." Always address 



HARLAN P. KELSEY, 



A large stock of finest Galax and Sprays always kept in 

 cold storage in Boston for shipment during the summer. 



1 06 Tremont Bldg,, BOSTON, MASS, 



