JOO 



THE FLORISTS^ MANUAL. 



A Laurel Wreath with Cycas Leaves. 



mechanical, bad taste and bound to 

 sink into disuse. It is impossible to 

 make beautiful such a thing as a fire- 

 man's hat, a locomotive, a safe, a gun, 

 a desk; or in case of a brewer, a quar- 

 ter barrel keg. There is no skill in 

 making those designs; the wire work- 

 er is the only man who exercised any 

 skill; putting the flowers into the mon- 

 strosities is no more than putting on 

 an overcoat; the tailor is the man 

 who had the skill; if you depart from 

 the lines laid down by the frame you 

 spoil the imitation. 



There is a wonderful change in the 

 material used since the days of bal- 

 sams and hollyhocks, when a design 

 resembled a clipped sheep, with a Saf- 

 rano bud here and there raised above 

 the surface a fraction over the rest; 

 and tuberoses were a very important 

 flower. Funeral designs are now made 

 with great taste. Fine flowers are 

 used and color is not forbidden. No 



longer do we see the solemn whiteness 

 in bunches or designs, or any arrange- 

 ments. Why should we? I think the 

 fashion of white flowers is as absurd 

 as the deep mourning assumed by 

 many. A long black veil only attracts 

 notice and attention, and surely the 

 broken-hearted and sincere mourner 

 does not want to attract attention. 



The crowding of flowers in a design 

 is no longer permissible. Every flower 

 should if possible show its individual- 

 ity. The whole should blend and every 

 flower and leaf should be fresh and 

 spotlessly clean. And let me add in 

 conclusion that when you take an or- 

 der for a design and promise it at a 

 certain hour see that it is delivered on 

 time. Punctuality gets a large credit 

 mark in the public favor. 



FREESIA. 



These graceful, fragrant flowers are 

 of the easiest culture. The bulbs are 

 now sold remarkably cheap, cheaper 

 in fact than you can save them. The 

 species called refracta and refracta 

 alba are mostly grown. The latter is 

 pure white, without the yellow blotch 

 in the throat. We too often plant a 

 large lot of freesia bulbs at one time, 

 thus having more than our demand 

 makes profitable. You receive the 

 bulbs in July, and every two or three 

 weeks a few hundred can be started. 



Their treatment is entirely different 

 from the so-called Dutch bulbs, and 

 sometimes mistakes are made. We 

 usually plant seven to nine bulbs in a 

 5-inch pot. Put the bulb a little under 

 the surface and place the pots in a 

 cold-frame. Later batches you will 

 start inside. The pots want no cover- 

 ing of any kind, as the top and roots 

 start together. Water moderately till 

 the foliage is well developed. When 

 the pots are full of roots they should 

 not suffer for water. They like a tem- 

 perature of about 50 degrees at night 

 and should always have the fullest 

 light. 



A good loam with some well rotted 

 manure or leaf-mold will grow them; 



Hamper filled with Violets, Heath and Adiantum Ferns. 



