12 



The Florists^ Review 



October 26, 1916. 



Flowers for the Walking Staff are Not Out of PIace> but a Flower Decorated Umbrella W^ould Make People Laugh. 



sive, not vulgar. But the commercial 

 possibilities of selling flowers to ladies 

 who carry walking sticks is not great. 

 On the other hand, a great many women 

 carry parasols and still more carry um- 

 brellas, but the occasions on which one 

 would be apt to erpose flowers to the 

 elements, either on sun shades or rain 

 sticks are much less numerous. There 

 have, of course, been many table deco- 

 rations in which a beflowered parasol 

 was used and the idea illustrated no 

 doubt grew out of this, but it can have 

 little use outside the hippodrome. 



Another Salable Idea. 



The arm bouquet is all right; it has 

 been used so frequently that it scarcely 

 can be called a novelty, although no 

 large number of sales have been made 

 and the fad will pass with the passing 

 of the fad that brought the arm bou- 

 quet into being — the close dances. The 

 headdress of flowers is a freak. We 

 are accustomed to jewels in the hair, 

 an aigrette passes without comment 

 and a single rose or gardenia is ap- 

 proved, but the public is not yet ready 

 for any more elaborate use of flowers 

 on the head. You can put them on 

 the pretty demonstrator in the show 

 window, if you use one, but you can 

 not sell them to your trade. 



Questionable Publicity. 



The man who sets his wits to work 

 can devise an almost endless number 

 of freak ways of using flowers for the 

 personal adornment of woman and her 

 apparel. He even can go so far as to 

 devise something for the one whose 



popularity is so great she must "ex- 

 cuse my back" to a portion of her ad- 

 mirers — say, a small bouquet of minia- 

 ture roses — but there is absolutely 

 nothing in it except publicity that be- 

 comes of questionable value the mo- 

 ment it has gone beyond the bounds 

 set by local opinion. 



TO SHIP DAHLIAS SAFELY. 



Please inform me what is the best 

 method of packing dahlias for ship- 

 ment; also, what is the proper treat- 

 ment before shipment f Do you know 

 of any method to make a dahlia perfect 

 its flower when picked with the bloom 

 half opened? I use hot water for all 

 the fresh-picked blooms, "but that will 

 not open a flower not perfect when 

 picked. B. M. C. — Mich. 



Cut the .flowers and place the sterna 

 in water iFor an hour or two before 

 shipping. Tubs or pails filled with 

 fresh water, with 1-inch wire netting 

 .laid over each pail to prevent the flow- 

 ers and foliage from touching the 

 water, should be used. Give the flowers 

 a fine spraying before packing. Many 

 flowers cannot be packed damp, but 

 dahlias carry better if moistened over 

 the petals. Do not place the flowers in 

 an ice room, but in a cool shed, or 

 even in a shaded position outdoors. 

 Use boxes which will contain only one 

 layer of flowers. The boxes should be 

 of wood, if for long shipments by ex- 

 press, and light cross cleats covered 

 with paper can be tacked to the sides 

 of the boxes to hold securely in position 

 each row of flowers. Boxes should be 



well lined with newspapers and oil 

 paper to exclude air as far as possible. 



Cardboard boxes are generally used 

 by exhibitors, who usually travel with 

 their flowers, these boxes being tied in 

 bundles, but if I were shipping to a 

 wholesale market or store I would de- 

 pend only on wooden ones. Cut the 

 flowers early in the morning or in the 

 evening; never while the sun shines on 

 them. 



I do not know of any way to develop 

 immature dahlia flowers in water and 

 doubt if it can be done successfully. 

 It is well to state that dahlias grown in 

 rich soil keep poorly compared with 

 those grown in poor soil. C. W. 



FALL TREATMENT OF LAWNS. 



I iam writing for information on the 

 treatment of a lawn at this time of the 

 year. How should it be prepared for 

 the winter and what fertilizer should 

 be used? Please state the best method 

 of covering the lawn with manure and 

 how thick the manure should be used. 

 Would fresh horse manure be all right? 

 I can easily procure plenty of pulver- 

 ized limestone. Would this be good for 

 the lawn? When should the manure be 

 put on? C. B. B.— O. 



If your lawn shows considerable 

 mossy growth, due to acidity of the 

 soil, a top-dressing of pulverized lime- 

 stone will be helpful. I cannot recom- 

 mend a mulch such as you suggest for 

 the winter. It is unsightly and unsani- 

 tary, and fills the lawn full of noxious 

 weed seeds. Us* lome cleaaly ftrti- 

 lizer in spring and fall, such as pulver- 



