16 



The Florists* Review 



Deckmbeb 7, 1916. 



mental in the greenhouse than are the 

 herbaceous sorts. 



Growing the Plants. 

 As already intimated, the herbaceous 

 kinds are generally grown from deeds. 

 The seeds are extremely smAlI; there- 

 fore, after being sown, the/ may be 

 gently pressed down into the compost, 

 but should Piither be left vincovered or 

 covered onl> slightly. A piece of glass 

 may be placed on the top of the seed 

 pan, and afterward removed by degrees. 

 Opinions differ widely as to the best 

 time to sow the seeds. They may, in- 

 deed, be sown any time from early 

 spring until late summer, but the seed- 

 lings are easily injured by the hot mid- 

 summer weather. Hence one grower as- 

 serts that even if the seeds are sown 



as late as September, the plants can be 

 bloomed the following May and with 

 less risk of failure than from earlier 

 sowings. Another grower advises sow- 

 ing not later than April, so as to give 

 the seedlings a good start before the 

 scorching heat arrives. 



A temperature of about 60 degrees is 

 favorable for the germination of the 

 seeds. During" the summer and early 

 fall the plants may be grown in cold- 

 frames or in a cool greenhouse, prefera- 

 bly with a northern exposure. In win- 

 ter a greenhouse temperature of 40 de- 

 grees at night, with a rise of 10 or 15 

 degrees in the daytime and with little 

 OF no shade, is suitable. They dislike 

 strong heat at any stage of their 

 growth. 



The seedlings should first be trans- 



planted into 2i4nch or 3-ineh pots. In 

 early winter j^the plants should be re- 

 moved to 5-inch pots, and about March 

 1 they may be placed in 7-inch or 8-inch 

 pots, for flowering. The compost for 

 the seed pans and for the first potting 

 should be extremely light, consisting of 

 equal parts of fibrous loam, sand and 

 leaf -mold. For the later pottings the 

 soil should be a light, somewhat lumpy 

 loam, with a fourth or fifth of well de- 

 cayed manure; some sand must be added 

 if the soil is at all heavy. One prac- 

 tical grower recommends a soil consist- 

 ing of equal parts of fibrous loam, fern- 

 root, leaf-mold, sand and dried cow 

 manure. The plants may be fed with 

 manure water after they are well rooted 

 in their flowering pots. 



RETAIJU STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



"PLEASE OMIT FLOWERS." 



Every now and then the "Please omit 

 flowers" agitation breaks out, but 

 usually it is short-lived and dies all the 

 quicker for lack of opposition. Occa- 

 sionally, however, a champion of flow- 



ers appears, as in the following instance, 

 a clipping from the Macon News sent 

 in by the Idle Hour Nursery Co.: 



SENSE AND SENTIMENT. 



In a recent Issue of the London Times the 

 following advertisement appears: 



"By the special desire of the late Clement 

 Leigh Wataon-Smith friends are requested not to 



send flowers at his funeral, but In lieu thereof 

 a donation to the Faversham Cottage hospital 

 would be appreciated by his family." 



The obvious comment which the average per- 

 son would be inclined to make with regard to 

 this unusual request would be that the money 

 undoubtedly would do more good if donated to 

 the hospital instead of being spent for flowers. 

 But is there not another side to the question? 

 Are we becoming so utilitarian In these latter 

 days that our criteria of values are to be thus 

 weighed and measured with such nice calcula- 

 tion? 



The custom of bringing a few flowers to the 

 bier of our beloved dead is one which, what- 

 ever Its origin, expresses a sentiment which 

 finds echo deep in the common heart of man. 

 The parting from a loved one through death 

 is a universal experience, one which sooner or 

 later brings us face to face with the one In- 

 soluble mystery of life. Faith alone solves It 

 in keeping with the longings of the human 

 heart. Faith upholds and strengthens the frag- 

 ile and tender hopes of love when love faces 

 the cold and lifeless form of one beloved. Some- 

 how there is an Involuntary groping after some 

 tangible expression of aU this, and what more 

 beautiful and appropriate form could it take 

 than the bringing of an offering of a few fra- 

 grant blossoms to his grave? And why should 

 such a perfect expression of love be marred by 

 the utilitarian consideration as to whether the 

 pittance spent might not be put to better use? 



So, In spite of the apparent good sense of 

 the gentleman's "special desire," we shall bring 

 to the bier of each departing friend, as in turn 

 they leave us through the coming years, an of- 

 fering in keeping with the tender sentiment 

 ■which prompts It — whether it be good sense or 

 not. 



This not only is an excellent answer 

 to the "Please omit flowers" propa- 

 ganda, but it is a splendid boost for the 

 use of flowers at funerals, for there is 

 nothing could take their place. 



Customers' Coroer in the New Circle Plowet Store, Indianapolfi. 



THE CIRCLE FLOWER STORE. 



The Circle Flower Store, one of the 

 finest flower establishments in Indian- 

 apolis, as shown in the two accompany- 

 ing illustrations, was opened to the pub- 

 lic Thanksgiving day. This was a 

 pleasant holiday surprise, as the an- 

 nouncement had been for December 2. 

 Thousands of people showed their ap- 

 preciation and to "the visitors were pre- 

 sented clever little folders, in which 

 were printed poetical descriptions of 

 flowers. 



Upon entering the store, one steps 

 into a veritable garden, with flowers, 

 birds and convenient garden seats. There 

 is a background of palms and ferns, a 

 pergola and a delicate blue overhead, 

 all of which make realistic the scene 

 interpreted. One becomes aware, on 

 looking around, that the owners of the 



