i^PTBMBBB 4, 1919. 



The Florists' Review 



16 



THE SPEECH OF SENTIMENT 



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'SAY IT WITH FLOWERS." 



Best Conveyers of Sentiment. 



Flowera carry the greatest message 

 into all conditions of our lives, in a 

 more direct manner than any other 

 agency on earth. They carry messages 

 of sympathy, love, friendship, congratu- 

 lation, in fact all the most desirable 

 sentiments, and are received in each in- 

 stance by an appreciation which is in- 

 calculable when compared with the 

 value of more materialistic commodities. 

 If a person near and dear suffers a great 

 bereavement, there is no way to assuage 

 the loss and convey our sympathy better 

 than sending a token of flowers in some 

 form. The message is concise and com- 

 plete, and on such an occasion the flow- 

 ers seem to blend with the surroundings 

 and they seem to droop their heads and 

 try to look their best as if to spread 

 what cheer and comfort they can. 



Consider a wedding, how incomplete 

 such a function would be without the 

 house or church being decorated with 

 plants and flowers, and who in their 

 wildest imagination can think of a bride 

 in all her weddiiig finery without a 

 shower bouquet? On such an occasion 

 flowers are almost ,as necessary qts the 

 bride herself. 



Help at a Needful Time. 



A lovesick swain has fallen head over 

 heels in love with ' ' the only girl in the 

 world"; he makes a call, his little 

 sj)eech is all ready, because he has re- 

 hearsed it numeroas times, but when the 

 "zero hour" arrives, the inevitable 

 lump comes into his throat, he is ex- 

 tremely nervous, and his courage fails. 

 The next day, as they say in the movies, 

 liis mind is whirling like an electric fan 

 on a hot day, and he is trying to devise 

 a plan whereby he can let her know the 

 depth of his infatuation. At last the 

 weight is off his mind, the fog has lifted, 

 and the world looks bright once more. 

 He visits a florist, procures a dozen of 

 the best roses; they are daintily packed 

 in a box, accompanied by his card, and 

 <lelivered to the object of his affections. 

 When he calls again, if the roses art- 

 occupying a prominent place in the par- 

 lor, that message implies that he has 

 made a hit, and if she should show her 

 appreciation with a kiss — ^well, that 

 would be a home run. If she acts in 

 differently, that is significant enougl 

 and our hero acts accordingly. Not a 

 word need be said; the roses have dom- 

 all the talking. 



Their Message is Various. 



What is there on God's footstool that 

 lireathes the breath of life in a sick- 

 room in such a tender manner as a flow 

 (!ring plant or a bunch of fragrant flow 

 <?r8? At such a time the patient needs 

 all the mental food procurable, and 

 what comfort and happiness the afflicted 

 one must gain by having them near by 

 where she can pass the dreary hours in 

 watching each flower as it develops and 

 the sweet memories that they leave 

 after they have faded and gone! 



A young lady is gra<l,Mating or mak- 



ing iier debut. Just think what it means 

 at that important event in her life to 

 be the recii)ient of a bouquet of some 

 sort. How proudly she carries it! She 

 is all smiles as she shows it to all her 

 acquaintances, and usually she' gives 

 them all a smell so that tliey can share 

 it with her. 



From time immemorial we have heard 

 of hubby being out with congenial 

 friends. He anticipates the icy glances 

 that will be his on his return. What 

 does he do in such a contingency? Why, 

 he takes home a box of flowers for 

 wifey. The icy stare changes to a smile 

 and all is serene, and again the flowers 

 tlo the necessary talking. 



Forlorn indeed and forgotten looks 

 the grave on Memorial day that has not 

 been embellished with jdants or flowers, 

 and it is well to note in this connection 

 that natural flowers convey a message 

 that artificial ones do not. The latter 

 do not fit into the order of things, for 

 they give too much of a material effect. 



At Christmas and Easter, in fact, all 

 during the winter, when all outdoors is 

 bare and brown, how acceptable and ap 

 propriate is a gift of a plant in bloom, 

 or cut flowers! 



, Satisfy a Normal Want. 



EverV normal human being is a lover 

 of flowers bv instinct. Children who 



live in cities, when taken for a day's 

 outing in the country, are overwhelmed 

 by the loveliness of nature; invariably 

 they begin picking wild flowers and con- 

 sider they have found a treasure gar- 

 den. At "the end of a perfect day" 

 the little ones turn homeward again, 

 tired but happy, still clutching their 

 precious bouquets to keep until they 

 wither and die, but leaving a message 

 of the most tender memories that linger 

 in the minds of most children during 

 their entire lives. 



Take a. trip along a country road and 

 sec a farmhouse. Isolated though it is, 

 there is an old-fashioned flower garden 

 with its blaze of color, the whole pic- 

 ture conveying a message of peace, tran- 

 (|uillity and confidence. 



We could well attemjtt to cultivate 

 the indonutable spirit of every member 

 of the florKj^kingdom. In their wild 

 state flowers are trampled on and up- 

 rooted, but given the least encourage 

 ment they will start all over again and 

 in due time be in full flower, swaying 

 in the wind and acting as though ad- 

 versity had never come their way. They 

 fill a much larger sphere in our lives 

 than we realize, and we come to look 

 uj)on them in a commonplace, matter- 

 of fact manner, but just the same this 

 world would be a dreary place without 

 them. • And the wonder of it all is, what 



Robert S. Edgar. 



