



ff'i' ,' ^ ' ,' ^■^?■■W^|F/i■'■■'"' ■.■*f-'^*i*'- ''""^'■■^iP^':-*^" . 





■:^: ■■;?« 



SELLERS SERVE 

 xt SAINTS AND 



SOULS 



Chief among the flower days in southern states is All Saints', or 

 All Souls', sometimes drawing large quantities of stock from northern 

 markets. So widely known is the observance at New Orleans, the trade 

 will find much of interest in an American florist's account of the event 

 in Manila, the Philippines. 



>e-^ 





'.'- 'i~ 



HEN October comes, with 

 T^Xy its frosty nights, wholesale 

 \^/ / florists at Chicago turn ex- 

 /sWcft pectantly toward New Or- 

 ™ * ^ leans, since the observance 

 of All Saints' day and the 

 needs of the southern city 

 are likely to determine 

 the pulse of the cut flower 

 trade in "The Great Cen- 

 tral Market" and other cities shipping 

 flouthward. Besides its religious sig- 

 nificance in the Catholic church. All 

 Saints' day, like Memorial day in the 

 north, is of large importance to florists 

 among the holidays in the Louisiana 

 city and the immediate neighborhood. 

 Time was when Chicago shipped flow- 

 ers by the actual carload for |he All 

 Saints' day observance in tl^ south, 

 but in recent years the southegRti cities 

 have developed a considerable home 

 supply, largely of chrysanthemums 

 grown outdoors, perhaps with lath or 

 cloth protection. The success of these 

 crops depends, of course, more or less 

 on the weather: When 

 they are good the 

 northern markets . do 

 not feel the old-time 

 demand, but when 

 weather conditions are 

 unfavorable itnd the 

 local mums are de- 

 stroyed or are not 

 ready on time, then 

 the northern wholesal- 

 ers may be hard put to 

 it to fill their orders, 

 especially as each year 

 sees an increase in the 

 quantity of stock re- 



2nired for this quaint, 

 •Id World custom. 



A Southern Ctistom. 



. At no other place in 

 the United States are 

 ^ghts to be seen like 

 ihose of New Orleans 

 at All Saints' day. 

 Nowhere except in the 

 south is the day ob- 

 served and nowhere 

 except in New Orleans 

 Ve there such quaint, 

 61d, great cities of the 

 dead. 



' The Old World ob- 

 servance of AH Saints' 

 day places the great 

 public celebration, not 

 November 1, but on 

 All Souls* day, imme- 

 diately following, 



which is the occasion it is intended to 

 commemorate. The first day of the 

 month is, as its name indicates, a time 

 of prayer in honor of the saints and 

 martyrs, while All Souls' day is kept 

 in commemoration of all faithful souls. 

 The New World has fixed November 1, 

 instead, as the principal time for pay- 

 ing homage to the souls of all the 

 dead, making it a two days' affair. 

 This year, with November 1 falling on 

 Monday, there will be many flowers 

 taken to the cemeteries Sunday. 



In Uncle Sam's Islands. 



' But since Uncle Sam assumed ^the 

 guardianship of the Philippines we 

 have another metropolis in which the 

 observance of All Saints' day takes an 

 important place on the church calen- 

 dar, if not on that of the florists. 

 " Eegretf uUy, " writes a florist long 

 familiar with the observance in the 

 southern states, "there is no means by 

 which the trade at home can profit by 

 the observance here — and it lasts a 



All Saints'' Day in Paco Cemetery, Manila, P. L 



A7eek! Everybody takes part, tool' 

 "Florists who know the customs in 

 our own south," writes this American 

 florist now resident at Manila, "would 

 watch with interest the observance 

 here, but it would be a ^ief tp them 

 to see that so many artificial flowers 

 are used for the decorations, natural 

 flowers being scarce. The celebration 

 is not confined to one or two days, but 

 lasts a week, which of course multi- 

 plies the demand for decorative mate- 

 rial. Too bad that the Philippine 

 Islands are so far away from the 

 States 1 Perhaps some day there will 

 be a fast airship-express service to 

 Manila, which will bring this market 

 within reach of American growers." 



The illustrations give an idea of how 

 flowers are combined with electric 

 lights in the decorations. Paco ceme- 

 tery resembles those in New Orleans. 

 The graves are above ground and ave- 

 nues of large, stone sepulchers, facing 

 upon parked spaces, take the place of 

 tombstones and monuments. "One 

 week before All 

 Saints' day, a large 

 electric cross is placed 

 at the entrance of 

 each cemetery. The 

 grounds are illuminat- 

 ed along the main 

 walks and remind one 

 of a fairgrounds or a 

 carnival. The illumi- 

 nation inside the ceme- 

 teries takes place Oc- 

 tober 30 and 31, which 

 are the big days. The 

 graves and plots also 

 are decorated with 

 flowers and electric 

 lights, and the lights 

 are kept burning on 

 those two nights. The 

 poor people who can- 

 not afford electric 

 lights burn candles. * ' 



Making a Week of It. 



Another unusual fea- 

 ture of the occasion, 

 to be seen at La Loma 

 cemetery, is the sight 

 of many families 

 camped in and about 

 the cemetery grounds, 

 living in tents. They 

 spend the week at the 

 cemetery in worship 

 and prayer. 



"Paco cemetery has 

 large, encircling walls. 

 The outside wall serves 



