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OCTOBBB 27, 1904. 



The Weel^ Florists' Review. 



no9 



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BEGINNINGS 



IN DESIGN... 



THE THREE LINKS. 



A Simple But Difficult Design. 



The design here presented is simple 

 «nough in plan, but not so easy of exe- 

 cution. It is necessarily made on a thin 

 "frame, if on a frame at all, and, with 

 many stems crowded into this limited 

 «pace, it is difficult to finish the surface 

 fimoothly and regularly. With this end 

 in view, stem the carnations quite short 

 and pay particular attention to the wrap- 

 ping. Have a bunch of wire cut about 

 an inch longer than is usually required 

 and give them a longer as well as a 

 tighter wrapping. In filling this narrow 

 outline frame much of the workers com- 

 fort depends upon how tightly the sphag- 

 num is packed in. There is more danger 

 of its being too tight than too loose. 

 The best test is to fill one link with 

 sphagnum and then insert the flowers 

 ■for a short distance on the top and two» 

 -sides and see how they hold. If they 

 hold firmly enough, or whether it requires 

 too hard work to insert them or whether 

 the calyxes or picks break in your at- 

 tempt at inserting. With a few practice 

 trials of this kind you will soon be able 

 to judge in advance as to how hard your 



frame if inserted lengthwise two or 

 three deep. Some of them are strong 

 enough in the stem to be inserted with- 

 out picks. Many/ times in other places 

 flowers and f oluige are strong enough 

 and sharp enough to be pushed into the 

 sphagnum without stemming. Clear the 

 lower end of the stem of spines, foliage, 

 or branches, and insert quickly and firm- 

 ly. Well-grown chrysanthemums, roses, 

 carnations, well-matured fern fronds, 

 either kind of asparagus, and many 

 stems of wood^NStructure will stand alone 

 in the moss. Orten the only hindrance is 

 the blunt stem ekd. A single shave with 

 a sharp knife will sharpen them suffi- 

 ciently for this purpose. 



The coloring in this piece is what 

 keeps the links distinct. The more strik- 

 ing the contrast, the more decidedly will 

 the design be developed. Watch the car- 

 rying of the color carefully where the 

 links cut eaoh other. The center link 

 should be cut twice by' the intersecting 

 links, and each of the others but once. 



Trimming the Links. 



The peculiarity of trimming in this 

 design is the-series of rosettes upon the 

 top edges/of the two extreme links. Stem 

 on one pick two or three pink or white 



links only, the purpose being to preserve 

 the balance. 



Another good way of making links is 

 to construct a solid panel, preferably 

 rectangular or oval in shape, of any suit- 

 able background material and trace the 

 links in the center with either a single or 

 double line of carnations or other similar 

 flowers, as the case may require. Then 

 whatever trimming is used should be kept 

 well away from the links and be in light 

 lines and contrasting colors. 



Other color combinations for the de- 

 sign herewith illustrated: One crimson, 

 one light pink, one white link, the colors 

 arranged in the order named: yellow, 

 green and white; purple, light pink or 

 lavender and white. Gertrude Blair. 



OUTSIDE COMPETITION. 



There are a great many retail florists 

 who think the latania is a thing of the 

 past. They say that of aJl palms it is 

 the slowest seller and they refuse to buy 

 even at prices which are below the cost 

 of production to the growers. The re- 

 sult is that in a number of big ranges of 

 glass where the latania once flourished 

 it is seen no more, the space being given 

 to kentias and arecas. But the idea that 

 the latania cannot be sold is a mistake. 

 There is a greater demand for them than 

 can be supplied. The department stores 

 all over the country are looking for 4 and 

 5-inch latanias. They will pay a better 

 price than the florist will — often he 

 won't buy at any price — and will sell 

 thousands, sometimes at cost, for an ad- 

 vertisement, but usually at a profit of 

 fifteen to twenty per cent. Of course 

 these special sales are not always to the 



The Tliree Links of the Odd Felloj^ Middle Link Pink Carnations, Ends White. 



moss filling should be to meet the pe- 

 culiar needs of each design. 



Filling the Frame. 



The middle link of this Odd Fellows' 

 'design is filled on top and on both inside 

 and outside edges. In this case it is 

 made of Joost carnations. The two end 

 links are of white carnations filled on 

 top and on the outside edge of the frame. 

 The inside edge is covered with wood 

 ferns, not the whole frond, but sections 

 out, each having its own stem and two 

 opposite leaflets. They are just wide 

 enough to line the inside edge of the 



roses, in length from one to four inches, 

 with a suggestion^ of foliage. Insert so 

 that the cluster lies flat on tlje carnation 

 background. Insert a simila? cluster in 

 the opposite direction, joining immediate- 

 ly upon the stem end of the flrst. See 

 that sufficient space is left between the 

 rosettes so that they will not run one into 

 another. Watch that the roses which 

 have decidedly- curved stems lie on the 

 curved parts of the link, thus falling in 

 line harmoniously without breaking the 

 outline of the design. On'account of the 

 heavier appearance of the center link the 

 rosette trimming is kept on the outside 



liking of the florist in the vicinity — 

 though he can usually duplicate the stock 

 and the prices if he will — but no more 

 does he like the department store's Sat- 

 urday special sale of cut flowers. Some 

 of the department stores are using im- 

 mense quantities of cut flowers for spe- 

 cial sales. Thfy usually refuse to pay 

 over $15 per thousand for roses or $10 

 for carnations. The florist can get these 

 prices on thousand lots whenever the de- 

 partment store can. Spend a few dollars 

 in advertising in the local ' newspaper 

 and the terrors of depanment store 

 competition will vanish. 



