^".'-■-•■l.^A-i;" 



JANUABT 26. 1905. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



533 



Packings Gimotion Blooms for Long: Distance Shipment. 

 (The lower box Is lined, and shows the lower layer of blooms. The upper box Is filled and Iced, ready tor closing up.— C. L. Washburn.) 



at the bottom, in order to spread the 

 blooms properly. It is frequently a good 

 plan to use a smaller vase than the one 

 supplied for the class, to accomplish 

 this end. 



When you begin unpacking, make a 

 fresh cut on the ends of the stems as 

 they are taken from the box, give the 

 bloom a gentle downward rub with the 

 hand to overcome any slight sleepy ap- 

 pearance and lay them down on the 

 table, spread out so that each bloom may 

 be examined. When one class is un- 

 packed, carefully select and count out the 

 exact number of blooms required for the 

 class. Keep the scale of points in mind: 

 Evenness of color first; stem second, and 

 size a close third. 



In arranging the blooms select the 

 longest stems first; take them up one at 

 a time and hold them by the extreme end 

 of the stem, with the flower hanging 

 down. Use the longest, strongest and 

 straightest stems for a central bunch, 

 placing the blooms exactly even. Work 

 the blooms around this central bunch in 

 circles, if that expression may be used, 

 turning the bunch in the hand and add- 

 ing blooms equally on all sides. Place 

 the outer rows of blooms so that they 

 will stand a little lower than the central 

 bunch. When complete, place the whole 

 bunch in a vase that will hold the stems 

 as tightly as they have been held by the 

 hand, and do not shove them too far 

 down. 



Study Color Effect. 



After the blooms are arranged, a study 

 of color effect in placing the vase is im- 

 portant. A light scarlet carnation may 

 be fine, and deserve to win, but if placed 

 next to a variety the color of Adonis it 

 will lose much of its eflfectiveness. 



Fundamentally, of course, intrinsic 

 merit in the flowers themselves should 

 win, but deep down in the heart of the 

 florist, who becomes the .iudge, is the 

 artistic instinct which will not be de- 

 nied, and in this day of close competi- 



tion, a recognition of this fact, if com- 

 bined with high grade stock, will aid 

 materially in reaching the goal, first 

 place against strong competition. 



In summing up the points to be con- 

 sidered, one rule may be deducted: If 

 you want to win, nothing is too much 

 trouble. 



CARNATIONS FOR SHIPMENT. 



BY C. h. WASHBURN, CHICAGO. 



[.\n address before the American Carnation 

 Society at the Chicago meeting, January 'M.] 



The development of the shipping busi- 

 ness has been the cause of the remark- 

 able increase in the growing of carna- 

 tions in the Chicago market. Ten years 

 ago a very few of the blooms then 

 being grown would do to ship, while the 

 quantity grown was not over ten or 

 twenty per cent of the present output. 

 The deinand from outside points was 

 very heavy and the problem to solve 

 was how to ship the carnations so they 

 would arrive in good condition. This 

 brought a close study of the methods 

 of handling the flowers and also the con- 

 stant trial of new varieties. As soon as 

 the growers began to improve their stock 

 and their system of handling the flowers, 

 there was an immense increase in the 

 demand for the goods. 



This vast increase has taken place 

 mostly in the last six or seven years, 

 and every year has shown a larger 

 amount of carnations planted and 

 handled than the previous year. It is 

 now almost impossible to get at the 

 exact amount of carnation blooms re- 

 ceived each season, but a conservative 

 opinion would place the number at about 

 oO.noo blooms per day during October 

 and November, and then a gradual in- 

 crease to 100,000 per day by midwinter, 

 and continued at tnis rate to the end 

 of the season. At least seventy-five or 

 eighty per cent of this amount is shipped 

 away from the city, and in the ability to 

 deliver these flowers at their destination 



in first-class condition lies the successful 

 conduct of the business. 



The manner of handling these blooms 

 as adopted by most of the larger grow- 

 ers is as follows: 



Cutting the Blooms. 



The cutting of the flowers must be 

 attended to wit..^ considerable judgment 

 as regards the weather. If the weather 

 is very cold the flowers should be al- 

 lowed to open a little more than usual, 

 as if cut too close in very cold weather 

 they soon go to sleep. Again, if there 

 is a warm wave, with lots of moisture 

 in the atmosphere, the flowers will be 

 soft and must be cut pretty close; also, 

 during these warm spells the flowers 

 should be kept in a little cooler tempera- 

 ture than usual to make the blooms as 

 firm as possible. After the flowers are 

 cut and tied in bunches of twenty-five 

 each, thev should be placed in water as 

 soon as possible. Tais is best accom- 

 plished by having pails of fresh water 

 standing handy to the benches, so that 

 as soon as a bunch is tied up it can 

 be placed in the water at once. This is 

 very necessary, as it helps prolong the 

 life of the flower. If the blooms are left 

 out of wat«r until the cutting is all fin- 

 ished, a number of them will have wilt- 

 ed a little and the sap in the stem 

 hardened up to such an extent that the 

 flower will not suck up water freely. 



After the cutting and bunching ia 

 finished the flowers should be placed in 

 water in a closet or room where the tem- 

 perature remains steady at about 55 de- 

 grees, and where no draughts of air will 

 strike them. When packing to send to 

 the commission man or wholesale store, 

 use a few sheets of newspaper between 

 each layer of bunches, and keep the ends 

 of the stems from touching any of the 

 flowers. Two layers of bunches are 

 enough to put in any package, as too 

 many heads get broken when packed in 

 too solidly. The wholesale or commission 



