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NOVEUBEB 9, 1905. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



1397 



THE EXHIBITIONS 



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CHICAGO. • ' . 



At a recent meeting of the Chicago 

 Florists' Club there was considerable 

 discussion as to whether Chicago should 

 this year have a one-horse flower show, 

 as heretofore, or should have a two- 

 horse show in keeping with modern tend- 

 encies. There seemed to be great 

 unanimity of opinion and a two-horse 

 show was confidently expected, but the 

 exhibition which opened on Tuesday was 

 neither one nor the other; it was a six- 

 horse circus team show and, pursuing 

 the metaphor a little further, each one 

 of these steeds may be said to have been 

 standing on its hind legs and prancing 

 in time to the music. 



Chicago has never had such a flower 

 show as the present one and there have 

 been few like it in this country. Its 

 size is not its only remarkable feature. 

 The Coliseum is the largest building in 

 Chicago and affords more floor space 

 than any other building in the west. It 

 is filled to its full capacity. In fact, in 

 the late days of the week when all the 

 exhibits are in place, it will be found 

 that without re-arrangement the aisles 

 are too narrow to hold the crowds which 

 will come. Tuesday was a miserable day 

 so far as weather conditions go, but 

 at four o'clock, when the show had been 

 open only three hours, the box oflSce had 

 as much money as was taken in the en- 

 tire first day last year. Tuesday evening 

 the crowd was great and as word goes 

 out of the wonders of the show the at- 

 tendance will greatly increase. 



This year's show abounds in novel 

 features. It has been said that Chi- 

 cago retailers had more enterprise in the 

 matter of exhibiting than the retailers 

 in any other city in the country. How- 

 ever this may be, Chicago retailers 

 really never participated until the pres- 

 ent show. There are nineteen who have 

 booths and others were refused for lack 

 of space. In fact, Manager Asmus 

 states that many more exhibits than 

 those of procrastinating retailers were 

 declined with thanks. The retailers' ex- 

 hibits occupy the space underneath the 



balcony all the way around the hall, 

 with the exception of the ends, which 

 are reserved for nursery exhibits and 

 model back yards. It is worthy of note 

 that no matter how much attention 

 other features attract, the crowds have 

 their backs to the center of the hall; 

 they are gazing in admiration upon the 

 retailers' showings. This does not im- 

 ply that the retailers have gone to 

 great expense. As a matter of fact 

 their exhibits are less expensive than a 

 few of them have had at previous shows, 

 but one and all are artistically arranged 

 and beautiful in the extreme. It is safe 

 to say that this is a feature which a 

 Chicago show will never again be with- 

 out. 



The nurserymen have never before 

 participated in a flower show. This 

 year four or five of them have garden 

 scenes, lawns surrounded by hedges, 

 walks bordered with specimen plants 

 and each subject plainly labeled. It 

 should be gratifying to them to see how 

 the visitors are jotting down plant 

 names in their notebooks. 



The suggestion as to model back yards 

 was a late one. It was the happy idea 

 of James Keeley, managing editor of 

 thfe Chicago Tribune. There was little 

 time for its execution but two such 

 yards occupy the larger part of the 

 north end of the hall, and the nursery 

 showings come in this class. The work 

 of J. S. "Wilson, of Vaughan's, is en- 

 titled to special recognition. The rear 

 of a cottage is shown, with vine cov- 

 ered porch, with the back yard fence 

 screened by plantings of hardy stock 

 and the lawn dotted with beds of Baby 

 Rambler roses and other suitable plants. 

 Adjoining this the George Wittbold Co. 

 has a space planted in a more rustic 

 manner but none the less attractively. 

 It has hedges, winding walks, trees and 

 shrubbery and back of the whole is a 

 smiling sky on canvas which adds im- 

 mensely to the scene. It is safe to say 

 that whatever good flower shows may 

 have done in previous years, nothing 

 has ever approached the benefit to the 



general trade which will come from this 

 back yard idea carried out in a aatme- 

 what amplified form, as it will tw in- 

 succeeding exhibitions, when thne i» 

 afforded for the preparation of stock. 



The public parks have never before 

 contributed to flower shows on the scale 

 of the present one. Lincoln park has »- 

 magniflcent group of plants coveriag ». 

 space of probably 500 square feet.. 

 South parks have some of their best ma-- 

 terial and the west parks are also rep- 

 resented by groups of palms and foliage- 

 plants. These, in addition to the beet 

 plants from leading private conserv- 

 atories, make the plant display all that 

 could be desired. 



The cut blooms of chrysanthemunis do- 

 not impress one until he has spent some- 

 time in the show. They are widely scat- 

 tered in the arrangement and their nom-^ 

 ber is not apparent at flrst glance. But 

 one does not need to spend more than a 

 moment in the hall to realize that the 

 quality was never so good as it is thio 

 year, and the number is great. The 

 judges had a tough proposition In sev- 

 eral of the classes, there being from 

 four to six entries in each and cpiality 

 so uniformly good that there was little 

 opportunity for choice. It is notable 

 that the old favorites of recent ex- 

 hibitions are little in evidence, with the 

 single exception of good old Major Bon- 

 naffon, which took first place for 100 

 yellow. The collections of one of a 

 kind show quality never equaled in the 

 west and both the first awards feD to- 

 the E. G. Hill Co., Bichmond, Ind., with 

 H. W. Buckbee, Kockford, second. The 

 varieties were largely new foreign sorta 

 and more of them in the exhibition class. 

 than in the commercial. Wm. Dock- 

 ham was shown in form which wonld be 

 a pleasure to the president of the 

 Chrysanthemum Society, and to Chas. H.. 

 Totty, if they could have seen them;, 

 they would be compelled to revise their 

 opinion that Duckham is not grown well 

 in the west. 



The one spot wliere the show could 

 be improved is the specimen plants. 

 They are as numerous as ever and qual- 

 ity is equal to the usual Chicago stand- 

 ard, but they are not what are seen at 

 eastern exhibitions, particularly at Bos- 

 ton. 



Manager Asmus repeated his good 

 work of last year in handling the in- 

 stallation of the exhibition. The ar-^ 

 rangement leaves nothing to be desired^. 

 unless it may be wider aisles, and these 



The Five Eotries in the Class for Forty Blooms, Forty Varieties, at Chicago. 



