Decemdbb 21, 1905. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



301 



iAJ»LU^UWU»iW>lWW<#JWL*^^<^J>i<^^'^^'^^'^^<^^'^^'*-'>'^^'^^<#JW 



s 



THE RETAIL 

 FLORIST...... 



51 

 t 



WORKING WITH WILD SMILAX. 



Following the chancel decoration as 

 shown in the illustration in last week's 

 Review, we find another distinct type 

 of decoration on the chancel rail and 

 gallery designs as seen in today's pic- 

 ture. Wild smilax is too often seen 

 stretched, trimmed and rearranged into 

 mere ropes, and festooned across a room 

 diagonally, and crossed from opposite 

 corners. There are enough other materi- 

 als in green which can be used as festoon- 

 ing only. Use wild smilax in just the 

 shape that it comes, in large flat sprays, 

 tapering from its widest span of several 

 feet to a graceful pointed tip. Thus 

 allowed its liberty, and fastened securely 

 at the heavy end, it will take its own 

 position and remain there with little aid. 

 Set anotner spray in the opposite direc- 

 tion and fasten the end at the same 

 points as the first and you have a com- 

 plete vine, as it were. 



All of the fastenings, in the gallery 

 designs, of which there are very few, are 

 made on the back or under side of the 

 gallery wood-work. The spray ends 

 which follow the surface of the pillars 

 are in the position which they assumed of 

 their own accord on being suspended 

 from the gallery. Often two or three 

 pieces may be wired together to make one 

 large spray, or what appears to be one 

 vine. 



The left end of the supposed vine 

 branches, one part ending as it hangs 

 over the chandelier, and the other climb- 

 ing to the organ pipes above. A little 

 past the center of the gallery section 

 seen, a spray falls down to the chancel 

 rail and trails along the top part of 

 the pulpit and over to the steps leading 

 into the chancel. 



What few palms were used were of 

 medium height, so that when set on the 

 floor they could not obscure the bridal 

 party during the ceremony. 



Smilax not only makes the best ap- 

 pearance when used in some style simi- 

 lar to this, but as the Yankee cook has 

 it, "goes farther." In this case one 

 fifty-pound case decorated the chancel 

 and two long galleries, which is as much 

 as could possibly be done with the ex- 

 penditure of a Uke sum. 



Gertrude Blair, 



THE HILL BANQUET, 



The banquet given to James J. Hill 

 December 14 by the citizens of St. Paul 

 ^vas without doubt the finest from the 

 florists' standpoint of any function given 

 in St. Paul since the first florist estab- 

 lished himself there, and it was many 

 .vears ago when the pioneers, A. H. 

 Kunde, E. F. Lemke and a party by the 

 name of Beal began in the business. The 

 'j-reat Northern Railway and its different 

 ^™o°8 were mapped out on the tables 

 ot the banquet hall, in the form of rail- 

 load tracks of white carnations and ties 

 ot Lawson carnations. The railway em- 

 bankment was four inches high, of green 

 sneet moss covered with green galax 



leaves, the embankments showing the 

 proper slopes. At intervals of a few feet 

 were electric lamps showing alternately 

 red and green lights. Opposite each cover 

 and pinned to the slope of the embank- 

 ment was the name of a Great Northern 

 station, large gold letters on a wide col- 

 ored ribbon. Each guest, as he came in, 

 exchanged his dinner card for a coupon 

 ticket, which contained in duplicate his 

 track or table. Four of the Great North- 

 ern Railway conductors wearing railway 

 full dress, armed with railway lanterns 

 and punches, collected the coupons and 

 indicated the direction of the track to 

 which each guest was assigned. The 

 tracks were shown by floral boards let- 

 tered with white carnations and Liberty 

 roses. On the two center tracks were two 

 complete floral trains made of carnations 

 and roses and all lighted with electric 

 bulbs. The engii.es were headed for the 



upon which was lettered "St. Paul — J. 

 J." Hill." 



The pillars in the large dining hall 

 were profusely trimmed with wild smi- 

 lax and studded with poinsettias, pro- 

 ducing a brilliant effect. The large 

 windows of the dining room were heavily 

 draped with wild smilax and drawn up 

 like curtains, to which were attached 

 large bunches of roses tied with ribbon. 

 At the end of the hall was a large steam - 

 I ship to represent the steamship Minne- 

 sota. Flags of all nations were hanging 

 through the room and when the lights 

 were turned on the sight was grand. 

 Kvery detail was looked after and L. L. 

 May & Co. with a score of men worked 

 two days and one night getting the deco- 

 ration put up. Palms were in abund- 

 ance and the dining room was nothing 

 short of a bower of foliage and bloom, 

 which with 500 colored electric lights set 

 it off to perfection. The sight to the 

 guest must have been very similar to 

 fairyland. Ail the florists in the city 

 called to examine it carefully and some* 

 after seeing it hurried to get their better- 

 halves to look the situation over. They 

 all pronounced it to be the finest dis- 

 play St. Paul has ever had. 



In the corners of the large dining hall 

 were immense groups of palms raised 

 from ten to fifteen feet above the floor 

 and interspersed with colored electric 



Work with Wild Smilax« 



head table, at which Mr. Hill sat. Di- 

 rectly in front of him was a round house 

 thirty-six inches in diameter made soli'i 

 of white carnations and Bridesmaids. On 

 the roof of the round house was a largo 

 star of Law^on carnations on which was 

 lettered ' ' G. N,, ' ' and at his side was a 

 16-inch heart of white carnations pierced 

 with an arrow of red carnatioi.s and 



lights. The steamboat and flags were 

 furnished by Holm & Olson. The boat 

 was made of Harlowarden carnations, 

 yellow chrysanthemums, immortelles and 

 cape flowers. The flags were made of 

 immortelles, and, while they were neatly 

 made, the question arises, does it pay to 

 mix everlasting flowers with natural flow- 

 ers? The correspondent is desirous of 



