242 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



December 13, 1D0(S. 



readily obtained. Where general ex- 

 penses are less than in a big city, and 

 where cost of delivery is less, this might 

 be sold at $1.25 to $1.50 and a satisfac- 

 tory profit obtained. The plant in an 

 ordinary pot, without embellishment, 

 hardly would be salable at any price. 



The Araucaria. 



The araucaria is a good Christmas 

 plant, because of the harmony of colors 

 when it is embellished with holly red. 

 The plant illustrated is Araucaria robusta 

 compacta, less tall in proportion to its 

 breadth than is A. excelsa. The addition 

 of a couple of the Alpha Christmas 

 bells, a few bows of narrow red ribbon, 

 a birchbark, metal-lined box and the 

 arrangement is good for $10 in a first- 

 class city store at Christmas. "Wliere a 

 less wealthy trade is catered to a lower 

 price would be necessary if any number 

 were to be sold, but the same store that 

 sold this decorated plant for $10 last 

 Christmas only asked $4 apiece for the 



plants left unsold, so you can see that 

 the combination of the holiday demand, 

 the bells and the ribbon, was worth 

 about $6. It is the same with all such 

 arrangements, although the margin of 

 profit is not so great in all, and, in fact, 

 possibly it is better for the purposes of 

 steady demand that it is not. 



Another Good Seller. 



The erica shown in another of the 

 illustrations accompanying this article 

 was a good seller last Christmas. The 

 pot was covered with Porto Bican mat- 

 ting and tied with red chiffon, a bow 

 of the same in the front. It looked to 

 be easily worth the $5 or $6 asked, and 

 a number of similar arrangements will 

 readily suggest themselves to anyone 

 who is making up a stock for holiday 

 trade. 



One advantage of the plant arrange- 

 ment is that samples may be made up 

 for stock display, and no more prepared 

 until orders are booked; then they may 



Boxwood in Pompetan W^are. 



be made up in spare time, ready for 

 delivery. Thus the work does not all 

 come at the last moment, nor is made-up 

 stock left unsold. 



Poinsettia Arrangements. 



Pans and baskets of poinsettias are a 

 staple item of Christmas stock. Pans 

 with low-growing plants, say eighteen 

 inches high, may be embellished with all 

 sorts of pot covers and sell readily. 

 Where good trade is handled a better 

 profit may be made by transferring the 

 plants to a basket and amplifying the 

 decoration. The one pictured was a long, 

 low handled basket of light green, such 

 as any supply house sells at a dollar or 

 so. Two of the small Alpha bells were 

 added. The handle was supplied with a 

 big bow of red ribbon and one of the 

 country's leading retailers got $12 for 

 the job last Christmas. When it is 

 considered that there were three poin- 

 settias and a few adiantums in the bas- 

 ket it may be appreciated that the good 

 taste shown in the arrangement was a 

 very profitable part of the work. 



Plant Hampers. 



In the last few seasons plant hampers 

 of small size, for filling with adiantums, 

 cocos, selaginellas, cypripediums, etc., 

 have had a good sale. They are usually 

 square, or nearly so. Some are made of 

 dyed raflfia, some are braided, and the 

 more expensive are of silk or velvet. The 

 one illustrated was green and red, with 

 a velvet poinsettia on the cover and a 

 bow of wide red ribbon. These are not 

 useful except where first-class trade is 

 handled, for $12 to $15 is usually the 

 price for one well filled. 



Baby Ramblers. 



The Baby Bambler rose is a splendid 

 thing for Christmas. Because of its 

 dwarf growth it lends itself to all sorts 

 of arrangements, but possibly to nothing 

 better than to use with the twig baskets. 

 The color of the basket ad(& to the 

 effect. In the one illustrated the basket 

 was long and the handle so low that it 

 was obscured by the trusses of bloom. 

 Selaginellas and asparagus were used to 

 fill in between the basket and the roses. 

 The handle was tied with a big bow of 

 watered silk ribbon. This was a large 

 basket and sold for $15 in a metropoli- 

 tan store, but similar arrangements may 

 be made, sn^ller in size, to cost only a 

 dollar or two and sell for whatever 

 margin of profit the trade will stand. 



Birchbark Ware. 



Birchbark ware has undergone many 

 improvements since it first was put on 

 the market and is now among the best 

 of staple articles. It is in especial de- 

 mand at Christmas and Easter. It may 

 be used in so many ways that it is not 

 necessary to recount them. One of the 

 illustrations in this issue is a box nearly 

 four times as long as it is wide. The 

 coloring of the bark is of itself an 

 attraction. It contrasts well with the 

 green of the selaginellas, a^aragus, 

 primulas and cyclamens, the flowers of 

 the latter red and white. A green rib- 

 bon bow was used. These arrangements 

 may be made up in size and material to 

 sell at from 50 cents to $10 and for a 

 cheap, ready seller there is not much to 

 beat them. 



The Braided Basket. 



A staple basket is the one of braided 

 colored straw. It comes in handy every 

 day in the year and if not sold for 



