26 



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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



jAMlfABT 30, 1908. 





THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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ARTISTIC ARRANGEMENTS. 



•For a* Luncheon Table. 



The accompanying illustration is from 

 a photograph of a luncheon table in the 

 style most popular with the "smart 

 set" in early spring. The center-piece 

 is composed of three ladies' hats crushed 

 into irregular shapes, all filled with the 

 same variety of flowers. Corner-pieces 

 are omitted in this style of decoration, 

 as arranged by Charles Henry Fox, at 

 the Sign of the Kose, Philadelphia. 



FUNERAL WORK. 



The Broken Column. 



The comment on the alleged broken 

 column pictured in the Eeview of Jan- 

 uary 16 anticipated my criticism of the 

 manner in which the top is finished; but 

 I still have to disagree slightly with the 

 writer of that comment when he says the 

 broken top should be filled with flowers 

 of a deeper color than the body of the 

 column. While I do not often advise the 

 use of what may be called architectural 

 floral work, the florist is occasionally 

 called on to manufacture it; and when 

 he does, his imitation should resemble the 

 object copied as nearly as is possible 

 with the material at his command. 



I venture to say that the common idea 

 concerning a column is of one composed 

 of white marble; and the flowers used 

 should be of that color, and all of the 

 same kind; such as white carnations, for 

 instance. These should be arranged to 

 form a fairly smooth surface, as is seen 

 in the ideal column; and the broken top 

 should.be of the same color, but finished 

 rough and uneven to represent a real 

 break. 



In our own practice, if we use white 

 carnations for the shaft, we sometimes 

 finish the break with tufts of sweet alys- 

 sum to give the desired roughness. 



Columns seldom spring directly from 

 the ground, or from a stone fioor, but are 



set on a base which is usually of the 

 same material as the column itself; and 

 this should be indicated in the finished 

 design, bolow which the ambitious florist 

 may with good taste add a sub-base com- 

 posed of any material he may choose, dee- 

 orated with any kind or kinds of flowers 

 and greenery thought suitable, as his 

 taste or the lack of it may suggest. 



While the shaft should be of one color, 

 and smooth, it is allowable to throw or 

 twine a slender festoon of foliage or 

 flowers or both around the column; but 

 this should be very slight, and show what 

 it is meant to represent, and so used as 

 not to obscure the main feature. 



The Wreath. 



A recent issue of the Eeview contained 

 a picture of a wreath on which the me- 

 chanical part of the work was nicely 

 done; but which showed a fault very com- 

 mon with this design as usually made. 

 That is, the foliage and flowers used in 

 its construction were allowed to extend 

 too near the center of the circle, thus 

 partly obscuring the form of the piece 

 and making it look too much like a flat 

 and formless body of flowers and leaves. 



The wreath is the simplest and most 

 satisfactory formal design that can be 

 used on funeral occasions, being appro- 

 priate for either sex and all ages and 

 conditions, but should be used of fairly 

 good size. When it is necessary to use a 

 size that is smaller than it should be, the 

 line of flowers should be narrow enough 

 to still show its form. This rule will 

 apply to any small design, because, if it 

 is necessary for the artist to explain what 

 his design is meant to represent, someone 

 has made a mistake. 



I have been surprised occasionally 

 when judging at flower shows to see what 

 inartistic affairs are sometimes entered 

 and exhibited, evidently with the expec- 

 tation of winning prizes. 



So-called pillows, say, the flowers used 

 in which seemed to have been cut exactly 

 to the same short length, set in straight 

 lines, perpendicular to the surface they 



were inserted in, and so far apart that 

 they seemed unable to communicate with- 

 out a telephone, and with the shining tin 

 foil showing between. W. T. Bell. 



TROUBLE WITH ORANGE TREE. 



I have an orange tree that looks nice 

 and healthy, which was in a tub, and I 

 put it in the ground in the greenhouse. 

 It is full of blossoms every spring and. 

 they form oranges the size of marbles, 

 and then fall off. Will you please an- 

 swer in the Eeview what the trouble isf 



E.L. 



From your query it would seem prob- 

 able that if the tree flowered well, but 

 always dropped its fruit at an early 

 stage, either the soil was too dry or, as 

 is more likely, the soil is sour and lack- 

 ing in drainage. I would advise lifting 

 the plant carefully, keeping as many 

 roots intact as possible, and grow it in a 

 tub if it is not too large. You will have 

 root conditions more under control in a 

 tub than a bed, on which latter are prob- 

 ably standing other plants, the watering 

 of which will keep the soil soggy and 

 wormy. If you prefer to plant out 

 again, remove the soil to a depth of at 

 least two feet, and put in stones, broken 

 brick or coarse cinders as drainage. Use 

 fibrous loam, dried, lumpy cow manure 

 and bone meal for compost, adding some 

 coarse sand and broken charcoal to keep 

 it porous and sweet. In such material 

 your plant will thrive and should perfect 

 its fruit. Do not keep the plant in a 

 heavily shaded position. Oranges want 

 abundance of sunlight. C. W. 



ORCHIDS IN ROSE HOUSE. 



Could a few orchids be grown in a 

 rose house to bloom during the winter, 

 and what is the best variety? How about 

 watering and syringing? When is the 

 period of resting and what is the proper 

 treatment then? F. D. B. 



A rose house temperature will suit a 

 good many varieties of orchids. Among 

 cattleyas, C. labiata, blooming in October 

 and November; C. Percivaliana and C. 

 TriansB, in season during December, Jan- 

 uary and February, and C. Schroederse, 

 flowering in March and April, can be 

 recommended. These will do well hung 

 up near the roof and may be in pots, 

 pans or baskets. Their resting period is 

 after flowering, when only sufficient 

 water to prevent shriveling should be 

 given, until the new growths and roots 



Luncheon Decoration of Hats Filled with Flowers, by Charles Henry Fox. 



