12 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



October 29, 1908. 



EXHIBITION BLOOMS. 



Packiog and Shipping. 



Packing and shipping exhibition flow- 

 ers calls for considerable care and pa- 

 tience if the stock hasj^to travel any dis- 

 tance. 



The first thing is to get boxes of the 

 right size and shape. My own boxes, 

 while they may not be the ideal, are sat- 

 isfactory to me, and are the result of 

 some years' experimenting and experi- 

 ence. They are five feet six inches long, 

 eighteen inches wide and ten inches deep, 

 inside measure. The lumber used is i^- 

 inch, braced in the center of the box 

 with pieces up the sides Ixl-inch and 

 with 1-inch lumber for the ends. Such 

 a box, while it is light, gives consider- 

 able room. It will hold from eighteen 

 to twenty-fonr flowers of the largest size 

 on stems three to four feet long, and 

 smaller stock in proportion. 



Flowers, if they are to be shipped any 

 distance, should stand in water for 

 twenty-four hours before packing, to gee 

 the stems full of water. This will offset 

 the loss of moisture that occurs in a 

 long shipment, and the flowers will not 

 be wilted when they are taken out of the 

 box. If a flower once goes down in 

 transit it is hard to get it up again. 



The head of every flower should be 

 papered with tissue to prevent the blooms 

 rubbing against each other. In the case 

 of Japanese varieties, many of them can, 

 by lifting the petals, be compressed into 

 considerably less space and tied on the 

 top of the flower. With the flowers 

 that assume the shape of a ball this can- 

 not be done and it is better to tie the 

 paper under the flower. 



If the stem is at all inclined to be 

 weak it is better to tie it to a bamboo 

 stake, so that there is no strain on the 

 stem, and a stake often prevents the 

 flower from snapping off. 



Having the flowers all ready to put 

 into the box, one should get some pillows 

 made large enough to sit under the neck 

 of the flowers without permitting the 

 flower to be crushed on the bottom of the 

 box. Then lay in the flowers on the 

 pillows, working from each end of the 

 box to the middle. Some growers use 

 wood-cleats and tie the flowers to the 

 cleats. This I do not like, because in 

 the case of jars and jolts, which the 

 boxes will most assuredly get when be- 

 ing moved around by the expressman, 

 there is no give to the flowers and they 

 often are broken. Sheets of wet news- 

 paper laid between the foliage will keep 

 the leaves much fresher than when this 

 is not done. 



After the box is full, cleats can be 

 nailed on the stems to keep them from 

 threshing aTound, and, after that, there is 

 little that can be done except trust in 

 Providence. 



Details to Be Observed. 



The old hand at exhibiting first looks 

 over the schedule of a show that he 

 intends to exhibit at, then looks over his 

 flowers and sees what he can do in good 

 shape, and makes his entries accord- 

 ingly- 

 Then, when packing, he keeps his 

 classes together in the boxes and marks 

 on the cover of the box just what each 

 box contains. Then, in unpacking, each 

 class is by itself and much confusion is 

 avoided. Much of the worry and rush 

 in the exhibition hall could be avoided 

 by foresight. 



Let every variety be labeled with its 

 name before it is packed and another 

 cause of worry and hurry is avoided at 

 the last moment. 



Some additional flowers should be 

 taken along, because some flowers will 

 be bruised and it is hard in a close com- 

 petition to lose out because one of the 

 flowers was poor or damaged. 



So many things enter into the calcula- 

 tions of an exhibition that it is largely 

 a, gamble. The condition in which 

 flowers travel, the personal ideas and 

 opinions of judges, the luck that pur- 



sues a man even after he has done his 

 best, and the way the flowers hold up if 

 the judging be delayed, all combine to 

 make the game fascinating, even though 

 it is a gamble. Charles H. Totty. 



FOUR FINE MUMS. 



Here are four of the finest things on 

 the Hill Co. place the jiresent season: 



Madagascar (Calvat). — A golden yel- 

 low which reflexes slightly, three and one- 

 half feet, big, full and substantial, and 

 coming into bloom October 12. This is 

 an ideal commercial variety, with a stiff 

 stem and beautiful, close-set foliage; the 

 petals recurve slightly and it can bo 

 packed easily and safely. 



Fee Orientale (Nonin). — An early Guy 

 Hamilton, similar in form, snow white, 

 with creamy center; stems like willow 

 wands; a beautiful flower, ready October 

 10 to 12. 



Virginia Poehlmann (Poehlmann). — 

 A white sport from Calvat's Mme. Paul 

 Sahut; a gem of a commercial sort; has 

 not a defect, though it might have a 

 longer stem; fully ready October 15. 



Mile. Marguerite Desjonis (Liger). — 

 We are inclined to call this the grandest 



Chrysanthemum Virginia Poehlmann. 



