Jvtm 1, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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THE RETAIL 



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AS OTHEBS SEE IT. 



Criticisms on tbe Cross. 



One of The Eeview's subscribera 

 recently suggested that it would be 

 a good idea to devote a little 

 space in the paper now and then to the 

 reproduction of photographs of designs, 

 for criticism by other readers. To aid 

 in putting his idea into practice, the 

 subscriber submitted a picture of a 

 standing cross, as the first object of. 

 friendly attack. The picture appeared 

 in The Keview of May 11 and is repub- 

 lished here, with some criticisms which 

 have been offered. 



As a rule I do not like to criticise 

 other people's work, as my own ideas 

 and my own work are so susceptible to 

 criticism, but since you invite your 

 readers to express their opinion about 

 the design reproduced in the issue of 

 May 11, I shall make an attempt at it. 



In the first place, I think the design, 

 for its size, is too clumsy in appearance 

 to be called artistic. The designer would 

 have obtained a better result by leav- 

 ing out the cycas leaves on the upper 

 part of it; just two cycas leaves, one a 

 little shorter than the other, put in the 

 base of the design, would have been 

 sufficient. Undoubtedly too many flow- 

 ers and also too many different kinds 

 of them were used. For instance, had 

 the designer omitted the lilies — though 

 he might have put some of them in the 

 base, on longer stems — and made the 

 cross up loosely of roses in one color, 

 and hyacinths, it would have been a 

 prettier piece. Another effective way 

 of finishing a cross, in order to get dis- 

 tinctness of shape in the design, is to 

 fill it out solidly with carnations, bor- 

 dering it with smilax or any other kind 

 of green and arranging a bouquet of 

 roses or any other cluster of flowers 

 loosely in the center of it. 



I think it is a good idea to criticise 

 each other's handiwork in this way, if 

 it can be done without causing any 

 one to feel offended, for by doing so we 

 may all be more or less benefited. 



M. Z. 



"J. E. Jay," the designer of the 

 piece that is under discussion, ought 

 to have a medal voted to him for offer- 

 ing himself as a sacrifice on the altar 

 of improvement. I understand that the 

 manager of the American Screw Works 

 employs a woman at a good salary just 

 to walk around the factories to find 

 fault; the result is perfect work. 



"Mr. Jay" has turned out a beauti- 

 ful cross, but the base is too light; it 

 ought to spread out more. The callas 

 should be stemmed long and placed in 

 the base, to give it a heavier effect. 

 The two long cycas leaves are entirely 

 out of place, as they throw the heavy 

 part of the base up to the arms. The 

 right arm is too short by one-third. 



J. C. B. 



APPLIED PEINCIPLES. 



In Decorative Art. 



"What is the difference in principle 

 between the art of decorating the in- 

 terior of buildings and the art of floral 

 funeral work, if any? The simplest 

 way to get at this question will be to 

 compare some of the requisites of a 

 good funeral piece with those of some 

 detail of a correct house or church 

 decoration. First, there are color quali- 

 fications; there must be harmony in the 

 proposed association of colors. This 

 can certainly be just as positively ap- 

 plied to a mantel decoration as to a 

 casket pillow, with the added provision 

 that the mantel decoration, besides being 

 harmonious within its own color range, 



Desi£n Offered for Criticism. 



must also blend with the colors about 

 it, in wall and woodwork. 



Flowers to be used together in a 

 funeral spray need to be approximately 

 the same in size and general appear- 

 ance, except where a decided contrast 

 is intended; so, also, in a centerpiece; 

 ditto with foliage in both cases. 



A star, to be a star, must be well 

 outlined and pointed, distinct and 

 exact; so must a wedding bell. A 

 funeral spray ought to be loose, natur- 

 ally arranged, yet securely fastened 

 and easily handled; likewise the bride's 

 bouquet. 



Essentially Alike. 



Perhaps we may fail to find a parallel 

 to a wall festoon, but think a moment 

 — what about a casket garland? One 

 hangs from a picture hook and the 

 other from a casket handle, but the 



proportions of the drop to the horizon- 

 tal are the same in either case if they 

 are correctly hung. 



A table centerpiece is constructed on , 

 the same plan as a casket panel, except 

 for a few minor mechanical differenced, 

 and a mantel pan is the same, only 

 more so. A tall handled basket will 

 serve equally well for a funeral offer- 

 ing and a reception table. If you can 

 tell me the difference of principle in 

 the filling of a funeral urn and a tall 

 vase for a music room, I will tell you 

 the differenie between a rainbow and 

 its reflection. 



Thus we might go on indefinitely 

 and merely discover that the principles 

 and laws are the same, but that the 

 applications are more extended in the 

 case of house decorative work, in about' 

 the proportion of a house to a casket. 

 The field is widened and you are more 

 responsible, but you will find satisfac- 

 tion in the fact that things stay put, 

 while among a collection of funeral 

 pieces you may find your best effort 

 poked into a corner by some incompe- 

 tent amateur friend of the family. 



Decorating a Boom. 



Some suggestions growing from the 

 subject of design in general, and ap- 

 plied to room decorations, may here be 

 noted. Choose one place in a room in 

 which to center your decorations. Touch 

 other points in the room with less em- 

 phasis and connectedly with the cen- 

 tral point. Some axioms growing from 

 this are: Do not touch many points in 

 the room; carry a strain of the same 

 color through all the stopping points 

 in the room; avoid points much above 

 the eye line, unless leading lines from 

 the center of the decoration lead to ■ 

 them. A decoration, to be ideal, should 

 be "catchy" as well as correct, and 

 this quality of catchiness is best de- 

 veloped by the witchery of your color- 

 ing; most notably is this true of land- 

 scape scenery. Avoid points which are 

 located much below the eye line; re- 

 member that the room, when filled with 

 people, will have an entirely different 

 appearance from what it has when you 

 alone are gazing at your decoration 

 from a well chosen point of view. All 

 this presupposes that in undertaking the 

 decoration you have a definite picture 

 in mind for each room and have the de- 

 tails well arranged. Then it will not 

 take long to estimate the required 

 amount of material. 



With apologies to the title of this 

 article, we will devote a little space to 

 the policy of the subject and a little to 

 a financial phase of the decorative busi- 

 ness. 



A Question of Policy. 



One of the first things to be deter- 

 mined is whether the hostess has any 

 plan or color scheme of her own^which 

 she prefers. If so, and if it is prac- 

 tical, it is your business to proceed 

 with it. Whether she asks your opinion 

 or not, if you find it unsuitable or im- 

 practicable, do not hesitate to inform 

 her, as tactfully yet decidedly as you 

 can, being prepared with some better 

 scheme. In most cases she will defer 

 to your judgment. 



Often the bride has some sentiment 

 which she wishes to convey in the deco- 

 ration. For instance, at one time I 

 was requested to embody a cross as the 

 center of a wedding altar decoration. 

 Seeing- that the failure of her cherished 

 plan might seriously interfere with her 

 satisfaction, I complied. Her thought 



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