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Decbmbeb 7, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists' Review- 



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THE RETAIL 



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TO KEEP THE WINDOWS CLEAB. 



I noticed the article entitled "Vapor 

 on Show Windows," in The Review of 

 November 23. I have successfully tried 

 the following plan for keeping the win- 

 dows free of the vapor: Have your 

 window constructed with double sashes, 

 leaving enough space between the sashes 

 to permit the insertion of an ordinary 

 tumbler or drinking glass. Clean the 

 window thoroughly; then place a tum- 

 bler containing about one ounce of mu- 

 riatic acid between the two sashes, and 

 you will not be troubled with frost and 

 ice on your window. When the winter is 

 over, or before that time, you will find 

 that the tumbler is full of water, mixed 

 with the acid. You must, of course, 

 have double windows in order to carry 

 out this plan. Sigfred Lindholm. 



DECORATING IN TEXAS. 



It will be necessary for some people 

 — perhaps a good many people — to revise 

 their ideas of the decorating that is in 

 vogue in Texas. In certain quarters it 

 still is the popular conception that the 

 fashion in the Lone Star state is to do 

 one's decorating with a gun. It isn't 

 so. They wear flowers in Texas, and a 

 wedding calls for the exercise of the 

 florist's art rather than an exhibition 

 of the border horseplay that gave Texas 

 its old-time reputation. 



How far Texas has progressed in its 

 appreciation of flowers is, in a measure, 

 shown by the accompanying illustra- 

 tion, reproduced from a photograph of 

 a recent wedding decoration by H. O. 



Hannah & Son, of Sherman. The bank 

 of palms on the platform is well 

 arranged and there apparently was lit- 

 tle of the stiffness that one might expect 

 from the use of the three arches of 

 smilax and mums. The green overhead 

 was wild smilax. 



REPORTS OF DECORATIONS. 



As a Means Of Advertising. 



Considerable profit may be traced to 

 persistent and tactful reporting of dec- 

 orations in the society columns of the 

 local papers. But the decorator must 

 see to it that his work is correctly re- 

 ported. How many times one would 

 never recognize his own work from the 

 unaided description of the reporter! 

 When once a reporter, especially the 

 woman reporter, gets hold of a few 

 variety names, you are in jeopardy, for 

 if she fails to catch the correct names 

 she will supply them at random from 

 her own limited vocabulary of tech- 

 nical terms, and is more apt to give 

 you credit for using American Beauties 

 and Beacon carnations on the same 

 table than she is to describe properly 

 your dainty centerpiece of valley and 

 eattleyas. This is one case where the 

 lack of information on the part of the 

 general public saves your reputation. 

 While it is none to the reporter's dis- 

 credit that she is uninformed on the 

 technicalities of our profession, it is 

 one of the half-open doors through 

 which you, ambitious business man or 

 woman, should push your way. 



A new name in the description of ft 

 decoration is a taker for the society 

 columns when the descriptions, as well 

 as the events themselves, are but repe- 

 titions of scores of their own kind, 

 and a short, accurate description of a 

 luncheon centerpiece or a wedding bou- 

 quet, which contains a new feature or 

 a new term for an old feature, will 

 stand a good chance of success. 



Interviewing the Reporter. 



In many cases the reporter will ac- 

 cept your own written description of 

 the decorations, embodying it in her 

 report of the whole affair. It will pay 

 you to make an appointment with her 

 after the decoration is finished, or pos- 

 sibly before it is begun, and give her 

 the facts and names, laying special 

 stress on the best' features of the dec- 

 oration. Even the hostess can not de- 

 scribe the decorative scheme as well as 

 you can, though she ha^ discussed it 

 in detail with you previously-. If you 

 take a little time for an interview and 

 keep the* engagement promptly, the 

 most courteous treatment will usually 

 be accorded, though it is just as well 

 to allow it to appear that the courtesy 

 is proceeding from your direction. 



Once in a while you may succeed in 

 having your name mentioned in the 

 report. Although this can not often 

 be accomplished, a judiciously worded 

 advertisement, appearing in the same 

 issue and on the society page, close to 

 the reports, will help to connect your 

 name with the reporter's description. 

 Use some of the same terms and ex- 

 pressions, with a direct announcement 

 as to specialties in wedding decora- 

 tions, brides' bouquets or table center- 

 jiieces. Advertising that smacks of 

 information can not fail to be a trade 

 puller. 



On Good Terms With Reporters. 



> 



Once in a while you will have a cus- 

 tomer who does not care for the pub- 

 licity of the newspaper columns. You 

 must keep faith with her, and must 



k 



Church Wedding Decoration by H* O. Hannah & Son, Sherman, Texas. 



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