34 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Decembeb 14, 1011. 



to prevent steaming, but this I do not 

 think practical. 



The firm with which I am connected 

 opened a new, modern store November 

 1, and the show windows are built as 

 I first suggested, so that air enters 

 through specially constructed sashes 

 and also through two ventilators. We 

 have already had outside temperatures 

 as low as 15 degrees above zero and 

 have experienced no trouble. A large 

 conservatory adjoining the store is well 

 ventilated; so, also, are the store and 

 workroom. 



Some firms resort to the use of elec- 

 tric fans, from which air currents are 

 directed diagonally against the glass, 

 but this is costly and you know what 

 this strong current of air will do to 

 flowers in your window. 



A liquid , composed of two-thirds alco- 

 hol and one-third glycerine, applied 

 lightly to the glass, will keep the mois- 

 ture from freezing, but this solution is 

 itself a nuisance, as it gives the glass 

 a dull, smoky appearance. 



A remedy which costs nothing, and 

 is always effective, is the flowing of 

 cold water down on the inside of the 

 window. Take a watering can and pour 

 some water against the glass as high 

 as you can reach, thus washing off all 

 the steam, and you will probably not 



CHRISTMAS CEMETERY WItEATHS. 



A Neglected Department. 



Christmas is a season at which the 

 average florist completely ignores the 

 cemetery trade. Possibly it will be 

 argued that people are too busy buying 

 gifts for the living to remember the 

 dead at Christmas, or that it is not the 

 time for reminding customers of the 

 memorial uses of flowers, but the fact 

 remains that many people do wish to 

 signify, at Christmas, their remem- 

 brance of those who sleep in the silent 

 cities. Of course it is more or less 

 true that the better class stores are the 

 ones that get the calls for memorial 

 wreaths at the holidays, but all florists 

 can do a profitable and easy Christmas 

 business in this line if they give it a 

 little attention. It will be found that 

 customers, far from finding the sugges- 

 tion unwelcome, if not put forward too 

 boldly, will welcome and adopt it. It 

 will be noted in the course of time 

 that those who are away from home, 

 or whose loved ones lie at a distance, 

 will find it appropriate at Christmas to 

 send a wreath of green, and here is 

 where the telegraph delivery facilities 

 will come into play. Every florist 

 should cultivate the exchange-of-orders 



Christmas Cemetery Wreath of Magnolia Leaves. 



be troubled again that day. If no 

 drainage is provided in the front of 

 your window, then use a sponge and 

 cold water. H. S. 



Buffalo, N. Y.— The Rachel M. Reb- 

 stock Co. has been incorporated, with 

 a capital of $10,00(5, for the purpose of 

 dealing in plants, shrubs, trees, etc. 

 The incorporators are Eliz. Chretien, 

 F. Clifford Chretien and James V. 

 Walsh, all of Buffalo. 



business — establish connections as wide- 

 ly as possible and never let an oppor- 

 tunity pass to acquaint the public with 

 the fact that such facilities exist. 



Scmie Examples of Wreaths. 



The illustrations on pages 34 and 

 35 are reproductions of photographs 

 made last Christmas at a first-class 

 store that has found it good business 

 to show at Christmas a line of samples 

 of cemetery wreaths. These were in 



the display last year. In many cases 

 customers asked what could be done in 

 the way of sending flowers to the ceme- 

 tery in cold weather, and these wreaths 

 lay at the elerlr's hand to provide the 

 answer. Others, seeing the wreaths, 

 asked their purpose, and, being told 

 that they were to go to the cemeteries 

 on Christmas morning, commented on 

 the appropriateness of the custom and 

 left one or more orders. 



One of these wreaths was made of 

 the now omnipresent boxwood sprays. 

 Boxwood has become one of the Christ- 

 mas indispensables. Useful at other 

 times, it comes in handiest at the holi- 

 days and is worked up in great quan- 

 tities. People are tired of the same 

 thing year after year, so that there 

 always is a warm welcome for anything 

 new in the way of a Christmas wreath, 

 whatever its purpose, and since the gro- 

 cery stores have come to handle the 

 cheap holly wreaths at prices almost 

 as small as the quantity of holly used 

 in the making, patrons of flower stores 

 have been ready to buy something else. 

 That partly accounts for the way box- 

 wood wreaths have sprung into favor. 

 The boxwood wreath for the window is 

 made on a rattan ring, just as the holly 

 wreath is, but these cemetery wreaths 

 are made as any funeral design would 

 be, on wire frames that have been 

 mossed. Two or three things are there- 

 by accomplished: An elegance is at- 

 tained that is not possible with a thin- 

 ner wreath; a lasting quality is im- 

 parted, and weight is given that serves 

 to keep the wreath where it is put. 



The other wreath was of the pre- 

 pared magnolia leaves that now are car- 

 ried in stock by practically every retail 

 florist — they have become one of the 

 staples of the trade and have done not 

 a little toward making galax a less es- 

 sential, article than it was a few years 

 ago. These magnolia leaves are about 

 the handiest thing that is to be found 

 in the average store. They keep in- 

 definitely and, no matter how scarce 

 stock may be, with these' on hand the 

 retailer always has the means of mak- 

 ing up a first-class design. 



California red berries were used for 

 the touch of color that is needed on 

 these wreaths, but holly with its 

 berries would have done as well, or 

 the ilex that goes under the name of 

 Christmas red berries. 



Any florist who cares to do so can 

 devise a dozen different combinations 

 of seasonable green and red that will 

 do equally well and which will serve 

 to lend variety to his work, should he 

 have considerable going to the same 

 cemetery. 



Crosses of various sizes are used for 

 the same purpose. The widow of a cer- 

 tain millionaire sends an order to her 

 florist every year to put a cross of 

 boxwood and red berries, an elaborate 

 affair that is six feet long, on the grave 

 of the dead money-maker on Christmas 

 morning, and flower stores that enjoy 

 a considerable Catholic trade have 

 found it pays to show a variety of flat 

 cemetery crosses as a part of the holi- 

 day display. 



STORAGE OF FERNS. 



Will you inform me how to care for 

 and store the fancy and dagger ferns 

 so that they will keep in good condi- 

 tion throughout the winter? L. J. B. 



Hardy fern fronds are usually kept 



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