March 4, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



SHEiCF AND SICKLE. 



The sheaf of wheat and sickle is a 

 popular combination design carried out 

 with inexpensive material. The lines of 

 both sheaf and sickle, in the accompany- 

 ing illustration, are faithfully executed 

 with severe simplicity. It is one of the 

 designs by Charles Henry Fox, of the 

 Sign of the Rose, Philadelphia, and Mr. 

 Fox filled this order exactly as required, 

 but he says it does not appeal to him. 

 White is ordinarily employed in such a 

 design, though the handle of the sickle 

 may be made with pale pink to contrast 

 with the blade. Phil. 



LUNCHEON BASKETS. 



The leading stores are using small 

 handled baskets of spring flowers for 

 luncheon table decorations. Tulips and 

 white lilacs are a popular combination for 

 the purpose. Sweet peas are used in 

 large quantities for luncheon decorations 

 and always are well liked, especially so 

 at this season. Jonquils recently had a 

 leading place for this use, but are less 

 popular since sweet peas became abun- 

 dant. 



A large basket is used for the center 

 of the table, with a small basket at each 

 plate. Usually the baskets are considered 

 as favors and are carried home by the 

 guests. 



FLOWER BALLS. 



We have an order to make up some 

 floral balls, of Emperor narcissi, for 

 the bridesmaids at a March wedding. 

 Will you kindly tell us how to make same, 

 and how they should be carried during 

 the ceremony? What is the usual price 

 to ask? A. F. C. 



Floral balls, or flowers so arranged as 

 to give the effect of a ball, or. sphere, 

 are becoming quite popular for use at 

 weddings or for debutante dances. 



The size of the ball will be governed 

 somewhat by the price the florist is to 

 receive and by the wishes of the custom- 

 er. The conventional size is about from 

 eight to ten inches in diameter when 

 finished. In order to obtain this size, the 

 ball of moss which is to hold the flowers 

 in place should be from four to five 

 inches in diameter. While a frame is 

 not absolutely necessary, still I would 

 have a suitable frame for holding the 

 moss made of light wire. This will 

 give you a good, round ball of moss 

 without its being packed too tightly. 



Should you want to get along without 

 the wire frame, then gather up a good 

 handful of dampened, but not dripping, 

 moss and press it into shape, the same 

 as you would make a snowball, only 

 do not pack the moss so tight. When 

 you have the desired size, wind some 

 green string around the moss to keep 

 it in shape. Cover the ball of moss with 

 fern leaves and then lightly with smilax. 



Now for the flowers, which in this case 

 are to be Emperor narcissi. 



Cut the heads off so as to leave just 

 enough stem so they can be nicely stem- 

 med to toothpicks. You can, of course, 

 stick the toothpicks right into the flow- 

 ers, if you wish, but this is not ad- 

 visable, as they are apt to come loose. 

 After you have a suflScient number ready, 

 proceed to insert them in the ball of 

 moss just close enough together so they 

 will cover nicely and still not look crowd- 

 ed. As you work along, be sure to keep 

 the ball round. 



The next step is the ribbon by which 

 the ball is to be carried. Use about No. 

 9 to No. 22 ribbon. The loop should 

 be of such length as to give a nice 

 clearance after the piece is finished. By 

 using about one yard of ribbon you can- 

 not go far wrong. Take two pieces 



others, but here you must be careful or 

 you will lose the round effect. 



A ball as described at first will require 

 about fifty narcissi. 



The floral balls are carried loosely 

 over the left arm of the lady, the same 

 as a basket would be carried. The moss 

 should not be too wet, for if the ball is 

 heavy it will not swing so gracefully. 



The price will, of course, depend en- 

 tirely upon the number of and variety of 

 flowers used. Whenever called upon to 

 give an estimate upon a piece of this 

 kind, or any piece out of the ordinary, 

 be sure to ask enough, for not having 

 profited by previous experience you may 

 lose money if you give yourself no lee- 

 way. Hugo Schroeter. 



THE RETAIL TRADE. 



[An abstract of a talk by Edward MacMulkln. 

 of Boston, Mass., before the florlcultural classes 

 of the Massachusetts AKricultural College. Feb- 

 ruary 17, 1909, the publication of which was 

 begun In the Review for February 25.] 



The Good Salesman. 



In regard to the sale of flowers by 

 florists in stores in all the large cities, 

 to make it profitable now requires a cer- 

 tain style of man. The more he knows 

 about his business the more successful 

 he will be. Any ordinary, well-dressed, 

 intelligent person can sell a dozen roses 



t '-^-i^ 



Sheaf and Sickle. 



tie (Ipe 



of the green matchsticks and tie rfpe end 

 of the ribbon to each stick; then fasten 

 a bow or rosette of the same ribbon to 

 each stick and insert them on opposite 

 sides into the ball, and you are through. 

 You can, of course, elaborate upon this 

 piece by using more ribbon, or attach- 

 ing streamers of ribbon. You also can 

 give a more airy effect by letting some 

 of the flowers project out beyond the 



or a box of cut flowers, but the real man 

 must have four necessary qualifications 

 to make him a success. All should be 

 natural ones, but one must be natural 

 and the others may be acquired. They 

 are good taste, good ideas, good man- 

 ners, and the integrity to carry out in 

 good faith any agreement he may make 

 with a customer. 



It is not necessary for a man to be 



