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10 



The Weekly Fbrists' Review. 



Decbmbeb 22, 1910. 



stretches his filmy lines from a dande- 

 lion stem to a blade of grass. 



Avoid the Stiff and Unnatural. 



For the sake of maintaining the 

 beauty and natural dignity of the flow- 

 ers, let us discourage the stiff, formal, 

 choky style of decorations. By way 

 of contrast, suggest to the prospective 

 customer a wild, woodsy touch to her 

 decorations, like an all fern mantel 

 with the possible addition of one tall, 

 graceful vase of chrysanthemums, or a 

 simple group of Begonia Gloire de 

 Lorraine with a plant of long-fronded 

 Adiantum Farleyense. If you earn from 

 your customer or guests the simple com- 

 mendation that ''they look like a cor- 

 ner of the garden, " or, " just as if they 

 grew there," you have gained a style 

 of arrangement which closely approaches 

 the ideal. As a necessary condition to 

 this attainment, do not allow any por- 

 tion of the mantel pan to betray its 

 existence or any of the other purely 

 mechanical contrivances to be seen 

 from any side. 



It is wise to have the pans filled at 

 the greenhouse or workroom and all 

 ready to place on the mantel. In this 

 way you have more liberty of action 

 and time for study. A clean work bench 

 and wagon must be provided. Tie the 

 leaves and projecting branches around 

 securely before attempting to handle 

 the pans. When placedVxm the mantel, 

 readjust the plants and a3^-^w^at few 

 finishing touches may be ne\sessary. 

 Even with clean, smooth pans, take the 

 extra precaution to provide a heavy 

 mat of tin foil or felt paper to , place 

 under the mantel pans. This, with the 

 other precautions, will be absolute 

 protection against dampness or scratch- 

 ing. 



A. Cheaper Method. 



A cheaper, but scarcely so safe 

 method for mantel protection, is to cut 



moss and string, you will have a sub- 

 stantial, transportable decoration, which, 

 when the soil and sides are covered 

 with a green background, will make 

 just as good an appearance as the dec- 

 oration in the pans, but hardly as 

 protecting to the roots of the plants 

 as the pan. Protect underneath, as was 

 described with the use of the pans. 



This board arrangement is quite con- 

 venient for cut flower or cut green 

 mantel decorations. "Wire and stem 

 long, as for centerpieces or large de- 

 signs. Arrange loosely or in irregular 

 groups, in a variety of positions, droop- 

 ing, upright or half erect, and relieve 

 with a generous amount of green of 

 whatever tint and style are most suit- 

 able for the size and style of the 

 flowers. 



Selecting Suitable Plants. 



Do not place plants on the board in 

 such a way that they will be crowded 

 at the back, or will be bent against the 

 hard wall. Some plants of spreading 

 habit will not bear an upright posi- 

 tion on a mantel, nor look well tipped 

 toward the front, as, for example, any 

 variety of pandanus, or a Dracaena indi- 

 visa. Choose, rather, the slender, tow- 

 ering habit of plant. Any kind of 

 nephrolepis will bear tilting well. Any 

 thick growing, formally trained plants 

 should never be selected for this pur- 

 pose; keep dwarf conifers or boxwoods 

 away from the mantel shelf. Place 

 these on the hearth, if there is no fire, 

 or at either side on the floor. 



If you happen to have a good stock 

 of twig hampers or willow fern baskets 

 of convenient size and color, they might 

 be employed in place of mantel pans, 

 and if the color is neutral they will 

 not require covering over the outside. 



Some mantels will be met with that 

 are built with more than one shelf. 

 The upper one may be treated less 



New Delivery Cax of A. Wiegand & Sons, Indianapolis. 



a l^-inch or %-inch board the correct 

 length. Keep the bottom perfectly 

 nlean. Cover the top edge with a thin 

 layer of dry moss. Set on the pots — 

 or the plants removed -from the pots, 

 with the ball of soil wrapped in tin 

 foil — close together, and pack them 

 securely in place with moss. Wrap them 

 closely in place, around the bottom of 

 the board and over soil and moss, as 

 you fill. By dint of much patience. 



fully than the lower, but with over- 

 hanging lines of foliage or flowers, and 

 with distinct connection with the lower 

 group. 



Not much should be attempted with 

 an empty hearth, unless it is unsightly. 

 If so, make a screen of moss to cut it 

 off from view, or set in a good sized 

 bunch of autumn leaves or other hardy 

 foliage, or a good sized plant. 



Gertrude Blair. 



WIBQAND'S AUTO. 



It is in a busy holiday week like the 

 present tliat an automobile demon- 

 strates its real worth to the retail flo- 

 rist. The accompanying illustration 

 shows the new Overland car recently 

 put into service by A. Wiegand & Sons, 

 Indianapolis. The body of the car was 

 specially designed for the flower firm 

 by the Overland Automobile Co., of 

 Indianapolis. It is five feet high, 

 which readily admits of the carrying 

 of 6-foot palms, and is also equipped 

 with two removable decks, which 

 greatly increase its carrying capacity 

 when only small packages are to be 

 delivered. Messrs. Wiegand state that 

 the delivery proposition has given them 

 no worry since putting this machine 

 into service, as it does the work of two 

 wagons and two boys with bicycles. 

 They are running it a mileage of from 

 sixty to eighty miles a day. 



A NUQENT WBEATH. 



A unique wreath recently was con- 

 structed by Young & Nugent, New 

 York, for the unveiling of the monu- 

 ment of Gen. Von Steuben, at Wash- 

 ington, D. C. It was a striking combi- 

 nation of magnolia leaves, acorns and 

 pine cones, the cones and acorns being 

 gilded. The ribbon used was in the 

 national colors of the general. The 

 illustration gives an inadequate idea of 

 the piece, because the combination of 

 green and gold cannot be shown in 

 colors. 



WILL INVESTIGATE EXPRESS. 



An investigation of all the express 

 companies in this country with a view 

 to determining whether there is an ex- 

 press trust that mulcts the public will 

 be undertaken by the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission early next year. The 

 investigation will consist of the gather- 

 ing of facts in the field by the experts 

 of the commission and of a series of 

 hearings, at which the express com- 

 pany officials and express shippers will 

 testify. Upon the basis of the findings 

 the commission will be asked to fix 

 maximum rates and rule on the pro- 

 priety of existing classifications and 

 agreements. 



The principal charges which the com- 

 mission will investigate are the follow- 

 ing: 



That the rates charged by the ex- 

 press companies are so colossally extor- 

 tionate that after paying half their 

 revenue to the railroad companies they 

 have been able to cut numerous juicy 

 stock melons, the profits running as 

 high as 300 per cent a year in some 

 cases. 



That the express companies generally 

 are controlled by the railroads through 

 the ownership of express stock by the 

 carriers and that the compensation paid 

 the roads by express companies is ex- 

 cessive for the service performed. 



That shippers suffer from countless 

 unjust classifications, regulations and 

 arbitrary practices enforced by the 

 express monopoly. 



The investigation, according to the 

 shippers, is bound to reveal a combine 

 the existence of which the people have 

 not suspected. They believe it will re- 

 sult not only in a drastic regulation of 

 the express companies, but in a strong- 

 er demand for the creation of a compre- 

 hensive parcels post system by the gov- 

 ernment in connection with the mail 

 service. 



