10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Ih:(i:mi:i:k 



I'.iio 



^l I I'l i-hi's liis iilni_\' liiH'^ t'liiiii ;i ihiiidi'- 

 I mil slciu 1 1) a liladc ol' yrass. 



Avoid the Stiff and Unnatural. 



I'lir 1 lie sake ol' )iia i lit ai iiiiij;' 1 lie 

 licaiity aihl natural dii^iiity ol' llii' How ■ 

 CIS, let lis iliscmira;^c tlic stilV. i'miiial, 

 ilioliv style of decorations. J}y ^\ay 

 of L'uiitrast, .siijiycst \o the |iros|)ect i\ e 

 eiistoiiier a wilil. ^vo()ds\' tomdi to lier 

 tlecoiat ions, ]ii<e .an all J'ein inautcd 

 with the |iossilde .addition of one tall, 

 graceful \ase of ilu\saiitlieniuins, or a 

 simple i^rou]) of Bej^onia tiloiro d(^ 

 Lorraine with a jilant of longfronded 

 Adiaiitiiiii Farle\enye. It' you earn from 

 \our customer or guests the siinj)le com- 

 iiieiidation tiiat ■'tlu\v look liise a cor- 

 ner of the yaiilen."' oi-, "'just as if they 

 grew theit", ■■ you hii\ e yainotl a style 

 of arraufii'iiHMit \vlii(di closely ajiproaclies 

 the ideal. As a necessary condition to 

 tiiis attainment, do not allow any jior- 

 t ion of the mantel pan to lietray its 

 existence or any of the other jiurely 

 ine(diaiiical cent ri\ aiices to he seen 

 Irom any side. 



It is wise to liavo the ])ans tilled at 

 the greenhouse or workroom .and all 

 leady to jilace on the mantel. In this 

 way yiui h;i\e more liberty of action 

 and time foi' study. A clean work bench 

 ami wagon must be jn'ovidod. Tie the 

 lea\'es ami ]iroJecting branches arourid 

 securel\- before attemnting to handle 

 the ]ians. When jdaced on the mantel, 

 i-eadjiist the jilants and add what few 

 finishing touches may be necessary. 

 Mveii with clean, smooth pans, take the 

 extra ]irecaution to iii'o\ule a hea\y 

 mat id' tin foil or f<dt jiaper to jdace 

 under the mant(d pans. This, with the 

 other ]iieeautions. will be absolute 

 ]irot(M-tion against dampness or scratch- 

 ing. 



A Cheaper Method. 



.\ tdieaper, but scarcely so sate 

 method for mantel |irote(-ti(»n, is to cut 



moss and siring, you will lia\i' a sub- 

 stantial, t III nspojt able decoration, which, 

 when the sidl ;ind sides are coxcred 

 with a green b;i( kground, will make 

 Jiisl ;is good an appearance as the dec- 

 oration in the p.ans, but hardly as 

 protecting to the roots of the jdants 

 as the pan. Protect und(>rneath, as was 

 described with tht^ use of the ]iaus. 



This board ariangement is cjuite con- 

 Ncnieiit for cut ilower or cut gri'en 

 mantel decorations. Wire and stem 

 long. :is for centerpieces or large de- 

 signs. Arrange loosely or in irregular 

 groups, in a variety of positions, droop- 

 ing, ujiright or half erect, and relieve 

 with a generous amount of green of 

 whatever tint and style are nuist suit- 

 able for the size and style of the 

 lloweis. 



Selecting Suitable Plants. 



Do iu)t place plants on the board in 

 such a way that they will be crowded 

 at the back, or will be bent against the 

 hard Avail. tSome plants of spreading 

 habit will not bear an upright posi- 

 tion on a mantel^ nor look well tipped 

 towai'd the front, as, for example, any 

 variety of pandauus, or a Dracsena indi- 

 visa. Choose, rather, the slender, tow- 

 ering habit of plant. Any kind of 

 neplirolepis 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 lire, 

 or at eitluM- side on the floor. 



If you happen to have a good stock 

 of twig hamjiers 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. 



Soine mantels will be met with that 

 are luiilt with more than one shelf. 

 The iqijier one may be treated less 



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



:i 1^-inch or •'•i inch board the coriect 

 b'ugth. l\eej» tin- bottom ]ierfectly 

 elean. <'o\ei- the toji edge with a thin 

 l.'iAer id' <lry moss. Set on the jiots -- 

 or the jdants ii'ino\cd from the pots, 

 with the ball ot' soil wraji|ied in tin 

 foil — close together, and ]iack them 

 securely in place with moss. Wrap them 

 clos(dy in jil.ace, around the bottom of 

 the board and o\ei- sidl aiol moss, as 

 \du till. I'y dint of much jiatience. 



fully than the lower, but with over- 

 hanging lines of foliage or flowers, and 

 with distiiict connection with the lower 



gTOUJ.. 



\ot much should be attempted with 

 an emjity hearth, unless it is unsightly. 

 If so, nuike a screen of moss to cut it 

 off from view, or set in a good sized 

 bunch of autumn leaves or other hardy 

 foli.age. or a good sized jdant. 



(lertvude Tilair. 



WIEGAND'S AUTO. 



It is in a busy holiday weidv like the 

 present that an automobile demon- 

 strates its real worth to the ret.ail flo- 

 rist. The accompanying illustration 

 shows the new Overland car recently 

 ]iut into service by A. Wiegand & tSons, 

 Jndianapolis. The body of the car was 

 specially designed for the flower firm 

 by the Overland Automobile Co., of 

 Indianapolis. It is five feet high, 

 whii li readily admits of the carrying 

 of G-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 boj's with bicycles. 

 They are running it a mileage of from 

 sixty to eighty miles a day. 



A NUGENT WREATH. 



A unique wreath recently was con- 

 structed by Young & Xugent, New 

 York, for the unveiling of the monu- 

 ment of Gen. A"on Steuben, at Wash- 

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

 nation of magnolia leaves, acorns and 

 jiine 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 

 lie 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- 

 jiany ollicials and «'Xpress shippers will 

 testify. Upon the b:isis of the findings 

 the commission Avill be asked to fix 

 maximum rates and rule on the pro- 

 |>riety 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 comjianies are so colossally extor- 

 tionate tli.at after paying h.alf their 

 re\en>ie to the railroad companies they 

 have been able to cut numerous juicy 

 stock melons, the jirofits running as 

 high as .'!(MJ per cent a year in some 

 cases. 



That the express comjianies generally 

 arc controlled by the railroads through 

 the ownership of express stock by the 

 c.'irriers and that the compensation pai<l 

 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 ])Ost system by the gov 

 ernment in connection with the mail 

 service. 



