May 16, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



21 



ahead of previous records. At the same 

 rate of development another season Will 

 see so big a call that it will be out of 

 the question to handle the orders unless 

 they are turned to include a general 

 line of stock. 



It is up to the retailers to push other 

 flowers than carnations, other colors 

 than white. 



They can't get their orders filled for 

 white carnations. 



Not if the weather is good. 



In the big wholesale markets white 

 carnations were not to be had May 10 

 and 11. Of course a few people got 

 their orders filled, at least in pait, but 

 'there were nowhere near enough to go 

 around. Any wholesaler could have 

 sold two, three, many times the num- 

 ber that were available. The only limit 

 to price was the consensus of opinion 

 that in May altitudinous figures are 

 uncalled for. When telegrams by the 

 dozens call for nothing but white car- 

 nations in thousand lots and the whole- 

 salers are answering, "No more white 

 carnations; plenty of everything else," 

 it indicates a condition not favorable 

 for retailer, wholesaler or grower, and 

 one that ought not to be difilcult to 

 change. Indeed, the shortage of white 

 carnations this year turned a good part 

 of the demand, at the last moment, to 

 other flowers. Ketailers who found 

 they could not get their orders filled 

 wired later for other stock — but it was 

 too late for best results. More flowers 

 could have been well sold and every- 

 body better satisfied if the orders in 

 the beginning had called for roses and 

 a general line of stock. 



Next year let everybody push every- 

 thing but white carnations for Mothers ' 

 day — the white carnations will take 

 care of themselves. Then the Mothers' 

 day observance will grow faster than 

 ever. 



A RETAILER'S VIEW. 



Just a word in regard to Mothers' 

 day. It by far surpassed anything that 

 we anticipated. We made a special win- 

 dow decoration for the occasion and 

 placed several ads in our local paper. 

 Everybody seemed to enter into the 

 spirit of it and we had many words of 

 praise for our efforts in helping to carry 

 out the day. Although white carnations 

 were decidedly scarce and high, we were 

 abundantly supplied with white roses 

 and colored carnations. 



As it looks to us, Mothers' day will 

 certainly meet with grand success if 

 flowers can be kept down to a normal 

 price; that is, if the growers will give 

 the retailers a fair show. As it seems 

 now, the retailer puts his time ,and 

 money into talking up and advertising 

 Mothers ' day, while the grower, without 

 any extra expense, holds back his stock 

 for the highest possible price. As a re- 

 sult, the people cannot afford to buy 

 flowers, and go without, and Mothers' 

 day will soon be a thing of the past. 

 Our motto is, "Be with the People and 

 the People will be with you." 



W. W. Powers. 



1 



A $200 FUNERAL BASKET. 



Among the designs sent to the funeral 

 of Senator Eobert L. Taylor, at Knox- 

 ville, Tenn., as stated in The Review of 

 May 9, was a large basket made by 

 Charles L. Baum, of Knoxville. A pic- 

 ture of the whole collection of funeral 

 pieces, as arranged in the room where 

 the body lay in state, appeared in The 



Two-Hundred-Dollar Basket Arraa£ed by C. L. Baum. 



Review of that date. A clearer illus- 

 tration of Mr. Baum's piece of work 

 is presented here. He seems to have 

 been well justified in the belief that it 

 was one of the handsomest, as well as 

 largest, designs ever made in the state. 



"It was presented by the citizens of 

 Knoxville," says Mr. Baum, "and as 

 the funeral occurred on the Friday be- 

 fore Easter, it was up to us to make 

 something large and handsome in the 

 least possible time. 



* * Some of the committee, ' ' Mr. Baum 

 continues, ".wanted us to construct in 

 flowers the figure of a 'life-sized angel,' 

 and we knew that the making of any- 

 thing in so ambitious a line as that 

 would require several hours and an al- 

 most unlimited quantity of flowers. 

 Having some fine Beauties on hand and 

 a large basket, we suggested to make 

 this up, as we knew we could make it 



-t— 



in the limited time at our disposal, and 

 as the senator was always a lover of na- 

 ture, we thought this would be in keep- 

 ing with his character. The basket, as 

 seen in the picture, contained 100 Amer- 

 ican Beauties with 6-foot stems and 500 

 white roses, and, when completed, stood 

 over nine feet high. On the handle was 

 mounted a dove holding a white rose in 

 its beak, as this was the senator 's favor- 

 ite flower, and beside the dove was a 

 violin with a broken bow, as the sena- 

 tor was a great 'fiddler.' 



"Some years ago the senator, who 

 was a democrat, and his brother, who 

 is a republican, ran against each other 

 for election as governor of this state. 

 Senator Taylor adopted the white rose 

 as his emblem and his brother chose the 

 red rose, and this race was afterward 

 known as 'the race of the roses,' after 

 the manner of the War of the Roses, so 



