August 8, 1912. 



The Florists^ Review 



ANOTHER DESIGN : 



SENT FOR CRITICISM 



AN EMPIRE WBEATH. 



And Some Opinions of It. 



A photograph of another design is 

 herewith set up as a target for the 

 critics to shoot at. Besides the crit- 

 ics whose names appear in these col- 

 umns, many others will undoubtedly 

 aim a shot or two at the object of 

 attack. Others of us will be con- 

 tented to act merely as spectators, 

 commenting upon the critics' marks- 

 manship, wondering how the target will 

 endure the test, and expressing our 

 opinion as to whether the shooting- 

 match is being conducted fairly and 

 in strict accordance with the rules of 

 high-class sport. 



In the letter which accompanied the 

 photograph of this wreath, the de- 

 signer says: "1 think these criticisms 

 ought to be a fine thing for hosts of 

 florists, many of whom are good grow- 

 ers, but have little idea of how to 

 arrange a design artistically. I refer 

 to the small florists who do their own 

 growing and designing." 



Critics Need Width of View. 



In criticising this design, one must 

 take into consideration the fact that 

 it is the work of a florist in a small 

 country town, where the variety of 

 flowers, foliage, etc., is not so great as 

 in the city; neither do as high prices 

 prevail as are obtainable in larger 

 towns or cities. 



Judging the work with these con- 

 siderations in mind, I doubt whether 

 we city florists could do any better, 

 or, at any rate, whether we could 

 please our customer more. Perhaps 

 this design brought only $3.50. You 

 will say that a florist should not take 

 an order for an empire wreath at such 

 a figure. Still, in the small villages, 

 where a man grows vegetables, per- 

 haps, as well as a few flowers and 

 plants, funeral designs are not made 

 by the hundred every week, and every 

 such order is just that much more 

 profit. 



Neither does the country florist have 

 a great deal of practice in making up 

 work and it is practice that makes per- 

 fect. By a close reading and study 

 of the articles in some of our trade 

 papers one can, of course, learn much, 

 and something can also be learned from 

 a close perusal of the advertising done 

 by the ribbon and supply houses; still, 

 this is all theory. 



Now, let us see where the wreath is 

 at fault. In the first place, I pre- 

 sume the wreath proper is to represent 

 an empire wreath. This is difficult to 

 make with galax leaves, unless small 

 ones are used at the small part of the 

 wreath and they are placed close to- 

 gether. Such a wreath should be quite 

 formal; that is, the leaves should be 

 placed in regular order, rather than in 

 an airy looking style, as in a round 

 wreath. Magnolia or some other point- 



ed leaves would be much more suitable 

 for the purpose than galax. 



The arrangement of the flowers is 

 not half bad. Instead of using com- 

 mon ferns, some nice green should 

 have been used. Asparagus Sprengeri 

 works in nicely with roses and carna- 

 tions on an empire wreath. A few of 

 the sprays should run well along each 

 side of the wreath. 



The manner in which this wreath is 

 suspended from the easel gives the 

 whole a somewhat shaky appearance. 

 Perhaps an easel of the right size was 



customers are by far in the minority. 

 Hence, a design in which the rules laid 

 down by art are strictly adhered to,, 

 might not please the general public at 

 all. The story writer who makes a 

 study of what the majority of reader* 

 like, and not what is really proper,, 

 is the one whose works are most pop- 

 ular, and florists must be guided some- 

 what by the same principle. It is all 

 well and good to talk about educating 

 the people, but we are all in business 

 to earn our bread and butter. So it 

 may sometimes be well to give the 



Empire Wreath Sent with Request for Criticism. 



not available, but the easel ehould 

 always project over the top five or 

 six inches. 



Whether the letters "C. H. S.— '08" 

 are a part of this piece would be hard 

 to say, judging from the photo, at 

 least. If they are a part of it, how 

 much better it would have looked if 

 the letters had been fastened to a 

 piece of ribbon and hung from the 

 top of the wreath, or if the bow had 

 been fastened in with the flowers! 



In criticising floral work which has 

 been made up for commercial purposes 

 entirely, one must not lose sight of 

 the fact that real artists among the 



people what they want and let others 

 try the educating. 



Hugo Schroeter. 



Was It Good For the Price? 



The wreath offered here for criticism 

 has the appearance of having been 

 made by a florist who is not up in the 

 retail store business of today, or per- 

 haps he wanted to make a large show 

 for the money. If the wreath had 

 been turned other side up on the easel^ 

 it might have showed to better ad- 

 vantage. Also, if the maker had ar- 

 ranged a small cluster of flowers at 



