' > "J i.!i!rjMiv,iM«iii^H.iniaj '*'^<<i' 



Apbil 10, 1013. 



The Florists* Review 



NATIONAL FLOWER SHOW 

 CHARMS NEW YORK 





Grand Central Palace Scene of an Exhibition 

 Without Parallel in the History of the Trade 



T takes no second look at the 

 third National Flower Show 

 to demonstrate that the 

 committee of which Charles 

 H. Totty is chairman has 

 done its work well. 

 New York has worked for two years, 

 with the aid of many at other places, 

 for the success which is being achieved 

 in America's metropolis this week. 

 With the high mark set at Boston in 

 1911, it was a big task to equal, not to 

 say excel that record, but the work of 

 many men, many minds 

 and many months has re- 

 sulted in an exhibition 

 of which all America 

 may well 'be proud. The 

 Hrrangements were as 

 nearly perfect as experi- 

 once could make them and 

 the show was ready on 

 the stroke of 6 o'clock 

 Saturday evening, April 5, 

 when the public was ad- 

 mitted. At noon it seemed 

 inconceivable that so 

 much could be accom- 

 plished, but every exhibit 

 was in its place, the 

 judges had completed 

 their work and every de- 

 tail had been attended to 

 when the doors were 

 thrown open to an already 

 waiting line of visitors. 

 The show continues till 11 

 p. m. Saturday, April 12 

 There is magnificent 

 material in this show. 

 The quality of some of 

 the exhibits never has 

 been equaled before in 

 America, not even at the 

 Boston exhibition, which 

 easily eclipsed everything 

 in the more distant past. 

 It is again to the private 

 gardener that the greater 

 part of the credit for the 

 display must be given, 

 although some of the com- 

 mercial growers have not 

 only brought large quan- 

 tities but show splendid 

 quality; still, without the 

 gardeners the show would 

 be nowhere. They have 

 the skill, they took the time and they 

 produced the results. 



In extent this show is about the same 

 as the last National Show, at Boston. 

 In some respects it excels in quality, 

 but in others it falls short. It is not 

 so strong either in roses or in bulbous 

 flowers, but it is stronger in hard- 

 wooded plants, in trade exhibits and es- 

 pecially in hydrangeas. Few, if any, in 

 the trade have seen elsewhere such 

 beautiful pot plants as the new French 



hydrangeas now on exhibition in the 

 Grand Central Palace. In orchids, too, 

 the show is stronger than any other 

 giyen by the S. A. F. and it is expected 

 that as the week develops the special 

 flower societies will make displays in 

 the sections under their charge that will 

 eclipse all previous records. 



It is almost a misnomer to call this 

 the International Show. The original 

 title was National Flower Show and it 

 would better have been retained; the 

 international feature is imparted more 



Yours very 



■:^>^^ 



Chairman. 



by the presence of several well known 

 Europeans on the board of judges than 

 it is by foreign exhibits, for the latter 

 are so few as to be inconspicuous. The 

 show as a whole, however, is not open 

 to criticism; only good can be said of 

 it. It is true that the ftuilding in 

 which the show is being held, while one 

 of the finest in New York, is not well 

 adapted to flower dhow purposes. While 

 large in area, two floors are not suffi- 

 cient to hold the show and the overflow 



had to go onto the third floor. The 

 stairs to the second floor are not good, 

 and by no means all the visitors see all 

 the show. Ajgaiii, too, the floor space is 

 broken into t>y rows of massive columns, 

 which cut oflf the view. Because of these 

 adverse conditions, the show does not 

 present the beautiful picture that is 

 possible only where the display can be 

 staged on oitw,' unobstructed floor, such 

 as is availa|>le in the Coliseum at Chi- 

 cago or the Armory at Baltimore, where 

 the last two S. A. P. conventions have 

 been held. , There are 

 some wonderfully beauti- 

 ful views in the present 

 show, but the visitor does 

 not find them spread at 

 his feet; he has to hu^ 

 them up for himself. It 

 may be a criticism, but it 

 is nobody's fault; the 

 only building in New 

 York that has a large 

 unobstructed floor space 

 is being used this month 

 by a circus, so that at the 

 moment New York has in 

 ])rogress two "greatest 

 shows on earth. ' ' 



How thoroughly the 

 world has been ransacked 

 in the search for new 

 plants of commercial value 

 is shown by the paucity 

 of new plants in the pres- 

 ent exhibition. There are, 

 of course, the usual num- 

 ber of new roses, carna- 

 tions and other cut flower 

 subjects, but there are 

 surprisingly few outstand- 

 ing novelties in plants of 

 value to the florists. The 

 trade appears to advance 

 nowadays more by means 

 of improved culture than 

 it does by the acquisition 

 of new subjects for the 

 plantsmen to work with. 

 In this show the trade 

 exhibits have assumed a 

 new importance. In an- 

 ticipation of a large at- 

 tendance of florists, there 

 was the usual demand for 

 space on the part of those 

 who wished to put their 

 wares before the trade buyers, but the 

 notable increase is in the exhibits that 

 are planned with the one idea of at- 

 tracting the business of the seed, bulb 

 and plant buying public. And a num- 

 ber of these so-called trade exhibits are 

 not one bit less meritorious from an 

 exhibition standpoint than are the lead- 

 ing competitive exhibits. Possibly the 

 one exhibit most likely to be remem- 

 bered by the casual observer is one de- 

 signed simply to sell bulbs and seeds; 



