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Some of the most desirable flowers, from the florist's point 

 of view at any rate, have been provided with only very 

 weak stems, and sometimes with scarcely any stem at all. 

 The beautiful Marechal Niel rose can scarcely hold up its 

 head, while the fragrant white tuberose blooms by the time 

 they have been gathered from the central stalk have not 

 more than a fraction of an inch of stem. Such flowers could 

 never take their place in decorative schemes in the condition 



Removing Imperfect Petals from a Carnation 



in which Nature has given them to us. But your flower doc- 

 tor can easily get over such trifling difficulties as these. With 

 metal thread the weak stems are strengthened, often in such 

 a way that it is impossible to detect the supports, and the 

 blossoms without stems are provided with ones made of 

 stout wire. All this is done so cleverly that by the time the 

 flower takes its place on the dinner table, or in the bridal 

 bouquet, no one can say that the bloom has received any at- 

 tention from the hands of man at all. 



It has been held that to attempt to give scent to the rose 

 is an undertaking which is altogether ridiculous. Never- 

 theless the flower doctor does not view the matter at all in 

 this light. It is a sad fact that many of our modern strains 

 of one time fragrant flowers are more and more woefully 

 lacking in sweetness. Some of the most lovely varieties of 

 roses, the finest kinds of violets, are almost scentless. This 

 will never do for the florist; buyers expect their roses and 

 violets to smell pleasantly, and if Nature does not provide 

 the wherewithal well, the deficiency must be made up some- 

 how. And it is just here where the spray-producer comes 

 in so usefully, hissing out its sweet vapor in response to the 

 ball pressure over the fresh blossoms. It is only fair to 

 say that the doctor is very careful to use only the finest scent, 

 which, of course, has had its origin in flowers, and is a nat- 

 ural product. He is also most particular in selecting the 

 right kind of fragrance for each bloom, so that the fair lady 

 who buries her nose in this bunch of violets has not the least 

 conception that the purple blooms have been tampered with 

 in any way. Of course good scent is so permanent that its 

 odor will remain quite as long as the flowers last, and often 

 much longer, making folk wonder at the delightful fragrance 

 of the modern blooms even when they are dead. 



One phase of the flower doctor's work it is not easy, for a 

 person who loves blossoms as Nature made them, to write of 

 without protest. This will be seen to be nothing less than 

 sheer mutilation for which there is really little excuse. There 

 are certain purposes for which it is considered very desirable 

 that the flowers used should be entirely white. Popular favor 

 has declared that as a general rule the blossoms used for 

 church decoration, and in the composition of wedding and 

 christening bouquets, wreaths, etc., must be of spotless purity. 

 To this end your flower doctor performs a cruel operation 



March, 1907 



on the lovely white Easter lilies. As is well known the 

 blooms of these lilies produce anthers to their stamens, which 

 are large and most plentifully supplied with golden pollen. 

 This golden dust as it reaches maturity is apt to fall off and 

 sully the white petals, and in order to prevent this the expert 

 just as each bud opens, carefully removes each anther with 

 his forceps, with the result that the lily is shorn of a good 

 deal of its natural beauty. Perhaps even a worse instance of 

 this mutilation is seen in the case of the Poet's Daffodil 

 (N. poeticus). The charming crimson eye in the center of 

 this flower stands out in fine relief against the snowy ring 

 of petals, but in such a state the florist will have none of the 

 flower, if tlie purpose demands a white blossom. A dreadful 

 deed again must be accomplished by the doctor. With a deli- 

 cate pair of scissors the brilliant bordering of scarlet is 

 trimmed away from the cup, and one of the loveliest of the 

 Narcissi is divested of its most attractive feature. This is 

 flower surgery at its very worst, and it is not easy to justify 

 such practices; indeed, it is much to be hoped that ere long 

 these methods will be held to be outside the legitimate work 

 of the specialist. There is all the difference in the world be- 

 tween providing a flower with an artificial stem and cutting 

 away its petals, and by so doing destroying most of its natural 

 beauty. 



It seems a strange thing to talk about sticking flowers with 

 gum, and yet this is a very common practice in the florist's 

 workshop. All the lovely azaleas in pots which delight our 

 eyes during the spring months have been doctored with a 

 vengeance. Azalea blooms drop very quickly, some time 

 before the petals of the flower really begin to fade, and were 

 it not possible to fix the blossoms in some style or other the 

 plants could hardly be marketed at all. In order to prevent 

 the flowers from falling too quickly, at the joint of each stalk 

 with the stem, a wee drop of gum is placed by means of a 

 brush which when dry holds the flower firmly in position. 

 As may be imagined the sticking on of azalea blooms is a 

 process which is tedious in the extreme. Many fine plants 

 will bear hundreds of flowers, and as each of these will re- 

 quire attention individually, it will be seen that the matter is 



Securing Azalea Blooms to the Stems by Means of Gum 



no small one. In the case of other flowers where it is known 

 the petals are apt to be shed somewhat hastily, a touch of 

 pure gum here and there will often very much lengthen the 

 life of the blossom. If this has been done with proper skill 

 no one need ever detect that the flower has been attended to 

 in any way. 



In most big flower stores a person with some knowledge of 

 flower doctoring is usually retained. These flowers which 

 look so fresh were really not picked to-day at all, nor is it 

 necessary that they should have been; but they have 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



