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PARK AND CEMETERY. 
THE NATIONAL FLOWER SHOW AT BOSTON 
Under the auspices of the Society 
of American Florist and Ornamental 
Horticulturists the greatest flower 
show that this country has ever pro- 
duced has been held in the Mechanics 
Building upon Huntington avenue, 
Boston, Mass., March 31 to April 1 , 
1911 . 
It was first intended to hold the 
fete in the Horticultural Hall, but 
wise counsel prevailed, with the re- 
sult that the larger building gave 
ample room to gather together plants 
and exhibits not only from the con- 
servatories and museums from Boston 
and vicinity, but from distant points 
of the South and Middle West of 
this country. 
Mechanics Building might be de- 
scribed as two great buildings joined 
together. There is the grand hall that 
will seat over 10,000 people on the 
floor and the exhibition hall of a larger 
area, wdth a basement and second 
floor for special exhibits. 
The first impression upon passing 
the ticket-taker into the exhibition 
hall is to see an avenue of green 
composed largely of bay trees of both 
forms and specimens of topiarian 
work in box. 
Fortunately for this show it was 
held immediately after the Automo- 
bile Show, before the decorations of 
that occasion could be removed. In 
the exhibition hall a form of lattice 
had been erected to disguise the steel 
columns and trusses with bunting 
covering the brick walls where need- 
ed to harmonize with the general de- 
sign. Trailing and climbing upon the 
lattice was imitation wistaria vine 
in bloom, and real climbing roses, and 
where needed to create contrast green, 
imitation oak leaves and real English 
ivy gave to the whole hall an air at 
once both appropriate to such an ex- 
hibition and very artistic. 
In arranging the exhibits a happy 
arrangement was devised, unlike the 
usual flower show in that the colors 
of the various flowers were so lo- 
cated as to harmonize or be in such 
a position that they would not clash 
with their near neighbors. This was 
done by the use of living specimens 
of evergreen, not only the conserva- 
tory type, common in decorations, but 
living specimens of box and bay, and 
evergreens dug from nurseries, boxed, 
ranging in size from Mugho pine 
to the white pine and the hemlock. 
Specimen plants of the other ever- 
green families, such as the spruces, 
firs, cedars, cypresses, and so forth, 
made the general effect of a closely 
grown pinetum. The topiarian art 
so much loved by a school of 
gardeners of a past generation was 
well exhibited in the forms of a box 
peacock, a box pig, a box chair, a 
box urn and other forms loaned and 
exhibited by importing nurserymen 
and florists. 
In this hall novelties were not lack- 
ing, giving an added interest to the 
layman whose technical knowledge 
was limited — such as competitive 
table decorations of sweet peas or 
carnations. The Song of the Rose 
was illustrated in the rose section 
I 
VIEW OF THE NATJONAE FLOWER SHOW AT BOSTON. 
