The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-12-31
The Winter Festival of Flowers.

The Winter Festival of Flowers.
Civilization grows apace We no longer
await the seasons, but weave them into a
wreath, turning winter into summer and
sprinkling the most delicate and fragrant
blossoms of spring mid the frost crystals.
Thus we beautify the old and gray, giving it
due generation, while we riot in the ever
changing new presented to us by Flora. Even
mathematics, mingled with flowers, become
poetical and we elsewhere o-day state the solid,
poetic fact that New York consumes one mil
lion dollars worth of bouquets annually, while
not less than one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars are expended in these delicate devo-
tlonal offerings during Christmas and New
Years. One million dollars of heart flutter-
ing! Yes! but here the product doubles
the exponent is two. For instance, Jennie
receives bouquet from somebody; this is
proof that somebody's heart futters for jennie
while, as to Jennie's heart, it either futters to
think him such a fool or else goes ''pitapat'
in harmony.
There are many kinds of flowers, to most of
which the dreamy poets have attached strong
love symbols These, however, receive but
little attention, except in rare instances. We
have the Mexican artillery plant, whose
seeds and blossoms when rubbed in the hand
make regular pronunciomiento, shooting in
all directions. This is valuable in military
presentations. One product which appears to
have escaped proper attention ON the part of
the sentimental is the numerous varieties of
air plants which come from Brazil and other
tropical countries. We suggest that the flower
OF this is peculiarly adapted to those creatures
who, in the eocene period of love, live on air.
The Alpine rose, found mid the SHOWS of the
Alps, is the rarest of European flowers that
can be given. II does not reach here,
although there are not wanting devotees who
will buy the choicest. We drain the sur
rounding cities of their floral wealth even
California, India, Japan, Mexico and tropical
America yield their rarest plants to cultivate
among US more delicate and keener courtesy.
To-day we Gull the flowers of the world by our
steam communication. The locomotive, solid
and practical as it is, is wandering harper of
than all the harpers that traversed Europe in
the feudal period; for it brings to our senses
what they left to our Imagination. By our tele-
graph, laconic and earnest, we may offer
flowers at the shrine of friendship or love- or
may lay wreath by the side of the dead thou
sands of miles distant. Thus, as the world
marches onward even its flower treasures
belong not to him in whose garden they are
grown, but to all the world.
Flora is goddess who receives more true
worshir .I-..a-anS otner; although ~mem-
Der an Aztec monarch who said that bed of
Goals upon which the Spaniards were roasting
him was sweeter than bed of roses. He did
especially the Tlascalans, who still hold an
annual festival of flowers and feathers, in
commemoration of their nationality which sank
in blood three hundred years ago. The dreamy
Orient furnishes us proof of how the beautiful
may be misapplied. An Eastern monarch,
tired of his cabinet, invited them to feast and
so showered them with flowers that they were
smothered to death. The more practical
American would think this wanton waste of
that which might be applied to better pur-
pose in more delicate direction, and would
scarcely show his lack of true politeness by
throwing away such treasures for such results
Next to human beings flowers come nearest
perfection as work OF God. While we in our
civilization recognize this in our worship of
them, we can also point 10 the Esqumaux,
who, near the North Pole, culls from its icy
caskct blossom to decorate some dusky form
which he admires. The Patagonian Indian, at
the southern extremity Of our Continent, pauses
in his depreciation against the Buenos Ayrean
frontier to pick the beautiful little red flower,
the ''Margarita," that he may pander to that
love Of the beautiful which, wherever man
wanders, is the connecting LAX between him
and his Creator
The taste for flowers in our city has grown
with far greater rapidity than the increase of
population. Our German element, as well as
our native population, is very much addicted to
this taste. The Irish also, with their limited
means and characteristic generosity, are not
behind. All this shows how quickly we are
moving towards civilization as lofty in the
most delicate Of tastes as 1t Is solid in every
thing required to produce a great people.
Flora riots in midwinter, and American pro-
gress is a continuous springtine.