The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1872-01-25
STREET FLOWER GIRLS.
The Trade In Flowcrs-Whcrc They Come
From-How They are Disposed Of.


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The fashion of wearing button-hole
bouquets came, like most other fashions,
from France. A young and very pretty
girl conceived the idea of standing with
a basket of flowers on the steps of the
Jockey Club and presenting to each men,
Der single flower as he passed. The
plan proved eminently successful, and
Mile. Isabelle became quite the rage.
She followed the Club to all the races,
and wore the colors of Count Lagrange,
the owner of the famous Gladiator.
From that time flower in the button
hole became quite an institution, and
finally developed the button-hole bou-
quet, which is now considered dc rique,tg
for wedding toilet.
The poor little girls who accost the
theatrical visitor with piteous entreaties
to buy bouquet, are the true successors
of the famous Isabelle, but do not re-
ceive quite such handsome pay for their
blossoms. For she often received gold
Napoleon for single rosebud, while the
little bouquets proffered by these chill
dren are sold for only ten cents. These
perishing wares are arranged on board
pierced with holes for their reception
and invariably appear very bright and
blooming. A closer inspection shows
the critical purchaser that some of the
flowers, such as fucshias, verbenas, and
heliotropes, have faded, but these are
only the sides of the bouquet, the centre
being almost invariably occupied by a
large tuberose or q blush rose. Next to
this is generally mass of scarlet gera-
mum, and the whole has backing of
scarlet geranium leaves. The stalks are
left pretty long, so as to enable the pur-
chaser to pin the bouquet to the inside
| lapel of his coat.
These flowers come almost entirely
from New Jersey, and principally from
Union Hill near Orange. The little
! girls buy them from the men and women
who keep stalls about the Astor House
Vesey street, and the vicinity. These in
| dividuals are, some of them, owners of
nurseries and hot houses, and in some
instances worth several thousand dollars
During the day time they sell what they
can themselves, and then toward the
afternoon they dispose of the remainder
of their stock to the children, from
whom they receive four, five and six
|
of stock they have to get rid of. The
flower girls then arrange them on theil
perforated boards, give them light
| sprinkling of water, and take their sta.
tions along Broadway between and
o'clock, when gentlemen are very gooc
customers for flowers. Even among the
florists the greater part of the profit
comes from the orders of gentlemen, la.
dies not purchasing, often apparently
from feeling that flowers ought to bt
bought for them, not by them. The re-
mainder of the little girls flowers they
have no market for, until the theatre
are open. Then they present their boards
TO all the gentlemen accompanied will
ladies as sort of mute appeal to theil
gallantry. Generally the fair ones, either
from motives of coquetry or of pity
evince wish for floral decorations, ant
the fower-girls are made happy. Bu
on wet nights, and on wet afternoons III
one will stop to buy flowers, and tho Lit
tie vendors find themselves in straits O
difficulty. They then try the larg,
lager-beer saloons and the concert-gar
dens, but this they do with reluctance
for the men in those places are coars
and brutal, and seldom will give NOR
than five cents. Those children who ar
sent out by drunken parents to sell thei
bouquets, have then terrible time
Though dying with fatigue and SLEEP
they dare not return until the last on
has been sold under penalty of sever
boating Little things of seven an
eight years may on such nights be seel
taking furtive maps under porticos am
kitchen stoops, curled up in an uneas
ball, witk the little board of bouquets ly
ing by their side. They will often pas
wet and cruelty cold night in thi
manner rather than face the brutaitie
of some drunken father or fierce virag
of mother. All the fower-girls, how
Some are warmly clad and well care
for by their parents, who send thel
regularly to school in the afternoon
Some of these more fortunate ones wor
: in the morning at artificial flower mal
{ ing or tobacco stripping, or some otht
occupation open to children. None
y these are SO remunerative, however,
!, the fower-selling, by which the ne'
r and tidy girls can average 81 da
I Gentlemen like to buy of girls whose a
t tire is decent, and whose hair is triml
Q arranged, and if they purchase from
| shoeless, stockingless, ragged fower-giI
G it is from motives of charity alone. b.
the neat ones, especially those who a
e pretty, have regular customers who bu
4 of them every afternoon, rain or shin
r and who give them little presents {
: holidays. In the winter time the on
door flower business is almost entire
G suspended and the florists have no cor
IS petition from the little flower girls. TIL,
t the respectable ones go regularly to the
l. trades, and the unkempt, ragged on
i peddle matches and big mourning piI
a and sometimes tooth-picks. Up al
l. down over the frozen snow and CO
n pavements they wander, with their pc
s. little naked feet, their faces blue al
It pinched, their fingers cramped with t
Le cold. Sometimes they get frozen
" death, as happened last year to a lit
e French flower-girl, and sometimes tn
Y failing limbs betray them when they I
l. tempt to cross the street, and are driv
l. over. In either case there is a hurri
/ inquest and careless verdict The Il
he tured body, now insensible to pain, g
to the Potters battle-ground, and [
soul of the little fower-girl ascends
those regions where flowers bloom f
ever and know no decaying, and VIII,
N pain, cold and hunger never come
ie 7. Paper.
n A story 10 fold Of laotrra hafnra