River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-01-29
ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS.
Who Make Them, and How They Are
Made
Boston Transcript

FrencA flowers are always made in
France. Sometimes they are fashioned
by the taper fingers of young girls,
sometimes by the trembling hands OF
lonely old women, and sometimes
whole families unite to manufacture
them, everybody, from the father to the
tiniest child, taking part in the work.
Mr.. Cnampney tells pretty story of
an ugly old maid who assiduously
studied botany, and practiced the imita-
ton of moses, ferns, and berries until
she could deceive milliners and even
naturalists, and they both believed that
she had discovered the secret of making
a varnish in which she dipped the pro
ducts of the fields and hedges thus pl E.
serving their color and shape. She
lived in France, of course. Then there
was the pretty girl who remained at
home, and only worked for special GUS
toners filling orders for garnitures to
match costumes, and using materials
too costly and rare to be employed III
flowers to be sold to the general public.
She lived in France too. So general IS
the impression that all flower-makers
also live in the same country, that the
American maker of artificial blossoms
is almost unknown to fame, except
through the exertions of that genial ro-
mancer, the New York reporter, who
occasionally speaks of her as dying OF
arsenic poisoning, and recants his
statement the next day. Nevertheless,
two-thirds of the "French" artificial
flowers used in the United States are
made here, and most of them are made
by Americans.
The number of flower makers in and
around Boston is between three and
four hundred, and nearly oil of them
are Americans. About twenty-five
French girls, pupils of the best Partisan
manufacturers, have taught their fell
low-workmen their business, and have
taught them so well that three out of
five of their pupils can equal the work
| of the teach ers. A very large number
of flower makers live in New York, and
in that city the work is subdlvided al
most as infinitely as it is in France, a
few men and women monopollzlng the
production of certain parts OF the flower.
For instance, all the stamens pistils,
| which are known to the trade as
"peeps," are made by an old French
| man in New York, and the rubber
calyxes and stems are the work ofhands
that never touch petal.
The work is less artistic and more
mechanical than one would suppose
possible until one had seen it done. The
petals are stamped out of the fine,
! smooth nainsook called flower muslin,
and then go to the dyer, who gives
them their color, artf1llY contriving to
shade it so as to initiate nature and
leaving very little for the pencil Of the
artist who manipulates the leaves oil
variegated blossoms. The exouisitely-
shaded rose petals owe their gradations
of color to the dyer, with whom it rests
to give them that fiery red which Is
said to make them a good substitute for
rouge, or to leave them almost as pale
in hue as when they come TO him.
After they leave his hands they are
separated and given to the makers, who
arrange them properly, the new begin,
ners constantly referring to natural
flowers placed before them as models
and the old hands trusting to then
trained memories, except when filling
special orders.
The work Of the 'sbrancher" is quite
as important as that Of the dyer, for Il
is she who aIrsrges the completed bios
SONS so as TO set oil the beauties O
each one, and gives them that catura
look which ordinary fingers cannot imi
tate. Her task is purely artistic, ano
is so difficult that many who have mas
tered every other part of the business
fail when they undertake her work
The best milliners employ branches o
their own, and many a spray Of French
| flowers contains blossoms culled from
half dozen xreatbs by American fling
ers, and put together TO suit some
special bonnet The wearer never
knows the difference: wonders why it il