Wichita eagle., 1889-09-17
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
THE ART FLORIST AND WHAT HE
DOES FOR SOCIETY IN GOTHAM.
He Appears at First Sight TO Be a Sort
of Fancy Man, but Acquaintance Shows
That He Fills Valuable Place-A Brief
Sketch From Life.
Tspecssl Correspondence.1

pleXity of modern life is constantly produc-
ing new industries The latest of these Is the
trade or profession of the art florist, although
the name gives very incomplete idea OF the
fact. The art florist, like the old fashioned
florist, is the proprietor of hot houses and the
other facilities for growing the finest forms OF
vegetable life. Beyond this he must be a
landscape gardener, an art decorator and
scientific hOrticulturlst.
One Of the leading members of this new
guild is a man of Astoria. In speaking OF
his vocation he said: | went into this bust
ness three years ago. / had been florist
practically all of my life, and | had noticed
the growing demand for experts ii new and
peculiar fields Of Horticulture. The demand
came from the wealthy classes, and as the
remuneration was very handsome, l con-
Guided TO make it a speciality, which did.
The business is very pleasant, but very try
ing Ny own experience Will give fair
notion of its difficulties.
/ was sent for on one occasion to see
fernery in Pennsylvania. The owner of the
place had built some mounds Of rock and
powders and planted them with ferns, moses
and forest plants. Re and his gardener took
every care of them, but nearly all the plants
withered and died. | examined the place
very critically, and was greatly puzzled. [
was on the point of giving the matter up,
when it occurred to me to study the powders
of which the rockeries were made. | pulled
one out and shattered it with sledge ham
mer, and then found that, instead OF being
stone, if was Stag from some furnace in the
neighborhood, 50 full of lime and sulphur as
TO be a deadly poison to whatever plant grew
near IL. / re-made the mounds, substituting
genuine rocks for these furnace products, and
there has been no trouble there since.
Another source of trouble and loss, and
one that grows daily more and more com
mon, is the poisoning Of the atmosphere Of
conservatories by sewer gas, and especially
by ordinary illuminating gas Such places
are almost always lighted by gas, and the
pipes are generally so arranged that when
they leak the gas escapes into the soil as well
as into the air The latter is bad enough, but
the former is ruinous. A very small amount
of gas will kill the strongest tree, as every
body knows who lives in large city. The
only safe rule is to have the gas pipes run on
the outside OF the conservatory, introducing
a branch through the side or top, wherever
it is desired to locate burner Far better
still is il to use the electric light, which not
only does no harm but actually benefits the
plants upon which it falls.
Floral designing is an endless task Every
customer has some hobby which must be
obeyed 10 the letter.
One wishes the most brilliant floral effects
and mas his garden or grounds laid out With
only the brightest colored flowers; another
prefers leaf effects, and has every where great
beds of plants with differently colored leaves:
a third runs to vines and creepers, and IN
dulges in ivy, wistaria and Virginia creeper
upon his builders and every conceivable vine
upon poles, trellises and arbors; fourth
cares only for orchids, and a fifth for rare
exotics.
The public is unaware Of the vast amounts
Of money which are annually expended IN
horticultural channels II must be up in the
millions presume that the hate Mrs Nor
gan spent million dollarsin ten years upon
her orchids and exotics Jay Gould and
John F. Hoey are two royal patrons of the
floral world in the same direction. There
are many notable collections around New
York city.
Jay Gould's summer home at Irvington is
probably the most expensive, if it is not the
handsomest. He has one newly discovered
orchid that is valued at s. $50.
Charles A. Dana owns q garden at Glen
Cove which, to my eve, is as near an APP
preach ~ perfection as human skin can pro-
duce. Mrs. S. l.. II. Barlow, a neighbor of
Mr. Danas, has a magnificent establishment
in this respect a grapery there is a feature
of the place. It is 50 thick and luxuriant as
10 almost form perfect shelter AGAINST wind
and rain.
Martin B. Brown, the public printer, has a
garden and conservatory at Rockaway which
are extremely beautiful. The 1onkers resi-
dence of the late Samuel j. 1Ilden rs another
superb specimen of the florists art 1t is not
kept up as 1t was during the lifetime of the
owner, baE even today 1t ranks with the high
est. Ex-Mayor William r. Grace has made
his property at Great Neck. Long Island
into a very beautiful spot, but has depended
more upon landscape gardening and the mass
ing of plants rather than upon floral display.
Vice President Levi Z. Morton has a su-
perb place at Rhinebeck. Its prior owner,
William Kelly, was a perfect monomaniac
upon horticulture, and devoted a good por-
ton of his life and fortune to make the rough
farm into an earthly paradise. lie more than
ton purchased the property he found himself
in possession OF the most beautiful place IL
that part Of the state The estate known
after George Law and John J. Cisco, on
Staten Island, is another charming simple of
horticultural science. i very notable dis
play of Horticulture is found at John H. Star
ms Glen Island. Not only are the flowers of
the highest beauty and the greatest variety,
but the palms, ferns, cycads and other exotics
make up one OF the noblest collections In the
United States
OF the suburbs of New YORK many are
notable for their uglinesS and utter absence
Of taste, while others are extremely beauti-
full Those in which floral and horticultural
art have beeA largely employed are, in the
order Of their beauty, Irvington, Rhinebeck,
" aslHngtOn Heights, Orange, Greenwich,
{ Rockaway. The taste and
tendency toward floral art are largely on the
increase, and promise many acoessions 10 the
new profession OF the art florist.
TAIES-C'JRTIS