The Washington times., 1894-11-18

sMum's'' the flower, il not the word, in
every household at this season in Washington.
The Queen of Autumn is so much in evil
dence everywhere that she may be said to be
reigning supreme, but that is only flower of
speech, for roses red and roses white and
violets blue are not so easily pushed from
their high places by your Chinese or japanese
usurpers.
ONLY ten wears ago nobody would contra
dicJ the statement that a chrysanthemuIn by
any other name would smell as sweet. Helne
saws that the perfume OF hoWers is their
hymn Of praise to the Creator, but II such be
the fact. and II is a very pretty cOnceit. the
chrvsanthemum badly needs instruction, for
1t is no more a sweet psalmist now than II
was decade ago. or at the date OF lis blrth.
The success OF the debut of the chrysan-
themum in society was not due TO the ap-
proval of that delicate sense winch is charmed
by the rose. the violet, or the honeysuckle
i know" said an expert yesterday at one
of the flower counters. THAT il Is the iashlon
only that enables the chrysanthemum TO hoia
its own. A great many people who buy them
really don't like them, and you can see LOT
yourself that when you look at them closely
they are coarse flowers.
They are the most easily initiated OF all the
things we sell. With scissors or a penknife
and a few leaves OF white cabbage / can per-
form miracle Just as wonderful as the hot
house production OF that immense Minnie
Wannamaker' which you see noddIng and
lolling so lazily there in the window.
.'You asked ne something about the cause
Of the success Of the introduction Of the mum
as a society flower. Well, l think 1t can be
explained on the principle Of fine physique,
an9 ShpEVu the cnarkls OF
diamonds. the sheen OF silver, aud the CLEAN
Of gold when these assist a young woman on
her coming out. 1t was the gigantesque. the
bizarre. the fiashy that helped the chrysan-
themum TO a temporary seat on the throne.
II say temporary, but 1 don't want you TO
say so, yet / know that the decaaence OF the
craze is near at hand. / haven't time TO give
snv. reason but one. and that is that fashion
can't make a soulless flower immortal
Whether this prediction be true or not. the
craze is still on. short walk from the
emporium where this prophesy was uttered
brought TIE TIMES flower observer TO the
corner Of Eleventh and f. which for a month
or so has been an open-air flower market.
lacking the picturesque in the circumstance
that there were no hower-girls there.
The flower merchants were ali colored boys
an all colors except the pure white. They were
selling Frank Thompsons, " 'Dianas. Mrs.
George Chnds, ''Gloriosums,' Minnie
Wanamakers," Golden Weddings" and
"Ivorys.n
But these "mums" were the diIainutiyes.
the unforced products Of the suburban farms
The very rich folks-''tbem as rides in car
riages. as the Marchioness puts lido not
patronize these places, nor do the dudes who
are always dressed and who sport diamonds
pig enough 10 match a slX-inch diameter
s'Ivorv" Yet the great masses of the people
who come and go. especially women, are
lila "a
earliest blossoms in the fields OF pink and
white clover.
ANY one can be as crazy as he orshe pleases
for a quarter They will sell you bunch
for 10 cents Or three punches for 25 cents, one
bunch red, another white, and another yell
low. and there YOU are quite in the fashion
and in all abundance. out of the three
punches you can make 4 corsage bouquet
on ten to one you do that right on the spot
ana out of the rest there is a flower apiece
for the grown-up boys and hubby and the
rest will fil a vase for center piece on the
dinner table.
Sometimes you viii see a purchaser raise
the ''scentless and dead flame to her nose
but that is done in an abstract mood Just as
you see a young girl, with dress up to her
knees. clutch at her skirts when she walks
daintily over few rain drops On the pave
ment. 1t is the force OF habit.
OF cOursethere is q big traffic in chrysan-
themums at the flower stalls in the Center
Market. but somehow or other the idea OF in
congruity OF odors strikes one foreibly there.
There is something essentially lnharmoni-
Gus In the blended sensation of veal and yio-
lets or sausages and sassafras. Nothing will
impress this on you more forcibly than being
on the spot.
As YOU try to gaze in ethereal rapture on
the carnations and pinks and vioiets and
roses. and even on the yoluptuous queen Of
.H-4 -r
your ideality by the Whit Of the slaughtered
lnnocents that comes from the adjacent stalls.
But really the chrysanthemum does not
contribute to this infusion of odors 1t has
nothing to contribute. They, nevertheless,
monopOllze the flower stalls.
They come in from the rural districts by
thousands and tens OF thousands, and nearly
every purchaser Of roasts and fries or boils
goes of with Hover, spray, or bunch OF
the flowers, glorious, yellow, golden. "
They do not appear TO suffer by contact with
more earthly, less subtle things.
A little girl. with frowsy hair. slip-shod
calico dress. faded and frazzled and 'fringed
at the bottom. walked up to a flower stall
yesterday morning, slapped basket OF sau-
sages and tripe down on a flower counter and
said. 'Gimme cent kisanteum."
Well: she got a half dozen OF quite pretty
ones, pulled out the best one. stuck it cross
wise over a raveled gray jacket, flung the
rest on top Of the sausages, and marched of
IN the fashion.
Another, an old lady. at another stall
bought a bunch. She WAS also arrayed some
what in the antique. She, however. bought
three bunches for quarter. She stuck a whole
bunch Of the yellow fin de steele phenomenon
in her corsage. and the effect in combination
with an antediluyian hat and African ostrich
feathers was at least novel il not a la mode.
What did she do with the other two punches.
just imagine. She said:
"Wrap them up with the rabbit; they will
be easier tv carry.
a Hard-wOrkiug Monarch.