The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-10-02
FLOWER LOVERS PADS.
London Florists are Worried by the
 Singular Likes and Dislikes.

London Express.
 The perfumes of flowers exercise con- siderable effect upon the air of living rooms; hence many people are most scrupuIously careful what sort Of cut blooms they have in their aprtments. To what an extent this is carried the writer had no idea until. when in West End florists the other day, he happened to oyerhear a fashionably dressed lady giv- ing some orders.
 Now, remember she said. mo lilies They make me faint. and the odor of put some roses in the centerpice. Their perfume is delightful"
 These and other recommendations lasted fully a quarter of an hour, but at last the lady took her leave.
 'It is to be hoped" said to the florist "that you do not often come across so capricious a client"
 'Jynfortunately," was the reply, 'it hap pens nearly every day. You would be surprised at the likes and dislikes of cer- tain ladies for certain flowers, and may tell YOU candidly that 1t Is part of our business to bear in mind, when mak- ing bouquets for the dining table or drawing room, the peculiarities Of our customers.
 Many persons are of the opinion that | the perfume of flowers vitiates the air of an apartment This is an altogether false idea and one which prevents many people from inhaling the scent of blos- soms of which they are fond. T can even go further and prove that there is not the slightest danger in sleep | ing in closed room containing odoriferous | blooms, so, personally. have during ny long career as a florist passed hundreds | of nights in a chamber containing hya-
 cinths, narcissi, jonquils, tube roses. and | gardenias and have risen In the inorn- | ing as fresh as a daisy "A little reflection, based on common | sense will show .lat tnls fear of floral | odor is chimerical. Are not the greater
 number of artiiicial scents the extracts of | plants, herbs, or flowers and is the person
 who fears a bunch of magnonette or
 heliotropc equally afraid of her. or his,
 scent bedrenched handkerchief? With
 nine people out of ten the fear is due to | imagination.
 "I have learned by experience. however | that the English are much less prejudiced
 against floral odors than the French | Many a time have made up sprays com posed of three, and even four, sardenias
 for English girls-a flower of which | French women are mortally afraid.
 An eminent British physician, residing | in Paris, once told me that the perfume | of flowers acted on the mind in the same | manner as did spices on the stomach. | dlu not go qulte aS Tar HIS lIdt, TUT dli ol
 us in this world have our likes and dis I likes. and the majority of us are to 8
 certain degree prejudiced. | "I myself object to the smell of cer- tain kind of mimosa and of privet. Theii
 perfume, however, does not affect my | health, but only annoys my olfactory
 membranes, causing an uneasy, nervous feeling.
 "One thing, nevertheless. I always on. | deavor to impress on my customers, and
 that Is never to allow faded flowers to re- | main In room, as, like everything in z | stage of decomposition, they are baneful
 What is more charming upon entering | a drawing-room. studio or study, thar l to see flowers tastefully spread here anc there? They tighten up the scene and
 make one glad. These children of nature | however, want care. It is not every | thing to buy bouquet and place it in
 vase filled with water.
 | Each day the water should be changed | the vase rinsed. and the stems, If posi- | ble, clipped. Water sprinkled on thu | leaves, not on the blooms with spoug'
 also keeps them fresh; but the grea
 secret is in keeping them in a soft light | for if placed in the sun. the evaporation | through the leaves Is so great that tn
 blooms withcr, and their short fife il | over.
 | Remember, 1t is always more pruden
 to buy flowers at florists even if on,
 has to pay little more. than to buy then
 from the hawker in the street, for the lat
 ter invariably sprinkles them with wate
 from the gutter, where microbes mos ! a