The times., 1901-03-31
SPRINGS REIGNING GLORY
Flora With Her Wand Holds Sway
at Easter Season.
The Rose StiH Ascendant ~ Queen
OF the Flower Garden - Products
From the Little Kingdom Ruled by
Queen WiIheIrninn-OId NoseEnys.

Queen WiIheIininn-OId NoseEayE.
The spring, and especially Easter tir2e
is the season of flowers. However these
dainty productions OF the earth may APP
peal to one whether as a reigniug fad
/ or fancy. or with some deeper siSniti-
canoe of beauty and fragilty and evan
! escence. a growing taste for them in a
people denotes an cyer-increasing love for
the beautiful. The windows of the low
er stores at this season are concentrated
masses of delicate splendor, where the
fashionable triumphs Of the horticultur-
lists art appeal to the posscssor of fuil
purse TO come inside and purchase. With
such a purchaser the natural considera-
ton is, What is the style this year.
and ii Il lady wishes to deck her boudor
or adorn her corsaee or hair. or gen
tleman wishes to make present to a
! lady. either viii do well to select roses
Tor the desired purpose. The rose is stil
queen Of flowers. and the American
Beauty is the queen of roses and viii
doubtless continue to hold its supremacy
FOR many years to come.
The Easter demand for lilies this wear
has been exceptionally large over half
million dollars worth have been i'm
ported from Bermuda alone. notwith-
standing the disease which has attacked
the bulbs in that country. Great numbers
OF this flower have also been obtained
TINS season from Japan. its original home,
where 1t hOurished many thousands OF
years ago. Numerous persons prefer the
Gala to the Easter lily, objecting to the
heavy perfume Of the latter There has
always been attributed to the white and
gold flower something divine, and it is
generally held to he, at Christmas and
Easter, the fittest adOrnment Of the
Christian altar
The carnation is the "fad" this season.
When the United States attempts any
thing in the flower line it usually excels.
and carnations being the rage. it has pro-
duced the finest carnation the world has
ever seen, the Thomas Lawson" named
after its originator. native of Boston.
who received no less than s35. 900 for the
first series of cuttings from his match
less production. There have been many
fancy varieties produced since, but none
to compare with the Lawson 1t is of
exceptionally large size, of an exquisite
pink shade, and possesses a delightful
fragrance. The manner in which the car
nation IS being cultivated at present is
truly remarkable.
Under the hands of expert growers it
has been made to assume almost every
hue and combination of hueS Imaginable
The genus Diantnus, to which it belongs
in common with the pink lends itself to
a well-nigh infinite variety Of cross
breeding or hybridiZation. The original
carnation was, in fact, a hybrid and was
hrst produced py a French gardener some
300 years ago. It's color was nearer blue
than pink, its edges fringed to q depth
OF fully quarter OF an inch, while Il
was possessed of no odOr, and its stem
was 50 inadequate to supporting its
weight that an artificial holder was nee
eSsary to enable the flower to maintain
an upright position All these features
have been gradually eliminated The pen
clilngS that have been made TO appear
on the pure white carnation are especial
~ noteworthy. and often produce most
piquant effect. As the darker shades of
carnations possess least udor, il is now
being attempted to graft the varieties so
that perfume and richness OF color Will
be united An interesting experiment. in
this connection is at present being con
Quoted by some English growers This is
10 make the pansy as odorous as the vio-
let, and. from present indications. sue
cess may be predicted.
1t is q remarkable fact that Dutch
growers still maintain the pre-eminence
which they have held for the past several
hundred years in the production Of such
flowers as hyacinths narcissus, tulips
crOcus. rhododendrou. etc. A practical
illustration OF this fact was furnished In
one Of the large flower stores Of this city,
where he encountered travelling sales
man representing Dutch nrrn. This
gentleman travels all over the world. sup
plying dealers in this country and else
where with the flowers. the growing OF
which in perfection may he said TO be
confined 70 the northeastern portion Of
Holland The fact that this little section
OF the world is able to keep up its pres
tige in the production of certain kinds OF
flowers since the sixteenth century is all
the more remarkable when one reflects
that eighteen years have sufIiCed for the
degeneration of the Bermuda My and
now that Japan has put its floral wares
on the market and attempted to supply
the world the same deterioration is being
noticed by American dealers in bulbs
from that country. 50 much that fully
- per cent OF the inportations from both
localities this season have been found ut
teTly worthless. This seeming riddle is.
however very easy to explain la the
first place, the climate and the soil
of that portion of Holland where the
flowers are produced are ideal The latter
IS sandy crust permeated by the water
beheath, constituting a perfect system OF
natural irrigation. In the second place,
the Dutch growers form a most decided
contrast, in their methods. to the flora
cultuTists of Bermuda, Japan. and other
places, with these latter the chief OBJ
Ject appears TO turn their cash as rapidly
"a possible. In order 10 do this the bulbs
have been forced and the best stock has
been exhausted by expectation, the in
feTior kinds being kept for Teplanting
The result has been that a poorer crop
has been produced each successive year
and the stock bulbs have become so
weakened by continual forcing that they
have been rendered peculiarly liable to
disease which, in fact has now attack ed
them, and threatens a virtual extinction
of the industry in both Bermuda and ia
pan The Dutch growers, on the other
hand. do not export their best stock, and
carefully reject and destroy all inferior
grades.
They DO not force their bulbs. no mat
ter how pressing may be the demand for
an early crop, or how profitable their
compliance with such demand. They pur-
sue the same clean business methods that
their ancestors for many genera tianS
nave followed. and whether this arises
from patriotism, conservatism. or what
not. ii cannot be denied that il is saiu-
tary example TO other parts of the world
and to merchants and manufacturers i'm
other lines than flower raising
4 TALK WITH 4 FLORIST.
'I remember" said an old flower dealer
in this city, when the taste of the time
in the matter of flowers ran mostly to
bouquets and set pieces of the most for
NAL types. A collection of the various
styles OF bouquets in use in 1868 to 1870 If
eXhibiteu today would probably attract
more attention on account of their oddity
Of form and formal construction than any
o. the artistic decorations seen in our
show windows. There was mathematf-
cal eXactness about the arrangement of
eAch row OF Mowers which is seen no
where at the present time In horticultural
work, except possibly in the ribbon beds /
where foliage plants are grown.
"Cam"iias used TO he the principal |
flowers used. and what with wiring
tooth-plcking, and trussing up generally !
the making of bouquet was quite 4 la
borlous task. Notwithstanding this fad
which, OF course. had to be catered 10 by |
the trade, there were true artists who un- /
ucrstood and appreciated the beauty Of
the flowers themselves and the possibilf-
ties of arranging them with taste and an
lT.fiNs l.