The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-23
LIVE TOPICS ABOUT TOWN.

comes now the question with the florists
of the city of what will be the fashion in
color and flower. The answer to these
two questions means great deal, and
florists attempting. in tentative way.
to sound public opinion by an early dis
play of their choicest blossoms So the
show windows are filed to overlooking
| with novel shades and species.
We can always count on having a de-
mand for the so-called Easter lily greater
| than we can supply" said one of Wash
! ington's leading florists last night. THE
Easter lily has become so identified with
the season that il will never be entirely
displaced. II seems. however as if this
year it was going to be more than usually
| difficult TO supply the demand. The dis
| ease that attacks the bulbs of the Ber-
muda planters. from whom we get most
| of our stock has become each year worse
| and worse. The few plants that are row
| in bloom show that the loss through i'm
| projections in the flowers will be larger
than it was last year. But the average
| price of the plants will he the same as
last year-from SO to $3.50 a dozen.
FLORISTS who have been cultivating
| their own special colors of flowers have
| been ON the rack for several months.
| waiting to see what would be decreed as
! the color of fashion. The ultimatum
| seems to have been issued. and to be en-
regle this year you must appear in pink,
| or the more delicate shades of red, I'D
| your flower must also have that shade.
LAS for the flower of fashion, l do not
| believe there is any doubt about that. 1t
viii be the carnation. pink in color, OF
| course. The carnation has been rapidly
| growing in favor each year, partly be-
cause of its delicate perfume, and partly
| because of the many colors which 1t has
! been made to take No flower has
| proved itself so capable Of variation in
| form and shade, 1t seems to be able to
| show the most delicate tracings and
nuances Of color. and TO be capable of
almost indefinite development in size. The
cultivation of the carnation promises to
rival that OF the chrySa millennium. which
so astonished the world. Blossoms row
produced are nearly three inches across.
and are giants compared with the puny
little things that used to be grown in gar
dens and called ''pinks'' The wonderful
stripes and spots and edgings which the
carnation has been made to show are
perhaps the most marvellous thing in
Horticulture.
lite among the carnations, but the season
has not progressed far enough for us to
be able to say which one is going to make
the strike. The Roosevelt a deep pink
variety, may sail to popularity because of
its name. The Madame Bradt "a giant
flower. pure white in the main body of
the petal. but sharply striped with narrow
lines at the crinkly edges, until it looks
like floral ball of peppermint candy, is
striking that anyone who sees it cannot
help but buy it, The styles produced last
year. one especially, light yellow and
striped with pink like the Madame Bradt,
are likely To catch the eye.
The advent Of the boys the streets
with trays of violet5 sounds the knell of
that flower In the fashionable world. and
when Easter comes / guarantee there will
be but few of them worn by people of
fashion. The roses. and the lilies Of the
valley will take the place Of secondary
Importance that they have always held
1--WE human creatures are only moths
remarked David Graham. of Boston, SEN
tentiously, as he was leaning against the
clerks desk at the Riggs House last
night. Light has great power of at
traction which it eXerts on mortals as
well as on insects. l felt the power when
] was making a visit at the Thousand
Islands a couple of years ago. 1t was ev-
ening. and for some reason the myriad
electric lamps that decorate the outside
of one of the hotels had not been turned
on. ! started ont on the water in boat
and padded a good distance out in to
the St Lawrence Looking back / saw
the brilliant lamps all a-flare. l tried to
paddle on toward the darkness. but il
seemed that I could not. j found the
prov of my canoe always turning toward
that light. and after many attempts |
finally gave in and made my way back
to the hotel and the lights. I have al
ways marveled at the strange attraction
those lights had for me.
The inclination OF the average Ameri-
can citizen TO get something for nothing
is well illustrated by the propensity OF
members Of Congress to poach on the
newstands. said a boy who stands be-
hind the counter at one OF the big up
town hotels Il am not the one to say
that II is with the intention of saving n
few pennies that Congressman wander
over here in the morning and open one
of the papers for perusal. 1t may be that
they do not realize that they are COM
hitting trespass. and are taking Some
thing for which they give no return. but
1t is a fact that many big men have that
little trick. which you may IL you want
to. call absent mindedness. They fire.
quently buy papers, but more frequently
do not especially if it is Il paper from
out of town. I could point out TO you at
least half 4 dozen Representatives who
make il rule while Congress is in ses-
sion to come up to my counter every
morning and look over the pile OF papers.
The Senators are not much better and
all of them seem to think that what they
are doing Is beyond criticism. Two or
three men come every day and go
through their home papers without ever
thinking of buying them.
These habitual pOachers are the most
annoying, because they never by any
chance buy. The casual class includes
those who come to look at a paper for a
special reason \ friend will have told
them that there is an article in such and |
such a paper which is of interest to them.
and they come merely to have Il look at
the article to what is in it. II they
want the paper Tor further reference they
buy IT: II not, they put ii back | think |
I'll put a wire netting over my stock
next year by way of remoustrance against |
the Congressional pOaching habit"