The Washington herald., 1907-03-12

OF getting the orchids 20 Washington en-
tirely outside Of the expense of the flow
ers themselves. was more than a hundred
dollars. This was the most expensive
bouquet ever put up by a Washington
florist.
There are only six pure white "Cattlya"
orchids in existence, and three Of these
are in America. These rare specimens are
in the possession Of orchid fanciers. 20
whom they are OF as much value as the
diamonds in a jewel collection. There is
not one of these white orchid plants priced
at less than "a thousand dollars Mrs
Longworth's bouquet was made up of over
hundred of these rare blossoms though
only dozen and a half 'Cattlyas'' were
obtainable- These were gathered from
as many different Conservatives. because
even in the large collections no two could
be found Of the required tint Although
the orchid vogue has grown enormously
IN the last five years. nothing is so pop
ular as the rose, and a New York florist
estimates that at least - per cent of the
money paid for flowers is for this kind.
The enterprising florist belongs to the
American Florists Association. TO the To-
cal society Of his city, and in addition 20
the societies for the several flowers. Such
organizations as the Rose Society and
the Chrysanthemum Society are for the
purpose OF recording. registering. and Civ
ing official christening to new flowers,
also see that no two are given the same
name. The problem of naming them is
rarely difficult. because the new producer
has the names of his family his friends.
and his customers from which to select.
Occasionally. If the new flower seems
likely TO become a favorite. the privilege
Of naming it Is eagerly sought. Thomas
W. Lawson paid $4,000 to have a big car
nation named for his wife
New varieties of flowers are either
seedlings or sports. That is, either the
pollen of two existing kinds is mixed,
thus getting new variety called seed
lings, or "A bed of seedlings is planted
II the goddess Flora is kind. somewhere
in this bed a flower viii grow the same
in size, odor. and shape. but different in
color. called a sport The names Of these
are influenced by their parentage. For
instance, a bed Of seedlings was planted.
which, because of their immaculate
whiteness, were called Bride" roses.
They had not been on the market. and
this planting was a venture TO see if
their color was true" When they
bloomed, single pink flower was dis
covered among them. identical in every
thing except color, which was promptly
designated Bridesmaid" These two
flowers have attained a higher sale than
any two pink and white roses in this
country. There IS scarcely a wedding
not adorned with them, in spite of re-
peated efforts to bring other varieties
into vogue. Mr. Lawson's pink carnation
has in the same way produced a big
white caTnatiOn, which. in honor of its
tlusrious parent is called the White
Lawson"
Catchwords are sometimes employed as
cognomens. for advertising purposes, and
sometimes even q rechristening is per
missible if there is reason to suppose it
viii bring a new lease of life. The
American Beauty" is not an American
rose at all. and there is q discussion as
70 whether it was produced on English or
French soil It's producer was q Mr..
Brady. an English gardener. and it was
advertised in France by the name of
Madame Ferdinand Jamain 1t failed alb
solutely- Partisan florists derided its
faded color" and Brady brought II to
America 1t was difficult TO produce. be-
cause of the odd blend Of its color. but
once started. il proved the hardest Of
roses Mr. Brady came 10 this country.
and having in mind his recent failure in
France. sold his rose to Field Brothers.
in Washington, for a nominal price.
This firm, who had acquired it for a
trifie, advertised IL thoroughly, and by
making it something of a fad among
Washington society women gave It sufi-
cient popularity 80 sell il for S5,0o0. Since
then it has made more money in America
than any other flower ever sold, and is
still coming fortunes for its growers.
Brady has not Jared so we'll He has
fallen TO the lowest depths Of poverty
and has become embitteTed and hopeless
from dwelling on the success that has
come to others through his rose.