Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-07-16
WASHINGTON Letter
By HERBERT C. PLUNENTER

WASHINGTON, July 6.-Here a tip to the host
ess who has a tea or an informal dinner on her cal
endar:
A center piece of fresh fruit is quite the thing. 1t
is in vogue at the White House since the Hoovers
moved in. Mrs. Hoover prefers this table decoration
on informal occasions to flowers.
And when a mistress of the White House turns
from flowers to other things for decorative purposes
it is something to think about. There is nothing more
plentiful than her supply Of flowers. She has only
to make her wishes known to get anything she wants,
and in any quantity.
ton monument are flower gardens, greenhouses and
plant nurseries that do. nothing but care
for the needs Of the White House. There are
fifteen greenhouses alone. Three Of these are
devoted exclusively to carnations. All are found in
the others.
More carnations are used at the White House than
any other flower. It is the favorite flower for recep-
tons, teas and garden parties. AS high as $4,000 have
been dsed for one official social function.
ROSES
Next comes the rose-the American Beauty pre-
dominating. This was the favorite flower Of the first
Mrs. Woodrow Wilson. Every day she would send
orders to the White House gardener that bouquets
were to be sent to different hospitals in the city.
While not used so ~profusely as the %carnation. the
rose holds first place always at the more formal re-
c%eptions. On these occasions the geranium plays an
important part as a supplementary decoration.
Orchids are favored for special occasions, such as
diplomatic dinners and the like.
We are told that Mrs. Taft was perhaps the great
est lover Of flowers and the most extensive user Of
them of any first lady.
Every day at 10 o'clock in the morning her orders
would be given to the White House gardener. Scarcely
a day passed that production at the gardens was not
exhausted and acquisitions made on the department
Of agriculture greenhouses.
And the average production of the gardens during
the whole Taft administration was 10000 roses and
100000 carnations.
MRS. TAFT PLEASED
That the flowers were a constant source of Ioy to
her IS evidenced by one paragraph in the book she
wrote after she left the White House:
For my first dinner as mistress of the White
House I chose pink Killarney roses for table decora-
ton, and it would be difficult to express the pleasure
I felt in having just as many of them as I needed by
merely Issuing instructions to have them delivered.
The White House greenhouses and nurseries were a
source Of constant joy to me. They are quite famous
for their orchids, and this most extravagant Of all
flowers I always used for table decorations at diplo-
matte dinners"
Wax plants Of the most delicate and varied nature
are grown in the gardens and used largely. Lilies are
popular also. One large greenhouse is used for pro-
ouclng malden-hair ferns ofthe most delicate texture
for table use and room adornment.
A method has been devised whereby the White
House may be provided green carnations on st. Pat
rick's Day. Through the skill Of the gardener it is
almost impossible to distinguish them from their nat
ural color.
John Haynes Holme says that any man who gets
married has to sacrifice so per cent of his individual
liberty. Thou optimist, ~John.-Camden Post.
The conservative opinion, in England, is that the
hands that rocks the cradle rocked the boat.-Macon
News.
Il begins to look as II Harry Sinclair Is entitled to