Show CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS trig omania has its roots down in the very cockles of some Americans hearts All my holly and mistletoe ark Im porte from < England announces one ofiNejv Yorks eminent florists When asked why he S aid it sells better and tit higher prices The florist may notbe ananglomanlac but he Is shrewd endugh to find that his customers areA are-A more patriotic florist denounces not only the schemebut thc truth of his rivals statement offering to give him 5100 for one spray of genuine English holly picked from his now ready assortment as-sortment What the outcome of the contest will be the public will probably never know but the fact is palpable that theyforeign decorations are selling sell-ing rapidly Mrs Anson Phelps Stokes always imports im-ports the Tiolly for ther Xmas dinner table ta-ble and so does Mrs Bradley Martin when she takes her Christmtis turkey in America jvhich is seldom The Astors and Mrs Paean Stevens get big boxes of both of the English productions fronj their relatives who live there and it is rumored that Mrs George Gould left a similar order at a London florist this fall for the holiday decoration of he Lakewood home In regardto the holly the desire to have it imported arises from purely snobbish reasons for the American berry and leaf are as jine as nature can make them It Is different with I the mistletoe The domestic product does not approach the foreign growth II in either quality or coloring In the south land where the former abounds the berries are small and white It grows in meagre clusters and the fruit is more scattered Therefore one can forgive the Englishism that reaches to the mistletoe though It comes high not only in growth but price the New York florist receiving I 15 to 20 for one ball This would t probably strike a southerner as ridiculous ridic-ulous when it is remembered how the ceiling can fairly be festooned with it all for the hire of 25cents a day of two little negroes who remaln to tack it up and afterward partake of the dinner din-ner But this American mistletoe no matter mat-ter how unEnglish it is will form the feature of the decoration for some very recherche dinners in New York One fashionable woman Is to have a canopy of mistletoe over the table in the shape of a star heroic In size Incandescent In-candescent lamps scattered through it and as the glistening berries are very reflective the stars shine with a soft diffused light A mirror in the center of the table throws back the points i flight f-light and the table decorations will be bowlsof white roses and holly This is ope of the happiest plans I have gathered gath-ered Easter lilies are to be used by some This is somewhat rushing the season as the use of holly at Thanksgiving was but the flowers have been forced by the florists and many are being bought The churches are not Inclined to this plan as they feel the distinction of the I lilies with the Resurrection day In point of fact church decoration In its i expensive and elaborate sense is going I out Not from a lack of love or generosity gener-osity but a broader feeling of charity The poor of New York are in too serious I seri-ous a condition think Christain folk to justify spending many hundreds of dollars II dol-lars upon flowers alone Therefore the contribution goes as an Xmas gift to I the organized societies One florist told me that where Grace Churchs order for decoration had formerly been from 500 to 5700 it was restricted this year to 200 Even those who would send handsome flowers are requested by the pastors to put money into bread for the hungry ones of the east side The two most prominent florists here have given up all church orders arguing that the demand doesnt pay for the time But the florists are better able to stand the loss than the poor The chancels will be twined in simple sim-ple fashions with smilax ferns will be placed for the day about the altar and placed for the day about the altar All churches no matter how fashionable fashion-able or wealthy say the decoration will end there H HALLMARK |