April 12, 1979

200 NYC police clash with 400 striking Teamsters Local 584 milk deliverers who tried to block delivery of raw milk at Sunnydale Farms plant in Bklyn; 14 strikers and 11 officers are injured; union pres William J Whelan comments; illus (M)

O Nplans of some of the great English country houses, there was often a room marked “flowers, where cut flowers from the garden were arranged and set in vases. These days, shrinking city apartments and efficiently planned houses don't have rooms set aside for such activities. Florists usually do the flower arranging, and often the vase is tossed out with the faded flowers. Despite all this, a variety of oversized vases are proliferating in shops across the city. One explanation is that even flowers have their fashions. We are in the era of the big bloom. The neighborhood florist is selling branches of forsythia, quince and dogwood, and the single, albeit expensive, long‐stemmed flower is making a comeback. “The bigger, the better,” said a Manhattan retailer who can't keep the oversized containers in stock.” “It used to be difficult to get a vase that would have the right proportion to hold a five‐foot branch,” added Christian Barclay, who opened his own flower shop last October. “Now, people don't have to cut the branches down.” But what does one do with these giant vases when they are flowerless? Small closets or narrow cabinets can hardly accommodate them. “That's part of the point,” explained Robert Fleischer of The Glass Store. “These vases are large enough to make a statement; even empty, they can sit on the floor or the piano.” And, as one architect remarked: “If it's big enough, you can't accuse it of being a tsatske.”

US and world's other leading industrialized nations formally endorse new GATT agreement, Geneva, after 5 years of negotiations, despite bitter 11th‐hour attack by developing countries that agreement does little for world's poor; deputy special Amer trade repr Alonzo McDonald plegdes Pres Carter's ‘full energies to secure Cong ratification; says agreement is most significant development in internatl trade since establishment of GATT 30 years ago; some provisions of new agreement noted; Strauss illus (M)

Consensus is emerging among Carter Adm's sr econ officials that another increase in interest rates by Fed Reserve is needed to cool off econ's overheated indus sector and curb inflation rate; Treas Sec Blumenthal reptdly is chief advocate of more stringent credit policy; Council of Econ Advisers Chmn Charles L Schultze, Budget Dir James T McIntyre Jr, Commerce Sec Juanita Kreps and chief inflation fighter Alfred E Kahn back or lean towards his view; Treas chief economist Daniel H Brill calls for credit tightening; Adm sources say settlement of trucking indus strike has made tighter credit policy possible; argument against tighter credit, voiced mainly by Labor Sec Ray Marshall, is risk that policy could cause recession (M)

WHEN landscaping a terrace — or even a window box — planning is an even more crucial first step than when organizing a garden on the ground. The aerial garden is not directly connected to Mother Earth, so does not benefit from her normal protective instincts. But a terrace or balcony owner can compensate for this and insure a thriving summer garden.