COMMERCIAL CARNATIONS. 171 



we would occupy our bench space only with the best, our cus- 

 tomers would know, when oixiering a certain color, just what 

 they were going to receive. 



Suppose one of us were to order a thousand white carna- 

 tions in Chicago today, not knowing the condition of the 

 market. What would he get? If the supply is large, he 

 will likely receive iine Whiter Enchantress or White Perfec- 

 tion. If the market is short, he will get a mixture of perhaps 

 live or six varieties, from White Enchantress down to short- 

 stemmed White Lawson. 



Why grow all these varieties when they find a market 

 only when the best are out, and then are not satisfactory to 

 the buyer? I think practically all of you will agree with me 

 that the Enchantress family, consisting of Enchantress, White 

 Enchantress and Rose Pink, stand preeminently at the head 

 of commercial carnations in commerce at the present time. 

 White and Rose Pink Enchantress show considerably more 

 vigor of growth with us than does the original variety. 



White Enchantress also has the advantage of being the 

 best keeper of the three, — a cardinal point to be considered 

 when choosing a commercial carnation. Rose Pink, while 

 not having the best of keeping qualities, is invaluable for re- 

 tail trade on account of its size and pleasing color, but from 

 a wholesale point of view this is a drawback which cannot 

 be overlooked. 



In red carnations we have Beacon and Victory, either of 

 which could not have attained the commercial success it has 

 without the other, for this reason: Beacon is very prolific 

 during December and January, and the bulk of the crop 

 comes at the holiday season when red is in greatest demand 

 and brings the largest financial returns. As to Victory, you 

 can depend upon the first flowers cut being of saleable 

 quality, and while the bulk of the crop is over by Christr 

 mas, they pay well for their room until the latter part of 

 February, when they are in crop again to stay until thrown 

 out to make room for young stock, the quality remaining 



