THE PRINCIPLES OF 

 FLORICULTURE 



CHAPTER I 



IMPORTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE 

 FLOWER INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED 

 STATES AND CANADA 



FLORICULTURE is the art and business of growing and 

 marketing flowers and ornamental plants commercially, 

 and of growing them for home, park and cemetery em- 

 bellishment. There are two distinct methods of culture, 

 under glass and in the open. Th^ subject .lay be further 

 divided into various phases, such as amateur floriculture, 

 conservatory plant culture and commercial flower-growing. 



1. Amateur floriculture. Amateur flower-growing in- 

 terests probably the greater number of persons. Within 

 recent years there has come to be a general interest in 

 home ornamentation. People are seeking knowledge 

 regarding the proper care c . house plants and the selection 

 of species and varieties of garden flowers for the home. 

 The subject is a broad one and covers many interesting 

 topics, such as plant propagation, the care of house plants, 

 bulbs for indoor and outdoor planting, and garden flowers. 



2. Conservatory plant culture. The art of growing 

 plants which have unusually attractive flowering habits 

 or beautiful foliage is interesting a large number of Ameri- 



B 1 



