IMPORTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT 13 



13. Flower exhibitions. The flower exhibitions (frontis- 

 piece) which are held from time to time in the larger 

 cities, have had a beneficial effect on the uplift of the 

 business. These exhibitions have been viewed by thou- 

 sands of flower-buyers. The choicest products of the 

 flower-grower's skill have been exhibited, and the public 

 has become dissatisfied with inferior grades. They de- 

 mand a better quality such as they have seen at exhibi- 

 tions, and it has been the work of the commercial grower 

 to produce such qualities. 



All these factors have had a marked effect in improving 

 the quality of flowers and plants offered for sale in Ameri- 

 can flower stores. Nevertheless there is still room for 

 improvement. In too many sections, the watchword of 

 the grower has been quantity instead of quality. Plant-^ 

 breeders and investigators of better cultural methods will 

 find investigations regarding plants adapted for green- 

 house forcing, a most fertile field in which to work. By 

 means of the methods used and the results obtained by 

 investigations, it will be possible to produce a wider range 

 of species adapted for forcing under glass, and an ameliora- 

 tion of those species already under cultivation, so that 

 marked improvement will constantly be noted in all 

 florists' crops. 



