492 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



considered the extra expense of express and freight rates both in the 

 transportation of the crops produced and in the transportation of the 

 material actually required for the work, such as fuel, manure, etc. 

 Ordinarily, however, many choice locations can be found in the vicin- 

 ity of a city where half an acre or an acre of ground can be secured 

 at a price of from $250 to $500 per acre. It is not always practicable, 

 however, to secure land as reasonably as this; more often, half an acre 

 of such land will cost $500. 



Starting with such an area of land, three houses may be con- 

 structed, each at a cost of $1,000. In these may be grown roses, car- 

 nations, and violets. In this connection it is necessary to emphasize 

 the fact that these crops can not be successfully grown all in the same 

 house. Each requires a special temperature and special treatment, 

 and hence the necessity for division of labor. With the land costing 

 $500, three houses, $3,000, general equipment, $500, and a home for 

 the grower costing at least $1,000, we have an investment of $5,000. 

 The gross income from such a place should be at least from $3,000 

 to $3,500 annually and the net income from $1,800 to $2,000. 



If such an establishment is rightly planned in the beginning, it 

 may be extended until the entire half acre is covered with glass. In 

 such an event, of course, the grower will have to depend entirely on 

 the outside for his soil and manure, but this is not a difficult problem 

 in the vicinity of a city. The gross income from such an establish- 

 ment should be from $10,000 to $12,000 and the net income from 

 $3,500 to $4,000. 



Specialization in this field will be conducted in about the same 

 manner as already described, except that the grower will limit him- 

 self to one crop, such as roses, carnations, or violets. There are some 

 advantages in this and some disadvantages. The advantages arise 

 chiefly from the fact that it seldom happens that all three crops fail 

 in one season, while it sometimes occurs that one crop, for reasons 

 which can not well be controlled, either falls off materially or else 

 fails completely. A complete failure, however, is or should be very 

 infrequent unless through bad management or lack of knowledge on 

 the part of the grower. Specialization offers opportunities for grow- 

 ing crops of the highest quality and for competing in the market for 

 the very best prices. The cost of such work is practically about the 

 same as for general flower growing, already described. The oppor- 

 tunities, however, are more restricted, for the reason that to compete 

 in this field one must grow the very best material. In other words, 

 to be a specialist means the growing of the very best of crops. To be 

 a specialist, furthermore, means certain knowledge and a certain 

 temperament which are difficult to find. The general gardener, or 

 one who has been trained an the growing of a number of crops, very 

 frequently fails when he attempts to specialize, because he knows 

 too much about too many things to make a good specialist. Some of 

 the best specialists in violet growing are men who have known little 

 or nothing about growing any other crops, and have gone into the 

 business from the workshop or from the farm. Going into business 

 in this way, the prospective grower has no preconceived ideas or no- 



