498 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



grow flower seeds in New York State, and during the sixties flower 

 seeds were grown in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and in 

 New England. The amount raised was, however, never more than a 

 small portion of that needed for the trade, and the greater part of the 

 flower seeds sold was imported from Europe. This condition exists 

 to-day. Flower seeds are grown in a number of places throughout 

 the United States, but only a small portion of the trade is supplied 

 with home-grown seed. Outside of California, limited amounts of 

 flower seeds are grown, the principal kinds being asters, phlox, petu- 

 nia, verbena, portulaca, zinnia, balsam, hollyhock, pansies, sweet 

 peas, begonias, coleus, and some greenhouse plants. (Y. B. 1899.) 



MAGNITUDE OP FLOWER GROWING AS AN INDUSTRY. 



If the farmer will study the following figures which were com- 

 piled some years ago he will readily see the financial possibilities in 

 commercial flower farming by greenhouse methods. These figures 

 do not include the flowers grown as field crops. 



There are not less than 9,000 commercial florists' establishments 

 in the United States. Some of these contain areas of glass which 

 cover acres, while others contain only a few hundred square feet. 

 Taking the country as a whole, it is estimated that there is an aver- 

 age of 2,500 square feet of glass for each establishment, or 22,500,000 

 square feet in all; New York has the largest number of establish- 

 ments, there being not less than 1,100 or 1,200, with glass amount- 

 ing to nearly 4,500,000 square feet ; Illinois, with 600 to 800 estab- 

 lishments and over 4,250,000 square feet of glass, is second; while 

 Pennsylvania, with 800 or 900 establishments and about 4,000,000 

 square feet of glass, is third. The estimated value of the establish- 

 ments in this country, including houses, boilers, and all fixtures, is 

 placed at 50 cents for each square foot of glass, or $11,250,000 in all. 

 The income to the producer will average 50 cents per square foot an- 

 nually, or $11,250,000, and double that amount when viewed from 

 the standpoint of the retailer. Considering the matter from the re- 

 tailer's standpoint, therefore, the total value of the annual output is 

 $22,500,000, or $1 for each square foot of glass. 



It is estimated that the retail value of cut flowers sold annually 

 is $12,500,000, the estimated apportionment of this sum being, for 



Roses $6,000,000 



Carnations 4,000,000 



Violets 750,000 



Chrysanthemums 500,000 



Miscellaneous flowers, including lilies, etc. ... 1,250,000 

 Estimating the average retail value of roses, carnations, and 

 violets at $6, $4, and $1 per hundred, respectively, the total number 

 of each sold annually, based on the above values, would be, of 



Roses 100,000,000 



Carnations 100,000,000 



Violets . 75,000,000 



Total 275,000,000 



