1900.] ESSAYS. 103 



The best place is n small town or community of prosperous 

 people, retired tradesmen, who do nut travel, but make their 

 homes there all the year. 



Flowers, in a prosperous community, you do not have to 

 market; customers will come to you for them. 1 sell all my 

 flowers at my greenhouses. Parties, balls, receptions, wed- 

 dings are constantly taking place. The profit is in decorating 

 and set pieces, rather than in cut flowers. 



A great advantage in this profession is that there is so much 

 room in it for originality and taste. A branch in which a great 

 deal of money can be made is in the sale of plants ; all kinds of 

 bedding plants are wanted in May and June for lawns, parks, 

 cemeteries, cottages at the seashore, vases, and wayside nooks. 

 Pots tilled with two or three California violet plants in bloom, 

 brought 75 cents in this city last winter. Pansies are in 

 demand in their season. Ferns, palms and orchids grace your 

 dining-rooms, churches, etc. 



The tilling of window-boxes, designing new etfects in jardi- 

 nieres and hanging baskets, is a line in which a woman can be 

 very successful. 



The rose, in all its colors, is one of the most profitable flow- 

 ers to grow under glass. The demand is great, and people must 

 have them. It was about 1874 that the first decided ground 

 swell in floriculture was felt. All eyes were being turned 

 toward the rose. The varieties then grown were far from satis- 

 factory ; larger flowers and a better grade were demanded, and 

 in a short time the growers made gigantic strides in their efforts 

 to produce new hybrids. 



The carnation, the violet, and each flower in its turn ab- 

 sorbed the attention of the floriculturists, which eventually 

 resulted in the perfection of growth, coloring, and many varieties. 



In the last quarter century we have seen introduced the Ber- 

 muda lily, Crozy cannas and their seedlings. We have seen 

 roses propagated during the summer, and distributed by mil- 

 lions and tens of millions, by mail and express. We have seen 

 the home grower successfully compete in budded roses with the 

 foreigner. Cheap and good land, with energy, have beaten 



