70 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



woman on the Western coast who had a small range of greenhouses 

 in which she raised the usual florist line of goods for some years 

 made large additional profits by raising tomatoes, at a time of year 

 when her houses were empty of flowers, and shipping them while 

 almost green to Alaska. Still another woman earns a good salary 

 by having charge of the shop of a large retail florist establishment. 

 She keeps thoroughly posted on the names and varieties not only 

 of the ordinary flowers but of all the new varieties, and her employer 

 says "knows how to use them, too." A similar position is held by 

 a woman who runs the office departments, keeps in touch with 

 new varieties, writes them up for trade papers, etc., in a large 

 wholesale establishment, the rest of which is run by the men of 

 her family. One runs a market garden with success. Three 

 women have made splendid reputations as landscape architects. 



One of the most important and at the same time pleasing of 

 horticultural pursuits is the growing of flowers — floriculture — 

 which includes both the retail and wholesale florist business. The 

 retail florist business seems to be one to which women who have a 

 love of flowers can readily adapt themselves. The handling of 

 flowers for the retail trade and the designing and making up of 

 bouquets, wreaths, etc., and decorating, seem for a woman of taste 

 not only a pleasing but a profitable business. Of course with this 

 if one goes into business for herself she must combine executive 

 ability. For retail work one can gain knowledge by entering a 

 first class establishment and working up, and although difficult to 

 find in the East, there are well established firms in Baltimore which 

 employ women, while in the Middle West throughout Missouri, 

 Indiana, and Illinois, even in establishments conducted by men, it 

 is quite the custom to employ women to do the above mentioned 

 things. One man frankly told me that for these things, i. e., for 

 making up and decorating, he preferred to employ women, saying 

 that he found that as a general rule they had more taste and that 

 the results were more artistic than when the work was done by men. 

 The store of this particular man is managed by a woman. 



The wholesale florist business is much more intricate and difficult 

 and requires a greater knowledge and greater executive ability, 

 particularly if one desires to combine growing and selling. For 

 the growing one must have had a practical training, even to make a 



