THE PROGRESS OF COMMERCIAL FLORICULTURE. 191 



His customers were just as simple as himself, and the whole 

 cut flower trade of Boston probably' would not have sufficed to 

 keep one of our modern flower shops going. Most of us can re- 

 member the time when about the onlj' flowers which could be 

 bought in this city were the few stiffly made bouquets that were 

 brought to town every morning, and offered for sale in the win- 

 dows of some provision dealer or druggist. 



What a contrast with the condition of the flower business of 

 today ! There are plenty of men engaged in it who in general 

 intelligence, education and refinement, are the equals of those in 

 any other line of trade. It is rapidly becoming a business of vast 

 importance ; with a large amount of money invested, with its 

 wholesale, commission, and supply dealers, importers, jobbers, and 

 retailers. It is no longer in the experimental stage, and cannot 

 be successfully conducted at random or by guesswork. Competi- 

 tion and increased investments of capital have brought prices down 

 as low as possible, and the man who does not manage his business 

 carefully and systematically stands but a poor chance to succeed. 

 Foresight, energy, and brains are what tell in the flower trade of 

 today ; and there is room in it yet for more men who are blessed 

 with these requisites. The man who raises the best flowers in 

 the market, of any variety, is always pretty sure of good sales at 

 good prices. With such perishable articles, which cannot be pro- 

 duced at will, there will always occur seasons of glut ; and at such 

 times it is the man that offers the inferior stock who must go to 

 the wall first. 



The tendency of those engaged in growing flowers for the market 

 nowadays is towards specialties. It is certainly better for a man 

 to grow two or three things well and gain a reputation for those 

 specialties, than to produce a little of everything indifferently. 

 Most rose growers now limit themselves to a few varieties, which, 

 for one reason or another, they regard as the most profitable ; and 

 the best success is attained where each variety has a separate 

 house. The number of varieties of roses which may be consid- 

 ered as staple, since they are quoted at wholesale in most of the 

 large markets in this country, is about twenty-five, as follows : 

 Bon Silene, Safrano, Isabella Sprunt, Niphetos, Perle des Jardins, 

 Sunset, Papa Gontier, Souvenir d' une Amie, Mme. Cousin, Sou- 

 venir de Malmaison, Murechal Niel, Cornelia Cook, William Fran- 

 cis Bennett, Pierre Guillot, Bride, Catharine Mermet, American 



