THE PROGRESS OF COMMERCIAL FLORICULTURE. 195 



lion wild ferns, two thoiisaiid barrels of moss, four to five tons 

 of ground pine, and twenty thousand j^ards of laurel festoons. 

 These figures are for regular florists' demands, and do not take 

 into consideration the Christmas trade in greens, which of course 

 is very large. 



We must not forget the large sums spent in illustrated cata- 

 logues, many of which are really works of art, and in postage paid 

 on the same ; nor should we overlook the educating influence of 

 the illustrations in such publications, which are generall}' true to 

 nature, with the result that the average flower painter or engraver 

 of today knows better than to sketch lilies with five petals ; and 

 needs not be told that lilies of the valley do not branch or that 

 morning glories do not bear tendrils. The general knowledge of 

 varieties in flowers and of their habits and characteristics, which a 

 florist finds nowadays among his customers, is very gratifying and 

 is significant, showing as it does the educating influence which has 

 been at work — a result which is due largely to the enterprise and 

 liberality of the commercial florists, who have placed the choicest 

 productions of nature's handiwork within the reach of everj'bod}', 

 no matter how poor. 



What a wealth of beauty is displaj'ed in the florists' windows 

 today ! The old stories we used to read in our younger days of 

 the poor city children who had never seen a green field, a rose, or a 

 dandelion are no longer true. The situation has indeei changed ; 

 and rose-buds, violets, sweet peas, and daffodils are now as famil- 

 iar to the eyes of the children of the street as they ever appeared 

 to the most fortunate of their country cousins. 



Is it surprising that horticultural exhibitions, pure and simple, 

 appear to be losing ground ? The time when people would crowd 

 into a hall and gaze with open mouthed wonder on a table covered 

 with dishes of pears and radishes and apples, or rows of bottles 

 filled with a variety of flowers, is past and gone. Commercial 

 floriculture gives the people a free exhibition every day throughout 

 the winter in the florists' windows on Tremont street such as in 

 the horticultural exhibitions of a few years ago was never dreamed 

 of. The same is true of fruit. The Italian fruit-stands on our 

 street corners, with their loads of strawberries in April and May, 

 and of peaches and watermelons in July, would have been wor- 

 thy of an admission fee twenty-five years ago. Even Orchids, as 

 rare novelties, . have seen their best days. The commercial flor- 



