302 FRITZ BAHR'S COMMERCIAL FLORICULTURE 



the Chrysanthemum, so with the Carnation; the bringing out of new 

 sorts is in the hands of a few specialists and the florist and Carnation 

 grower look to them to do it. All other kinds of predictions came 

 true, especially John Thorpe's as to the size of the flower; but no 

 one, not even the most optimistic dreamer, dared to prophesy that 

 the day would come when it would be possible to realize, around 

 Christmas, $7.50 retail for one dozen red Carnations. Yet to the 

 grower this is more important than anything else. 



Whether you are among those who actually make money from 

 Carnations, or whether you grow them and yet cannot say that 

 there is much money for you in the returns from your plants, never- 

 theless, if you are a florist retailing your stock and depending on a 

 local trade, you should by all means keep on growing them. You 

 may use several hundred Carnations daily, but if you can cut some 

 even only twenty-five of them from your own plants, the very 

 fact that you have these few plants growing in your own establish- 



Fig. 122. A VASE OF CARNATION ENCHANTRESS. Peter Fisher's Enchantress has 

 proved one of the most remarkable Carnations brought out in our time. For over 

 twenty years during which more new varieties have been introduced than ever 

 before it has remained the "bread and butter" sort for thousands of retail growers 



