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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



in the world for growing roses; and recent- 

 ly they have commenced growing all sorts 

 of flowering plants for indoors and outdoors 

 for decorating homes. The greater part of 

 all of these plants — geraniums, pelargoni- 

 ums, fuchsias, etc., sell at a nickel each or 

 50 cents a dozen. All of these plants, roses 

 included, are grown in 2 or 2' 2 inch pots. 

 Just as soon as the roots fill the pots pretty 

 well, and begin to crowd, the plant is turned 

 over to the customer. Soil enough adheres 

 firmly to the little plant to enable it to go 

 quite a long distance by express, and come 

 to hand in perfect order. In fact, I had 

 been getting from this firm beautiful roses 

 in bud and bloom for only 50 cents a dozen. 

 They came more than a hundred miles in 

 such perfect order that the blossoms opened 

 out perfectly, some of them the first day 

 after they were received. Well, this firm 

 not only furnishes all kinds of house- plants 

 grown in pots, but of late they have been 

 putting up a great variety of hardy shrubs 

 for the dooryard in the same way. Of 

 course, the plants are small; but a little 

 plant, right out of the pot, dirt and all, will 

 very soon make a big one. 



Now, my visit was prompted largely by 

 a desire to see how it is possible for them 

 to grow plants for a nickel each, that we 

 have heretofore had to pay 20, 30, and even 

 40 cents for. In just a little time I caught 

 on to the secret. Like other kinds of business 

 in this present age, they do things cheaply 

 by growing the stuff in enormous quantities. 

 Just one illustration. In one of the long 

 greenhouses I saw fuchsias perhaps two 

 feet high, growing so close together that 

 the branches were like heads of grain in a 

 field. The tops of these plants were clipped 

 off, something as we cut off stuff with a 

 sickle. They were loaded in wheelbarrows, 

 and taken to a cool damp room, where men 

 and boys clipped them up into little cut- 

 tings. Then some boys, not over 12, put 

 these cuttings in a bed. The bed was cov- 

 ered with clean sharp sand, damp enough to 

 handle nicely. It was leveled off, and then 

 pounded with a square piece of plank with 

 a handle in the center. A boy gave the 

 level surface of the sand quite a hard blow 

 with this leveler. When the bed was level, 

 hard, and firm, another boy laid down a 

 common lath and drew a caseknife each 

 side of it. With a sprinkler the sand was 

 kept dampened to just about the proper con- 

 sistency. Then a third boy took these 

 same fuchsia cuttings and pushed them 

 down into the sand where the slit was made 

 with the caseknife. The speed with which 

 he handled these little cuttings made me 

 think of the printers in our composing-room. 

 He put them in so fast you could hardly tell 

 what he was doing. In this way they filled 

 beds hundreds of feet long. In about a 

 week or ten days, with the temperature and 

 moisture in the atmosphere kept just right, 

 and the proper shade, these cuttings will 

 have made roots U inch long, or a little 

 more. They then are put into 2 or 2>2 inch 

 pots with potting-soil; and when the plant 



has made several leaves, and filled its- 

 little pot with roots so as to hold the ball of 

 earth from crumbling or dropping off, it is 

 ready lo ship. What I have described of 

 the fuchsia is done, with proper variations, 

 according to the nature of the plants, with 

 almost every thing else; and where they 

 produce these plants by the thousands and 

 tens of thousands, it is not at all strange 

 that they can sell them at a profit at four 

 or five cents each. I did not see any of the 

 proprietors. It was probably too early for 

 them to be around; but I was told by the 

 men in charge I could go all over the es- 

 tablishment wherever I chose, and I tell you 

 I appreciated the liberty. There were beds 

 of the most brilliant colei, so long that the 

 colors could just be distinguished in the 

 dim distance. A part of the houses are old; 

 but this enterprising firm is building new 

 ones almost all the time; and it was inter- 

 esting to note the improvements made from 

 year to year in greenhouse- building. Their 

 houses are all of even span, running north 

 and south. It would take too much space 

 to tell you even the names of the plants. 

 Almost every thing is shipped in 2 or 2>^ 

 inch pots; but, of course, they have 3 and 4 

 inch pots for certain customers who prefer 

 to pay more for larger ones. One great ad- 

 vantage of the small pots is the saving of 

 express charges in shipping; and any one 

 who has a few pots and a little skill can 

 make a two-inch plant into a four-inch one 

 in a very short time. The fun of seeing the 

 little bits of things grow into big shapely 

 plants is, to my notion, one of the most in- 

 teresting things about plant-growing. I be- 

 lieve it is getting to be quite fashionable 

 lately to send out a great variety of orna- 

 mental trees, including the high-priced ever- 

 greens, with a ball of earth around the 

 roots. Two years ago I was greatly taken 

 up with some blood red Japanese maples. 

 I paid several dollars for half a dozen of 

 them. They all died, although the florist 

 told me they were perfectly hardy, and 

 would grow as well outdoors as any of the 

 maples. I gave it up in disgust; but now I 

 shall have some little ones grown in pots ; 

 and if they are hardy for anybody, / shall 

 make them grow. 



Since I made that visit I have asked the 

 firm to give me some figures pertaining to 

 their establishment — amount of business, 

 etc. I submit the statement below: 



Our greenhouse covers an area of five acres. We 

 grov? about four million rose- plants each year, and 

 about the same number of miscellaneous stock of all 

 kinds, such as chrysanthemums, carnations, fuchsias, 

 hibiscus, palms, ferns, begonias, etc. Our business 

 amounts to upward of a quarter of a million dollars a 

 year ; and, though we keep adding to our greenhouses 

 es each year, we have as yet been unable to supply all 

 the orders that come to us each season. We are now 

 getting more business than we can handle. We ship 

 to every country on the globe, including the islands of 

 the Pacific. The Good & Reese Co. 



It may be that I am giving this firm some 

 free advertising; but I think they deserve 

 it, for, if I am correct, they are pioneers in 

 furnishing the world beautiful little plants 

 of almost every thing for only a nickel. 



CONCLUDED IN OUR NEXT. 



