54 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL, SOCIETY. 



are a luxury which eauuot be afforded In' all. He had seeu 

 37,000 roses of first quality iu the market at nine o'clock, aud at 

 eleven o'clock ouly 3,000 of them were left. A 3'ear ago roses 

 brought from fifteeu to twenty-five dollars per hundred, aud this 

 year not much more than one-half as much. When the market is 

 overstocked, the second quality have to be sold to street fakirs, 

 and some one gets the advantage. For his part, said the speaker, 

 he would never see a flower consigned to the ash barrel, but would 

 rather have surplus flowers sent to the hospitals, etc. He would 

 like to have ways and means by which growers could dispose of 

 .their surplus stock profitably ; one way to prevent an overstock is 

 to groAv better flowers. Nothing injures the flower market more 

 than to have a lady bu}' flowers from twenty-four to forty-eight 

 hours old, and which fall to pieces soon after she gets them home. 



Patrick Norton said that Boston people like good roses, and 

 send the second quality to New York. He thought there was no 

 place in the country where so man}' floAver stores and flowers could 

 be seen in the same space as in Tremont street. He inquired of 

 Mr. May what are the most profitable varieties of roses and 

 suggested tlie names of 'Ma Capucine and Mme. de Watteville. 



Mr. May said there is no room in New York for poor roses. 

 Which are most profitable depends very much on who raises them. 

 Ma Capucine is one of the most lovely, and brings in the most 

 money by twenty-five per cent. They have been a little disap- 

 pointed in getting the Wal)au iu New York ; it has not been 

 shown to the public in that city, though they have it in Orange, 

 N. J., and the ladies admired it very much. Florists from New 

 York who saw it in its home were very favorably impressed 

 with it. 



President Spooner suggested that iuforuiation was desired upon 

 the best selection of Hybrid Perpetual roses for forcing — such 

 as Ulrich Briinner — and asked Mr. May's vicAvs upon that 

 department of the business. 



Mr. May said that the New York market is a ticklish place. 

 General Jacqueminot was most popular for several 3'ears, and then 

 ladies took a notion to yellow roses, aud when the tide turned 

 again in favor of red roses, a neighbor of his who had hung on 

 to his old favorite (Jacqueminot) was the only one who hud red 

 roses. Ulrich Briinner has always been in demand in Xcw York, 

 but not quite so mncli tills year as in previous years. One 



