NATIONAL COUNCIL OF HORTICULTURE 57 



last quarter of a century. Twenty-five years ago, anyone could have 

 gone into the florist business with little or no capital, and if careful 

 and industrious, failure could hardly result ; but to-day, with the large 

 amount of capital invested in large establishments and the consequent 

 ability to produce flowers more cheaply, larger capital is required, and 

 first-class, up-to-date business methods must be practiced. A man 

 cannot hope to succeed under the conditions that exist to-day as he 

 would have been able to succeed in the earlier days of the business 

 in fact, the florist business, as it is conducted now in the larger estab- 

 lishments, is fast assuming the proportions of a flower factory, and the 

 same up-to-date business methods will have to be observed as in any 

 other manufacturing business to ensure success. 



In the future, the man who will make the most marked success is 

 the man who is located in the right place; that is to say, where labor 

 is plentiful, where he can obtain a supply of coal at the least possible 

 expense preferably near a large city, where the shipping facilities are 

 quick and frequent where an abundant supply of water is to be had, 

 and where the soil is first-class. One of the most important considera- 

 tions is the selection of a proper location. Heretofore most greenhouse 

 establishments have been located without much reference to this, as 

 they have been developed from small beginnings; but the proper loca- 

 tion is a large element to be taken into consideration if one would be 

 successful. 



I believe that to-day America leads the world in the production of 

 fine cut flowers, and, while we have many large establishments that we 

 may well be proud of, I believe that the business is only in its infancy, 

 and that we may expect to see marvelous progress in the future. 



Chairman Taft : We have had very practical and helpful papers. As 

 you are all aware, Mr. Pierson is one of the largest rose growers in the 

 country and consequently a very successful one and he has given us 

 of his own knowledge a thoroughly useful talk on modern methods. 

 We are now getting out from under the glass ajid are going to take to 

 the woods, and our next paper on commercial growing of forest trees 

 is by Professor F. W. Rane, of Boston. 



FOREST PROBLEMS. 

 F. W. RANE, BOSTON, MASS. 



Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen. Mr. Rawson is responsible 

 for my being here. I have just returned from the National Irrigation 

 and Forestry Congress held in Sacramento, Cal., and not having a 

 paper, you will excuse me for taking the subject up offhand. I am sure 

 I will not want for something to talk about as the subject of forestry 

 is boundless. Those of you who have kept in touch with forestry, even 

 if not in very close touch, will recognize, I am sure, that at the present 

 time the forest problem is one of the great economic problems before 

 the nation. Until more recently our forest products have been of low 



