86 THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



of success. Some women have a natural talent for fruit growing and 

 market gardening. Both fields are open to women, and some of the 

 very best conducted farms in the west are managed hy them. One 

 lady in the south, who was formerly worth a million dollars, is now 

 supporting herself finely by the cultivation of the castor oil bean; 

 others are supporting themselves by cultivating nuts and various kinds 

 of herbs. A fair degree of health is warranted to most women in the 

 horticultural work, for many physicians prescribe digging in the earth 

 and out-door exercise for the cure of consumption, dyspepsia, and all 

 nervous diseases. 



The majority of women have a natural love for flowers, and find 

 but little trouble in cultivating them successfully for their own 

 pleasure, and I see no reason why they should not succeed as profes- 

 sional florists, as the art has now become so simplified that they will 

 be enabled, after becoming fairly established and giving to it a few 

 months careful study and experience, to succeed, if they have a natural 

 bent in that direction. If a woman succeeds as a florist, she can do 

 what she cannot in many other fields; she can command the same 

 price for her produce that a man can, and that is most encouraging. 

 If a woman wishes to engage in this business, perhaps it would be the 

 better way to begin carefully, learning by experience, step by step • 

 doing a small business at first, saying in the meantime to her friends 

 that she expects them to patronize her liberally, and she will surely 

 get the patronage if she works in the right way, as the demand for 

 flowers and vines is largely on the increase; so much so, that no home 

 is considered furnished without them. 



But few women have as yet taken up floriculture as a business in 

 the w^est, but in the east many are engaged in it, and not a few have 

 secured fortunes from its profits. One of the most refined ladies we 

 ever knew was a florist. She managed, with the assistance of a young 

 German lad, three good sized green houses. The man did the coarse, 

 heavy work, lifting heavy burdens, making fires, marketing the plants, 

 etc., while she used the brain force to keep everything in fine running 

 order, taking upon herself the personal supervision of each house. 

 One house was kept for the hardy plants, just above the freezing point. 

 In this was found varieties of roses, pansies, dasies, sweet alyssum and 

 many others for daily cutting. The second house was kept at about 

 60". The third at tropical heat. She bore the responsibility of buying, 



