Mat 19, 1921 



The Florists^ Review 



25 



BEATING QUARANTINE 37 



WENT to I'dito l{i<-() to fret 

 rid of !iii Jittack of hroii 

 chitis. Wliilc there J tic 

 cairu! iiiteresteil in tlie 

 j)lac(,' and s;ivv tliat there 

 was a {4'ood chance of de 

 velojdiif^ a plant-growiiifi 

 business. You know Porto 

 Rico is now jiart of the 

 TTnitod .States, so that 

 C^uarantiMO No. 37, which excludes 

 plants from other countries, does not 

 exclude! plants from J'orto Rico. They 

 can conui into this country, an<l there, is 

 no duty. Porto Rico is much nearer to 

 us tlian is Belgium. A shipment of phnits 

 from (Jlient to New York takes t\v<i 

 weeks to cro.ss tlio ocean. The boat 

 from San Juan to New York takes only 

 five, days. So you see Porto Hico lias 

 aiivantafjes. 



Climatic Conditions. 



Tln! chief advanta}»e, liowever, is the 

 climate. The night temperature is from 

 70 to 72 degrees all the year arcuind. 

 The day temperature goes up to about 

 HO degrees in winter and sometiines 

 reaches 90 degrees in summer. When 

 the temj)erature falls to (is degrees at 

 night ^)eoj)le say, "How culd it is!" 

 From a {)lantsman 's stamlpidnt this is 

 ideal. There are no chills. Some plants 

 can be grown in the open ground, others 

 in houses built of lath, covered with 

 tobacco cloth, as the as[)aragus houses 



liObcrt Craiij rvturncd from a sir 

 montha' stay in Porto Rico April 2H. A 

 forlnvjht later Mr. <'rai;i <iave on extreme- 

 III intcrcstinfi description of the inland 

 (lad Ids work there' TliUt description is 

 reported below as ncurl;/ as possible <is 

 Mr. Craio <javc it at his home in West 

 Philadelphia on th<ii briiiht aft(riioiin ui 

 Mail. -Phil. 



are built in Florida. Tlieie is im cx|iiiise 

 for tire heat. 



The soil is mostly a light, sandy loam, 

 in which good crops can be jirodilced 

 j)rovided it is well manured. There is 

 also some clay loam, which grows good 

 roses. In the gardens T hn\o seen fine 

 • 'olumbia. Premier ami Ophelia that 

 have made ti-foot canes in a single sea 

 son.,;; Francis Scott Key produces freely 

 there. (Jruss an Teplit/, does well; it 

 produces a light growth, as it does (dse- 

 where. 



Labor is plentiful. A gooil man is 

 worth $1.50 to $L' for an S hour day. He 

 cio(>s about one-third less work than a 

 workman here woulil be apt to ilo. The 

 natives are docile. Some of them can 

 be taught to pot quite nicely and to do 

 general greenhouse work. 



The climate of Porto Rico is Just right 

 for growing crotons, (Iraca-nas, Paiulanus 

 Veitchii, aspidistras, sansevierias and 

 kcntias. Phoenix Roebtdenii, PliO'iiix 

 canariensis and PhanLx rupicola could 

 be grown there as they are in the south 



ot' I'raiice, whence' tliey are ateril to 

 Belgium or to Kngland to be grown iu 

 greenhouses for a season before being 

 sent all o\er the woild. 



The bright colored niaranla.s might be 

 yrown in ipiaiitity varieties such as 

 Sanderi, rubra Jineata and Oppen- 

 heimer. They are beautiful for boxes 

 at the Indidays, and there arc never any- 

 where near enough of them. 



The newer and finer sort.s of I'ancy 

 leaved caladiums do well in the o[ieii 

 grcuind. There is a great chance for 

 [iroilucing them for a retail '"atnloo-ui- 

 mail business. 



For Early Growth. 



'I'he \alue of a IN^rto Uico plant farm 

 wouhl be to produce |dants in the rough 

 to be linislieil in the grer'iihouse.s of the 

 north. Shipments might be made in 

 .Vpril to fill the empty houstvs after 

 l-laster with stock fine for growing on, 

 stock that would prove much iimre rost- 

 ly if grown here during the earlier 

 stages. 



I purchased three acres of good land 

 on the seacoast, just outside of San Juan, 

 securing an o|ition on four acres more. 

 The trolley line stops at my gate and 

 a gofid road jiasses my little farm. 1 

 put in city water, securing a good 

 pressure with a 1-inch pipe. We built 

 one house. tOxl^OO feet, with sashbars 

 covere<l with tobacco cloth and coconut 

 matting on the sides. The house is filled 



Robert Craig (in Center) in His Lath House, 40x200, in Porto Rico, Showing Kentias in the Foreground. 



