22 



The Florists^ Review 



Fbbuuauy 23, l'.)22 



which I have given it. I wish to make 

 it clear tVat the flower is, of course, in 

 no way related to the chrysanthemum 

 family. The flowers are distinguished, 

 not alone for their size — they grow in 

 heights from two to six feet, and the 

 blooms are sometimes eighteen inches 

 in width — but because they are "ever- 

 lasting," retaining all their beauty of 

 color and size and shape after being 

 properly dried in a dry, dark place. They 

 have an immense ornamental and decor- 

 ative value and already are being or- 

 dered in carload lots by Marshall Field 

 & Co., of Chicago, and other large mer- 

 cantile establishments for special dec- 

 orative purposes. 



I have now over 100 shades a«d colors 

 of Celosia chrysantheflora, running 

 tlirough all shades imaginable, the or- 

 ange, old rose, mauve, mulberry and 

 golden being the most effective, I think. 

 Some colors behave a great deal like 

 some varieties of sweet peas. You may 

 think you have a color set and sud- 

 denly appear some sports, tearing down 

 all your plans. But you feel glad at 

 the same time, for some of the sports 

 are likely to be so beautiful that one 

 does not feel so upset about it after all. 

 I usually cast the sports aside to join 

 the family of foundlings. It is indeed 

 a rare sight to view a few rows of this 

 mixture. I think the species argentea 

 is the original from which the crested 

 forms are derived and this accounts, 

 perhaps, for so many of the new shades. 



Experiences that Taught. 



Some years ago I had a celosia in the 

 crested form, the shape of Celosia Child- 

 sii. It was a true ball shape and I had 

 it fairly well set. One of our field men 

 planted it by mistake near some Celosia 

 Childsii. The wind and the bees put in 

 their work, with the result that the two 

 species became so badly mixed that 

 my entire stock was destroyed. I men- 

 tion this to caution growers not to plant 

 Celosia chrysantheflora near old-fash- 

 ioned cockscomb or wool-flower, as they 

 are sure to mix. 



While working up stock at my Sunny 

 Slope farm, I would not admit visitors, 

 having experienced a loss previously 

 tlirough an overzealous person. Last 

 season, having a big stock, I let it be 

 known tliat visitors would be welcome 

 at my Blue Ridge boulevard farm, where 

 a large acreage was planted in Celosia 

 elirysantheflora. I never dreamed of 

 such a stupendous reception as was 

 given this flower during the blooming 

 season. It is no exaggeration to say 

 tliat for several Sundays more than 

 5,000 persons were at the farm between 

 tlie hours of 2 p. m. and 6 p. m. and a 

 proportional quantity of flowers was 

 sold. I had to employ a large force of 

 clerks to act as guides and salespersons 

 and even had to press some of my guests 

 into service to act as salesmen. As the 

 (lowers became better known, the crowds 

 grew larger and harder to control, so 

 that we finally were forced to keep 

 everyone out of the field. 



About Its Culture. 



Here are some pointers for cultivating 

 Celosia chrysantheflora. For early 

 blooms, seeds arc sown under glass and 

 lovered not more than one-eighth inch 

 deep witli well pulverized soil. Plants 

 are transplanted to the open ground 

 after all danger of frost is over. The 

 middle of February should be sufficiently 

 soon to have plants large enough to 

 transplant to the field about May 1. 



Any good garden soil, deeply dug and 

 well pulverized, will grow Celosia chry- 

 santheflora, but it is sure to respond 

 to a good, well manured soil and fre- 

 quent cultivation. 



The rows may be one foot apart and 

 the plants four inches apart in the row. 

 Sometimes several flower stems appear 

 on one plant. In this case, if extra 

 large flowers are desired, disbudding is 

 necessary. The stems of Celosia chry- 

 santheflora grow from twenty-four to 

 sixty inches long. 



If sowing seed outdoors is preferred, 

 the seed may be sown, when all danger 

 of frost is over, in a well pulverized bed 

 and transplanted from there, or they 

 may be sown in garden rows, where they 

 are to remain, and thinned out if too 

 thick. 



The blooming season of Celosia chry- 

 santheflora is from the middle of July 

 to November 1. 



The drying of Celosia chrysantheflora 

 is simple. If one is particular to hang 

 the flowers upside down in a dark, cool 

 place, they will dry and retain their 

 beauty and color indefinitely. They are 



beautiful in bouquets, in baskets or in 

 wreaths for Christmas and Memorial 

 day. S. Bryson Ayres. 



BLOY NOT INTERESTED. 



I read just recently in one of the other 

 trade journals an announcement of the 

 incorporation of the Indian Village 

 Greenhouses, Detroit, Mich., in which 

 my name was mentionea as one of those 

 interested. I wish to publish in The Re- 

 view a flat denial that I am in any way 

 connected with this concern and a state- 

 ment that my name was used without 

 any authority from me. I am writing 

 to the authorities of the state of Michi- 

 gan for a verification of this incorpo- 

 ration, and if it is found correct, I will 

 take action necessary to have it an- 

 nulled. M. Bloy. 



Walled Lake, Mich. — Raymond M. 

 Champe, hardy plant, bulb and seed spe- 

 cialist, is now at his southern nursery, 

 near St. Petersburg, Fla. He expects to 

 return to his northern home about 

 May 1. 



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SEND IN YOUR COSTS 



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SMALL GROWER'S COSTS. 



Noting the discussion of growers' 

 costs in The Review, I am sending you 

 some of my figures, so that small growers 

 like myself may compare them with 

 those obtained by themselves. 



I have 3,200 feet of glass. The fol- 

 lowing is a summary of my expenses for 



1921: 



Cents per foot Total 



Coal $0.10 $ 320.00 



Stock plants and seeds 12 384.00 



Pots, boxes, flats, fertilizers 



and supplies 13 416.00 



Taxes and repairs 03 96.00 



Labor 20 C40.00 



Total costs $0.58 $1,856.00 



Sales »n 3.040.00 



Profit 37 1.184.00 



I consider that my range is worth 

 $4,500; in fact, it cost me that much. 

 My profit, therefore, figures a little bet- 

 ter than twenty-six per cent on my 

 money invested. I would say that the 

 item of labor is what I charged for my 

 time at the rate I would get at other 

 work I am doing. 



Now, as to the cost of growing any 

 kinds of plants: I can grow 4-inch 

 geraniums on the above basis for 10 

 cents each. I have a bed of callas, 5x50 

 feet, from which I cut 12,000 blooms. 

 Adding 100 feet extra for the walk ad- 

 joining the calla bed, you have a total 

 of 350 'feet, and figuring growing cost 

 at 58 cents a foot, my callas cost me 

 about 8% cents each. 



I do not see any reason why a florist 

 should not be able to tell just what it 

 costs him to grow any particular flower 

 or plant. If he doesn't know, how can 

 he tell what is a paying crop and what 

 is a losing one? For instance, I have 

 one house of 1,000 square feet in which 

 I grow carnations. I cut a little over 

 0,000 blooms of carnations from that 

 space and, calculating the cost at 58 

 cents a foot, the carnations cost nic over 

 9 cents each. I can figure it another 

 way, thus: Plants, $120; heat, at 10 

 cents a foot, $100; taxes and repairs, at 

 3 cents a foot, $30; labor, at 20 cents a 



foot, $200; a total of $43V; or IVs cents 

 apiece on a cut of 6,000 flowers. But 

 l)y the time the boxes are added to the 

 expenses noted, the cost of the carna- 

 tions would be about as figured the other 

 way, approximately 9 cents each. When 

 I get $2 a dozen, my carnations net me 

 92 cents a dozen, but later, when I have 

 to sell them for $1 a dozen, I shall be 

 losing 8 cents a dozen. 



If one keeps track of the costs of pro- 

 ducing various kinds of flowers and 

 plants, he will always find something 

 which does not pay and which it would 

 be better to stop growing. 



A. R. Ellis. 



[It should be taken into consideration 

 with the foregoing statement of cost«^ 

 that the florist who gives it is located 

 in a small town and is superintendent 

 of a cemetery, which adjoins his green- 

 houses, and is also an agent for cemetery 

 monuments. For this reason he is able 

 to charge into his growing costs only a 

 portion of his labor, and accordingly his 

 profit is the larger. If he devoted all his 

 time to the greenhouses, the charge for 

 labor would be tnuch higher and would 

 eat into his profits to a considerable de- 

 gree. It should also be taken into ac- 

 count that he sells his own stock, prob- 

 ably without any sales cost to speak of 

 exce])t his own time. It is not stated 

 whether this time is figured in or not. 

 The previous data given on growers' 

 costs came from growers who sell their 

 stock at wholesale, through commission 

 men. This statement of costs, though it 

 will not serve for comparison with grow- 

 ers on a wholesale scale, will afford a 

 comparison for small florists in a like 

 situ.'ition. It serves to show, also, that 

 small growers can record their costs 

 without a great amount of work, even 

 though not so minutely as a large estab- 

 lishment with a bookkeeper is able to 

 keep them. No grower is so situated 

 that he cannot keep a record of his costs, 

 at least approximately. Here is an in- 

 stance that points that fact. — Ed.] 



