OcrOBEB 17, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists" Review. 



r;S». 



Interior of the Sign of the Roec Flower Shop. 



short midwinter clays when flowers bring 

 the highest prices. 



Cost of Production. 



Today flowers are no longer considered 

 a luxury, but rather a necessity. In 

 this connection, we might say that few 

 people realize what it costs to produce 

 the finest flowers, especially during the 

 short midwinter days. In fact, I be- 

 lieve that in midwinter, when flowers 

 seem to bring phenomenal prices, they 

 are actually produced at a loss, when 

 one takes into consideration the capital 

 invested, the fuel consumed, and the 

 labor involved. Even with the prohib- 

 itive prices at the holidays, I doubt 

 whether they return the grower an ade- 

 quate recompense for the capital in- 

 vested. Even in California, that land 

 of flowers and sunshine, where nature is 

 so kind, it is necessary to grow flowers 

 of good quality under glass, so that 

 there, where one would naturally expect 

 that flowers would have little or no 

 value, it costs considerable to produce 

 flowers of high quality. In the east, dur- 

 ing midwinter, when there is little or 

 no sunshine and when the amount of 

 fuel required is enormous, the cost of 

 production is much greater. 



Looking back at the progress that has 

 been made during the last twenty-five 

 years, and the improvements that have 

 been made even during the last five 

 years, one wonders what the next twen- 

 ty-five years have in store for us. Cer- 

 tainly, the end is not yet, for we have 

 reason to expect as much advancement 

 in the future as has occurred in the last 



quarter of a century. Twenty-five years 

 ago, anyone could have gone into the 

 florists' business with little or no cap- 

 ital, and if careful and industrious, fail- 

 ure could hardly result; but today, 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 suc- 

 ceed under the conditions that exist to- 

 day as he would have been able to suc- 

 ceed in the earlier days of the busi- 

 ness; in fact, the florists' business, as 

 it is conducted now in the larger estab- 

 lishments, is fast assuming the propor- 

 tions of a flower factory, and the same 

 up-to-date business methods will have to 

 be observed as in any other manufactur- 

 ing business, to insure success. 



Selection of Proper Location. 



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 abun- 

 dant supply of water is to be had, and 

 where the soil is first-class. One of the 

 most important considerations is the se- 

 lection 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 today 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. 



TREATMENT OF DENDEOBIUMS. 



My plants of Dendrobium nobile and 

 D. Wardianum giganteum have finished 

 growth. Please advise me as to the 

 treatment from now on. What tempera- 

 ture do they require and what amount 

 of water? Morris. 



Bemove the dendrobiums into a some- 

 what cooler house, where they can get 

 more sunshine. A temperature of 55 de- 

 grees at night will be ample. This can 

 be reduced a few degrees later. Keep 

 much drier at the root, but spray the 

 plants overhead on bright days and water 

 just sufficiently to keep the pseudobulbs 

 plump. Keep the plants in a dry house 

 until the flower nodes appear, after 

 which they can be placed in a warmer 

 and moister house, but must not be al- 

 lowed much water at the root or many 

 of the nodes on Dendrobium nobile may 

 produce growths instead of flowers. 

 When you can actually see flower buds, 

 water more freely. G. W. 



Fairbury, III.— Wm. Kring, of Kring 

 Bros., is at the sanitarium at Hins- 

 dale, 111., for a few weeks' rest. 



