Decbmbeu 1G, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



3J 



A Nearer View of the Flower Market in the City of Mexico. 



Materials and Prices. 



Tlie City of Mexico is by no means 



•verless; there is a surprising variety 



• ;^tock and much of it is of excellent 



• ility. In .July I saw tlie desiyn-makcrs 



iiig American Beauties, roses, carna- 



■•'•is, chrysanthemuiiis, violets, pansies, 



'. I'ct peas, mar<ruerites, Shasta daisies 



• I several varieties of lilies. The Beau- 



• -: and Killarney were especially ijood. 



•'The designs are all topped beauti- 



■lily and most of them are quite artistic. 



'lie wreath seems to be the favorite 



; lire, bein<r most frequently seen mount- 



' '1 on an easel. 



' ' The Mexican market florists never ox- 

 I" it to get the j)rice iirst asked. I saw 

 Mic sale of a desi<,ni that the man first 

 i-kod .$1.3 for that finally went for .i;i'..lO. 

 I nriced a desij^n, beautifully made, six 

 ic(,-t hifrh, a ureath on an easel, with an 

 :iiichor worked in on each side of tlu^ 

 ■ enter, the first i>rice askeil beinjf ifild. 

 I'liis was in Mexican currenc-y, which, in 

 "iir money, would be +5. It was a de- 

 ^',1,'n that in any first-class American city 

 '■'•iild not bo bought for less than .$50. 



Many Uses for Designs. 



"These designs are used in the City 

 "I Mexico for all sorts of purposes. They 

 not only use them for funerals, but on 

 "Id graves as well as new. Just as north- 

 ' in people take flowers to the cemetery 

 •11 Memorial day, the .Mexicans take de- 

 ^it,nis on saints' days, on anniversaries of 

 :di kinds. It is only for this reason that 

 'he market people can find a steady sale 

 'or their ready-made designs. 



"The largest florists' store in the City 

 of Mexico had only foliage plants and 

 seeds for sale at the time of my \isit. 

 The plants wen; surprisingly expensive 

 in coni[)arison to the clira|>uess of the 

 designs in the market. The axcrage 

 j)ric(! of the plants in the store was .$25. 

 -Ml the cut flowtMs used in the city are 

 S(dd in the market and on ;x few small 

 street stands.' ' 



SWEET PEAS NOT BLOOMING. 



.My sweet jieas jire six to eight feet 

 high, liut have produced few blo(Uiis. 

 The Soil consists (if <Mie ])art rotted cow 

 manure to fmir ])arts soil. What should 



1 freil to make tiiem bl 



OOlll 



j;. c. 



Possibly you may not b(^ growing the 

 right wint(M- Idooniing \arieties. Sucii 

 sorts as Karliest of .Vll, Mont P.lanc. 

 J-'hu'ciice Deiizer and Wat cluing ought to 

 llowcr when half tin lieii.;iit of your 

 jilants. Y'eiii- soil is all right, and fei^d- 

 ing (Uight not to be necessiirv ii' tiie soil 

 is of gooci dt^jith. I lucsume y(m are 

 growing in solid beils; benches gi\e 

 shorter growth and somewhat earlier flow 

 cn's in midwinter, but thi^ (piality is in 

 ft^'ior. A night tenijierature of 4*s tn 

 no degrees is aliout rigid. FcH^d with 

 liqui<l Cow manure when the plants really 

 re({uire it. .V top-dressing uf ]iulveri/.ed 

 sheep manure is also good. .V dre-^sinii 

 of fine l)one is also helpful, but siiduld 

 not be a|>plied until latiT in the scascm. 



This can be Imeil nV ii^litU' t'lUked ill. 



<•. W. 



HOUSES FOR ROSES. 



I h.MVe two hiiuses. each l<i.\1()0, with 

 iiii (li\isioii between them. 'JTiev are 

 he;ited bv hoi wati'l'. < 'ollM roses be 

 grown pnditably in ilii-se. ami it' so, 

 \\liat would be the most prolitaitle va- 

 riety or \arieties to grow.' W'iiat is tlie 

 best time ol' the year for planting them.' 

 I am located in Pennsyhaiiia . 1']. (.". 



It' you ha\'e no special experience in 

 rose culture, we \\(iuld advis(^ against 

 planting the houses to this flower. The 

 growing of roses successfully lias been 

 merged more and mnic into the hands 

 ol' large s|)ecialists, ami flowers such as 

 you coiihl jirobably |uiiduce woidd not 

 compare favorably with tliesc^ in quality. 

 < )t' c(uiise, if you have a good local trade 

 and coiilil use the flowers as ]iroduccd, 

 yoii might be able to make a little money, 

 but even then, with good shipping facili- 

 ties from the big <'eiiters. y(Ui could, f 

 think, buy them cheapi'r than you could 

 grow tiiem. Killarney is the most gen- 

 erally |"ipul;ir ro-e; both the white and 

 jiiiik are jiersistent bloomers. 



^'our hou.ses would grow c.arnations 

 Well and tlic'ie uould bl' more money in 

 these t'or Villi I hail in loses, thi/re being 

 less liability ot' failure. \"iolels, bulbous 

 stock, cluys.-nillieinums and other stock 

 could be grown successfully in tin; 

 houses named and we think would earn 

 \oii moi'o mone\- than the roses. 



C. W. 



The Keview sends Smith's Mum Man 

 nal on receipt of 40 cents. 



Scenes in the Flower Market in the City of Mexico. 



