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NOTSMBBB 30, 1911. 



^ The WcdJy Florist 



25 



i'sy*: 



Greenhouses aod Frames of the Halifax Garden Co^ Halifax, Mass. 



but if they are backward let them 

 have 60 degrees at night and all pos- 

 sible sunlight. 



Berried hollies, aucubas and skimmias 

 are now arriving from Europe. There 

 is always a danger of their balls of 

 earth becoming dry in transit, so be 

 sure to soak them well in tubs of water 

 as soon as they are unpacked. The 

 better quality hollies are often shipped 

 over in tubs, but even these get much 

 dried and to save them the roots must 

 be thoroughly wet and kept in that con- 

 dition. These plants are useful for 

 standing outside the stores, not being 

 affected by the cold unless it is quite 

 severe. 



THE HALIFAX GARDEN CO. 



One of the largest of the greenhouse 

 establishments in Massachusetts, de- 

 voted to flowers and vegetables, is that 

 of the Halifax Garden Co., Halifax, 

 situated thirty miles from Boston, 

 ten miles from historic Plymouth 

 and twelve miles from the important 

 shore city of Brockton. There are thir- 

 teen houses here, covered by 150,000 

 square feet of glass. Nearly all of 

 them are 40x300 feet and thoroughly 

 up-to-date 'in every respect. For sev- 

 eral years vegetables were grown ex- 

 clusively, but during the last two or 

 three years flowers nave occupied the 

 greater portion of the glass. 



During the last two years exhibitions 

 have been given each fall and spring, 

 invitations being extended to the gen- 

 eral public for many miles around by 

 means of printed invitations and news- 

 paper advertisements, and the response 

 has been remarkable. November 11 

 and 12 last, carriages and autos in hun- 

 dreds were to be seen lined up near the 

 greenhouses and an attendance of sev- 

 eral thousands was recorded. 



The flower rooms and packing sheds 

 were tastefully arranged with ever- 

 greens and branches of autumn foliage. 

 Tables were loaded with large vases 

 of carnations and chrysanthemums in 

 flower, and boxes and baskets of vege- 

 tables specialized in were noted, all 

 !?;"eled with neatly printed cards, so 

 that he who ran could read. These ex- 

 hibitions move a lot of stock and prove 

 * ^plendid advertisement for the firm, 

 ^n ft chrysanthemums, of which some 

 J0,000 are grown, were a little past the 

 neight, but many fine flowers were seen, 

 ine following varieties are found ex- 

 cellent commercially: Merza, J.' A. - 

 Miller, Winter Cheer, Bonnaffotj, Mllo. ; 

 Mane Liger, Black Hawk, Un.^eller,* 

 Alice Byron, Cullingfordii, Beatrice 

 May, Dr. Enguehard^ John Shrimpton, 



Rousseau, Mrs. Wm. Duckham, W. T. 

 Brock and White Bonnaffon. Quite a 

 number of pompons and singles are also 

 grown. 



The carnations number 50,000 and flU 

 four of the large houses. These all 

 looked remarkably well and were giv- 

 ing a splendid lot of flowers. White 

 Wonder and Gloriosa each looked first- 

 class. White Perfection was carrying 

 immense flowers and Pink Delight was 

 flowering with great freedom. Other 

 sorts grown are Mrs. C, W. Ward, En- 

 chantress, White Enchantress, San- 

 gamo, Dorothy Gordon, Beacoii, Win- 

 sor, Winona, May Day and Apple Blos- 

 som. 



Sweet peas occupied one house. The 

 varieties grown are Florence Denzer, 

 Watchung, Christmas Pink and Wal- 

 lacea. Some of these were already 

 flowering. One division was planted 

 with stock plants of the best geraniums 

 for bedding, which is a new industry 

 here. 



Cucumbers occupy three houses. The 

 variety is a selection of White Spine 

 which W. E. Lenk, the superintendent, 

 finds better than any he can buy. The 

 cucumbers were carrying grand crops, 

 with no signs of organic or insect 

 troubles. Lettuce was formerly heavily 

 grown, but shipments from the south 

 have caused low prices, making the in- 

 door lettuce unprofitable. One large 



house is planted with water cress and 

 parsley, and one with tomatoes, the va- 

 riety being Comet. The latter was 

 being picked in quantity at the time of 

 our visit. 



Sterilization of the soil is practiced 

 for all crops, Mr. Lenk believing this to 

 be necessary for the attainment of 

 first-class results. Last season, as an 

 experiment, he soaked the borders of 

 one house with boiling water, running 

 his whole battery of four 125 horse- 

 power boilers in order to keep the 

 water boiling, and delivering it on a 

 15-pound pressure. He is so well pleased 

 with the results that he will probably 

 extend its use the coming season. His 

 objection to sterilization is that certain 

 outlets are liable to become clogged, 

 with the result that some portions are 

 not properly feterilized. A man using 

 boiling water soaked the borders of a 

 house 40x300 in two days. 



All flowers grown here are sold 

 through the Boston Flower Growers' 

 Sales Co., at the Boston Flower Ex- 

 change. Mr. Lenk, the manager, was 

 formerly with the well-known firm of 

 Hittinger Bros., Belmont, Mass. 



Oneonta, N. T. — John Strong says 

 business might be better, but as stock 

 was backward it was just as well. It 

 is more brisk now and stock is in fine 

 shape. 



In tfie Packing $hed at the Exhibition of the Halifax Garden Co. 



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