Fbbbdaby 13, 1913. 



The Florists^ Review 



11 



On the Violet Farm of S. Rosaia G>., Near Colma, Cal. 



with point up. Sow them broadcast or 

 in rows like peas, Kows are to be pre- 

 ferred, as weeding and cultivating are 

 more easily done. C. W. 



VIOLETS IN CALIFOBNIA. 



Of the many interesting sights in 

 my recent trip to the Pacific coast, 

 one of the most absorbing to me was 

 the violet industry near San Francisco. 



Violets, violets everywhere! Flower 

 venders are at almost every corner on 

 the downtown streets in 'Frisco, with 

 stalls, baskets and arms loaded with 

 the fragrant flowers. It seemed as 

 though every other lady I met on the 

 street was wearing a big bunch of 

 them. The shop girls wore smaller 

 bunches, and man after man stopped 

 on his way home and purchased, carry- 

 ing the flowers along the streets, 

 usually without wrapping, and to a 

 stranger in town it appeared almost 

 like a "Violet day" celebration. 



The retail florists were doing a good 

 business, although the low price on the 

 streets — 10 cents per bunch, or three 

 bunches for 25 cents — was somewhat 

 discouraging. The wholesale dealers 

 were busy shipping great quantities, 

 not only to all points along the Pa- 

 cific coast but as far east as Kansas 

 City, St. Louis and even beyond. In 

 our own store at Des Moines, la., we 

 use these flowers and, by the way, the 

 violets grown on the Hudson, these lat- 

 ter coming from Chicago dealers, so 

 that literally Des Moines people wear 

 the violets of both coasts. 



The Pacific coast violets are all out- 

 door grown, most of the growers being 

 Italians located ten to twenty miles 

 south of San Francisco, the town of 



Colma being about the center of the 

 district. Being interested in the sub- 

 ject, I visited several of the "violet 

 farms," as they call them, the largest, 

 belonging to Joe Lagomarsino, being 

 typical of the lot. "Joe" is a live, 

 wide-awake young man, a thoroughly 

 up-to-date grower and in love with his 

 business. He has seventeen acres in 

 violets, separated into several fields 

 by windbreaks of cypress trees. His 

 place is on a hilltop, the fields extend- 

 ing down into the valleys. The plants 

 are set in rows about thirty inches 

 apart, so as to permit horse cultivation, 

 and are usually permitted to stand 

 about three years before replanting. 

 Princess of Wales and California Giant 

 are the only varieties grown, the for- 

 mer being of the richest and most at- 

 tractive color, while the latter has the 

 longest stems, frequently twelve to 

 fourteen inches, and mammoth flowers. 

 The crop season extends from Sep- 

 tember to April. In December they 

 were picking 150 to 200 bunches per 

 day, the crop being short because of 



the exceptionally dry weather. During 

 January and February they usually pick 

 400 to 500 bunches per day. When 

 flowers are scarce they put thirty-five 

 to forty blossoms in a bunch, with 

 lots of leaves, but when more plentiful, 

 say in February, they usually count 

 out about sixty to seventy-five flowers. 

 No attempt is made to have the num- 

 ber uniform, apparently. 



The growers usually sell their prod- 

 uct to the wholesalers in San Francisco, 

 as most of them are not in shape to 

 make flirect shipments to the east, and 

 I believe several of these growers and' 

 wholesalers are advertising in The 

 Eeview. Charles N. Page. 



FANSIES ON HILLSIDE. 



I have about a quarter of an acre of 

 pansies covered with ice, although i 

 took precautions to bed on a sandy hill- 

 side, with frequent cross ditches for 

 drainage. I am located in southern 

 Maine. Do you think the ice will be 

 likely to kill them? They are covered 

 with boughs, leaves and meadow hay. 

 Is there any way to remedy the trouble? 

 Is there any machine that will sow 

 pansy seed broadcast, on beds three 

 feet wide, thin enough for the plants 

 to remain until they bloom, and yet not 

 waste many seeds? C. A. P. 



The ice will not damage the pansies, 

 seeing they are well mulched. A sandy 

 hillside is about the best location you 

 could have selected for your plants. 1 

 do not know of any seed sower such as 

 you describe, though there may be one 

 on the market. Perhaps some other 

 reader can furnish the desired in- 

 formation. I should prefer to sow 

 pansy seed by hand; if it is dropped 

 carefully by a practiced hand, little 

 thinning should be necessary. C. W. 



Birmingham, Ala. — The McVay 

 Seed Co., which does a prosperous busi- 

 ness in cut flowers, is doing some highly 

 successful advertising in local news- 

 papers, under the direction of H. F. 

 Beaumont. ' 



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Violet Farm of Joseph Lagomarsino, Near Colma« Cal. 



(The proprietor is he who modestly staDds In the backgronDd at the right.) 



