The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



March 11, 1000. 



After the Civil War. 



This coiiiiiticm (jT nlVnirs remained thu 

 siiiiie until the ('h)se oi the Avar, when 

 ilie deinnntl for llowcrs j^iew to siu'h au 

 extent th:it several shrruil men of means, 

 seeing' the proliability nl' ;i ^oml return 

 ou tlie mnney invcsteil, rn'ctcd a luim- 

 ber of ureciiiiouses soji'l.v lor the eulti- 

 \ation (if Ihjsvcis and iilants to lie sohl at 

 retail, 'i'hes"-, fur the most part, were 

 siiM in idWii by tin' i^iowcr'^ ihemst'h'es, or 

 lo men who ha<l a small comer in a 

 (■(iiiifi-iioncry store, or to drngfjists, and 

 yielded jiood profits to both groAver and 

 retailei-. At that time a few of the 

 s(H'>l housrs liegan to take orders for 

 ilo\\eis. .and it -was not long before a 

 corner was set aside in the seed house 

 for tiie sale of cut llowers ; and lietwoen 

 1S')8 and ISTo a half do/in stores -wore 

 in successful o]ieration in f3oston, and 

 as maTiy moi'c in New York and Phila- 

 drlphia. selling nothing but flowers. 



Boston Was Then the Hub. 



liostou at that time wa^^ the jirincipal 

 siiurce of supply fur other places, Xew 

 York and I'liiladeljiliia c|e|ieii<ling wholly 

 III! I'.ustoa tor tl'.eir sujiply ot' Bon Silene, 

 Safrano and Mare(dial Niel i-oses. lily of 

 llie valley, stejiliaiiot is, epad'is. tuberrises 



ods of making so called "bouquets" and 

 ••fiieces'' were crude, and, with few ex- 

 ceptions, were in the hands of nam \\\\o 

 hatl no thought outside of the dollar to 

 be made in the transaction. 



A l)(un|uet at that time was starletl 

 with a siu'^le llower in the center and 

 rows of others .ai'ound it, the spaces 

 lii'lwcen being tilled with jnincess pine 

 ;iud I'dgetl aidund with the same unite 

 rial. \\' rent lis and crosses were made on 

 rattan or laths, the llowers being wound 

 on one by one, and were delivered in 

 cheese boxes or in boxes and crates im- 

 provised out of laths and m-wspapers. 

 Cut flowers were delivered in browii 

 ]»aper ])arcels or in secondhand shoe 

 boxes. The purchasers .at that time were 

 those that had money and were not 

 always as reasonable in tlieir demands 

 as they sliouM have been. 



Progress Was Slow Until 1870. 



Until about 1S70 the proprietor had to 

 do practically all the work except I ho 

 crude lalior, experienced assistaids being 

 impossibh' to procure. Conditions were 

 such that a young man went into a 

 flower store simply because it was .a job 

 that would do until he found something 

 with shorter hours and moie regularity 

 of emploviiient. Those who had Some 



The Pearly Gates. 



and camellias, which were practically all 

 the \ari"ties of tlowcMs to be had in 

 any (juantity. 



J-Jven at tliat time the ret.ailing of flow- 

 ers w.as arduous work. \(xatious in many 

 ways, and unsaf isf.actory, except from 

 a lin.ancial slandpoiid. The hours of la- 

 bor were long and uncertain, and are to 

 this day. The stock w.as hard, and at 

 tiinos impossible, to procure in quantity 

 enough to supply the demand. The metli- 



natiir.al taste .after a while becaim^ used 

 to the wcirk, and. if nothing better 

 turned uj), contimieii at it \vith more or 

 less success. Xo effort had ever been 

 made to make the florists' business a 

 staph' one. E\('n as late as 1870 tlie 

 men in the busiiu'ss had other lines and 

 devoted part of their lime to something 

 wholly fonagn to the disposal of their 

 flowers. 



Commencing about 1870, various causes 



led to an increased actixity in the busi 

 ness. iN'ew ranges of glass wcic put 

 UJ) all over the east, and new stores were 

 ojiened to dispose of their output. The 

 luincipal cause of this activity. I h,i\e 

 .always thought, Avas the arrival lu this 

 country, from different parts ot' Hurope. 

 of a body of men fairly well e(liicated 

 and thoroughly familiar with the cnltixa 

 tion of plants and flowers — industrious, 

 able, business men. It did not take them 

 long to see the possibilities of the flow 

 cr business in this country and they wer(^ 

 not slow to take advantage of their 

 opportunities. This activity ha.s increased 

 year by year and is still increasing. 



Need of Horticultural Education. 



'J'he present horticultural coursi^s nt 

 our schools ai-e a residt of the efforts 

 of these pioneers and will lead to other 

 ami more extensi\-e courses. The man 

 with an education is the conung man. 

 f>y that 1 do not for a moment mean 

 that a man, no nmtter how well eilucated.. 

 can sit down and business will come to 

 him; but the m.an who has the ambition 

 to succeed and works to that end — this- 

 man will win in the florists' business as 

 well as in all other lines of business. 

 1,'nder ordinary conditions, the educateii 

 man who attends to his business will beat 

 the other m.au out, no matter what his 

 (Xperience or ability may be; it is only 

 a question of time until he drops be- 

 hind, and the cause of it all is himself. 

 In gener.al. the uueducatid nuin, who has 

 become successful, is inclined lo look 

 down on the younger man and feel that 

 because he has been a success it was due 

 to his ability and methods more than tO' 

 want of competition ,aud lack ot' ability 

 in the other man. 



KuWAKLi M.\cMr[,KCV. 



THE GATES. 



The accompanying illustraiiMU is from 

 a iihotograph of a g.ates made by Albert 

 C'. Kott, doliet, 111. Frequently' this de- 

 sign is made up with the gates ^t.anding 

 ojien, but in this case ;Mr. Rott thought 

 the (dfect not so good if the design were 

 mor<^ open .at the buttom; the leight of 

 the arch made it uecess.aiy Id make the 

 base h(!a\ier. 



One frequently sees \\n< cle>ion made 

 up with the f'ranu_> solidly mossed and a 

 groundwork of flowers made perfectly 

 smooth, with carnations. Mr. 1,'ott does 

 not make his designs in that manner, 

 but lu.akes his gimiiidwork of grtM'n and 

 sets in the llowers with stems long 

 enough to produce ;ui effect of looseness 

 and grace, and loosely enough so that 

 each llower m.ay stand out and sliow its 

 individu.al beauty. 



FERTILIZER FOR BEDDERS. 



\\liat |iercent.age of Bradiev- blood 

 ami bone fertilizei- is to be ns.ed ini- pot 

 ting geraiuums into 1 inch and P^.-iucli 

 jiots from 2Cj inidi ami .'I'j inch pots.' 

 .Also for potting fuchsi.as. helioiropc^s ami 

 doubl(> petunias.' We have .i lot rea.|\ 

 t(. move now. .1. s, i^ s. 



In the <-,ase of line bone I would use a 

 •" iin-h jiot to each wheelbarrow load of 

 loam. This special blood and bone mix- 

 ture 1 havi! not tried, but it is an excel 

 lent fertilizer for general crops and the 

 same anmunt should answer f(0- gera 

 niiuns, heliotropes, fuchsias, jKdunias and 

 other bedding plants. A wheelbarrow- 

 load of soil contains about twd bushels. 

 T would use some .saml in the compost, 

 .also ;i little soot if vou can get if 

 h.'in.lilv. (~\V. 



