December 30, 1896.] 



Garden and Forest. 



529 



is mentioned for the purpose of experiment by cultivators of 

 an inquiring turn, rather than by way of refutation of the pub- 

 lished opinions of other cultivators. 



South Lancaster, Mass. E. 0. Orpet. 



Correspondence. 



Cooperation in Flower-growing. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest: 



Sir, — Previous to the organization of the Boston Cooperative 

 Flower Growers' Association in 1892, near-by growers for 

 market made sales direct to the retail stores, carrying their 

 flowers with them and making a daily canvass of the business 

 portion of the city. In this toilsome work much time was 

 wasted. There was no means of gauging the supply and 

 demand, and prices had a very unsatisfactory basis. No 

 agreement existed among growers, and between buyer and 

 seller it was often a contest of wits ; neither the grower nor 

 the buyer expected to get nor to give what the other de- 

 manded. It was noon when the tired travelers returned, and 

 often after a valuable lot of flowers had been disposed of for 

 half their real worth. Another method, still in practice to 

 some extent, was to make consignments to commission-men. 

 Every one who disposes of his produce in this way puts him- 

 self in the commission-men's power. He must trust them 

 implicitly, and though they may be, and in most cases are, 

 honest, there is always some uncertainty as to returns. 



Eventually the growers came together and drew up articles 

 of agreement. These were signed at a meeting held in Horti- 

 cultural Hall on October 18th, 1892, and a charter was obtained 

 some time later. The market was opened on the first of 

 November of the same year, when an auction sale for space 

 was made, at which the corporation realized $225.00 in pre- 

 miums above stated rentals. The market has been successful 

 from the start. The retail stores ignored the combination, and 

 treated those who remained out of it with extreme considera- 

 tion. But the provision of a meeting-place, the establishing of 

 a standard of value and of a shelter during winter proved de- 

 cided advantages, and three-fourths of the market growers are 

 now in the association, including all the best ones. Prominent 

 among stand-holders are William Nicholson, of South Fram- 

 ingham, the Carnation specialist ; Joseph Tailby, his son Wil- 

 liam, being one of the original promoters, treasurer, clerk, an 

 auctioneer; Peter Ball, of Maiden, Roses ; Fisher Brothers, 

 Montvale, Carnations, Asparagus and Ferns ; W. H. Elliott, 

 Brighton, who makes a specialty of Asparagus plumosus 

 nanus,|and ships it to all parts of the country ; Mann Brothers, 

 Randolph, known as the introducers of Mutual Friend Chrys- 

 anthemums and growers of fine bulbous stock ; F. Matheson, 

 Waverly, Roses ; William Edgar, Waverly, fine Chrysanthe- 

 mums and Mignonette. 



With the gain of the association in numbers and importance 

 it became difficult for the best stores to get rlrst-quality stock, 

 and this predicament was taken advantage of by the few 

 growers who were not members of the association. The 

 stores were at last forced to patronize the market for protec- 

 tion, and its prices now rule. 



The market is now held under the Park Street Church ; 

 every available foot is rented, and the enterprise pays well. 

 The rules of the market allow only growers to sell, and com- 

 mission-men are excluded. At the time of my visit, between 

 six and eight in the morning, I was surprised at the quantity 

 and quality of the stock sold and the shortness of time in which 

 it was disposed of. The bulk of the business is done within 

 an hour. It had been my impression that the street fakir was 

 an adjunct of the stores, buying left-over stock. This, I find, 

 is not true. Even the fakir knows a good thing. Though he 

 wants only second-class stuff, he wants it fresh. He barters 

 long and patiently, but always pays cash, and therefore is a 

 welcome visitor. Really he is a benefit to the trade rather 

 than an injury. He deals in stock the storekeepers would not 

 buy and the grower could not otherwise dispose of, and sells 

 to a class who would not go into the stores to buy. Nothing 

 is sold at retail, and what is left over is held by the manager 

 for sale during the day. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Recent Publications. 



A report on The Culture of Hemp and Jute in the United 

 Slates, by Charles Richards Dodge, Special Agent, has just 

 been published by the Department of Agriculture. Prac- 

 tically very little fibre from either of these plants is now 

 produced in the United States. Thirty-seven years ago 



75,000 tons of hemp were grown, while last year only 5,000 

 tons were reported for the whole country. The decline in 

 the production of hemp dates back, primarily, to the decline 

 in American shipbuilding ; it was hastened by the intro- 

 duction of Manilla hemp, and later still by the importation 

 of jute. Additional falling off in production is due to the 

 decline in prices for hard-cordage fibres, such as sisal and 

 manilla, through overproduction stimulated by the high 

 prices of these two fibres five or six years ago. The 

 Department of Agriculture began to interest itself in ex- 

 tending the cultivation of Hemp in 1890, when the con- 

 sumption of binding twine amounted to 150,000 tons a 

 year, and it was then shown that if one-half of this twine 

 were made from home-grown hemp, instead of from 

 manilla or sisal, there would be a saving to consumers and 

 an advantage to American farmers amounting to nearly 

 two million dollars a year. The effort then made to revive 

 the North River hemp industry in this state failed, and it has 

 suffered a decline in Illinois, where much low-grade hemp 

 was once grown for binding twine. To this rather gloomy 

 history are added interesting notes on soil, seed, harvesting, 

 etc., both in this country and abroad. Nearly three hun- 

 dred patents have been issued in the United States for 

 machines for breaking hemp, many of which have proved 

 failures, and none have fulfilled the essential requirements, 

 so that the Kentucky Hemp grower of to-day relies on the 

 rude and clumsy handbrake of his grandfather's time, a 

 device similar to the one still used by the Hemp farmers of 

 Brittany. Satisfactory machinery would, no doubt, give a 

 great impetus to the cultivation of this fibre. It is doubtful, 

 however, whether hemp will ever be used again in the 

 manufacture of coarse-woven goods, since cotton is so 

 cheap that it has superseded both hemp and flax in com- 

 mon manufactures. Hemp has probably no future use 

 except in the rougher manufactures — that is, for the cheaper 

 kinds of cordage and twine, although it may be fit for 

 bagging. It is doubtful if hemp can ever be produced so 

 as to compete with jute-butts, but its larger employment in 

 cordage manufacture ought to enable it to recover a part 

 of the ground it has lost as an American fibre industry. A 

 rough product that could be cheaply produced would be 

 good enough for binding twine, and might be employed 

 with advantage in the cheaper grades of small cordage 

 now made of imported jute because of its superior 

 strength and less liability to deterioration when stored for 

 any length of time. 



Although hemp is a stronger and better fibre than jute, 

 and although its cultivation is fully understood here, it is a 

 fact that the large present demand for India jute would 

 insure a ready market for American jute if it could be 

 raised here in quantity. Nearly five million dollars' worth 

 of jute fibre was imported into this country for manufactuie 

 during the last year, and yet it is perfectly adapted to cul- 

 tivation in the southern states, and its large yield per acre 

 ought to make it a staple production. It is used for weav- 

 ing into fine and coarse fibres, for making twines and cord- 

 age and in the manufacture of paper. A limited experience 

 in cultivating the plant in this country seems to prove that 

 jute of an excellent quality can be grown here. On proper 

 soils and with our improved implements in preparing the 

 ground an American farmer ought to count upon three 

 thousand pounds an acre, but here, too, the success will 

 largely depend upon the use of machinery for extracting the 

 fibre. The southern farmer could hardly meet the demand 

 for cheap jute, but might, perhaps, through the demand 

 for higher-priced fibre at prices which he would be able to 

 realize in competition with the Indian product. After all, 

 the question of economical production of jute in the United 

 States is not yet practically solved. It has been demon- 

 strated that the plants will grow luxuriantly in many parts 

 of the south, and that the bark contains fibre of excellent 

 quality, and the prospect warrants careful experimentation 

 with a view to ascertaining the actual cost of growing this 

 crop and of extracting ami baling the fibre. The subject 

 is such an important one that inquiries in relation to the 



