A MEMOIR. 19 



years he personally and successfully conducted both the 

 market garden and greenhouse departments, spending 

 more than half of his working hours in his shirt sleeves, 

 often drenched to the skin while leading his men in 

 some active operation out of doors. 



Finding his quarters limited, he bought a plot of ground 

 of about six acres back of Jersey City, which he cultiva- 

 ted until about 1863, when the greenhouse department be- 

 came so extensive, and its demands on his time so exact- 

 ing, that he sold the " Back Lane " place, as it was called, 

 and devoted himself solely to the Jersey City establish- 

 ment, which by this time, in addition to the market 

 garden, included twelve greenhouses, besides a large 

 number of pits and frames. 



The amount of labor he performed in those days was 

 prodigfious; he would rout out his force of men every 

 morning by day-break and all operations, either of 

 garden or greenhouse, he led personally. Often in the 

 busy season, the day's labor would be carried on in the 

 greenhouses until ten or eleven o'clock at night, where by 

 lamp light, cuttings would be made, plants potted and 

 staked, and labels written, — it being an iron-clad rule that 

 no plant was to be sold or delivered unless properly and 

 distinctly labeled. The wooden tallies or labels which for 

 years past have been turned out by machinery by 

 millions, were in the so's made by hand. Cedar posts 

 would be sawn and split into convenient lengths and 

 then with knives were whittled down to label size. The 

 younger members of the force, in the spring and sum- 

 mer mornings, used to make up bouquets which were 

 retailed by boys in the streets of New York in the after- 

 noon. He, however, soon gave up selling cut flowers in 

 this way. 



About 1853, he opened an office in New York with 

 Mcllvain & Orr, afterwards Mcllvain & Young, at No. 9 

 John street, where during the spring and early summer 

 months he sold and took orders for delivery the next 

 day, of such greenhouse and vegetable plants as were 

 in season; and in addition Mr. Mcllvain sold plants in 



