CARNATIONS IN ILLINOIS 1 37 



establishments where Carnations are grown in greater 

 quantity than Roses. The trade of the City of Chicago 

 itself calls for a large daily supply, and in addition to this 

 there is the heavy shipping demand which comes from all 

 over the Central States and as far south as New Orleans, 

 west to Denver and the Rocky Mountain regions, north 

 to Duluth into Canada to Winnipeg and beyond. 



A great deal of the product is handled on a commission 

 basis by the wholesale florists in the city, but many of the 

 largest growers maintain their own selling quarters. Some 

 there are who make a specialty of growing Carnations and 

 ship their flowers direct to the retail stores throughout 

 this section of the country. 



The flowers that are consigned to the wholesale 

 florists to be sold on commission are mostly tied in bunches 

 of twenty-five to facilitate handling. Those that are 

 shipped direct to the retail stores are usually packed in a 

 single layer in shallow wooden boxes, and a. few growers 

 take the extra care to get their flowers into the buyer's 

 hands in the best possible condition by packing them 

 in cardboard boxes which hold a layer of one hundred 

 blooms. 



The varieties grown comprise most of the present-day 

 standard ones with those of the Enchantress family leading, 

 though it is the case here as elsewhere — some grower will 

 have great success with some certain variety and grow it 

 more extensively than any other. White Enchantress is 

 the leading white, and White Wonder, which is gaining 

 more in favor each season, a close second. White Per- 

 fection seems to have been dropped entirely. It was for a 

 long time the most popular white in this section. A few 

 growers still grow some White Lawson on account of its 

 good keeping and shipping qualities. Matchless is well 



