PREFACE. 



The florist finds that in his profession changes are 

 continually taking place, and if he would succeed he 

 must keep up with the procession. Not only are new 

 and improved methods continually being brought into 

 use, but the plants that he grows change from year to 

 year. A few years ago camellias, tuberoses and bouvar- 

 dias were among the plants that were most grown, but 

 now, if grown at all, they have but a small place. Not 

 only does Fashion change the classes of plants that are 

 grown, but from year to year the varieties change, and 

 the methods of culture improve. 



To inform himself as to the methods that have 

 been found valuable by his competitors, one can, to be 

 sure, look to the horticultural periodicals, which con- 

 tain much valuable information, but the books to which 

 he can go for advice are few and most of them are out 

 of date. To supply a source from which information as 

 to the methods used by the more successful florists can 

 be drawn, this book has been prepared. As originally 

 written it consisted of about ten chapters, which were 

 intended as a sort of appendix to Greenhouse Construc- 

 tion, but the subject of Greenhouse Management was 

 deemed worthy of a separate volume, and accordingly 

 the copy was withdrawn from the printer and consid- 

 erably added to. 



An attempt has been made in this booJc to give to 

 florists an insight into the methods that are to-day being 

 used by their intelligent and successful brethren. In 

 nearly every case they have been tried by the author, or 



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