﻿April, 
  1907 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  H7 
  

  

  A 
  Cartful 
  of 
  Lilies 
  on 
  a 
  Bermuda 
  Lily 
  Farm 
  

  

  and 
  twenty-five 
  thousand 
  

   lilies 
  of 
  the 
  valley; 
  besides 
  

   larger 
  lilies, 
  with 
  liiac, 
  mig- 
  

   nonette, 
  orchids, 
  and 
  a 
  vast 
  

   green 
  accompaniment 
  of 
  

   smilax, 
  adiantum, 
  and 
  as- 
  

   paragus 
  plumosus. 
  

  

  Nine 
  growers 
  alone 
  will 
  

   send 
  five 
  million 
  roses 
  to 
  

   make 
  fragrant 
  the 
  city's 
  

   heart 
  in 
  a 
  single 
  season. 
  

   The 
  center 
  of 
  this 
  great 
  

   trade 
  lies 
  between 
  Twenty- 
  

   third 
  and 
  Thirtieth 
  Streets, 
  

   Broadway 
  and 
  Sixth 
  Ave- 
  

   nue. 
  Quite 
  ninety 
  per 
  cent. 
  

   of 
  this 
  immense 
  supply 
  is 
  

   grown 
  under 
  glass, 
  of 
  which 
  

   the 
  State 
  as 
  a 
  whole 
  has 
  

   four 
  million 
  five 
  hundred 
  

   thousand 
  square 
  feet 
  be- 
  

   longing 
  to 
  perhaps 
  one 
  

   thousand 
  four 
  hundred 
  

  

  Lager 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  risking 
  his 
  life 
  daily 
  for 
  months 
  on 
  end 
  

   in 
  the 
  little-known 
  Carribean 
  Mountains, 
  where 
  marvelous 
  

   flowers 
  that 
  imitate 
  butterflies, 
  beetles, 
  and 
  birds 
  show 
  bright 
  

   against 
  the 
  dark 
  tropic 
  foliage 
  of 
  dense 
  forest 
  trees. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  for 
  New 
  York, 
  too, 
  that 
  little 
  Bermuda 
  grows 
  her 
  

   millions 
  of 
  lilies, 
  yielding 
  her 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  twenty 
  thou- 
  

   sand 
  dollars 
  a 
  year. 
  Floral 
  Bermuda, 
  whose 
  glories 
  were 
  

   sung 
  by 
  Shakespeare, 
  Marvell, 
  and 
  Moore. 
  A 
  wondrous 
  

   sight 
  indeed 
  is 
  a 
  thirty-acre 
  field 
  of 
  Easter 
  lilies 
  near 
  Hamil- 
  

   ton, 
  the 
  island 
  capital. 
  Though 
  no 
  scientists, 
  the 
  flower 
  

   farmers 
  here 
  produce, 
  through 
  sheer 
  aptitude 
  of 
  the 
  soil, 
  

   astonishing 
  freaks 
  of 
  richness. 
  

  

  I 
  saw 
  in 
  a 
  lily 
  field 
  near 
  Hamilton 
  one 
  magnificent 
  speci- 
  

   men 
  with 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  forty-five 
  perfect 
  

   blooms 
  on 
  a 
  single 
  stalk! 
  Bulbs 
  planted 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  are 
  by 
  

   March 
  grown 
  into 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  lilies, 
  ready 
  for 
  packing 
  in 
  boxes 
  

   with 
  many 
  subdivisions 
  so 
  to 
  prevent 
  crushing 
  on 
  the 
  long 
  

   journey 
  to 
  New 
  York, 
  where 
  they 
  grace 
  our 
  Easter 
  altars 
  

   and 
  homes. 
  Usually 
  these 
  Bermuda 
  lilies 
  are 
  packed 
  in 
  

   boxes 
  of 
  five 
  dozen 
  buds, 
  

   each 
  box 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  

   cubic 
  foot 
  in 
  size, 
  nor 
  

   weighing 
  more 
  than 
  fifteen 
  

   pounds. 
  Such 
  a 
  box 
  costs 
  

   two 
  dollars 
  and 
  ninety-five 
  

   cents 
  for 
  duty 
  and 
  express- 
  

   age 
  right 
  into 
  New 
  York 
  

   City. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  last 
  forty 
  years 
  our 
  

   demand 
  for 
  flowers 
  has 
  in- 
  

   creased 
  eight 
  hundred 
  per 
  

   cent. 
  ; 
  and 
  to-day 
  this 
  charm- 
  

   ing 
  traffic 
  in 
  the 
  metropolis 
  

   alone 
  is 
  worth 
  three 
  million 
  

   dollars 
  a 
  year. 
  Not 
  less 
  

   than 
  thirty 
  wholesale 
  firms 
  

   handle 
  New 
  York's 
  cut 
  

   flowers; 
  and 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  thir- 
  

   teen 
  thousand 
  dollars' 
  worth 
  

   will 
  be 
  sold 
  in 
  a 
  single 
  day. 
  

   In 
  one 
  great 
  consignment 
  I 
  

   saw 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  twenty 
  

   thousand 
  roses, 
  two 
  hun- 
  

   dred 
  and 
  ten 
  thousand 
  car- 
  

   nations, 
  four 
  hundred 
  and 
  

   twenty-six 
  thousand 
  violets, 
  

  

  growers. 
  

  

  The 
  roses 
  come 
  from 
  Madison, 
  Chatham, 
  and 
  Summit, 
  

   N. 
  J.; 
  Scarborough, 
  N. 
  Y., 
  and 
  various 
  places 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  

   of 
  Hoboken 
  and 
  Jersey 
  City. 
  From 
  Long 
  Island 
  townships 
  

   come 
  our 
  magnificent 
  carnations. 
  Queens 
  and 
  Flatbush 
  in 
  

   Brooklyn 
  are 
  great 
  sources 
  of 
  supply, 
  as 
  also 
  are 
  Elmhurst 
  

   and 
  Newtown. 
  Quite 
  two 
  million 
  dollars 
  is 
  invested 
  in 
  the 
  

   country 
  in 
  carnation 
  culture 
  alone; 
  and 
  new 
  varieties 
  are 
  con- 
  

   stantly 
  being 
  introduced. 
  The 
  profits 
  are 
  large; 
  a 
  carnation 
  

   sold 
  wholesale 
  at 
  thirty-eight 
  cents 
  will 
  fetch 
  one 
  dollar 
  in 
  

   the 
  palatial 
  establishments 
  of 
  the 
  fashionable 
  florists. 
  

  

  Rhinebeck, 
  Poughkeepsie, 
  Highlands, 
  and 
  the 
  Hudson 
  sec- 
  

   tion 
  generally 
  are 
  most 
  successful 
  with 
  opulent 
  and 
  delicate 
  

   violets. 
  There 
  is 
  one 
  house 
  at 
  New 
  Rochelle 
  with 
  two 
  hun- 
  

   dred 
  and 
  thirty 
  thousand 
  square 
  feet 
  of 
  glass, 
  under 
  which 
  are 
  

   grown 
  superb 
  orchids 
  and 
  palms, 
  with 
  ferns, 
  rare 
  green- 
  

   house 
  plants 
  and 
  garden 
  roses. 
  Altogether 
  the 
  State's 
  great 
  

   sea 
  of 
  glass 
  is 
  worked 
  by 
  perhaps 
  one 
  thousand 
  five 
  

   hundred 
  different 
  establishments, 
  employing 
  quite 
  an 
  army 
  

   of 
  men. 
  

  

  A 
  Corner 
  of 
  a 
  Bermuda 
  Lily 
  Field 
  

  

  