﻿April, 
  1907 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  149 
  

  

  A 
  Comer 
  of 
  the 
  Flower 
  Farm 
  in 
  Harvest 
  Time 
  

  

  ticularly 
  strong 
  in 
  floriculture. 
  One 
  man 
  to 
  every 
  one 
  thou- 
  

   sand 
  five 
  hundred 
  square 
  feet 
  of 
  glass 
  is 
  the 
  average; 
  though 
  

   many 
  more 
  are 
  needed 
  if 
  the 
  crop 
  be 
  violets, 
  for 
  the 
  little 
  

   plants 
  must 
  be 
  kept 
  clean 
  and 
  the 
  delicate 
  flowers 
  picked 
  with 
  

   extreme 
  care. 
  

  

  Fortunately 
  the 
  harvest 
  of 
  flowers 
  has 
  every 
  advice 
  and 
  

   attention 
  from 
  the 
  experts 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Plant 
  Industry 
  

   at 
  Washington, 
  who 
  place 
  at 
  the 
  disposal 
  of 
  growers 
  all 
  the 
  

   secrets 
  of 
  foreign 
  flower 
  culture 
  in 
  the 
  French 
  Riviera; 
  in 
  the 
  

   nurseries 
  of 
  Holland, 
  which 
  are 
  actually 
  lower 
  than 
  sea 
  level; 
  

   on 
  the 
  seed 
  farms 
  of 
  Germany, 
  and 
  in 
  Belgian 
  nurseries, 
  

   which 
  do 
  so 
  large 
  an 
  international 
  trade 
  in 
  potted 
  azalias, 
  be- 
  

   gonias, 
  lily 
  bulbs, 
  and 
  gloxinias. 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  flowers 
  are 
  ready 
  for 
  market 
  they 
  are 
  consigned 
  

   by 
  the 
  growers 
  to 
  the 
  city 
  wholesalers, 
  whose 
  fifteen 
  per 
  cent. 
  

  

  commission 
  must 
  cover 
  

   heavy 
  rent, 
  cold 
  storage, 
  

   appliances, 
  boxes, 
  ice 
  pack- 
  

   ing, 
  advertising, 
  and 
  labor. 
  

   Perhaps 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  

   single 
  concern 
  in 
  the 
  city 
  is 
  

   a 
  co-operative 
  association 
  

   which 
  grew 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  res- 
  

   taurant 
  headquarters 
  for 
  

   flowers. 
  There 
  are 
  one 
  hun- 
  

   dred 
  and 
  fifty 
  members, 
  and 
  

   these 
  handle 
  eight 
  hundred 
  

   thousand 
  dollars' 
  worth 
  of 
  

   cut 
  blooms 
  every 
  year. 
  

  

  The 
  florists 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  

   City, 
  by 
  the 
  way, 
  are 
  some- 
  

   thing 
  more 
  than 
  mere 
  keen 
  

   and 
  intelligent 
  men 
  of 
  busi- 
  

   ness. 
  They 
  have 
  a 
  genuine 
  

   love 
  for 
  the 
  beautiful, 
  and 
  

   have 
  unquestionably 
  done 
  

   much 
  to 
  improve 
  public 
  

   taste 
  and 
  spread 
  true 
  ap- 
  

   preciation 
  of 
  flowers 
  

   throughout 
  the 
  city's 
  mil- 
  

   lions. 
  It 
  was 
  by 
  reason 
  of 
  

   their 
  efforts 
  that 
  the 
  hideous 
  

   formal 
  bouquet 
  of 
  other 
  days 
  passed 
  away 
  — 
  a 
  strange 
  bunch 
  

   of 
  camelias 
  and 
  tube-roses 
  in 
  a 
  cardboard 
  funnel 
  edged 
  with 
  

   silk! 
  

  

  Nowadays 
  flowers 
  are 
  massed 
  with 
  a 
  delicate 
  and 
  accurate 
  

   appreciation 
  of 
  color 
  values; 
  while 
  one 
  has 
  but 
  to 
  look 
  in 
  

   the 
  window 
  of 
  any 
  one 
  of 
  New 
  York's 
  palatial 
  floral 
  estab- 
  

   lishments 
  to 
  realize 
  that 
  the 
  men 
  who 
  handle 
  a 
  business 
  so 
  

   significant 
  of 
  the 
  nation's 
  taste 
  are 
  themselves 
  natural 
  born 
  

   artists 
  of 
  no 
  mean 
  order. 
  

  

  And 
  on 
  every 
  hand 
  there 
  is 
  an 
  increased 
  appreciation 
  of 
  

   flowers. 
  No 
  show 
  windows 
  are 
  more 
  attractive 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  

   the 
  city 
  florist, 
  who 
  will 
  often 
  crowd 
  his 
  windows 
  with 
  his 
  

   choicest 
  blooms. 
  The 
  floral 
  beauty 
  of 
  many 
  a 
  wedding, 
  ball, 
  

   or 
  other 
  festivity 
  will 
  carry 
  its 
  message 
  of 
  beauty 
  to 
  the 
  sick 
  in 
  

   the 
  hospitals 
  and 
  even 
  to 
  the 
  poor 
  in 
  their 
  homes. 
  

  

  