Di^geeGuide To Rose Qjltvre 



greenhouses, all as neat as wax. Every inch of bench space was taken up by thrifty plants, chiefly 

 E-oses, all growing on their own roots, and reflecting that vigorous green that comes only of perfect 

 plant health. 'We have in stock not less than a thousand varieties of Roses alone,' continues Mr. 

 Parker, 'and are constantly adding more. Many of the best standard varieties originated and were 

 introduced by us, such as Helen Gould, Mrs. Robert Peary, Golden Gate, Marion Dingee, Virginia, 

 Henry M. Stanley, and others, but our greatest triumph is yet to come, for we will introduce in 1909 

 the most beautiful and best of all garden Roses, yet unnamed.' [This variety originated by Mr. 

 Parker now bears the name Charles Dingee.] Mr. Parker added, "We are always looking out for and 

 propagating new varieties, for fashions change in Roses as they do in everything else. Down the 

 center of one of the big packing sheds half a dozen men were busily cutting up Rose branches into 

 three-inch pieces. This is how it looked, but closer inspection showed each cutting carefully clipped 

 at an angle just below the 'joint ' of the parent stem. Off to a specially constructed propagating green- 

 house were the cuttings carried, where in long, spotlessly clean, white beds of moist river sand they 

 were inserted by the chief propagator, who, by the way, can plant 10,000 cuttings a day. 



"With the flood of mail orders that begins in February, ruthless hands begin to strip the houses 

 and cast aside the pretty blooms that appear. So it seemed to the scribe. In the principal or main 

 packing shed, scores of busy hands assemble the plants, which, when removed from their pots, 

 wrapped in damp moss, labeled and packed in neat mail and express packages, are ready for dispatch- 

 ing to the host of distant, waiting customers. As an evidence of the amount of business done, it is 

 known for this firm to have sent by mail alone over a ton per day. 



"It is a business of infinite pains, infinite care and vigilance. The temperature, moisture and 

 infection must be ever watched, night and day, year in and year out. A careless fireman can lose 

 $10,000 worth of stock in one night. Carelessness, leading to dirt or infection, may lose a whole 

 year's business. It is the pride of the chief fireman to know that the seventy great steam-heated 

 houses do not vary two degrees during even zero weather. The Dingee & Conard Co. were the 

 originators of sending Roses by mail, and through energy and honorable dealing, have made them- 

 selves a leading power in America's floral trade." 



Note. — In addition to the officers of The Dingee & Conard Co. as mentioned in the above 

 article, special mention should be made of Alfred P. Reid, Esq., the president, who also serves as 

 the legal counselor of the business. Mr. Reid is also p -esident of the First National Bank of West 

 Chester, and is widely known throughout Pennsylvania as a most prominent citizen. 



Ofl&ce of The Dingee & Conaxd Co. Greenhouses in the distance 



