96 



Annals of Horticulture. 



the Census, and the following statement has gone the rounds 

 of the press : The bulletin ' is understood to be the result 

 of a suggestion made by the accomplished wife of the Super- 

 intendent of the Census, with a view to opening up a new 

 avenue of employment for women. Superintendent Porter, 

 from the day he received his appointment until now, has 

 been worn down by pitiful appeals from women for employ- 

 ment. Without straining facts, it might be said that the pro- 

 portion of rejected women applicants was as high as ninety- 

 nine out of a hundred. Many of those disappointed took a 

 woman's chance and appealed to the wife of the superinten- 

 dent, who, seeing so many helpless females in the world, 

 turned her mind to devising some new opening to employment. 

 The result was the special report on floriculture which now 

 appears, and which was made at her suggestion.' 



"The total value of the floricultural product for one year 

 was $26, 2 1 1, 805. 77, of which $14, 175,328.01 was for cut-flowers 

 and the remainder for plants. Of the plants sold, 49,056,253 

 were rose-bushes, and 38,380,872 were hardy plants and 

 offlori- shrubs, while the total number of all plants sold was 240,- 

 cuiture. 272,417. It required 18,805 people to grow these plants and 

 cut-flowers, at an aggregate wage of $8,483,657. All this 

 business required an outlay of $1,161,168.31 for advertising, 

 and the issuing of 21,055,694 catalogues, and the estimated 

 freight and express bills on outgoing shipments was $1,086,- 

 904.60. 



" ' Of the plants sold, the demand in the northern and eastern 

 states is greatest for geraniums, coleus, roses, pansies, verbe- 

 nas, heliotropes, carnations, chrysanthemums, palms, ferns 

 and fuchsias, nearly in the order named. In the south the 

 ' demand is for roses, chrysanthemums, geraniums, coleus, 

 palms and ferns ; while California shows the demand to be 

 the largest for roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, geraniums, 

 palms and pansies. For cut-flowers, roses lead, followed 

 closely by carnations.' " 



Flower-seed growing has not assumed large proportions in 

 this country, largely, no doubt, because of the high price of 

 labor. The value per acre of the "planting-stock," z. e., the 

 seeds and plants set for the crop, is said to range "from $6 to 

 $25, according to variety. " ' < The yield per acre of flower seed 

 is from 10 to 1,000 pounds, according to variety." "The returns 



