42 



NEW YORK FLOWER MARKET. 



a failure ; the pods blasted, black spots coming on 

 them, being a total failure in some lines. Potatoes 

 were about half a crop, as they rotted badl_v. Cu- 

 cumbers under glass were as good as usual ; later 

 ones outside were the poorest crop ever known here 

 — almost a complete failure. Tomatoes were slow 

 to ripen, and there were but few early ones ; the 

 bulk of the crojD ripened within two weeks, and con- 

 sequently sold on a full market for only 20 cents 

 a bushel ; there was an unusually large crop. 

 Squashes, both summer and winter varieties, were 

 good, but the late ones matured imperfectl}', and in 

 the late warm weather have rotted badly. 



Sweet corn was very unsatisfactory, hax'ing im- 

 perfect ears and being of slow growth. Onions 

 blasted when half grown with most growers. Cab- 

 bages were very uneven, some very fine and some 

 poor ; the crop has been low in market during the 

 fall, but many are holding for an expected rise. 

 Cauliflowers have rotted badly in all stages of growth, 

 and many fine heads rotted after tying up to bleach, 

 Beets, the early ones, were good, the late ones small 

 and many of them below marketable size. Celery 

 never was a larger crop, yet the blast, or yellow leaf, 

 overtook some lots in the later stages of growth. 

 Single roots, after being prepared for market, have 

 weighed four pounds. Turnips were as good as 

 usual ; the White Egg variety maintains its reputa- 

 tion as a wormy turnip, and many fields of it this 

 year were not harvested, at least for market. Par- 

 snips and carrots are variable, showing both the best 

 and the poorest crops seen in this section for j-ears. 

 Peppers were good but late, and many of them 

 caught by the early frost. 



Pole lima beans failed to ripen more than half a 

 crop. The new bash lima matured the larger share 

 of its pods, and very few failed to contain beans. 

 Spinach, especially the fall crop, was particularly 

 fine. Here is given the season's outcome in this 

 section. All thing considered, we call it an average 

 year for profit. 



The failures are largely due to cool, wet and 

 cloudy weather. Such experiences point anew to 

 the value of glass in the garden, and the grower that 

 keeps up with the procession must use more and 

 more glass. 



An object lesson in growing under glass has been 

 two houses under one management, one of them a 

 1 2 -foot wide span roof house covered with hot-bed 

 sash, on rafters of 2x4 stuff: the other a lean-to 

 house facing the south, set with 16x24 glass, on 

 2 '4 x1 '4 inch rafters. Up to November 15 no artifi- 

 cial heat was used in either house. In the house set 

 with large glass, the lettuce has grown as fast again 

 and looks better every way, and yet in this locality 

 the new houses are put up on the narrow glass, 

 heavy-rafter, span-roof plan. I propose to use after 

 this only the large-pane, light-rafter pattern for all 

 new work. This matter of building, heating and 

 using glass structures is a very important one, and 

 also one on which growers differ radically ; we do 

 not seem to follow any one man's lead, but every 

 one his own ideal, and the end is not yet. New 

 methods open up constantly, and the man that is 

 without sufficient complement of glass is sure to lose 

 ground. 



Hauipdcn County, Mass. W. H. Bull. 



THE FLOWER MARKETS OF NEW YORK. 



The flowers sold in the metropolis always receive 

 admiration from our visitors, and good judges say 

 that the best are the equal of any in the world. In 

 forced roses and lilies we are ahead of the world. 

 Much inferior stuff is sold here for low prices, but 

 those who want the best during the " season, " must 

 expect to pay liberally. In spite of the complaints 

 of high prices by some unthinking people, it is difficult 

 to see how even those easiest grown could be sold 

 more cheaply. For example, the common ox-eye 

 daisy, which grows as a weed in meadows costs 

 nothing to raise, and sells for ten cents a bunch in 

 their season. We have been told this was too high 

 for some people who like them, but those who advo- 

 cate "flowers for the poor," must remember that 

 even these cannot be "cut down as grass" and piled 



as hay. They must be culled and packed so as to 

 arrive in market in good condition, or they will not 

 sell at any price. This takes skill and understand- 

 ing. Expenses of transportation must be paid. 

 The time must be short or the flowers will wither. 

 When all these conditions are met, we do not believe 

 the price can be bettered for buyers. 



Most of the flowers sold here, and the trade is 

 estimated some years to amount to nearly ^5,000,- 

 000, are florists' flowers. The favorite roses come 

 first and range in prices from Si. 50 for a single 

 flower, to ten cents for a large bunch, according to 

 the variety, the season, scarcity and demand. Car- 

 nations come next, and then violets. The latter are 

 always in demand, and the supply is rarely equal to 

 it. Everybody is fond of them, and the violet dis- 



