ROSE-FORGING IN AMERICA. 



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sold their own produce. The history of this company, dating from its in- 

 ception in 1895 to the present, is very interesting. Each stockholder paid, 

 in addition to his stock, a deposit of one cent per square foot for all the 

 glass from which he was cutting flowers and shipping to that market, and 

 further paid a commission of 10 per cent, on the gross sales. The deposit 

 was recoverable with 5 per cent, interest if at any time the connection 

 with the company as selling agent were broken. The first year the flowers 

 were pooled, a very fair arrangement, putting all on an equal basis. The 

 second winter they were sold on their merits, a scheme which did very 

 well for the man who grew good flowers and lived near enough to the 

 market to insure fair play ; this, of course, did not give satisfaction. Now 

 each grower employs his own salesman, who attends to all details of sell- 

 ing ; each man further pays the company a commission of 5 per cent, for 

 guaranteeing and collecting all accounts. After the dividends have been 

 paid the remaining earnings are divided among the consignors pro rata, 

 so that, for the year just preceding this, one of the large growers estimates 

 that it cost him less than 5 per cent, to market his product, without 

 mentioning the satisfaction attendant upon being master of his own 

 business. This New York Cut Flower Company handles the best Roses 

 that go into New York city each year, and by its orders flowers of all 

 kinds are shipped to the large cities in the United States and in Canada, 

 quite a contrast to the old days when 15 per cent, commission was the 

 law and the commission men were lords of the jungle. The financial 

 year of a commercial Rose-growing establishment runs from July to July, 

 from planting season to planting season. 



The American Rose Society stands for the desire on the part of all 

 Rose-lovers in the United States and in Canada to do their best for the 

 Rose, to increase her following, and to have the finest Roses, forced and 

 garden, and to help others to do the same. It is a young society, having 

 been reorganised in 1899. It endeavours to carry out its aim in three 

 ways : by the banding together of those who love the Rose, amateur and 

 professional ; by the dissemination of literature which treats of the Rose 

 and its culture ; and by holding two shows annually, one in March for forced 

 Roses, one in June for garden Roses. There have been published four 

 bulletins containing articles written by authorities, the last one being 

 devoted to the diseases of the Rose. The shows have been held regularly, 

 and have proved a source of inspiration and pleasure. 



In conclusion I wish to express my indebtedness to many of my 

 confreres, to some of whom I have already made acknowledgment ; to 

 others too numerous to mention, but equally appreciated ; and finally to 

 my father, Benjamin Dorrance, through whose success and by whose 

 knowledge I have been led to enter the ranks of the Rose-growers, through 

 whose inspiration I hope to reach higher levels, and who has been my 

 valued critic in the writing of this paper. 



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