FOURTH NATIONAL FLOWER SHOW 
EVOLUTION OF FLORICULTURE IN 
AMERICA 
HE grand array of Nature's finest products that will be on exhibi- 
tion at Convention Hall from March 25th to April 2nd will give 
flower lovers the opportunity of seeing the very latest development 
of plant life. 
When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the bleak, barren shores 
of New England they found very little in the way of native flowers. 
They had brought with them a few seeds of Dianthus and other common 
garden flowers and when these seeds had produced bloom the Pilgrims gazed 
upon the entire cultivated floral wealth of America. 
Among the earliest records of the cultivation of flowers in America, are the 
accounts of the voyages made in 1638 and 1663 by John Josselyn. 
In these accounts Mr. Josselyn made special mention of the successful 
cultivation in America of Hollyhocks, Gilly Flowers, Sweet Briars and English 
Roses. 
From this humble beginning, Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture 
have made most marvelous strides, and now in 19 16 the United States far sur- 
passes any other country in the total production of glass-grown flowers. 
This rapid growth has so increased the supply of Decorative Plants, such 
as Palms, Ferns, etc., that the best of them are within the reach of people of 
moderate means. 
This rapid growth could not have been possible without the stimulus and 
organized work of Horticultural Societies. 
Such organizations are now^ doing good work in most of the large cities 
and the smaller suburban towns. The greatest value of these organizations is 
the interest which they establish in Flowers and Ornamental Plants, and the 
spreading broadcast of knowledge of new varieties and latest cultural methods. 
The oldest existing Society in the United States is the Pennsylvania Horti- 
cultural Society which was organized in 1827, and has included in its member- 
ship, from the very beginning, many of our foremost citizens. It is taking on 
new vigor and is adding many to its membership. It is working in conjunction 
with the S. A. F. 0. H. and other National Horticultural organizations to make 
the Fourth National Flower Show the greatest Floral Exhibition ever staged 
in this country. 
The first greenhouse in this country was built in Boston about the be- 
ginning of the eighteenth century, and in comparison with the magnificent steel 
and concrete constructions of to-day, with their abundance of light and superb 
heating systems, this original greenhouse was a very crude affair. 
The greenhouses now built by the largest firms engaged in that business 
are in points of stability, beauty and adaption to purpose of growing flowers 
and plants, superior, in a marked degree, to anything of the kind in any other 
country. 
In America we have in Winter the finest Roses, Carnations, Sweet Peas, 
and other popular flowers because of the superior construction of the houses and 
the abundant sunshine, which by the way is lacking on the Continent of Europe. 
A most comprehensive idea of the advance made in this great business 
may be obtained by visiting the great Show to be held in Philadelphia, March 
25th to April 2nd. 
