Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-05-01

eaten my dinner l come over 10 the city
and sell the bouquets. When there is
not enough flowers in our garden L go
to the larger florists hothouses and
they sell me flowers at low prices for
my bouquets. never come before /
o'clock in the afternoon; it would be no
use. The ladies who come out in the
mornings haven't any time to buy bcu-
quets, nor the gentlemen neither"
"Who do you sell the most Of your
flowers tor"
"To peopleI" opening her big black
eyes bigger.
'No; l mean. do you sell more to
ladies. than you do to gentlemen"
"Oh, yes ladies buy more than gen.
tlemen. Men are almost always cross
on their way up town. But one (and
here she frightened into smilel is al
ways in good humOr, and he always
buys. He takes my -ittlest bouquet,
too, and pays me five times what it is
worth"
"He must be very kind. Do you
make much money!"
Eyes; the flowers help to support us
good deal"
''Do you"
Excuse me. Here comes my gentle
man." and, turning from me, she lifted
her tray of flowers to an elderly man,
who took small bouquet and dropped
twenty-five cents in the child's hand
and, with smile, passed on.
found that most of the little street
venders of flowers were the children of
German parents. The fathers, having
small gardens and a hothouse or two
perhaps, do most of the work after their
working hours at some other trade are
over. The mother does the lighter gar
den work, and the children sell the
flowers in the streets. Pursued in this
way, Horticulture must be profitable.
That it has been very profitable busi-
ness in the past to many, there can be
no doubt in the mind of any one who
visits Union Hill, North Bergen, Wee
hawken, and West Hoboken. Itramped
all along those heights which lie between
the Passionists' Monastery and North
Bergen lately, and found between
thirty and forty large and small fiori-
cultural establishments in my walk,
and heard that there were about as
many more. Astoria, too, furnishes
further proof that the cultivation #
flowers can be made as profitable as it is
pleasant. The Astorians make up in
the quality of the floral trade what they
lack in quantity, as compared with the
New Jersey florists. Boston also sends
flowers to New York, and Newport
sends great many roses. 1t is little
remarkable that most OF those engaged
i'm the flower business are taciturn, reti-
cent men. mean all who handle the
flowers, for among the 125 or l30 flor
ists' stores in this city there are only a
few whose proprietors own or ever en-
ter garden. a large quantity OF the
flowers used in New York are bought
by agents or middlemen, such as are
ound in every business of any consid-
cradle magnitude, who buy the cut
flowers from the gardeners in New
Jersey, Astoria, and from nearly all
the small towns around that city and
Brooklyn, and sell the same to the flor
lists who keep the stores. Most of these
agents and flower store owners know
nothing about the cultivation of flowers.
Again, the florists who cultivate the
flowers rarely know how TO make bou j.
quets, or if they know how, they do not
make it even a part of their business.
The florist who sells the flowers, pur-
chases the same from the producer or
an agent, who makes the bOuqets. He
makes all of those large fiat basket and
other fancy bouquets which adOrn the
tables of fashionable dinner parties,
evening parties, balls and weddings
and all fu neral and church devOtions.
The flower business has been dull
this season. The weather has been too
warm, so the men who handle them say,
to have a good market, The supply is
in excess of the demand. The festive
season this year was dull for the florists,
however gay it may have been for the
ball goers and society people. The re-
quest that "no flowers" shall be sent to
the house or church on funeral occa-
siOns, which was the result of too many
being sent formerly, has greatly inter
fered with the profits of the flower pro-
ducers and sellers for the last year. All
who deal in flowers, except the small
gardeners. whose children help by sell
| ing and whose families aid in the
cultivation, complain that the flower
business is not what il used to be. But
as most of the producers are dealers in
plants as well as flowers, and as both
producers and city dealers get order;
for plants from all parts of the United
States, from Maine to California, they
are not so much affected by the condi-
ton of the immediate market for bou-
quets and cut flowers as might be
supposed. Ijudge more by inference,
however, than by any direct infOrma-
tion on the subject; for the cultivation
and handling Of flowers do not seem to
make men, women, or children very
communicative on the subject.
| Wearing Carriers.