Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-14

II luso peTsplTdElOu was gazing over
the edge of an ordinary vegetable
wagon that was backed up against
the sidewalk OF the Center Market at precisely
142 yesterday afternoon. The vehicle was
loaded to the brim with most beautiful roses
not merely the common sorts full biown bat the
most costly varieties ofshybrld buds-and it
was apparent that the observer at the side Of
the conveyance wanted them. Possibly he was
an amateur in the horticultural way, or may be
he desired bouquet for his lady love; but. at
all events, the flowers excited in him covetous
propensities, as quickly made evident
when. after hasty and cautious look around.
he made furtive grab for an armful of the
blooms. Unfortunately, at that moment the
proprietor of the cart came out suddenly upon
the pavement and proceeded to warn off the
predatory stranger with such selection of
cuss words as was best adapted to the occasion,
= them feliers!' he said, as the unwei-
come intruder took hasty departure
Whereupon he fell almost literally tooth and
nail upon the heaps of roses on the cart tramp
ing them out of all shape and scattering the
petals everywhere, so that at the end of five
minutes there was hardly single bud left un-
destroyed. Apparently, more wanton and
atrOclou5 damage could not have been imagined
What on earth are you doing that for?"
querled a STAR reporter, passing by, with some
Indignation.
The man in the wagon. who had so little re-
spect for flowers, eyed the newspaper writer
Tor moment as If opposed to resent the imper-
tinence OF the question. but presently ne
grlnned amiabiy and replied:
GETTING RID OF AN OVER SUPPLY.
"Why, wot do you spose would become of
the rose-growing business if we gave away all
the flowers We couldn't sell to peddlers like
that bioomin chump who has Just left? If I'd
been minute later that Teller would have laid
IN stock for the day from my wagon We
don { Ike to throw away good flowers but We
can better afford to do that than to give them
away. At our green houses near the city we
cut 10000 roses day. May be we bring in
from 1000 to 5000 every morning As a rule.
good many of them remain unsold and the
only thing for us TO do is to destroy them lest
they supply the demand at our expense. 1t is
no unusual thing for us to tear to pieces q 600
OF the finest rose-blooms in an afternoon in or
der that they may not fall into the hands of
other dealers, more particularly peddlers To
US 1t would be no object to sell such over SUD-
ply OF roses at sacrifice, inasmuch as to do so
would be TO reduce the market value of the
goods we sell This is the great season for
throwing away roses by the cart load During
the WINTER season We can dispose of any mum
Der We can raise. There are
TRICKS IN THE FLOWER TRADE,
as in every other business. Three weeks be-
fore Christmas good roses are plentiful at 81 a
dozen. SO we put them away in the cold
storage rooms over the market and keep them
there as if they were SO much cold meat until
the mondays, when they can be disposed of
readily for from Sc to IS a dozen. But Won
know, Of course, how meat kept in that way is
affected. The cold keeps it perfectly fresh,
but when 1t Is taken out of storage it must be
eaten at once, lest it suddenly decay. 1t is the
same way with roses so preserved; they are
all right Tor sale, but are ready to drop apart
almost immediately You may take it as fact
that 1t does not pay to sell roses for 80 cents a
dozen. If one could dispose of every rose he
produces at one cent apiece the business would
be remunerative but enormous numbers are of
necessity lost. There is 40 article subject to
barter that varies so much in price as roses do.
From one day to another they are always apt
10 go up or down 81 or % per dozen, and in
the marketit is hardly ever that the same
price Is asked OF two customers in succession.
one person VIII very likely pay g. so for a
dozen roses which the next conner will dupli-
cate for so cents. Shrewd dealing will save a
lot OF money IN buying flowers at the market
Perhaps the people who set the most for their
money are those who buy 25-cent bouquets. the
sale OF which forms no uncomfortable portion
of the trade"
HOW ROSES ARE BROUGHT TO MARKET.
"How are the roses brought to MARKET" the
flower man asked.
VIC Wv 'uSiH III 1He carr morning., ne SAID.
"Those which are to be sent in town to market
are simply loaded upon wagons But the chief
part OF our trade consists in sending large
quantities to other cities. For this purpose we
pack them in long, narrow boxes, four inches
deep, with slx-pound lump of ice in the mid
die OF each box. In this way we can send them
fresh to San Francisco. The raising of roses
Is quite science. They have t. be taken care
OF as palnstakingly AS babies. A dozen times a
day Tho Ventilators in the hot houses where
they are grown must be regulated, for, if the
thermometer goes up half dozen degrees too
high or as much too low, the fatal miIdew will
attack them. Bugs are a constant terror and
there Is no end to anxieties concerning the
plants. We never grow rose bushes for more
than year, because during the first twelve
month they bear best. Cuttings are PLANTED
IN thumb pots February /. and all buds that
appear before the time OF autumn frosts are
carefully plnched Off Thus they are made to
bloom III winter, when prices are high. When
spring comes the bushes are thrown away ana
new ones take their places. The greatest rose
growing Locality near Washington is Anacostia
and next to that comes Badensburg Rose
nurseries occupying from twenty to thirty huge