The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-27
AMERICAN FLOWER TRADE.
Nine Million Dollars worth of Roses
Sold Annually

1
| NEW YORK Aug. 2s.-The exhibition
of the Society OF American Florists at the
Grand Central Palace. which ended on
Friday night. did much to impress visitors
with the fact that great advances have
been made by American florists in recent
years. The Importance OF Horticulture was
also indicated by some of the odd facts
made public.
| The Society of American Florists and
| Ornamental Horticulturists was organized
| in 1854. and ever since its officers and
/ members have been collecting facts and
| figures for the use of florists. The most
recent figures are those compiled by Prof
! B. t. Galloway OF the Bureau of Fege-
| table Pathology and Physiology at Wash
/ ington. They show that there are not
fewer than 5000 commercial florists estab-
lishments in the United States. and that
these florists use 22.500.O00 square feet of
glass. New York State alone has Loo
florists establishments. which use 4,119,-
| 900 square feet OF glass Illinois has 500
establishments. with 4.250.0o0 square feet
of glass The estimated value OF all the
| establishments in the United States is
81. 25O. 900. and Of their total annual out
put s27. 500.0
1t isn't hard for anybody to see that the
question Of glass is a serious one with The
florists. The greatest enemy they have TO
meet, not excepting even the destructive
bug is the HI ilstone. Thousands Of feet
Of glass are destroyed every year by hail
storms. and one result of the founding OF
the Society OF American Florists has seen
the establishment of the Florists Hail
association of America. This association
hos II frnctr
7s2 square feet OF glass, more than half
of all the florists glass in the country.
East year the association hat 20 pay tor
more than f6.0e0 square feet of glass which
had been broken by hail. Concerning The
growth of the industry as measured b.
the glass. President L. NJ. Wood. of the
society. said in his address opening the
convention:
AS an illustration of the remarkable.
growth of Horticulture and horticulture We
may instance the great West. where in
some localities it has increased i'll popuIa-
tiun in twenty years 400 per cent. The in
crease of glass in the same time for iiorl-
culture and horticulture. is over 1,l1o per
cent No one could have fo-esee1 this
enormous and phenomenal growth.
Some interesting estimates Of the value
of different cut flowers annually sold were
made by C. W. Ward. of Queens, one CT
tit pIOIltHtUl IEe society.
The estimated value OF the cut flowers
annually sold is divided UP about as fol-
lows: Roses, 5000, 0e9; carnations. 81
100000; violets, $50. 0o9: n ehrysanthemums,
100000, and miscellaneous, 81 $50 900. The
estimated number of roses annually sod
is 00.000. GOO: carnations 100. 800, 000; vio-
letE, 75.000.o00; total, 1905. 600 / esti-
mate the capital invested in carnations
alone at the present day at 81 GOO. Geo. Tee
oil
York city is $4,000, 600. and OF plants. ST.
500, GEO."
or the cut-hower part OF the florists
business. President Wood said:
AN erroneous idea has gone abroad that
cut flowers at some seasons OF the year a. e
exor5itantly high. but an analysis OF TIE
prices for the year will find that the aver
age is lower today than the grower o. ht
to receive. Adverse criticism is OCCASION
ally made, which is heralded abroad by
the newspapers and periodicals, that ex-
travagant 5rices for flowers are charged b.
the growers for the holidays These criti-
cisms are made by Those who know little
or nothing regarding the cost of cut flow
ers. II is the one season of the year in
which the grower hopes TO receive a re-
Enumeration Tor his efforts. He is obliged.
oftentimes. to lose crop of flowers for
which he received nothing. in order that
he may obtain the desired crop for the
holidays, when there is a great demand
for them. Did he not do this not over
half of the flowers could be offered for
sale in the holidays The high prices
which We hear of are only for the few
flowers which are called exhibition flow
ers- If the grower depended for his in
come upon this class of his product there
would not be a commercial foot OF g,ass
in existence for the growth Of cut flowers
1t is to the vast volume of second third I
and fourth class flowers. and that demand
which comes from the middle as well as
the poorer class of people who never pay
high prices for them, that the grower and
in large measure the florist. depends fer
his success. Those who want. and will
have the very finest of flowers. selecting
only the perfect in form, foliage, size, and
coloring, and who are thoroughly con-
versant With these qualities. are willirg
as they ought to be, to pg9 the price which
is demanded for them"