The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-02
BOYS WHO SELL FLOWERS
LITTLE STREET VENDORS MAKE
MONEY IN ST.
PAUL
IT IS A GROWING INDUSTRY
Florists Depend Upon Them to Dis
pose OF Their Surplus Stock
What the FavOrfte
Kinds Are.

We have become accustomed to the
flower boy on the streets of st. Paul. We
meet him in cafes We hear his pleading
little voice on the street, please buy
flower lady or please buy flower
sir. We see his grubby face and his
shabby little figure looming up from
nowhere in particular all hours of the
day and night. He has become as much
a part of our street life as the organ
grinder man, the Salvation Army lass.e,
the hot lunch man or the chimney sweep.
Sometimes we buy a boutonniere from
him. We find him polite enough but
business like. 1t is doubtful, however.
If any of US ever look upon him as a
merchant bat he is one. How and where
does he get his flowers? Is the profit
from their sale enough to make up for
his long hours, the many rebuffs the
facing of all corts Of weather? Questions
often answer themselves, and some such
questions as these were ans wered for a
G be man a few evenings ago 1t was
after o'clock in a florist shop. The
florist had, with the aid of his assistants,
put away most of his stock for the night
when the door was opened and in from
somewhere a shabby little mite of hui
mainly walked. Gimme some flowers"
he said, laying four nickels down on the
counter. He looked like newsboy,
observer wondered If youthful news
dealers had contracted the aesthetic craze
and wasted their small savings on a be
loved if obscure Gladys.
The shop keeper did not seem surprised.
He opened a door and took out jar filed
with rather passe pink rose buds A
bunch of the best of these lie selected
and handed them to his small customer.
Without a word the latter seized them
and disappeared. Instead of explaining,
the florist said mysteriOuSly, If you
have the time, wait a few minutes It
was perhaps half an hour when the small
purchaser was back again. In his g1imy
little fist he held a handful of silver coin.
This he proceeded to count There was
just 20 cents in the collection. Gee
whiz,' he explained in delight, Il made
half dollar that time. Gimme me some
more And the whole 20 seventy cents,
like the 70, was converted into a stock of
marketable goods and the young dealer
departed. Then the florist explained. 1t
was because of these small dealers, he
said, that the florists in the large stores
did not sustain greater losses from carry
ing their perishable goods. After the
days sales, no matter how heavy they
have been, there was always sure to be
flowers left over, flowers not so very
much the worse for wear, but sure by
tomorrow to be utterly passe. It was
then the small boy came to the Tecsue
Each florist has a certain number of
thase that he supplies every evening with
flowers. The small merchants peddle
them about the streets, in hotels, restaur-
ants or in halls where there is dancing,
and often his receipts for his nights work
would surprise those who look upon the
youngster as fit object of charity.
HE PLAYS ON PITY.
1t is this very view Of him that helps
the plucky little merchant out. A pair Of
pathetic eyes, a pleading little voice,
works wonders, even with selfish human
ity, and the little flower merchant is not
slow to appreciate the advantage OF
them. Some merchants order from Chi
eago a special rose for the small vendors.
1t is a red rose, with short stem, just
the flower to fasten in q buttonhole The
small dealer next to roses is very par
tial to ~carnashuns,' for he has learned
that these spicy blossoms are almost as
popular as the rose and keep much bet
ter.
1t is astonishing how much one Of those
small dealers knows about flowers He
can tel you, If you care 10 ask him, that
St Paul depends almost entirely upon
Chicago for her flower supply. The rea-
son for this is that the greenhouses her e
are not large enough to supply the de-
mand, and that many popular flowers
are not raised as easily here as they are
in Chicago. Take the American Beauty
rose, for instance While a number Of
those beautiful flowers are raised in St.
Paul, the great majority Of them are
ordered from Chicago, where one green
house has eighty acres devoted exc!u-
S1Vely to the cultivation of roses An
other rose that is grown very little in
st. Paul is the new Liberty rose. This
hoker, which is a little lighter shade
than the Meter rose and much larger.
created a furore in the East when it was
first introduced, and immediately florists
here sought to raise it, but for some rea-
son little success attended their efforts.
Carnations, however, are raised in album
dance and st. Paul has produced a car
nation whose owner claims that it is I'M
Ike any that has ever been raised in
any other place. 1t is a large, full flower.
whose petals are fecked alternately with
pink and white. 1t is odd rather than
pretty.
So far as st. Paul girls are concerned.
the American Beauty rose according to
local dealers, has no rival in their pref
erence. Even the stately chrysanthe.
NUNS stand little chance of being a
rival
In all places, then. and in all seasons
Flowers expand their bright and soul
like wings,
Teaching US by most persuasive reasons
i1oF% AKIN lhey are TO human things"
So sang a great poet once
Perhaps just about Christmas time
these wings he sang about are lust q
little brighter, a bit more soul-lilxe than
at any other time of the year; perhaps
the lesson taught of oneir oneness with
humanity Is at t~is particular season a
trifie more convincing. The chrvsanthe-
mum sings its Christ anthem the rose
tells its story Of love- the violets wills
their Of
less the modern girl, ignorant of so few
things, will have no difficulty in inter
preting correctly the message that is
BROUGHT to her Christmas day with her
Christmas bunch of flowers.