The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-05-07
FLOWERS HARDTO GROW
TRIALS or A WOMAN WHO TOOK
UP THE FLORISTS BUSINESS.

1t is Not an Lasy Occupation-Hard Work
and Perseverance, Required For Sue
cess-Little Tragedies That Must BE
Endured-Prodts Not Large.
A young woman who owns and
manages a large wholesale flower busi-
ness in New Jersey and a retail flower
shop on Broadway recently talked to
New York Sun reporter about her ex-
perienee.
when you hear any one say that
the flower business is an easy ana
profitable occupation for women. don't
believe It. she said. The magazines
are full Of stories about the romantic
and beautiful side OF the florists work.
They are enough to give any girl a
tempting vision Of a life all sunshine.
You would think. to read them, that
all a girl florist need do is TO wear
white frock and gather roses and yio-
let's / always smile when / read the
fairy stories. A florists business Is
profitable enough. If one succeeds; but
as for its being easy, know better.
Il was fortunate enough to have
some money so that ! could 60 into
the work under favorable conditions.
but as / look back at my experiences /
wonder that / held on those first
mOaihs and years. / was not strong,
lut had always been eager to do
things and injured my delicate consti-
tuition by all sorts Of experiments in
work. My family protested, but l
vowed that / couldn't live without an
absorbing occupation. / needed coun-
Try life, but l wouldn't stay in the
country and stagnate
Finally my family proposed that I
should build a green house on our
country place and 90 in for raising
flowers. They thought the work would
be healthful and would keep me at
home and / suppose they had no idea
would take it very seriously. / did.
went into the new experiment with
all my might was utterly discour-
aged any number Of times. but l
wouldn't give up. ! finally won out,
but life was a succession Of tragedies
for the first two years
Tn the first place there was the
building Of the greenhouses. I had
two houses. 100 by twenty feet in size,
and then a smaller cold frame house.
They were built according to the most
improved principles Of greenhouse con
struetion. l selected a slope with the
right exposure. When the men begun
on the cellar they found il had to be
dug out Of solid rock. The rock was
too hard to be worked with picks and
too soft TO b. worked with dynamite;
aud. as the men said we had the devils
own time with it: but l consoled my
self by thinking the cellar could never
be damp. Stlll to make sure we dug
foot and a half below the floor aud
filed in with broken stone.
"The houses were finished in No
vember- ! put the flowers IN at once.
and Just as soon as I had them in
the man came tearing to the house
one night TO tell me that there was
four feet of water IN the greenhouse
cellar and the fire We're out. That
was at four o'clock on q December
morning l knew It probably meant
destruction 10 all the plants. but I
climbed out of bed and went out in
the cold TO see what could be done.
There wasn't any use in crying.
I'VE patched things up, after almost
killing one workman. and then I put
in an automatic cellar drain. Three
weeks later there was another food,
worse than the first. After that we
blasted a big ditch under the cellar
and down the hill. so we had no more
floods. but there We're other tragedies.
Everybody had told me that was
perfectly crazy to undertake the
thing, that no woman could do IL. that
Il meant work night and day. fright
ful exposure. unending care. expense
aad responsibility-all that was true
except the statement that a woman
couldn't do the work I did every
thing except run the furnace.
Every leaf had to be drenched. the
paths had to be wet down. I dragged
] At-N NutiA AnoNtnt ~ LulA was
broken, and l drenched myself SO thor
oughly as the flowers. Then. of
course. took horrible colds BY and
by I got rubber boots and a water
proof short skirt and blouse. After
that things went better. but there was
still plenty Of excuse for colds.
Il worked hour after hour IN the
moist hot air Of the greenhouse. and
then went into the cool air outside.
got up at 4 a. M. to do the packing
for shipping. stood in the cold storage
room and dahhled in icy water, until
my hands were SO numb that could
not even tie the strings on the boxes
and had 10 get the furnace man ts
come in aud do that
Il got up at all hours Of the night
and went out to the greenhouses witt
a lantern to open OF shut ventilator'
because the temperature had changed
You know a fan Of six or eight de
1 grees In temperature may be a yer,
serious matter in a greenhouse, and
was so worried for fear the weather
would change 10 the night that I didni