The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-04-25

ficult. You would think to read the
articles about the women who are
doing 1t. that it is as simple as wear
ing u bunch of violets, but II isn't.
Sometimes one will have phenomenal
luck with violets for several years,
but it doesn't last. For some mex
plicable reason, II blight will suddenly
come on the plants AS the dorlsts
say, the violets will just go off. No
one seems able to expIain the trouble.
There is Il big profit in successful vio-
let growing. but the chances of fail
ure are perfectly tremendous. You
don't hear about the failures.
Carnations have way of going
Off, too, from no perceptible cause.
They just seem to die OF anaemia,
| sometimes. Then their calyxes burst,
and they are u prey to rust Altogeth-
er, they fairly turn my hair gray, but
they are interesting, because there
has been such progress and develop
ment in them. \ good carnation isn't
cheap flower any more. Roses are
the easiest things to raise. They don't
often go to the bad entirely, though
the American Beauty is serious prob
lem. Dull weather will spoil 1t. and
any number of florists have been
ruined by the culture of American
Beauties.
"A good many florists failed in
business last year because of the price
Of coal. Fires have to be kept going
night and day. l buy my coal by the
hundred tons. and it makes pretty
big item of expense All expenses are
big.
''At the end of my second year, l
had been successful enough to warrant
my spreading out. Now, | have eight
houses. pay over 500 month for
| expert labor Then there is the to-
bacco, the fertilizer. the wear and tear
and repair, the handling and shipping,
and the losses. You have to get good
prices to make any profit.
But then, there is always market
and high price for good flowers. The
trouble Is that so many of ones flow
ers must. necessarily, fall below first
grade.
I've given you the seamy side of
the business. haven't Pa regular
tale Of woe. Well, it is all true, and
no woman, without Il strong constitu.
tion and stubborn courage, ought to
try the wholesale flower business; but
there's n pleasant side to il.
1.-THE work is never monotonous.
There is never a time when the green
houses are really still. There is con-
slant interest in the growing things.
Now that most of the drudgery is done
by my employees, and ! have only the
| experimenting l find the wholesale
business fascinating, but | dislike the
retail business.
"The latter is profitable and en-
ploys n wOman's taste to advantage
in the choice of paper for boxes, new
ideas for putting up flowers, table
decoration, wedding decoration. etc.
In spite of high prices. the profits
are not so large as they used to be. In
the first place, the quality of the flow
ers is better.
"bine lasting roses on thick, sturdy
stems are procured by cutting long
stemmed roses and so leaving few
eyes on rose branch. All the strength
will go into the shoots and blossoms
coming from those eyes, and the re-
sulting roses win be exceptionally
fine; but good many roses have been
sacrificed to make those few good
ones and the price is naturally high.
still, IL buyers would only realize it
! there is more satisfaction in two or
three of the fine roses than in dozen
of the weakstemmed, dropping sort
Handsome boxes and ribbons and
all those things are necessary part
of the retail florists business now.
and, except in the case of big order
they cut down the profit considerably.
I've often sent out small orders on
which there wasn't cent of profit,
but the customers were valuable to
M, and had TO satisfy them"