The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-18

New York Times.
Violets by the million. pertaining the at
mosphere of a whole valley, and enhancing
the beauty of 10000 fair votaries of fashion
throughout the cold winter and spring
months. are the artificial products of an in
dustry which ADDS a round million dollars
annually 10 the income Of professional
florists. For fifteen years now the modest
little violet has been pre-eminently the
| flower of fashion; other plants have come
and gene. but the little violet retains its
popularity and refuses TO be replaced by
more gaudy blooms So continuous has the
demand been for violets that farms devoted
| exclusively to their culture have been
established i'm all parts of the country.
While the largest and most successful are
located on Long island and in Westchester
county, New York. there are many in New
Jersey and Massachusetts, and now worn
out Virginia farms are being turned over
10 the same use.
So important have the violets become in
the estimation of the public that the De-
partment of Agriculture has investigated
the humble little plant, and the best meth
DDS of cultivating it have been given. It
is even stated by one of the experts con-
nected with the department that an annual
profit of $500 should be made from 100
sashes devoted TO violet culture. This and
more, too, is made by farmers who are
favorably located near the large cities.
This is evident from the prices paid for
violets out of season. In the winter sea
son s. must be paid for a good-sized bunch
of handsome violets, and if one goes TO
city florists and orders a bunch appro-
pliately tied with purple satin ribbon he
will have TO pay SO to So How many vio-
Il bunch 4
can easily ascertain but few stop to make
the discovery. Fifty violets, by artful
handling, will make bunch two and half
inches III diameter, but no one save flor
list can expand them TO such dimension.
One hundred ViOletS make a bunch five
inches across, and two hundred OF the
flowers viii easily expand the circle 10 ten
inches. The latter will often bring $40 in
winter and the other two s. and $3.50. re-
spectively. That is at the rate OF cents
violet. The grower, of course, does not re-
ceive that amount, but after the profits of
the retailer and cost of packing and trans
portation are deducted he stIll receives
cent or two for each humble little flower
he raises.
ENORMOUS DEMAND.
Under artificial methods CT cultivation
the violets begin their blooming season in
October, and they are picked every day
| through the winter until after Easter.
During the Christmas and Easter holidays
thousands of dollars are spent daily for
them. The violets are delicate flowers un-
! der any circumstances, and they do not re-
! tain their bloom long but the big double
! ones of commerce are harder than the
modest single plants of the woods. But
/ even these have to be picked in the after
noon and shipped to the market in refriger-
/ ators over night. They are always kept
| at low temperature until actually sold.
| Then their period Of bloom is rapidly
| shortened, rarely lasting more than an
afternoon or evening. By morning they
| look faded and withered, and they are
! ready for the ash heap.
There are two kinds of violets now
chiefly grown for commercial purposes.
! They are both hardy and prolific and are
the results of years of close study and
| culture. They are known in the trade as
the Marie Louise and the Lady Hume
Campbell. More recently the famous long
stemmed California violet has come into
popularity, and as this plant is rarely at
tackled by diseases which threaten the
other two varieties, it is rapidly spreading
In culture. This plant from the Pacific
coast is, like everything else Californian,
huge in size and growth, the flowers often
being raised as large as a silver half dol
lar. They are remarkably sturdy growers,
and one plant successfully started will
sometimes produce as many as two or
three hundred blooms; but these California
vioets cannot be raised so successfully
in winter in our Eastern climate, and their
appearance is rare before spring. Califor-
MIA growers have recently attempted the
winter packed in parafine-paper lined
boxes. and some success has been attained
in this way. On the whole, though, the
California violets appear at their best when
raised in local greenhouses for the early
spring trade, appearing then in all the
glory of their pristine beauty and fra
GRANGE.
In order to raise violets for market ii is
necessary to make them grow out OF their
| regular season. Instead of blooming in
spring and summer they are made TO put
hlnCCnrnC m lat fol nd xr-fr,
! ter. This is accomplished by keeping the
viOlets under glass frames in the winter
! season and taking them up late i'm May
/ and planting them out in the field where
| they can rest, Withholding water from
them until the fall. Then they put in
/ their winter sashes, vatered freely, and
! sheltered from the cold or too much heat.
| The temperature is carefully regulated, and
/ perfect ventilation given night and day.
/ Rich soil and fertilizers are bestowed upon
/ them. and the plants are forced to rapid
! growth early in September. so that bios
| SONS can be obtained in October.
! HOW TO PROPAGATE.
1t costs from $3.50 to 50 for cold frames.
| according to the size and quality Of the
timber and glass used. But it pays to put
up good substantial frames. for with prop
er care they should be made to last for
/ ten years and more. Some beginners who
| have comparatively few plants TO start
with multiply them by cutting off the Off
| shoots in spring after the blooming period
| and putting these specially in separate
/ places. All through summer they are kept
/ growing, well shaded from the hot sun, and
/ by fall they ready TO bloom. BY an
| other spring offshOots from these plants
| can be obtained for further additions. In
| a few seasons a large quantity of Violets
can thus be obtained from small begin
ming 1t is even possible for the beginner
/ 10 almost double his stock of plants each
year adding a few more frames TO accom-
modate them. As each plant will yield al
| least fifty blossoms. and some a hundred or
more, like the California violet, the profits
are necessarily large.
| There are violet farms near New York
| which annually raise several millions of
| violet blooms for market every year. One
| in Westchester county has some 100000
| plants on the farm. There are over two
| acres of land devoted to the culture OF the
| little plants, and daily 1000 of the blooms
! are picked by children and women for the
market. The farm in winter is mostly
| covered with glass. and under the sashes
| the Violets lift up their modest heads in the
| face OF the coolest snowstorm. The houses
/ are all built on the shelf cred and sunny side
| of a hill. where the cold west winds cannot
| chill them at night. II is only rarely that
! the temperature gets so low that artificial
4 heat must be supplied. There are stoves
arranged so that this heat can be given al
/ any time and the interior of the frames
! made warm and comfortable, but usually
! the warmth Of the sun, reflected through
/ the glass raises the temperature OF the
/ frames high enough for all necessary pur-
poses. The frames are then built so that