The sun., 1903-03-29
EASTERS SHOW OF NOGBRS.
Sf,OO0, 900 SPENT YEARLY NJ
NEW YORK FOR THEN.

THIS Years Display 10 ne More Desu-
tiful Ihan Eysr-A Mtflion Lilies
Part sf N--Az,cas IN New Love
lines - Carnations Very Popular.
For the last two or three years In New
York city alone more than one million dol.
lars has been spent for cut flowers and for
plants at Easter. To supply such . QUAD
tity Of flowers requires forethousht and
hard work.
Retail dealers place their orders At least
three months ahead. and even then Easter
sometimes find them far from happy.
Those that cater to the wealthiest GLASS OF
trade have the hardest job OF all. even u
they do make the most money.
Their customers are very exacting. they
say. Being willing to pay almost any
price. nothing but the pick Of the market
will satisfy them. Furthermore, II one OF
these customers takes q notion to want .
bouquet from q century plant, say. In any
Of the ninety-ninc on years the florist is
expected TO deliver II at almost an hours
notice.
sOne Of the most troublesome features
Of the Easter business explained q Broad
way florist, lis to guess Just what particu-
lar flower Is going to be the most popular.
for, although there is scarcely a variety q
flower grown that does not hnd ready sale
then, at the same time there is always one
that has more OF q vogue than any other.
.One year perhaps there is run on rosess
the next II will be violets that every otheP
person orders. or II may be pinks that are
In the lead Last Easter. for instance,
long before we came TO the end Of our or.
ders the stock OF roses gave out and neither
for love nor for money could we get an
other one anywhere.
We are bound to have trouble of thD
sort every year and are fated TO lose ono or
two good customers and gain others. for no
other reason than that our stock and the
stock OF some other florist is weak In sofno
one particular bloom.
Few people can understand why II an
Easter order II placed twenty y-four hours
ahead Of the time II 10 TO be delivered u
cannot be filed. II does no good to ex-
plain that We perhaps had dosens Of dup
lioate orders previously. which. Of courpe.
had to be attended to hrst. People don't
believe Il. Some Of our customers, though.
have learned from experience. and they
now place their Easter orders two weeks
or more beforehand. OF course. the hrss
orders received are the nrst to be dlled
when the time comes.
Judging from signs the florist ieafns
to know, carnations will have q big vogue
this year, and ! have ordered accordingly.
Seven or eight years ago no one paid much
attention to the carnation, which then
was quite insignificant In appearance.
but lately IL has been developed into such
q big gorgeous bloom without losing tie
delicious fragrance that II is running Q
race with roses for popularity
1t has come TO pass that there are specialists
now among the flower growers the same
as In other lines Of business. To keep
pace with the demand for cut flowers In
New York the business had to be specialized.
Now there are rose nurseries, nurverteo
for violets. for carnations, for bulbous
plants and 20 on. and the wise florist d.
three months beior. Easter or does what
Ia practically the came thing, places them
with one Of the Wholesale florists in town
who sct a. so-befweena
nns snS sTroTSsrs r .Ss fno. foT snsns s output bx
Jan. I. and they plan accordingly. Tho
beauty OF the Easter flowers. however.
even though they are grown under glass.
depends . good deal on the weather; II
good many days during March the plants
will have to be forced, and In consequence
they lose in beauty and In hardy qualities.
This In particularly the case with hiiee, which
Just about now are full Of sap, and II sub
dwindle and become soft TO the touch In
stead Of nrm and crisp.
According to q lily. grower the demand
for both the cut and the potted varieties OF
lilies this year is enormous iSr deoSrsavs ,S s
good many years. There IL nothing nsw
about that.
A oomparatively recent idea, however, 10
to arrange lilies in fanciful designs such a.
hamper, tubs. horns and coInucopias, nlled
This means an extra boom for the lily trade.
These arrangements may not have ths
lasting qualities OF lilies growing In an
earthcn pot, but they certainly are Tar
prrttier. and beauty is what every one |"
Thus the lily nurseries are all In full blast
just now, crowded with both the Japan
and the Bermuda vareties growing side by
side. To the uninforIned the two yarleties
look much alike. The grower and the
Horist know better. though.
The japan lily 10 king everywhere. II 10
stronger, hrTner. OF q puer white. moro
lasting and u costs more. Moreover. tne
bulb soe. into the ground nearly sli ,no%n.hs %
l. . quick grower that reaches full de-
velopsn~nt In three months.
for selling purpo ses. though. the one y
jus, As god ~ the otber. The sverags
lily order Of ,hs Letter . rias. - RIAL : 1870
Ia any part q tho city order les than On
One whole.ale howef dealer With hasd-
quarters in q small shop la . eide sifer!
has ordered t0D lilie- IA 10 delivered
h. nGr any ~ hi. nslshlorr 70 abls 20 give
-tac hsu.s. ell asr-e W sa,ins thai - me.
thing tnf 30 thAn b inilliGn like sil sh-1
th.T fragrance over New foft an Eas,ss