MONEY IN FLOWERS. THAT BLOOM IN THE SPRING.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 60, 8 September 1909, Page 3

MONEY IN FLOWERS. THAT BLOOM IN THE SPRING.

DAFFODILS AND OTHERS. "The very laeb bunch, sir; and I Xri&h I had more," eaid the barrowman, regretfully, as he handed over tho daffodils and gave eightpence change out of a shilling. "Flowers are better than fruit just now." FLOWERS IN THE STREET. So it appeared. It was not much after five, and the pile of violets and daffodils in neat bunches, that caught tho eye among the apples and oranges in the morning, were all gone. There was still a considerable balance of fruit to be carried over to the morrow: In the spring time there's nothing liko flowers. Fruit in these days of Island oranges and Tasmanian apples is ever with us, but bhe flowers of the spring— # they bloom only once a year. The eye for beauty is keen after the dearth of winter, as the barrowman found to his advantage. NEVER SUCH A SEASON. Never, perhaps, has there been such a eeason for early blossoms as this. The market has been well supplied, yet the demand has responded ana prices bave been good. Growers havo done well, and retailers better. The barrowman, loth to have anybody step in and spoil his pitch, woufd- give no figures; Dut he smiled prosperously. FotiTpence a bunch must work out pretty well. . A Post reporter made enquiries to find out how v/eU, and here is tho result. AT THE AUCTION MART. Down at the auction mart there was an air of a flower show. There, the varieties were not numerous. They were nearly all members of the narcissi family —daffodils and jonquils mainly. How they relieve the monotony of the boardinghouse, in which so many of us live, the wise landlady well knows, and ,» she is a regular attendant at auction Kales of flowers. Ihere were many Jandladies at to-day's sale —their presence, was unmistakable. Representatives of various hotels were there, too, It is cheaper to buy by auction in open market than retail in a shop. And the retailers wero there, and the barrowmen, all on the look-out for bargains in blooms. MARKET PRICES.. Much competition among buyers bene-r fits the sellers, and bargains at dirtcheap rates were not conspicuous. The flowers were put up in uundles of fifty. They naturally fetched different prices. The best brought about 2s, the worst about 9d. The average was thus* soniewhere about Is 4d. Some of the specimens wero beautiful; all had their charm. Here were piles of ordinary daffodils, ordinary in the sense that they were the most plentiful. The daffodil js always beautiful. Then there were special varieties, some with pure white petals and a yellow calyx. One vkind suggested the breakfast table metaphor' of the "bacon and egg" daffodil. Still other varieties showed different traits, for tho name of the narcissus is legion. No wonder the'buyers were attracted to bid. After the sale one man gathered up the bundle of his purchases. He had an armful. "How much for all those, Billy?" a friend asked". "Oh, twelve and six," said William. "I suppose you'll get a quid for 'em in the shop, Bill," suggested , the friend in a sort of leading question. Billy didn't know, or at any rate refused to be drawn. He did reckon, however, that flowers were prefcty high just now. £4 10s A HAMPER. A chat with the auctioneer drew further information. The knight of the hammer said flowers had been better this* season thap he ever remembered before. Of course, the rule was, as in other things, first come first served and best served. Those who had got their blooms on the market early, had got excellent prices. He mentioned one well-known local grower whose main business is not the cultivation of the flower. A hamper of daffodils from his garden had fetched £4 10s —about 2d a bloom the auctioneer calculated. At that rate, he said, a man would soon be able to pay his rent. FROM THE HUTT VALLEY. "Where do the flowers come from?" be was asked. "Chiefly from the Hutt and Petone— they can grow bulbs to perfection in the Hutt Valley. We get a lot from two large firms of growers, but many private people have taken it up as a nobby, and have done remarkably well. I was talking to a gentleman the other day, who had a little bit of grouiid he had turned into a garden. How do you think he managed itV He got his daughters to take an interest in growing spring flowers, and now they are regular enthusiasts. They get all they make by the sale of the blooms, and that's a tidy bit, but there's another aspe«t —it keeps the girls occupied, and there's less likelihood of . trouble then. Yes, there's money in it as a hobby, but, of course, it would not pay to employ labour." FOR THE LONDON MARKET. The idea of the Hutt Valley supplying Wellington with flowers that bloom in the spring seemed very promising, so the enquiry was pushed further. The Hutt Valley might be to Wellington like the Scilly Isles to London —in a small way, of course. Most people know that Covent Garden, with its flower girls, draws large supplies from the Scilly Isles—off the coast of Cornwall—the old Lyonnesse of King Arthur of Round Table fame. They are practically huge flower beds' from which Hie islanders draw rich harvests. PRACTICAL ASPECTS. An prominent seedsman and an expert horticulturist poured cold water on any Mich scheme as suggested. As it was, he said, Wellington was the cheapest market for flowers, as for fruit, in New Zealand. Everybody sent sfcuS to Wellington. Nelson apples were cheaper in Wellington than in Nelson city. So with flowers. An Aucklander had been co much struck by the price that he had bought a large quantity of daffodils to take back to his northern home. Then there was the cost of growing. As for S rices they were really lower in Welngton than in any other part of the world. He knew this by consulting jarice lists, He admitted, however, that, as a pleasant hobby, flower-growing was haord to beat, and, if a man had a family to .assist him, well, they might be very much worse employed than growing spring flowers for the market. i