bought the ground, and erected a modern place. His prosperity from then on took wings unto itself. The excellent stock he was producing spread his fame over a wide area, and orders came pouring in on him not only from his Chicago customers, but from a large circle of florists in many Western, Northwestern, and Southern towns as well. As a plant grower, Mr. Oechslin is unquestionably one of the most successful in the country.
The well-known firm of the George Wittbold Company, which for upward of half a century has carried on a prosperous business, and has grown up with the city itself, needs no introduction by me. Since the death of the founder of the institution, the late Mr. George Wittbold, the business has been in the able hands of his sons, Louis Wittbold and his brother Fred. Some of the members of the family have withdrawn their interests and embarked upon a separate business of their own. One of the brothers, Otto Wittbold, has his nursery at Edgebrook, Ill., where the greenhouses of the George Wittbold Company are also located.
In addition to palms, ferns and blooming plants of all kinds, the George Wittbold Company also grows Roses, Chrysanthemums and bulbous stock very successfully. The elegantly equipped store on Buckingham Place consumes all their product, although palms are being sold in quantity at wholesale.
When I think of the great number of notable and prosperous florists in Chicago, I realize the utter impossibility of doing individual justice to all of them. I can but speak generally, and say that these energetic men have contributed their full share to the development of their truly wonderful city, the great metropolis of the West. What is especially laudable is the fact that each man seems to take a kind of personal pride in his beloved city, a city that communicates to the stranger at once something of its buoyancy and "go-aheadiveness" of spirit.
On the Outskirts of Chicago
Along with the development of horticulture in Chicago, there was a general movement in the direction of its development throughout the State. Such towns, as Peoria, Lincoln, Bloomington, Springfield and many others, fell into line, and for a time greenhouses sprang up like mushrooms in the woods. I will cite a few instances.
A. Washburn & Sons of Bloomington, Ill., saw their opportunity in that thriving town, and turned their farm into a floricultural establishment. The late Mr. A. Washburn, a New Yorker by birth, planned well, and lived to see the results of his planning. Their greenhouses and store are all that could be desired, and the two sons now in charge of the place are conducting a most profitable business.
Gullett & Sons of Lincoln, III, are not only successful growers, but also men of modern business ideas and progressive spirit. They have but recently enlarged their already extensive establishment, having put up an entirely new place for Roses which they ship to many parts of the country.
L. C. Loveridge, of Peoria, Ill., a successful all-around grower, a man who has learned his business in numerous establishments on this as well as the other side of the water, has put the floral business of Peoria on a strictly up-to-date basis. Aside from the stock of excellent quality which he invariably produces, he has modernized the method of doing business in that prosperous town. His store and his greenhouses testify to his business initiative.
Miss Belle Miller of Springfield, Ill., the woman horticulturist of Illinois, is another example of enterprise. Starting as an amateur, she gradually enlarged her scope, until she became a professional grower, and one of the most successful ones in the State. Besides having a lucrative retail business, she grows large quantities of stock of all sorts for the St. Louis wholesale market. Pier place is a model of neatness, and her ofiice where she conducts her business shows the
