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the stipulation that if he did not succeed
in his undertaking at the end of three
years, he would relinquish all claims to
the property. He immediately plowed up
the land and began the growing of vege-
tables for the market, and was wont often
to carry his product to the city in a bas-
ket. By his industry and careful husbandry
his land was made highly produc-
tive and he was successful. In a short
time he began the cultivation of flower-
ing plants, and sold cut flowers in Hart-
ford, also from a basket, being the first
man in Hartford to engage in their sale
in this manner. Working early and late,
he continued to make a success and soon
branched out in growing shrubs, fruit
trees, and vines. About 1885 he abandoned
the cultivation of vegetables
and plants, and since then has given his
attention almost exclusively to the pro-
duction of flowers and flowering plants.
In this he has attained remarkable suc-
cess. By 1888 he had some eighteen hot-
houses and was doing a successful business.
At this time he was taken ill and
passed through a severe attack of pneumonia.
As soon as convalescent, he went
to Florida to recover his health and
strength, and during his absence the
great blizzard of March, 1888, crushed
in every one of his hothouses and all of
his plants were totally destroyed, leav-
ing him nothing but ruins. In his condi-
tion of ill health, this seemed very dis-
couraging, but he still had his reputation
as an industrious and straightforward
business man, and with the assistance of
friends he was enabled to rebuild his
plant and immediately proceeded to spe-
cialize in the growth of roses. He en-
gaged Robert Simpson, one of the lead-
ing experts in this line in the country,
whose salary in the first year or two
exceeded the gross profits of the business.
In 1894 Mr. Simpson resigned his con-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
312
nection with the establishment and engaged
in business in New Jersey as a
grower of roses on his own account. In
1908 Mr. Pierson's business was incor-
porated, as previously noted, and the wife
and son of the proprietor became part-
ners in the incorporation. The rapid
growth of the establishment is indicated
by the fact that in 1901 the business trans-
acted amounted to over $100,000, in 1908
to $203,000, and in 191 7 to $600,000.
Many of the rose plants in the United
States are grown here, and the company
is a large importer of flowering bulbs
and of miscellaneous stock, from which
shipments are made daily to all parts of
the world. In 1914 the establishment
entered into the retail field, having pre-
viously done a wholesale business exclusively.
In both branches there is now
an immense output, and many florists
throughout the country are supplied from
the Cromwell Gardens, the local name of
the establishment.
The plant now covers five hundred
acres of land, of which twenty-two acres
are under glass, and three hundred and
fifty people are employed throughout the
year. This force is of course greatly
augmented during the growing outdoor
season. . The pay roll for the year 1916
amounted to 258,000. The plant includes
sixty extensive greenhouses and employs
ten auto trucks, by which deliveries are
made as far away as Philadelphia. All the
plowing is done by auto tractors and the
moving of the soil is done by steam shovels.
The greenhouses are the largest in New
England, and the operation of the plant
consumes annually 15,000 tons of bituminous
coal. The yearly shipment in-
cludes $8,000,000 cut roses, 7,000,000
young rose plants, 150,000 garden roses,
a half million young carnation plants, one
and a quarter million cut carnations, 3,000,-
000 lilies-of-the-valley, 1,000,000 chrysan-