Some of the most enterprising florists in the United States are in Albany, though their good work seldom gets into the pages of horticultural literature. Among the oldest of these excellent establishments is that of Louis Menand and Sons.

The conservatory of the venerable Louis Menand, is situated at Menand's Station near Albany. He was born in Chalons, Burgundy, and came to New York in 1837, with the intention of making his residence in Cuba. But that city pleased him and he determined to remain in this country. After a residence of five years in New York, he went to Albany in 1842, and began business as a florist in the store now occupied by Ridgway & Russ in Van Vecthen Hall. Soon afterwards he hired the property now known as the Home for Aged Men on the Troy road, and erected a small greenhouse. After he had removed his plants, one night in March, the weather became suddenly cold and they were in danger of freezing, as the room was supplied with a rickety stove but no wood. The change occurred before daylight and after seeking in vain for wood on the premises, Mr. Menand was obliged to forage on a neighbor's wood pile or lose his plants. He did not wish to awaken them at such an hour, and therefore he helped himself to wood.

The next day he informed the neighbor of his involuntary theft, and the owner was inclined to resent the act; but upon being offered the price of a cord of wood his wrath was appeased.

This incident is related to show from what small beginnings the industrious and intelligent Frenchman has succeeded in making his name known in Europe and America as one of the most successful florists of the age. His next venture was to purchase, first, four acres and afterwards three acres more at what is now Menand's Station, which he built upon and occupied in 1847. He has resided continuously at this place from that day to this, a period of nearly forty years; and it is here that he has acquired his reputation for his extensive knowledge of the products of the vegetable kingdom, not merely as a florist but also as a botanist who is as well posted as many of the professors of the science.

Mr. Menand's greenhouses are four in number, and consist of eight divisions. These are devoted to the cultivation of exotics of all varieties, almost exclusively. They consist of orchids, camellias, palm ferns, crotons, cacti, bromeliaceous plants, etc.

Of course a mere enumeration like this conveys a very faint idea of the extent, rarity and beauty of his collection, because he has many varieties of the different species. Although the houses are not extraordinary in size, they contain as great a variety of plant specimens as any half dozen houses in the city of New York. The casual observer would not. discover this fact, but the botanist would find here enough to occupy his attention for a week. Prof. Gray, the great botanist of Boston, who visited these houses twenty years ago, said that he found here specimens that he could not find in the botanical gardens in that city. He has plants that he does not sell one of in twenty-five years, which fact shows that Mr. Menand grows his plants not alone for profit, but because of his love for his profession. For thirty years past he has imported plants twice a year from France, England and Belgium. By this means he secures plants of every variety that are desirable for florists, as there are establishments in those countries that furnish plants from all parts of the world.

It is Mr. Menand's aim to exhibit at least one specimen of every know,n variety; and whenever a new one is produced in any quarter of the world, it will not be long before it may be found at Menand's. Thus it often happens that persons who search in vain for rare specimens in New York and elsewhere, are generally directed to "a crazy Frenchman at Albany," where they are sure to find what they want and carry it away, provided their purse is long enough. In fact, it is Mr. Menand's aim to furnish anything from a strawberry to a tree. His shade and fruit trees, grapes, etc., were formerly the chief features of his business; now the demand for these is insignificant. Then came the popular demand for camellias, and a little plant four inches high would sell for $25. But fashion impertinently brought these lovely flowers into disrepute, and the craze for orchids arrived. Of these he now has 150 species and about 1,000 plants. They put forth their curious flower forms and lovely blooms in greatest abundance during February, March and April; but he has specimens in bloom all the year round.

Just now his conservatories are not in full flower in any of the rare varieties; but the orchids generally are getting ready to show their wonderful products, his azaleas are beginning to bud, and many other flowering varieties will soon be in full bloom. But so long as this veteran enthusiast lives, the chief attraction will be the rarity and variety of the exotics to the cultivation of which his intelligent labors have been devoted for the last half of a century.