44 



Seed Trade 



Contran to policial ixpui rations up 

 to a very recent period. Dreer's Busll 

 Limas are proving very short, and 

 growers ot these beajis have been com- 

 pelled to reduce the estimates ot de- 

 liveries on their contract orders. Just 

 why there should be this ever-recurring 

 shortage in these Bush Limas is 

 not apjiarent. It is not chargeable to 

 short crops alone, but doubtless to 

 quite an extent to short acieage. It is 

 well known that the California bean 

 growers do not take kindly to the Bush 

 varieties of Limas, and demand a ma- 

 terially higher price than for the Pole 

 variotiis. The men who grow tliese 

 beans on contract for the seed trade 

 are seeking to keep prices down to the 

 farmers, and often will not pay what 

 is demanded, which may be entirely 

 proper, but sometimes there is too 

 wide a range between what they want 

 to pay the farmer and what they ask 

 the seedsman, and this frequently re- 

 sults in a much smaller acreage than 

 should be planted for the quantities 

 booked; and then with a short crop 

 deliveries are bound to be very light. 

 The writer has learned of specific in- 

 stances where seed sent to growers 

 was never i)ut out at all, either as the 

 result of negligence or because the 

 grower could not place it at a price 

 satisfactory to him, and this afcer con- 

 tracting to have the beans planted at 

 a price named by himself. There 

 seems to tie only one solution of this 

 problem, and that is, for those who do 

 enough in this line to make It worth 

 while, to place their own men on duty. 



Eastern growers of wax and green 

 pod beans are compelled to pay the 

 growers an average of about 25 cents 

 per bushel over last year's prices, as 

 for several years ordinary white beans 

 have sold readily at from 25 to 50 cents 

 per bushel over the prices which seeds- 

 men have been paying for colored or 

 garden beans, and as the former out- 

 yields the latter from ten to twenty-five 

 per cent, the farmer sees no advantage 

 in growing them. Seedsmen and can- 

 ners should i-:now these facts and not 

 resist the advance which the grower 

 is absolutely compelled to ask, and 

 the same may be said of peas. 



It is reported that market gardeners 

 are not ordering as heavily as last 

 year, particularly of beans. Dealers 

 should note this fact, as it is liable to 

 have a marked influence on demand. 

 It is said that green beans did not sell 

 at remunerative prices last season, 

 and as a result farmers and gardeners 

 allowed part of their plantings to 

 ripen, hence they have raised their 

 own seed in many instances, and will 

 not have to buy of the seedsmen. 



Prices on cucumber seed show 

 a weakening tendency, which is not 

 surprising excepting to a few who are 

 always chronic bulls on every reported 

 crop shortage, and talk famine prices 

 often with a very imperfect knowledge 

 of actual conditions. The shortage in 

 musk .melon seed is genuine, many 

 \arieties being scarcely obtainable at 

 any price excepting at retail. 



The advance In prices of garden 

 beets, though not sensational, has 

 been from 25 to 50 per cent., and is well 

 maintained, the tendency being toward 

 higher levels. Another such shortage 



rlOKTlCULTURt 



as has been inflicted on the trade for 

 the past two years, and something 

 lenlly sensational in the way of prices 

 may be looked for, as reserves are now 

 practically exhausted and we must de- 

 pend on next season's crops entirely. 



l)nly last month, the Department of 

 Agriculture asked for bids, on a large 

 numbei ot items in seeds for spot de- 

 livery. It was generally assumfed that 

 the Department had been disappointed 

 in some of its purchases, or was plan- 

 ning to enlarge this year's distribution, 

 but so far as known to the trade ihe 

 purchases from these bids have been 

 very small, if any. Still more recently 

 bids have been invited on surplus 

 stocks for next year's distribution, the 

 same to be opened on January 15 next. 

 Those who responded to the former 

 invitation v/ill probably not be able to 

 materially increase their offerings, 

 though they may want to change 

 prices, generally downward, which may 

 prove just a trifle embarrassing. It is 

 an interesting situation. 



I Rosnosky, representing H. F. 

 Wichell Co., Philadelphia, has been in- 

 terviewing the Kostou trade during the 

 past week. 



The Leonard Seed Co. have added 

 still another retail store. It is at Rose- 

 land. This makes tour in Chicago. 



January 9, 1909 



Des Moines, la. — The St. Louis Seed 

 Co. will retain their retail business but 

 have disposed of their mail order busi- 

 ness to the Iowa Seed Co. 



Portland, Me.— S. C. Allen and F. A. 

 Kendall, formerly with Kendall & 

 Whitney, started in business in the 

 Oxford building on January 1. 



Cincinnati, O. — The settling of the 

 foundation under one of the supporting 

 posts of the building at Eggleston ave- 

 nue and Fifth street, into which the J. 

 Chas. McCullough Co. is moving, 

 caused some excitement last week, but 

 examination results in the report that 

 there is nothing serious the matter 

 with the building. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



W. W. Rawson & Co., Boston.— Plant 

 Talk for January. 



R. 'SV. Johnson, Northboro, Mass. — 

 Polder of new strawberry, Paul Jones. 



Henry Saxton Adams, Wellesley, 

 Mass. — Little Green Book of Choice 

 Seeds. 1909. 



Frederick Roemer, Quedlinburg, 

 Germany. — Wholesale Catalogue of 

 Choice German Flower Seeds. 



Charles E. Fendall. & Son, Towson, 

 Md. — Recent Introductions in Straw- 

 berries, especially the sensational 

 "Fendall." 



Gillett & Ohmer, Cincinnati, Ohio, — 

 Illustrated Catalogue of Wire Designs 

 and Supplies for Florists' Use — a model 

 in its way and "all to the good." 



H. F. Michell Co., Philadelphia, Pa.— 

 Wholesale Catalogue for Florists and 

 Market Gardeners, Spring 1909. A 

 business document from cover to cover, 

 well illustrated and- full of good sug- 

 gestions. 



Charles H. Totty, Madison, N. J.— 

 Chrysanthemum Novelties and Stan- 

 dard Varieties for 1909. Illustrated. 

 No chrysanthemum grower is up to 

 date without Totty's catalogue. It is 

 indispensable 



Iowa Seed Co., Des Moines, la. — Seed 

 and Plant Catalogue tor 1909. Cover 

 in colors — roses, pansies, tomaioes, etc., 

 in gorgeous array. Seed corn occupies 

 a space of several pages, including a 

 colored insert of corn varieties. 



A. F. Longren, Des Plaines, 111. — 

 Folder of carnation novelties, Lucille 

 and 0. P. Bassett, both sterling 

 varieties worthy to be universally 

 grown. Lucille is white flushed 

 with soft pink in centre and O. P. Bas- 

 sett is a bright Christmas red. 



Bridgeman's Seed Warehouse, Rick- 

 ards Bros., Prop's, New York City. — 

 Annual Catalogue of Seeds, Plants and 

 Implements for 1909. This catalogue 

 is very creditable to the popular young 

 men who have succeeded to the Bridge- 

 man business established S5 years ago. 

 A vase of sweet peas in grey tinis 

 adorns the front cover page, and let- 

 tuce and cauliflowers the back. 



R. &. J. Farquhar & Co., Boston, 

 Mass.— Garden Annual for 1909. This 

 is the gem of the spring catalogues 

 thus far received. In paper, type, il- 

 lustrations and make-up it is an exam- 

 ple for the seed trade of "how to do 

 it." The cover illustrations — Iris pali- 

 da Dalmatica on front and Hybrid Del- 

 phiniums on back — are among the best 

 pieces of commercial artistic color 

 work we have ever seen. The iris is 

 particularly beautiful. The imprint 

 shows that it was done in Brussels, 

 Belgium. 



Henry A. Dreer, -Philadelphia, Pa, — 

 Dreer's Garden Book for 1909 — 71st 

 Annual Fditlon. This is a big volume 

 of 256 pages, well filled with text and 

 illustrations, with heavy blue cover 

 lettered in gold. Four very fine color 

 plates are piesented — one of aquilegias, 

 one of H. T. roses, one of sweet 

 peas and one of vegetables. Every 

 department of gardening art is 

 thoroughly covered in this elabo- 

 rate production, which is a veri- 

 table vade-mecum for the plant and 

 flower lover. 



MIGHELL'S 



MAMMOTH FANCY VERBENA 



Our Mammoth Fancy Str; 

 large size, purity of color and free flowering 

 qualities. Tr. pkt. Oz. 



BLUE and PURPLE 30c $1 50 



PINK 30o I.IO 



SCARLET 30o 150 



STRIPED 30c 1.50 



WHITE 30c 1..5n 



MIXED, atlcolors 30c l.r.n 



Phoenix Roebeleni 

 Palm Seed 



just arrived from Mr C Roebelen, Siam 



Write for prices 



Ralph M. Ward & Co. 



12 W. B'way^ New York 



SHEEP MANURE 



Pulverized, Free from Adulteration 



In Bag, $18.00 per Ton. Cash with Order 



ROBERT SIMPSON 



CLIFTON, N. J. 



