896 



HORTICULTURE 



June 2G, 1909. 



AMERICAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION 



Twenty- Seventh Annual Convention at Niagara Falls a Notable 



Event 



Officers Elected 



PRESIDENT, J. C. Robinson, Waterloo, Neb.; FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT, M. H. Duryea, New York; SECOND 

 VICE-PRESIDENT, F. W. Bolgiano, Washington, D. C; SECRETARY-TREASURER, C. E. Kendel, Cleve- 

 land, Ohio; ASSISTANT SECRETARY, Leonard H. Vaughan, Chicago. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, W. S. Woodruff, Orange, Conn.; Geo. S. Green, Chicago; Alex. Forbes, New York; 

 C. N. Page, Des Moines, la. 



The twenty-seventh annual conven- 

 tion of the American Seed Trade As- 

 sociation convened at Clifton House, 

 Niagara Falls. Ont., June 22, President 

 Watson S. Woodruff, of Orange, Conn., 

 in the chair. An address of welcome 

 was made by Hon. R. P. Slater, Mayor 

 of Niagara Falls, and was responded 

 to by H. W. Wood, of Richmond, Va., 

 in feliciloiis maiinPi. 



President's Address. 



President Woodruff's annual mes- 

 sage congratulated the membership 

 upon a successful year in business, 

 and said that the fact that so few 

 failures occur in the seed business 

 augurs well for the honesty and pro- 

 bity of the seedsmen. He referred 

 feelingly to the loss which the associ- 

 ation has suffered in the death of War- 

 ren W. Rawson, Boston, Mass.; S. W. 

 Flower, Toledo, Ohio and C. X^. Allen, 

 Floral Park. N. Y., in the past year. 

 Committee on obituary consisting of 

 Messrs. C. H. Breck, W. T. Phillips 

 and M. H. Duryea was appointed pur- 

 suant to this item. President Wood- 

 ruff called attention to bills intioduced 

 in the legislatures of New Hampshire, 

 Wyoming. North Carolina, North Da- 

 kota, Michigan, Missouri, New York, 

 South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Rhode 

 Island, Minnesota and Tennessee, dur- 

 ing the 1909 sessions, and enacted in a 

 number of these states. New Hamp- 

 shire, Wyoming, North Carolina, Wis- 

 consin and Tennessee. The commit- 

 tee of seven appointed last year to 

 consider the question of unwise state 

 legislation and federal legislation on 

 the general subject of seeds has done 

 able and conscientious work during 

 the year, and has materially assisted 

 to stem the tide of unwise legislation. 

 In one state a license of $25 yearly 

 was established, whrch is doubtless un- 

 constitutional. Several states have en- 

 deavored to establish arbitrary and 

 unreasonable standards of purity and 

 viability of seeds. 



President Woodruff called attention 

 to the large number of laws which 

 have been introduced recently into 

 state legislatures, the character of 

 which is so severe as to be most 

 alarming, many of them containing 

 absolutely impracticable provisions. 

 In Europe such legislation is not at- 

 tempted, but a safe and sane policy 

 folowed. The Kentucky Seed Act 

 stands alone in American stale legis- 

 lation as adopting the reasonable pro- 



vision as to intentional deception 

 which characterizes the Seeds Act of 

 Great Britain. In almost all the states 

 there is no attempt to relieve the 

 seedsman trom the rigors of the law 

 in the case of an honest mistake. Ow- 

 ing to the difficulty of local seedsmen 

 always being informed as to the legis- 

 lation that is attempted. President 

 Woodruff recommends the appointment 

 of a special committee to look after 

 the general work connected with seed 

 legislation to have the benefit of legal 

 advice from a regularly retained coun- 

 sel. This recommendation was adopt- 

 ed l)y the association in convention. 

 The Wholesale Seedsmen's League are 

 to co-operate in the employment of 

 me counsel. 



President Woodruff further recom- 

 mended that in future legislation, sep- 

 arate statutoiy provisions be made to 

 cover sales of garden and flower seeds 

 from those governing the sale of 

 grass, clover and field seeds. This 

 recommendation was also approved by 

 the convention after it was favorably 

 endorsed by the special committee ap- 

 pointed on President's address. Presi- 

 dent Woodruff' passed a high encomi- 

 um upon the work of J. C. Vaughan 

 for his efficient work on the Commit- 

 tee on Tariff and Customs. The great 

 and all-important question has been 

 the matter of specific rather than ad 

 valorem duties, and the Senate having 

 approved the specific duties it now re- 

 mains for the House to follow suit. 



President Woodruff expressed the 

 belief that the knell of low grade seeds 

 is sounding through the land, and that 

 seeds of high grade will command a 

 much better price than formerly, and 

 the chpap seeds go begging. Publicity 

 is the cure for many of tne evils that 

 have confronted the seed business of 

 recent years, and all seedsman will 

 lend their aid to the correction cf any 

 abuses that may creep in the tra le 

 most cheei-fully. 



President Woodruff paid his respects 

 to the abuse of government free seeds 

 and commented on the same inafoice- 

 ful way, stating that the total expend- 

 ed by the government for free seed dis- 

 tribution, not over ten per cent of 

 which were ever used for any useful 

 purpose, from 3903 to 1909, inclusive, 

 amounts to the sum of $2,197,800; and 

 next year each senator, member and 

 dele.gate will be allowed 20,000 pack- 

 ages of vegetable seeds, and 2,000 pack- 

 ages of flower seeds. Small fractional 

 currency for mailing put poses was fa- 

 vorably mentioned as a possible great 

 aid to the mail order business. 



President Woodruff leferred to the 

 subject of mutual Insurance against 

 file by seedsmen, and recommended 



that a standing committee of three be 

 created to work out the whole sub- 

 ject to some conclusion for report to 

 the next convention. He was informed 

 that considerable saving had been ef- 

 fected by the hardware people in this 

 way. ^Vith the recommendations tnat 

 the Executive Committee and J. C. 

 Vaughan be allowed their traveling ex- 

 penses, and with a pronounced note of 

 optimism for the future of the seed 

 business, President Woodruff held up 

 ■■Quality" as always and ever the 

 watchword of the trade, and his Be- 

 lief that seedsmen of all others leave 

 the world better than they find it, as 

 they cause two blades of grass to grow 

 where only one grew before. 



The President's address was referred 

 to a committee of five, Messrs. J. C. 

 Robinson, Walter P. Stokes, C. H. 

 Breck, Chas. Dickinson and Albert Mc- 

 CuUough, who recommended concur- 

 rence in various recommendations. A 

 vote of thanks was returned to the 

 President for his able address on mo- 

 tion of Capt. Landreth. 



Reports of Officers and Committees. 

 The report of Secretary-Treasurer 

 Kendel showed the finances in good 

 shajie and membership increasing. New 

 nieiubers elected were Kirby B. White, 

 Detroit, Mich.; Cargill Elevator Co., 

 Minneapolis, Minn.; Edwin C. Foltz, 

 Ijouisville, Ky., and D. B. Gurney, 

 Yankton, S. D. The Auditing Commit- 

 tee, F. W. Bolgiano, S. E. Briggs and 

 Ben P. Cornell reported books in good 

 shape and accounts correct; report ac- 

 cepted. Albert McCullough presented 

 report of Delegates to National Board 

 of Trade. Himself and W. Atlee Bur- 

 pee had participated in important 

 work on committees of the National 

 Board of Trade, on postal and other 

 matters of mutual interest to the two 

 Associations. C. E. Kendel presented 

 report of delegates to National Council 

 of Horticulture, showing the great 

 value of the work of the Council to 

 the seed trade and horticultural in- 

 terests. Report accepted. 



Two Reports on Seed Legislation. 



Geo. S. Green, chairman Committee 

 on Seed Legislation, presented report 

 of the committee referring to its gen- 

 eral federal aspects, and Chas. N. Page, 

 vice-chairman, presented a separate 

 report leferring to seed legislation in 

 the various states and territories. Mr. 

 Gieen's report favored laws to pre- 

 vent the importation of adulterated 

 and low grade seeds as for the general 

 good of the trade and the public; he 

 recommended the passage of a pro- 

 posed bill carrying out this idea. With 

 legard to absolute freedom from dod- 



