546 



HORTICULTURE 



October 26, 19u7 



Seed Trade 



Most of the leading growers ol peas 

 have sent out preliminary estimates 

 of deliveries on this year's crops, and 

 as a rule they are fully as low as has 

 been predicted in these columns from 

 time to time. The quantity of "tramp" 

 peas is likely to prove smallei- than 

 usual, and no one will use such seed 

 excepting those who look at every- 

 thing from the standpoint of prico 

 only and as to canne)s, only those 

 who pack cheap goods and buy the 

 cheapest of everything connected with 

 their business. It is quite useless to 

 talk quality to such per.^ons, and only 

 those who have junk to S(dl and can 

 "make the price," need apply. 



Estimated deliveries on "cannerh' 

 peas" by one or two of the largest 

 growers are very low, averaging from 

 1!5 to 10 per ctnt. There will be fire- 

 works from the canners, no doubt, but 

 if the glowers are delivering their full 

 crops less seed stock, tliey cannot do 

 more. Those firms making these very 

 light deliveiies are liable to And life 

 a thorny jiath when it comes to book- 

 ing contracts for the 1908 crop, and 

 some of their representatives may need 

 both sympathy and plasters. The de- 

 velopments of th-; next four weeks 

 l)romise to be most interesting. 



Nothing definite can be said about 

 beans as yet. But few crops have 

 been delivered, and it will doubtless 

 be December before reliable informa- 

 tion will be at hand. That the crop 

 has suffered more or less severely as 

 a result (>f frost and excessive rains 

 cannot be doubted, but as large re- 

 serves win-e carried from last year's 

 crops, there will be no famine in lieans 

 excepting possibly a fevi special varie- 

 ties which are elusive shoit i^roppers, 

 and should be eliminated from the 

 s,eedsraens' lists. 



Such information as has come to 

 hand during the past week regarding 

 this year's sugar corn crop confirm the 

 gloomiest predictions made con- 

 cerning it. Without a single exception, 

 every known grower says the crop is 

 in adesperate way, all of the late va- 

 rieties being yet soft and much of the 

 corn still in the milk. What this 

 means requires no seer to realize and 

 conditions are even worse than we 

 dared believe at any time. Even early 

 sorts are said to be very poor and it 

 really locks as if there is little be- 

 tween us and a seed corn famine ex- 

 cept such stock as may have been car- 

 ried from last year. These are not 

 large, and prices are likely to soar be 

 fore .Tuly 1st next, and the highest 

 prices yet named this si'tison will look 

 cheap in two or three months' time. 



The latest informaticm of the vine 

 seed crop indicates that it will prove 

 materially shorter than has been gen- 

 erally believed, retailed information 

 is not yet at hand, but as soon as re- 

 ceived it will be given in HORTICUL- 

 TURE. 



Concerning the general line of small 

 seeds, there Is little to add to what 

 was given in a recent issue of this 

 paper, but any new developments of 

 importance will be promptly furnished. 



Grave complaints as a result of us- 

 ing imported onion seed the past sea- 

 eon have reached us, and it is said 

 that several well-known Canadian 

 seedsmen are seriously involved. 



Bulbs grown fiom this seed are said 

 to have developed a very large per- 

 centage of "thick necks," and the crops 

 as a whole are reported to have been 

 of so poor a quality as to be practi- 

 cally unsaleable. Hei'e is a concrete 

 example of the tolly of trying to save 

 a few cents a poi'nd on seed. Good 

 seed was procurable, but these dealers 

 preferred to risk unknown stocks, be- 

 cause, forsooth, they were cheaper. 

 Verily, they have receivfed their re- 

 ward. 



Clover seed is again in short supply, 

 .'^ast year thousands of hags were im- 

 ported from Europe, which kept prices 

 somewhat within bounds. But the 

 European crop is somewhat short this 

 year, .ind they will have a smaller ex- 

 portable surplus, and it is possible that 

 new high price records m-ay be estab- 

 lished ror this year's crop. This is an 

 agricultural commodity for which 

 the the farmer may have to pay a long 

 price, and his groans and lamentations 

 will then be heard in the land. 



Another vegetable seed which is in 

 short supply is the garden beet, the 

 severe winter ha\ ing played havoc with 

 this crop. We are dependent largely 

 upon Europe for several strains of tur- 

 nip beets, and the crop abroad is esti- 

 mated at not more than half of that 

 of last year. 



Speaking of crop shortages, special 

 mention should be niade of tomato 

 seed, and because of cold, wet weather 

 during the fall the crop ri!)ened very 

 slowly, and prices are likely to rule 

 high, though not necessarily at famine 

 figures. Owing to the high prices for 

 canned tomatoes, jobbers and whole- 

 tale grocers are eager buyers of the 

 IOCS pack and high grade pedigree seed 

 will be in active demand by canners, 

 and should bring strong prices. 



Flower seeds of the early ripening 

 sorts are generally in good supply. 

 This includes Queen of the Market and 

 other early asters. The late asters are 

 as yet in doubt on account of threaten- 

 ing weather, but it is not unlikely that 

 there will be a shortage of paeony- 

 flowered Victoria and other late sorts. 

 There will also be a considerable short- 

 age of nasturtiums. The new crop of 

 these and, in fact, of many other seeds 

 will be much below the average in vi- 

 tality and germinative power. The 

 California crop of sweet peas is much 

 below normal, and several seedsmen 

 are already looking to Europe to co.-n- 

 plete their stocks, but it is difficult to 

 predict at the present time what their 

 success there may be, stocks of the 

 leading varieties being reported in 

 short supply. 



Everything considered, the outlook 

 for seedsmen is very rosy, and despite 

 more or less severe shortages in many 

 lines, it will be their own fault if the 

 coming year does not bring th^m a 

 handsome profit in thei'' business. 



The selection of Mr. F. W. Brugger- 

 hof (president of .T. M. Thorburn & 

 Company \ to be the president of the 

 Wholesale Seedsmens' League for the 

 coming year, has given great satisfac- 

 tion to the entire seed trade. Mr. Bur- 

 net Landretli was chosen secretary and 

 treasurer of the league for the same 

 period. 



Messrs. W. Atlee Burpee & Company 

 are meeting with a mopt splendid re- 



ception for their "Burpee's Two New 

 Spencer Sweet Peas"; in fact, orders 

 have already poured in for a great 

 many thousand packets. It certainly 

 would seem as if no seed firm doing a 

 catalogue mail business, either in this 

 country or Europe, would be without 

 these two taking floral novelties for 



IOCS. 



On e»'ery side, and by our entire seed 

 trade, the greatest sorrow is felt and 

 expressed for the death of Henry 

 Mette of Quedlinburg. Germany. The 

 deceased was a comparatively young 

 man, and esteemed by a large ciicle of 

 friends. It has been announced that 

 the renowned seed business which 

 bears his name will be continued as In 

 the past, 



Messrs. Peter Henderson & Company 

 of New York are doing some very ef- 

 fective bulb advertising in the local 

 New York and Brooklyn daily newspa- 

 Iiers. It is really wonderful how the 

 small flower garden trade for hardy 

 bulbs is every year increasing in and 

 around all our large cities — that is. 

 the strictly local business as apart 

 from the mail trade. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Vaughan's Seed Store. Chicago and 

 New York. — Fall edition of Vaughan's 

 Gardening Illustrated. 



United States Nursery Co., Rich. 

 Miss. — Fall and spring catalogues of 

 Field Grown Roses, Peonies, etc. An 

 excellent trade list. 



Central Seed and Bulb Company, 

 Chicago, 111. Descriptive catalogue, 

 1907. A ]irofusely illustrated price list 

 with colored title page of nasturtiums. 



New Fngland Nurseries, Inc., Bed- 

 ford. Mass. — Specialties for Autumn 

 Planting. A '^.ummary of the most 

 valuable varieties of evergreens, roses, 

 hardy plants, bulbs, pot-grown straw- 

 berries, etc. The New England Nur- 

 series bid fair to fill a place of leader- 

 ship in the rapidly growing fancy nur- 

 sery trade of New England. 



Meehan's Manual of Outdoor Plants, 

 'iSth edition issued by Thomas Meehan 

 a. Sons, Inc., Gerniantown, Pa., is, as 

 might be expected, a very full and ac- 

 curate list of ornamental trees, shrubs 

 and herbaceous material, profusely il- 

 lustrated and typographically hand- 

 .some. A colored plate of Meehan's 

 Mallow Marvels accompanies the book. 



GUARANTEED 

 FRESH SPAWN 



CHUCK FULL OF MYCELIUM 

 8 lbs., $1.00 



Treatise: How to Grow Them. 



Wm. Elliott <S1 Sons 



201 Fulton Street 

 NEW YORK 



KENTIA SEED 



lust received, in ■ p lend id condi.icp : I 



lOO ICO fOOO i 



Belmoreana or Forsteriana.. .73 $6 0(1 $27.50 :i 

 Phoenix recUnata 50 3.50 1500 | 



Address H. H. BERC^R & CO. 



70 Warren St , NEW YORK. ; 



