May 24, 1913 



HORTICULTURE 



781 



A DUTCH BULB TRADE EPISODE 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

 BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



erpicK OP accD dibtribution. 



Washington, D, C, May 15, 1913 



Messrs. P.. & J. Parquhar !c Company, 

 6 and 7 South Market Street, 

 Boeton, llass. 



Oentlenen: 



Referring to your quotation of April 12 for supplying 

 the Hyacinth, Tulip ana narcissus bulbs required by this Depart- 

 ment for delivery next Pall, I regret to advise you that it is' 

 deemed inadvisable to nurohase Holland bulbs from Acer loan firms. 

 Our experience last year v/ith bulbs purchased from a reliable Aaer 

 tean dealer was so unsatisfactory, that it is thought best to 

 purchase direct from Holland growers whose stooks have been found 

 satisfactory. 



Regretting we are unable to place any business with you, 

 I remain. 



Very • truly yours , 



HoD-F 



We reproduce herewith a .somewhat remarkable com- 

 munication from the office of seed distribution of the 

 Agricultural Department in Washington to a well-known 

 seed house. We are informed by Messrs. Farqnhar that 

 a few weeks ago they received from Washington a form 

 letter notifying them that tlie Department was in the 

 market for a quantity of specified liyacinth, tulip and 

 narcissus bulbs and soliciting bids on supplying same. 

 Messrs. Farquhar submitted their quotations accordingly, 

 in good faith. We have no doubt that other seed houses 

 in various parts of the country were given the same op- 

 portunity and have received a similar communication in 

 response to their offers. If the Department's experience 

 with American dealers has been so unsatisfactory in the 

 past as this letter would imply, the question arises as to 

 why they solicited American bids at all, knowing before- 



hand that they would rei)udiate them 

 on such grounds. 



The unqualified statement that 

 the Department "finds it inadvisable 

 to buy Holland bulbs from Ameri- 

 can firms" on the ground of unsatis- 

 factory material, is a challenge 

 that should bring a prompt re- 

 sponse from the seed trade and a 

 demand for more explicit informa- 

 tion as to the causes leading to the 

 writing of so unusual a letter, which 

 carries with it an unmistakable 

 aspersion on the American bull> 

 importing industry. 



The identity of the offending 

 house of last year does not appear 

 but we know that there are a number 

 of houses who make a specialty of 

 importing high-grade Dutch bulbs 

 every year and paying prices accord- 

 ingly, and if there is anything wrong 

 witli the quality of the goods they 

 handle, the fault is not theirs. It 

 certainly looks as though the Ameri- 

 can dealers were getting some pretty 

 shabby treatment abroad if it be true, 

 as the Department's letter intimates, 

 that the quality of the material fur- 

 iiisbed by the Holland bulb houses to 

 a private customer— which the Department is— is superior 

 to that supplied to the American dealers, all of whom buy 

 in much larger volume than the Department's order can 

 ever amount to. It seems incredible that the better class 

 of Holland growers would be guilty of such inconsistency. 

 The American trade generally is fully alive to the fact 

 that quite a large proportion of the foreign bulb salesmen 

 who annuallv canvass this country for business represent 

 concerns which are not growers and have no stock of their 

 own to sell, simply issuing a catalogue and buying wher- 

 ever they can to cover sales. It will be interesting to 

 know what foreign house or houses are bidding against 

 their American customers in the manner disclosed by 

 the correspondence in question. If such conditions are 

 to obtain the facts should certainly be made public so 

 that the trade may be thoroughly informed as to what 

 they are getting and we believe we are doing a service 

 by giving this matter the publicity for which it seems 

 to call. 



Charge. 



ADVERTISING TALKS- By RALPH M. WARD-No. 1 1 



Suppose there were something 

 about your busines that you wanted 

 to keep from the knowledge of the 

 trade. Suppose that it were printed 

 in plain, clear words, in this space! 

 You would consider that the facts 

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 wouldn't you? Now surely there's 

 a lot about your merchandise you 

 would like to have the trade know 

 about. Well, then, why don't you 



use this space for that purpose? 

 Why don't you advertise? Nothing 

 could be better for your business 

 than proper advertising. Don't be 

 a quitter in advertising. If you be- 

 gin, buy space for a year so you 

 can't quit before the time comes, 

 when you will not want to quit. 

 At first you will direct attention 

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 tention of the unconcerned as well 

 — and this is one of the main de- 



signs of all true advertising. Just 

 think a miuute — you are uncon- 

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 the same in every business and 

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 think a little and then act. 



