684 



HORTICULTURE 



November 21, 190S 



Seed Trade 



is the lime draws near for the an- 

 nua! wind, sale ami retail price lists to 

 receive their finishing touches before 

 finally turned over to the 

 men realize hew perplex- 

 ing ., i,,n have en their hands 

 to rightlj gauge the situation. The 

 stateini in thai this season the problem 

 ne ot Hie m. is* difficult they have 

 evi i had to solve will be appreciated 

 II vet when the catalogues ilo ap- 

 pear, it will be found that conditions 

 been pretty ac< urati ly sized up. 

 n we consider the greal number 

 listed by the leading 

 nouS( n ■■ with confid 

 that few lines of business require a 

 higher or more analytical quality of 

 gray matter than the seedsmen's. This 

 ,,ient suggests the query: Why 

 is this fact not more fully recognized 

 bj our law makers and servants in the 

 D partment of Agriculture who are 

 umine the enactment of half-baked 

 measures placing irksome and in many 

 instances paralyzing conditions on so 

 important an industry- Thai there are 

 seedsmen who are no credit to their 

 line of business is not denied, as there 

 ai e fal irs in every trade, and ii 

 curbing this class which at the same 

 lime would not work injustice and in- 

 jury to thi great body of honest si d 

 men were nai ted there would be little 

 •i lion. 

 If the wish is only to restrain the 

 dishonest dealer, why not call into 

 consultation the leading seedsmen, as 

 with their aid and co-operation meas- 

 ures could be framed which would deal 

 intelligently with all just causes ot 

 plaint, without at the same time 

 a baleful influence on hon- 

 est dea'e.s. The most objectionable 

 lire of all proposed legislation is. 

 that all seedsmen are treated en bloc, 

 as dishonest. 



Does anvone suppose that in framing 

 legislation affecting the manufacturers 

 of chemicals, the leading men in that 

 industry would not be consulted? Yet 

 the opportunities for, and the frauds 

 that are actually perpetrated in that 

 line are vastly greater than the seeds- 

 men of the worst type could possibly 

 be guiltv of, and with infinitely more 

 disastrous results. Is it not possible 

 for the seedsmen to bring this fact 

 home to the consciousness of the lead- 

 ing members of Congress? 



The writer has been informed, though 

 how correctly cannot now be stated, 

 that the objectionable Mann bill of last 

 winter is to he re-introduced, and 

 pressed if possible to passage It is 

 said that certain employes ot the I 

 partment of \griculturi bayi most 

 zealouslv been gathering evidence to 

 ,. the necessity of such a law as 

 the Mann bill contemplates It is re- 

 ported moreover that this is a counter 

 move on the part of the Department 

 to offset the seedsmen in their efforts 

 lull "free seeds," and they will 

 have little time to agitate against the 

 free seed distribution. While this 

 probably does not fully cover the case, 

 it is worth remembering. 



There is a decided shortage in Bur- 

 pee's Rush Lima beans, and they are 

 emoted iu limited quantities at ?6.UU 

 to $6 50. Dreer's Bush are quoted at 

 10 S5.50. The new Fnnlhook Bush 

 will certainly supplant the Dreer Bush. 



Burpee's Improved will in time sup- 

 plant the Burpee's Hush, Quarter Cen- 

 tury Bush and Dreer's Wonder Bush; 

 thus there will be only one strain of 

 this variety, a fact which will be 

 hailed with satisfaction by all e 



The great superiority of these 

 new strains over the old types cannol 

 be fully appreciated until they b 

 been compared in the green as well as 

 the dry slate, and the old strains will 

 endure only so long as will require to 

 get sufficient stock seed of the ne 

 bring prices down near the level of 

 tie old. 



The very sudden advent of winter 

 this wei k has caught many unpre- 

 pared, and has resulted in some liltle 

 damage to plants and tender nursery 

 stock, which had no1 yet been housed. 

 The sudden drop in temperature from 

 50 or 60 degrees above freezing to 8 

 above zero, has caused great discom- 

 fort, which has not I n tempered any 



by a fall of 6 to S inches oi snow, and 

 particularly in the cities. 



Several of the California grow r sj 

 on the wing, and some of them maj be 

 expected in the east at any time. 



The pea seed growers are talking of 

 a strong advance over last year's 

 prices, and particularly on the "can- 

 ners' varieties." What with increased 

 freight rates and advances to the far- 

 mers, these varieties are costing the 

 growers practically 25c. more per 

 bushel than a year ago, and the grow- 

 ers are to be congratulated on the de- 

 termination to advance their prices in 

 turn. It is hoped they will stand firm. 

 The demoralizing competition for 

 ousiness among growers has resulted 

 in the cutting of prices below the 

 profit level, and a corresponding craze 

 to cheapen production, has resulted in 

 ccmuletely obscuring what should be 

 the chief aim ot every producer- the 

 improvement of types. The outcome 

 in the main has been steady deteriora- 

 tion. This question will receive fur- 

 ther consideration in the near future. 



It is reported that the Brown Bag 

 Filling Machine Co. has been awarded 

 the contract for putting into pai kets 

 the seeds lor 1'ncle Sam's annual free 

 seed distribution, but it is also said 

 that the work has not yet been com- 

 menced. This is extraordinary, as 

 usually some millions of packets have 

 been put up by this time. 



r'omnlaints are coming from the De- 

 partment of the low germination ot 

 beet seeds, not one sample coming up 

 to the Government standard, while 

 most samples tested fall so far below 

 as to cause rejection of the shipments 

 represented. 



There has been a most gratifying 

 change in business sentiment since the 

 election, optimism having taken the 

 place of doubt and hesitation, and a 

 real improvement is noticeable in all 

 lines. 'Let the infection go on 

 unchecked. 



NEW FREIGHT RATES ON JAPAN 

 BULBS. 

 The Trans-Continental American 

 R R line has adopted the foil' i 

 transportation rates on bulbs from 

 Japan- $1.40 per hundred pounds on 



Gold Storage Valley 



" Russian Brand " 



Imported and packed by ourselves. 



Large Flowering. K oots 



long and fibrous. 



Per50O$7.50; per iooo $14.00; 

 per 5000 $65.00. 



Write for Our Com p Me 

 Wholesale Catalogue. 



MICHELL 



lOlo MARKETS! 



PMILA,PA. 



ear load lots of 30,000 lbs. minimum 

 and $1.90 on anything less than car 

 load lots. London shipments from 

 Japan are going very generally via 

 Canada instead oi New York as for- 

 m trly. 



CHANGE OF PARTNERSHIP. 



Moore & Simon, seedsmen, u39 Mar- 

 ket street, Philadelphia, have dis- 

 solved. Clarence Moore will continue 

 the old concern under the title of the 

 .Moore Seed Co. I. N. Simon has taken 

 Wesley D. Simon, his son. into part- 

 nership and has opened a store at 41 

 and 43 North Water street, and will 

 make a specialty of seeds for market 

 gardeners. I. N. Simon was in the 

 firm of Moore & Simon for 18 years, 

 while Wesley D. was with the same 

 concern 13 years, and with the Noll 

 Seed Co., Newark, for 4 years. 



TOBACCO 



STEMS -STRONG' KIND 



IOO lb bale $1.25 



W, ELLIOTT & SONS 



42 VESEY STREET, NEW YORK. 



rlBRflNtv 



PULVERIZED SHEEP 

 k PULVERIZED HOG 

 P PULVEKlZEb CflTTlE 



SHREDDED CATTLE 



VIZflKb 



3RflNb 



Cattle Manure in bags, shredded or 

 pulverized. Sheep Manure kiln 

 dried in barrels. 



Best and safest manure for florists' 

 and greenhouse use. 



Absolutely Pure 



No Waste 



No Danger 



Write for literature and quantity 

 prices. 



THE PULVERIZED MANURE CO. 



31 Exchange Ave., _Un lon Sto. k Yards, Chicago 



SHEEP MANURE 



Pulverized. Free from all Adulteration 



In Bag. $18.00 per Ton. Cash with Order 



ROBERT SIMPSON 



CLIFTON, N.J. 



