872 



H ORTICULTURE 



December 26, 1908 



Seed Trade 



B 



AMERICAN SEED TRADE ASSOCI- 



TION. 



Tariff and Customs. 



The following communication and 

 representative Hems from tariff sched- 

 ules are self-explanatory: 



New York, December 2, 1908. 

 Hon. Sereuo B. Payne, Chairman Ways 

 and Means Committee, Iluuse of Itep- 

 sentntlves, Washington, D. C. 



Sir — At a mec-tiug of the committee on 

 tarlfT ami cu>toius of the American Seed 

 Trade Association, an organization whi. h 

 consists of the leading seed growers of the 

 United States, as well as seed dealers, 

 held this day, the following preamble and 

 resolutions were unanimously adopted: 



Whereas, The members of this associa- 

 tion are satisfied that the present duties 

 01 seeds and bulbs afford an adequate 

 measure of protection to the American far- 

 mer and deprecate any radical change In 

 the existing rate of duty on seeds and 

 bulbs, and 



Whereas, Owing to the methods of pro- 

 duction abroad there Is great difficulty, If 

 not Impossibility, in fixing equitably mar- 

 ket values lu the country of production 

 because there are no open markets or 

 exchanges where they are dealt In from 

 day to day as is the case with many staple 

 products, and 



Whereas, These conditions, which are In- 

 separable from the iudestry, have in the 

 >ast led to great difficulty on the part of 

 he appraising officers of the customs, In 

 some cases to great injustice to importers 

 and to serious inequalities In the adminis- 

 tration of the tariff, and 



Whereas, These undesirable results seem 

 to be inevitable when the duty on seeds 

 and bulbs Is assessed on an ad valorem 

 basis, row, therefore, be it 



Resolved, That It is the judgment of 

 this association that all dutiable seeds and 

 bulbs should pay duties on a specific basis, 

 and furthei be it 



Resolved, That we strongly recommend 

 to the ways and means committee the 

 following schedule of duties on seeds and 

 bulbs whlcb has been compi'ed on the 

 bi.sls of average values abroad and with 

 the desire to maintain the equivalents of 

 the existing ad valorem rates, and finally 

 be It 



Resolved, That it is the sense of this 

 association that, whatever duties on seeds 

 and bulbs may hereafter be decided upon 

 they should be assessed on a specific aud 

 not" mi ad valorem basis. 



Rcsnectfnllv submitted, 

 WATSON S. WOODRUFF, Pros. 



J. C. VAUGHAX, Chairman, Committee 

 on Tariff and Customs. 



The schedules submitted with the 

 foregoing provide specific duties on 

 seeds, etc., as indicated by the follow- 

 ing leading items in cents per pound; 

 mushroom spawn, 2; turnip, 2; beet, 3; 

 carrot. 4; cabbage, 6; lettuce, S; celery, 

 10; tomato, 20: cauliflower, 100; peas 

 per 60-pour.d bushel 40: beans per 

 60-pound bushel, 45. 



Seeds of all kinds not specially pro- 

 vided for in this act, 5 cents per pound. 



Specific duties on bulbs, bulbous 

 roots or corms which are cultivated 

 for their flowers or foliage, are indi- 

 cated by the following representative 

 articles, per 1000: Tulips, $1; gladioli. 

 $1: narcissi, $1.50; begonias, $1.50; 

 gloxinias. $i.50: lily of the valley, 

 $1.50; hyacinths, $3.50; lilies, $5; 

 peonies. $10. 



Bulbs, bulbous roots, or corms which 

 are cultivated for their flowers or foli- 

 age not specially provided for in this 

 act 50 cents per 1000. 



The free list is as follows: Anise, 

 canary, caraway, cardamon, coriander, 

 cotton, cummin, fennel, fenugreek, 

 hemp, horehound, mangel-wurzel, mus- 

 tard, rape, Saint John's bread or bean, 

 sugar-beet, sorghum or sugar-cane for 

 seed, sunflower; bulbs and bulbous 

 roots, not edible and not otherwise 

 provided for: all flower seed, clover and 



grass seeds, vetches or tares; all the 

 foregoing not specially provided for In 

 this act. 



0. E. KRNDEL, Sec'y. 



Lord Maule of Panmure is a well- 

 beloved name in the British Empire. 

 The American scion of this house, al- 

 though without title, has honored the 

 good stock and achieved much distinc- 

 tion in his chosen field of effort — horti- 

 culture — particularly in seed growing 

 and distribution. The latest Maule 

 catalogue is a striking illustration of 

 the pe v ennial freshness and genius of 

 the noted Philadelphian establishment. 

 It is unique in its general get-up and a 

 striking departure from conventional 

 lines, especially in the cover portion. 



BULB GROWING IN SANTA CRUZ. 



A. Mitting writes interestingly in 

 the Santa Cruz Tribune about the 

 rapidly growing bulb trade of that 

 place. We extract a few notes. 



"Experience has proved that it will 

 pay to grow bulbs in Santa Cruz 

 county for the eastern market. Calla 

 bulbs are at present taking the lead, 

 1,000,000 of this variety having been 

 planted in this vicinity in the last 

 three years. There is a demand for 

 about 1,000,000 of these bulbs each 

 year, and as it takes three years with 

 ordinary cultivation to raise a crop of 

 them, it follows that 1,000,000 need to 

 be planted every year to supply the 

 market. Outside of Egypt, the country 

 around the bays of Monterey and San 

 Francisco is the only region in the 

 world where calla bulbs can be grown 

 successfully; and as the world supply 

 of these plants must be drawn from 

 this territory, there is no fear of the 

 business of growing them being over- 

 done for many years to come. There 

 are about 16,000 buyers in the United 

 States and Canada and many orders 

 are received from China, England, 

 France, Denmark, Holland and other 

 foreign countries. 



To grow the finest calla bulbs it is 

 best to plant not over 200,000 bulb- 

 lets to the acre. These bulbs in three 

 years are worth from $15 to $20 per 

 1000 in Santa Cruz. 



Until A. Mitting established his 

 company, orders for bulbs which came 

 to Santa Cruz from the east were filled 

 by digging a sufficient number in door 

 yards. Now the business is to some 

 extent systematized, Mr. Mitting con- 

 trolling about 82 per cent of the trade. 

 "Freesia bulbs are in large demana, 

 upward of 10,000,000 being called for 

 each year. A considerable number of 

 this variety are now being grown 

 along the seacoast in Southern Cali- 

 fornia, some in the south of France, 

 and a few in Bermuda. Tests have 

 shown that 100,000 of these bulbs 

 planted here in August will increase 

 to 300,000 by the following June, be- 

 sides producing a quantity of seed. 

 This is the best paying crop in Cali- 

 fornia to-day, as close to 1,600,000 

 bulbs from 600,000 bulbs planted can be 

 raised on an acre of land, which will 

 provide 1,200,000 to sell nine months 

 after planting." 



Mr. Mitting also speaks confidently 

 of the adaptability of local conditions, 

 to the raising of Lilium Harrisii, 

 gladiolus and several species of nar- 

 cissus. He continues: 



"Owing to the lack of experienced 

 men to raise bulbs in Santa Cruz coun- 



ty, it will be a number of years be- 

 fore we are in a position to supply the 

 florists' trade in the east An outlay 

 of several hundred thousand dollars 

 will be required; and small ranch 

 owners are slow to venture into a 

 business they have no knowledge of. 

 As it takes years to understand the 

 wholesale bulb business, we must avail 

 ourselves of the experience of eastern 

 florists in these lines. Although the 

 florists and growers of Santa Cruz can 

 see the large amount of money there is 

 in the bulb business, outside of these 

 few have any conception of the great 

 possibilities in this respect that await 

 development here. Literature setting 

 forth the unsurpassed advantages of 

 soil and climate possessed by Santa 

 Cruz should be sent to the 15,000 

 florists of the eastern states, most of 

 whom are now ignorant of conditions 

 here. All they hear of California in 

 the east is about Los Angeles and 

 San Francisco — occasionally, perhaps 

 Sacramento and San Jose mentioned, 

 but never a word about Santa Cruz. 

 The trouble is that most people do not 

 realize what a beautiful city we have 

 here, or the great opportunities in 

 floriculture that here exist. Finally, 

 local real estate men should stop tell- 

 ing new comers that the chicken busi- 

 ness is the best investment here and 

 advise instead bulb growing." 



A LITTLE WONDER. 



We have received a package of tes- 

 timonials from Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Stations and widely known grow- 

 ers concerning the Niagara Greenhouse 

 Sprayer, manufactured by the Niagara 

 Sprayer Company, Middleport, N. Y. 

 On the lawn, in the orchard and in 

 the greenhouse this little wonder has 

 quickly won an enviable reputation. 

 It has a concentrated power equal to a 

 4-horse power engine. It weighs only 

 35 pounds. Ask them about it. 



NEWS NOTES. 



Boise, Idaho. — Johnson & Connor 



have purchased a large tract of land 



outside the city on which they intend 



to erect a range of greenhouses. 



Chicago, III. — The Carlson Flower 

 Shop, 92 Jackson Boulevard, has sus- 

 pended business and a sign in the 

 window announces "Closed by the 

 bailiff." 



MICH ELL'S 



MAMMOTH FANCY VERBENA 



r Our Mammoth Fancy Strain combines 

 large size, purity of color and free flowering 

 qualities. Tr. pkt. Oz. 



BLUE and PURPLE 30c 8150 



PINK 30c 1.B0 



SCARLET 30C 150 



STRIPED 30c 150 



WHITE 30c 1.50 



MIXED, all colors 31C 1.50 



DIELYTRA. SPECTABILIS 



^- (Bleeding Heart) 



Extra large clumps. Fine for Easter, 

 Makes a striking house plant. 



85c per doz . : $5.00 per 1 00 



Write for our Handy Flower Seed Order Sheet 



MHEirarS 1 



SHEEP MANURE 



Pulverized. Free from all Adulteration 



In Bag, $ 1 8.00 per Ton. Cash with Order 



ROBERT SIMPSON 



CLIFTON. N.J. 



