112 



HORTICULTURE 



[January 25, 1908] 



Seed Trade 



The very mild open weather is re- 

 garded by many as an ill omen for 

 next season's crops. Of course there 

 is J et plenty of time for snow and cold 

 weather. Snow is needed to protect 

 the roots of plants and winter grain 

 as the freezing and thawing is most 

 harmful, but the absence of cold 

 weather is allowing great swarms of 

 insects to become active, and numer- 

 ous reports of the green bug and Hes- 

 sian fly in the winter wheat are float- 

 ing in from Kansas. Missouri and the 

 southwest generally. This is one of 

 the first results of such a winter, and 

 should conditions continue as up 'o 

 January 20th, plant life will have many 

 more insects to contend with next sum- 

 mer than if we had seasonably cold 

 weather and a liberal quantity of snow. 

 However, there is no use worrying, as 

 there is yet time enough for all the 

 cold weather we may want to kill off 

 all the insects we want killed, and 

 some things we do not. 



It really begins to look as if we were 

 slated for Government supervision of 

 the seed business. Already the grass 

 seed dealers have been brought under 

 control to a considerable extent, and 

 the coils are tightening all the time. 

 If the control were just and intelli- 

 gent it might be endurable, but with- 

 out prejudice it can very truthfully be 

 described as neither. To illustrate 

 this, a prominent grass seed jobber 

 submitted to the Department of Agri- 

 culture half of a sample of fancy red 

 top. the other half going to his state 

 experiment station. The two samples 

 were identical, . the lot having been 

 placed on a paper and divided, yet the 

 reports were radically at variance. The 

 Washington Department found 1 34-100 

 of 1 per cent, of foreign seed and G 

 per cent, of inert matter. The report 

 then proceeds to show the number of 

 foreign seeds to the. pound on the basis 

 of 1 34-100 as something over 100,000, 

 but the number of true seeds is not 

 given. AVould it not have been fair 

 to have done so? It would be inter- 

 esting to know by what process of 

 computation they arrived at the num- 

 ber of foreign seeds to the pound, or 

 if the number given is even approxi- 

 mately correct. It would seem to be 

 about up to the seedsmen, and particu- 

 larly the grass seed dealer, to have 

 a central laboratory in charge of a 

 trained and fully equipped seed expert 

 of such standing that his findings 

 would be authoritative and beyond 

 question; then when the Washington 

 Department sends out a report like 

 that above referred to, they can either 

 verify or disprove it. As matters now 

 stand, if the Department had said 

 1,000,000 foreign seeds, there would 

 have been no way of disproving it ex- 

 cepting its inherent improbability. 



Referring again to Government su- 

 pervision of the seed industiy. it would 

 seem to be a perfectly logical step in 

 view of the present trend of Govern- 

 ment policy, and the fact that the 

 grass seed end of it is now under such 

 supervision: and could the right man 

 be found for this work it might not 

 prove an unmixed evil. Among our- 

 selves we may as well admit that 

 there Is a great deal of faking and 



humbugging of the public by seedsmen 

 — not all by any means — but a suffi- 

 cient number to discredit the entire 

 trade. The renaming of varieties is 

 one of the chief evils and has resulted 

 in multiplying names to such an ex- 

 teirt as to be a well nigh unbearable 

 nuisance. Most seedsmen have been 

 somewhat at fault, but the chief glory 

 belongs to a few retailers whose names 

 will readily occur to the reader. 



The American Seed Trade Associa- 

 tion has wrestled with this problem of 

 multiplyiug names by appointing com- 

 mittees on nomenclature, but they 

 have lieen mainly ornamental, as no 

 practical results have ever followed. 

 In justice to them, however, it may 

 be said that the problem was too dif- 

 ficult and complex, and having no au- 

 thority to enforce any conclusions they 

 might reach, however excellent, they 

 could do nothing. More will be said 

 along this line in the near future. 



Alaska peas are being offered at a 

 consideralile reduction in price from 

 that ruling about January first. These 

 offers are coming frcm growers and 

 dealers. JTany of these persons are 

 like the proverbial farmer, who never 

 will sell so long as any one wants to 

 buy. but when the buyer loses his in- 

 terest and no longer follows the farm- 

 er, the latter will promptly turn and 

 follow him. It is certainly wonderful 

 where all of the peas have come from 

 this year, though the wrinkled canning 

 sorts are still difHcult to obtain, und 

 particularly Admirals, which are not 

 procurable at any price. Still some of 

 these may be dug up in the "near fu- 

 ture. 



Mr. and Mrs. Francis Brill of Hemp- 

 stead, Long Island, celebrated their 

 golden wedding anniversary at their 

 home on January 1st, 1908. Owing to 

 the failing health of Mrs. Brill the 

 celebration was quiet and a formal re- 

 ception was dispensed with. Mr. 

 Brill's father, John Brill, was a lead- 

 ing horticulturist, conducting a market 

 garden and florist business in Jersey 

 City, and later at Newark, N. J., until 

 the time of his death in 1870. With 

 the advantage of these surroundings 

 and training, Francis Brill in ISTO es- 

 tablished a seed farm at Mattituck. L. 

 I., where he soon made fame in cauli- 

 flower seed growing. Later the busi- 

 ness was transferred to Hempstead. 

 Five children are living, one of whom 

 is the wife of Walter Bodger of John 

 Bodger &• Sons, seed growers, of Gar- 

 dena, Cal. HORTICULTURE joins in 

 the congratulations which are being 

 extended to Mr. and Mrs. Brill from 

 far and near, and wishes them many 

 years yet of happiness and prosperity. 



The Executive Committee of the 

 American Seed Trade Association mft 

 at Chicago on Tuesday. January 21 and 

 voted for Detroit, Mich., as the loca- 

 tion for the next convention. 



William Seabald will put up a 

 $25,000 warehouse at Curtis and Cults 

 avenues, Signal. Ohio, where he will 

 deal in seeds, grain, etc. 



You have a good and coming paper. 

 It proves to me that you are hustlers. 

 CALIFORNIA CARNATION CO. 

 Loomls, Cal. 



MICHELLS 



SEEDS 



M 



\~ Are Always Reliable. 



MARKET ST. 

 PHILA. 



ha. 



WHOLESALE CATALOGUE FREE 



sMIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllMllllllllllllllllllllllllL: 



I GLADIOLI I 



SS I can satisfactorily supply your 2 



S wants for Gladioli for furcinp or S 



S outdoor plantirg. Mixtures, color S 



S sections or named varietits of £ 



S exceptional beauty. C 



5 Wriie for Piwces S 



'lilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllr 



HYACINTHS, TULIPS, NARCISSI 



AND OTHER BUt-BS 



ROMAN HYACINTHS and the true 

 PAPER WHITE GRANDIFLORA 



Ask for oar Wholesale Trade List at HUlegom 



K. VEL7HUYS, Hilleecm, HoMard 



Rcp.byFElIX BOSCH, 260 lareidonSt .Bostor 



PLANT IMPORTS. 



There were entered at the port of 

 New York during the two weeks of 

 January 7th tc January 21st, inclusive, 

 the following imports of plants, etc.: 



From Rotterdam: A. T. Boddington, 

 l;3 bis. grass seed; P. Henderson & Co., 

 <0 bgs. do., 4 cs. bulbs; Vaughan's 

 Seed Store. 6 pgs. seed; Weeber & Don, 

 80 pgs. P.ower seed ; To Order, 48 bis. 

 teed. 



From Antwerp: H. Prank Darrow, 

 1 cs. bulbs; H. H. Berger & Co., 5 bbl. 

 seed; Stunipp & Walter, 4 cs. bulbs. 



Prom Germany: H. Frank Darrow. 

 n pgs. seed; Wm. Elliott & Sons, 1 bbl. 

 do.; O. G. Hempstead & Co., 6 bis. do.; 

 Peter Henderson & Co., 2 pgs. do.; 

 Maltus & Ware, 2 bbls. do.; 3 sacks do.; 

 Stumpp & Walter, 1 bl. do.; J. M. Thor- 

 burn & Co., 2 cs. do.; Vaughan's Seed 

 Store, 8 pgs. do.; Sundry Forwarders, 

 8 cs. do., 10 bis. larkspur seed. 



Via Havre: H. F. Darrow, 42 pgs. 

 plants; Amerman iS- Patterson, 33 pgs. 

 seed: McHutchison & Co.. CO pgs. do ; 

 A. H. Post & Co., 42 pgs. do.; J. M. 

 Thorbuin & Co., 155 cs. do.; To Order, 

 ."i7 cs. plants, 23 cs. trees; Sundry For- 



$3000 PER ACRE IN TOMATOES 



t tiit-door culture. With my Concrete or Cement 

 Plant Protector, Patent peniiing Set plants six 

 weelcs earlier and get hothouse prices. Will sell Toun 

 Rights and furnish mold. Send 2c stamp for circular. 



J. H. HALEY, 



nUNITH, niCM, 



