206 



HORTICULTURE, 



February 15, 1908 



Seed Trade 



The Caiiiiers' Cuiiveiiliciii of 190S has 

 passed into history, and in all essen- 

 tial respects, exwptins; in the matter 

 of the miichinery exhilMt, it will com- 

 pare favorably with any of its prede- 

 cessors. Owing to ladv of floor space 

 it was impossible to make the ma- 

 chinery part of the convention as large 

 or attractive as last year, but this fea- 

 ture has become so larse that it re- 

 quires a hall of unusual dimensions to 

 accommodate it. 



The social part of these conventions, 

 and in fact of all conventions, was a 

 notable feature of the one just close.! 

 at Cincinnati. At the time of the Mil- 

 waukee convention in 1902 some ten or 

 a dozen congenial spirits formed a lit- 

 tle social organization known as the 

 Ramblers, the object being to give a 

 dinner to a chosen few of their friends. 

 This organization has grown until at 

 the recent convention the Ramblers 

 and their guests numbered over 100. 

 The entei-tainnienl usually consists of 

 a dinner beginning rather late in the 

 evening, followed by speeches by the 

 leading Ramblers and their guests and 

 winding up with a vaudeville perform- 

 ance, of more or less startling charac- 

 ter. It is a decidedly Bohemian af- 

 fair, V3t withal quite elaborate, and 

 invitations to the Ramblers' dinner are 

 eagerly accepted by the most promi- 

 nent members of the canning industry. 



Contrary to custom, the place for the 

 next convention was decided before 

 the last one closed, the place chosen 

 being Chicago. The windy city had 

 some hustling representatives there 

 who offered such attractive induce- 

 ments that the canners were quite 

 readily won over to their cause. One 

 of the features of this next convention 

 will be a Pure Food Show in connec-s 

 tioa with the machinery exhibit, and 

 according to present plans the conven- 

 tion will be held at the Coliseum. The 

 great size of this building with its sev- 

 eral halls enables the committee hav- 

 ing the matter in charge to conduct 

 the Pure Food Show as a part of the 

 exhibits without in any way interfer- 

 ing with the necessary space for the 

 machinery and supplies association. 

 By the way, this machinery' and sup- 

 plies association, which has heretofore 

 been a rather loose-jointed affair, and 

 which owing to its rapid growth has 

 beea becoming more unwleklly each 

 year, has now been incorporated and 

 hereafter will be controlled by a board 

 of directors, its officers being a presi- 

 dent, vice-president, secretary and 

 treasurer. The constitution and by- 

 laws adopted may be changed to suit 

 conditions which will no doubt devel- 

 op in the future, but it will be a much 

 more compact and manageable organi- 

 zation than it has become of recent 

 years. 



As predicted in a recent issue of 

 HORTICULTURE, the price of seed 

 peas afld seed corn, both had a sink- 

 ing spell during the progress of the 

 convention. This alludes only to spot 

 goods, although in the scramble to se- 

 cure business there was some drop in 

 the price of futures. One fact was de- 

 veloped, however, to the satisfaction of 

 everyone, and that was the scarcity of 

 the Sweet Wrinkled varieties of can- 

 ners" peas, proving the accuracy of the 



statements made on this point In re- 

 cent issues of HORTICULTURE. 



There has been a decided drop in 

 the price of onions within the past few 

 weeks, and this will undoubtedly have 

 a very undesirable influence on the 

 demand for seed for the coming year, 

 and it begins to look as if there would 

 be some surplus at the end of the 

 season notwithstanding the great 

 shorta.ge of last year's crops. It is 

 pleasing to note that two or three of 

 the members of the seed trade wht5 

 have heretofore been hangers-on at the 

 canners' conventions, refusing to join 

 the association or contribute to its 

 maintenance in any way, have finally 

 ilecided this year to become members, 

 and they are welcomed by all, includ- 

 ing their competitors. It is only fair 

 to say, however, that one or two still 

 persistently refuse to come in, one of 

 these being a very prominent grower 

 who attracted universal attention by 

 bis tireless hustling tor business. Pos- 

 sibly even this man may appreciate the 

 humiliating position he is in, although 

 thus far he has been impervious to 

 criticism. 



The California seed growers are on 

 the wing and this week A. J. Pieters 

 visited Chicago and Detroit on his way 

 Fast. It is also reported that Charles 

 P. Braslan is heading East in the 

 wake of his friend and colleague and 

 many of the others will undoubtedly 

 follow them shortly. 



J. S. Nave and E. W. Moore have 

 started in the seed business in Owens- 

 boro, Ky., with E. O. Miller as man- 

 ager. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Kramer Brothers Foundry Co., Day- 

 ton, O.— Illustrated folder of Lawn 

 Vases, Settees and Chairs. 



F. E Conine Nursery Co., Stratford, 

 Conn.— Spring and fall 1908 Catalogtie 

 of Nursery Stock. An excellent selec- 

 tion. 



Ralph M. Ward, New York.— Illus- 

 trated Wholesale Catalogue of Lily 

 Bulbs. Worthy of careful reading by 

 every forcer of lilies. 



Arthur DeMeyer, Ghent, Belgium.— 

 AVholesale Trade List for 1908. Pro- 

 fusely illustrated with plates showing 

 the methods of handling and culture 

 of the plants which this firm offers. 



F. W. Dixon, Holton, Kans. — Twen- 

 ty-first Annual Catalogue of Small 

 Fruits. Strawberries are a specialty 

 with this establishment and a group 

 of luscious berries in colors adorns the 

 cover. 



Arthur Cowee. Berlin, N. Y.— The 

 Twentieth Century Flower, being a list 

 of the various superb strains of gladioli 

 in the cultivation of which Mr. Cowee 

 has no rival. Two lovely colored 

 plates are inserted, also a number of 

 half-tones. 



Weeber & Don, New York.— Cata- 

 logue of Garden, Farm and Flower 

 Seeds. This is a handsome catalogue 

 throughout. There is a tempting nov- 



MICH ELLS 



SEEDS 



M 



P Are Always Reliable. 



MARKETS!. 

 PHILA. 



WHOLESALE CATALOGUE FREE 



m, 



^iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimi^ 



I GLADIOLI I 



S I can satisfactorily supply your S 



B wants for Gladioli for forcing or " 



S outdoor planting. Mixtures, color S 



SS sections or rained varieties of S 



S exceptional beauty. B 



S Write for Prtces 5 



I ARTHUR CCWEE | 



B Oladiolus Specialist B 



E Meadowvale Farm, BERLIN, N. Y S 



SUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIillllllllll? 



HYACINTHS. 



., TULIPS, NARCISSI 



AND OTHER BULBS 



ROMAN HYACINTHS and the true 

 PAPER WHITE GRANDIFLORA 



ABk for our Wholesale Trade Lilt at HUlegom 



K. VELTHUYS, Hillegom, Holland 



Rep. by FELiX BOSCH, 260 Clarendon St., Boston. 



elty list and the W. & D. Leviathan 

 Mignonette forms an attractive cover 

 illustration. 



H. H. Berger & Co., New York.— 

 Spring Catalogue for 190S. A charac- 

 teristic Japanese scene forms the intro- 

 ductory cover topic. A large number 

 of novelties in flower and vegetable 

 seeds is included. Also Wholesale Cata- 

 logue for the trade only, listing many 

 .Japanese specialties 



R. & .1. Farquhar & Co.. Boston, 

 Mass. — Garden Annual for 190S. In style, 

 arrangement, contents and illustration 

 this catalogue stands in the front rank. 

 The cover illustrations — Trollius Japo- 

 nicus Excelsior and Tritoma hybrida 

 Express — are fine examples of color 

 work and the half-tones which enrich 

 the descriptive pages in great pro- 

 fusion are most of them now used for 

 the first time. The pages are noticea- 

 ble for their conciseness and ease of 

 reference, and the absence of super- 

 fluous verbiage. Vegetable and flower 

 seeds and plants, bulbs, perennials, 

 ornamental trees and shrubs and gar- 

 den accessories are all fully covered. 



Reports from those growers who 

 have forced Formosa lilies during the 

 past season show that good results 

 have been obtained and that these 

 bulbs have won anproval for their 

 healthiness and uniformity. 



