June 29, 1907 



HOKTICULTURE, 



847 



AMERICAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION 



The twenty-fifth anniversary meet- 

 ing of this organization was opened at 

 the Hotel Aster, New York City, on 

 Tuesday, June 25, under auspicious 

 skies and weather that would Induce 

 germination in any seed with a spark 

 of lite left, and the hundred or more 

 members in attendance were in a most 

 happy frame of mind when, at 10.30 

 A. M., alderman McGowan, acting 

 mayor of the City of New York, took 

 the platform and in a few eloquent 

 words expressed the delight he felt at 

 the presence in the great metropolis of 

 such an organization as the American 

 Seed Trade Association to celebrate its 

 silver iubilee. He referred to the in- 

 fluence of the seedsmen in conserving 

 the health, wealth and prosperity of 

 the country and hoped that the socia- 

 bility and interchange of ideas en- 

 couraged by this meeting might mark 

 the opening of an era of new ideas 

 and uninterrupted prosperity for the 

 visitors. Chas. P. Braslan responded 

 briefly on behalf of the Society and 

 then President Henry W. Wood pro- 

 ceeded to read his address as follows, 

 which was received with appreciative 

 applause. 



THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



After a few prelimiuary remarks 

 about the 25th anniversary of the 

 formation of the American Seed Ti'ade 

 Association, president Wood said: 



I wish to congratulate the seed 

 trade upon the generally prosperous 

 condition which seems to prevail all 

 ovei this country. I do not believe 

 that the seed trade as a whole has 

 ever experienced a more prosperous 

 season than the one we have just 

 gone through. 1 see nothing in the 

 future to mar the outlook for a con- 

 tinuance of that prosperity. Our 

 truckers, farmers and other pro- 

 ducers are getting good prices for 

 their products, the population of this 

 country is increasing rapidly, and the 

 present indications are that we are 

 bound to have an increased demand 

 for all products for several yeai's to 

 come. The continued high prices on 

 some lines of seeds have no doubt 

 surprised dealers in these particular 

 lines. This applies particularly in 

 field seeds to clover seed, alfalfa, cow 

 peas, soja beans and other similar 

 forage crops. The high prices, while 

 primarily due to short crops, cannot 

 be altogether attributed to this, but 

 are quite largely due to the increased 

 demand which exists all over the 

 country for these seeds. 



The superiority of nearly all varie- 

 ties ot American-grown seeds is com- 

 ing to be more generally recognized 

 than ever before. American-grown 

 grass and clover seeds of high quali- 

 ties always command a premium over 

 seeds grown elsewhere, and the fact 

 that European growers who grow 

 vegetable seeds in large quantities 

 secure American-grown seeds for their 

 seed stocks proves conclusively the 

 superior quality of seeds produced in 

 this country. 



In view of the fact that the question 

 of the revision of the tariff is likely to 

 be a very live issue in American poli- 

 tics in the near future, I would sug- 

 gest that the Committee on Customs 



and Tariff give this question their 

 most serious consideration, so that, 

 in case the question is brought up in 

 Congress, they can be prepared to 

 make intelligent recommendations as 

 to what seeds should be free and what 

 seeds should be dutiable, for the guid- 

 ance of Congress in any revision of 

 the tariff that may be proposed. Seeds 

 that can be procured to advantage in 

 this country, whether garden or farm 

 seeds, should receive some measure o:" 

 protection against the cheap European 

 labor used in the production of seeds 

 on the Continent, and seeds which 

 cannot be grown to advantage in this 

 country should come in duty-free, so 

 as to avoid, as far as possible, putting 

 any imnecessary tax upon the seeds- 

 men, farmers and gardeners here. 

 Efforts should also be made, in case 

 the question does come up, to have 

 specific duties of so much per pound 

 or per 100 lbs. put on, instead of the 

 ad valorem duties, as under the pres- 

 ent laws, which, owing to differences 

 in valuations, have caused so much 

 trouble to the seedsmen. 



I am not by any means an advocate 

 of cheap seeds. I am always an ad- 

 vocate of seeds of superior quality, 

 and anything that we can do to in- 

 crease and encourage the production 

 and dissemination of superior quality 

 seeds, should receive the most careful 

 consideration of the seed trade. I 

 think it is a well-recognized fact, that 

 the prices at which a great many 

 vegetable seeds are sold at the present 

 time are too low, and that there should 

 be material advances in a great many 

 lines, in order to avoid the deteriora- 

 tion in quality which is bound to re- 

 sult from low prices and too much 

 competition from the producer's stand- 

 point. The aim of every one engaged 

 in the seed trade should be for im- 

 provement in quality of product. The 

 price of seeds cuts a very small figure 

 when you consider the crops produced 

 therefrom, and that farmers and gar- 

 deners are willing to pay good prices 

 for iirst-class seeds is unquestioned. 

 Another point that cannot be too 

 strongly impressed upon seedsmen — • 

 particularly those handling vegetable 

 and flower seeds — is the improvement 

 of stocks, and the attention that should 

 be paid to the production of superior 

 and high-grade stock seeds from which 

 their main crops are to be grown. 

 This is a most important matter, and 

 seedsmen should always be willing to 

 pay well for the production of high- 

 grade stock seeds. The true sphere 

 of the seedsmen's trial and seed farms 

 should be in the producing of superior 

 stock seeds to furnish growers, from 

 which to grow the main supplies of 

 seeds handled by the seedsmen. 



Another matter, which should receive 

 the most earnest attention of the deal- 

 ers in field seeds, is in regard to a 

 system of selling seeds according to 

 the percentages of germination and 

 purity. A great many of the whole- 

 sale dealers in field seeds, grass. 

 clovers, millets, etc., at the present 

 time do not make any particular 

 analysis for impurities or adultera- 

 tion, nor test for germination the 

 seeds which they sell, but buy and 

 sell simply on a commercial basis, 

 from the appearance of the quality of 

 the seeds only. 1 am a fiim believer 



in the fact that we ought to have as 

 little legislation for the regulation of 

 the seed business as is consistent with 

 the protection of the interests of both 

 the seedsmen and the farmers and 

 gardeners. The less of legislation we 

 have, the better, and the best way to 

 avoid legislation is for the seedsmen 

 to do business on sound business prin- 

 ciples; and the selling of grass, clover 

 and field seeds on a basis of the 

 actual percentages of germination and 

 purity is a step forward which would 

 be of great benefit to the seed trade 

 all over this country. 



There have been several bills in- 

 troduced in the various legislatures 

 during the past year, for tlie regulation 

 of the seed business, and particularly 

 stringent bills were introduced in Iowa 

 and North Dakota, and there was also 

 a bill introduced in the National Con- 

 gress at Washington, which would 

 have worked a serious hardship on the 

 seed trade if it had been passed in 

 the shape proposed. In view of this 

 agitation, I would recommend that the 

 Committee on Seed Legislation take 

 under consideration very seriously the 

 qusstiou of whether it is desirable or 

 not to draft some bill covering the 

 question of the sales of seed, which 

 could be submitted as a satisfactory 

 bill in case any legislation of this kind 

 is taken up in the future either by 

 the state legislatures or by the Con- 

 gress of the United States. 



The most vexed question that the 

 association had to deal with at the 

 Toledo Convention was the question 

 of the system or methods used by the 

 United States Department of Agi-icul- 

 tiu-e in making reports on merchants 

 who were found selling seeds which 

 the Department claimed contained 

 adulteration; the report in a great 

 many instances doing manifest injust- 

 ice to reputable seedsmen. Immedi- 

 ately upon my return from that con- 

 vention, and before making the ap- 

 pointments of the different commit- 

 tees, I addressed a letter to Prof. 

 Pieters, who was then in charge of 

 that matter, protesting against any 

 further reports being made under the 

 prevailing methods used by the De- 

 partment of Agriculture. I also sug- 

 gested at that time a meeting be- 

 tween representative seedsmen and 

 the Department officials, in order to 

 arrive at some satisfactory conclusions 

 in regard to the matter. I am 

 glad to say that the effect of my let- 

 ter was to bring about a conference 

 of the special committee on Seed 

 Adulteration, members of the Execu- 

 tive Committee and other representa- 

 tive seedsmen, with the Department 

 officials, and further reports in regard 

 to this matter were held up, pending 

 that meeting. The results of the meet- 

 ing were very satisfactory, the details 

 of which you will have in a report 

 from t)ie Chairman of the Adulteration 

 Committee, Mr. Albert McCulloagh. 



I think it would be very desirable 

 for the Coiumittee on Experiment Sta- 

 tions to take up the question of hav- 

 ing a Seed Control Station established 

 at each of the State Experiment Sta- 

 tions throughout this country, where 

 seeds could be tested both for the ' 

 seedsmen and for the farmer. I am 

 sure that any efforts on this line 

 would meet with the hearty approval 



