486 



HORTICULTURE 



March 26, 1910 



Seed Trade 



The Outlook. 



The notes appearing in last week's 

 HORTICULTURE were intended ror 

 the weeli before, but unfortunately ar- 

 rived a little too late to be used in 

 that issue. Hence, the information 

 about trade conditions was not quite 

 up-to-date. Since that time there has 

 been a marked improvement in retail 

 trade, both counter and mall orders, 

 and the retailers are about as busy as 

 they care to be. In fact, the informa- 

 tion which we have indicates that most 

 of the larger concerns are from twenty- 

 four hours to three and four days be- 

 hind with their orders, and they are 

 working every night up to 10 and 11 

 o'clock. Beyond a doubt, the final 

 close will show as good a season as 

 we have had in a number of years. 

 All indications point to an early spring. 

 It is generally stated that frost is near- 

 ly out of the ground and a warm rain 

 followed by pleasant weather would 

 make the soil suitable for cultivation 

 in a very short time. This is a con- 

 dition quite general, although of course 

 there are a few exceptions in the north- 

 ern sections of the state of New York, 

 northern New England and some of 

 the northwestern states. It is gener- 

 ally regarded as a good omen for the 

 trade when spring opens up early, and 

 this year will doubtless be no excep- 

 tion. 



Corn and Potatoes. 



Reference has been made to the very 

 unsatisfactory condition of seed corn 

 this year, particularly field varieties, 

 and as the season advances, conditions 

 do not show any marked improvement. 

 Much of the corn which has been re- 

 ceived by seedsmen has been kiln- 

 dried, but. having been frozen before 

 it was thoroughly dried, the vitality 

 has been greatly impaired and germi- 

 nation tests show very low vitality in 

 many instances. No doubt the trade 

 will manage to worry through in some 

 way, as it always does, but there will 

 be a very great amount of complain- 

 ing on the part of consumers of corn; 

 especially for seed purposes. 



Prices on seed potatoes do not ma- 

 terially improve, and good stock Is 

 offered as low as 40c. per bushel, while 

 excellent eating stock is quoted as low 

 as 25c. 



Help Wanted. 

 From all parts of the country comes 

 the complaint of the scarcity of com- 

 petent and experienced help. It is 

 akin to the servant question. Seeds- 

 men are unfortunate in not being able 

 ta keep their hands the year around, 

 but must needs take on a large num- 

 ber of inexperienced people every year. 

 It needs no argument to convince any 

 intelligent person what a handicap this 

 must prove, not only in despatching 

 business, but in the probability of 

 making errors, yet no one has found 

 any solution of the problem and none 

 is likely to be found. Keeping the 

 full force the year around might solve 

 it; but that of course is impossible. 



A Rochester Boom. 



The seed business in Rochester must 

 be booming this spring according to 

 reports received from James Vick's 

 Sons. They are highly elated over the 

 big increase in trade all along the line. 



retail mail order, wholesale and store, 

 and are very agreeably surprised at 

 the way the orders are coming in. 

 While there are serious shortages in 

 some lines of seeds, the concern is 

 fortunate in having a good general 

 supply. lu the wholesale department, 

 Mr. W. H. Dildine, superintendent, re- 

 ports that there is an increase of near- 

 ly one-third in the number of orders 

 received for the first three weeks in 

 March in comparison with similar pe- 

 riod last year. Since they had a rush- 

 ing business a year ago, the figures 

 this year make a new high record. 

 This tremendous increase in the vol- 

 ume of business has made necessary a 

 complete reorganization of the work- 

 ing force in the wholesale department, 

 putting on practically a double force 

 of help, and Mr. Dildine reports that 

 they are handling orders so promptly 

 now that nearly all are filled on the day 

 they arrive. All of which goes to show 

 that the name of "Vick" is still one to 

 conjure with and if properly presented 

 to the public will always receive prompt 

 and appreciative recognition; and then, 

 we might add, Jas. Vick's Sons are 

 generous advertisers in HORTICUL- 

 TURE this season, which surely counts. 



THE SEEDSMEN'S GUARANTEE. 



Mr. Kendel in his official capacity as 

 secretary of the American Seed Trade 

 Association, has paid HORTICUL- 

 TURE the high compliment of reply- 

 ing to a suggestion for the improve- 

 ment of the time worn waiver. No 

 other trade paper as far as we can 

 recollect has ever succeeded in draw- 

 ing a public expression of this kind. 

 The seed trade has a right to be con- 

 servative but it is possible to be too 

 conservative. The seed trade is suffer- 

 ing from that very thing today. If 

 they had come out in the open twenty- 

 five years ago and kept persistently 

 hammering for their rights all the 

 time, they would hear far less now of 

 adverse legislation in the various 

 states. As to Mr. Kendel's plea about 

 the Iowa judge and the "will and the 

 won't," there's only one thing to be 

 said — "You can catch more flies with 

 molasses than you can with vinegar." 

 The Burpee waiver reaches the same 

 spot as the other, but with the very 

 important difference that it does this 

 inoffensively. That's why it's clever. 



The seed trade attacks this thing in 

 the right s])irit, respectful and all 

 that; but isn't there such a thing as 

 being afraid of ghosts? Don't the old 

 boys want the new boys to do better 

 than they did? 



"Rise on stepping stones of their dead 

 selves to higher things." 



Take another look at the Burpee 

 waiver. It may dawn on you that it 

 will really hold in law better than the 

 other, maybe, and look at the beauti- 

 ful suavity of it! Of course, preced- 

 ent is good. But a clean slate and a 

 new deal all around is pretty good 

 too. Where would George Washington 

 and Benjamin Franklin and the rest 

 of them have been unless they'd h-ad 

 the courage to stand up for a rub out? 

 No doubt George the Third thought 

 they were "blawsted anarchists!" Ben- 

 jamin Franklin had it right when he 

 said about the Union— "If we don't 

 hang together we're pretty sure to 

 hang separately." 



In the writer's opinion the Burpe* 

 waiver is far and away the best. 



GEORGE C. WATSON. 



CLAY'S 



For Fertilizing tlie Soil 



56 lb. $3.25 



WM. ELLIOTT & SONS, 



42 'Vesey St., New York. 





SEEDS THAT GROW 



Best quality Vegetable, Flowei 



and Farm Seeds, Alfalfa 



Clover, Seed Potatoes, et' 



We will send free with 



catalog a packet of 



our New Coreless 



Tomato, 



best of all 



tomatoes 



not fail 



to try our 



itonntlfnl 



'ol lection of 



ei;etable Heeds, 



best 5 varieties on 



Tth, postpaid for 40c. 



We also carry full line 



if Nursery stock. 



German Nurseries, 



Box 236. Beatrice, Neb. 



PARRACP Wakefield and Succession. 

 UHDDHub $1.50 per xooo. $8.50 per 10,000, 



PARSLEY $\Ts^'.'Z. 



I CTTIIPC B'S Boston, Boston Mukct ud 

 LC I I UUC Grand Kapids. $i.o« per looo. 



BEET PLANTS $..25 per 1000. 



Cash with Okdkrs 



R. VINCENT, JR., & SONS CO. 



White Marsh, Md. 



MAKE. THE FARM PAY | 



Complete Home Study Courses in Agriculture, 

 Horticullur«. Floriculture, Landscape 

 Cardeninif, Forestry, Poultry Culture, 

 and Veterinary Science under Prof, Brooks 

 of the Mass. Agncultural College. Prof. Craig of 

 Cornell University, and other eminent teachers. 

 Over one hundred Home Study Courses under 



^^^1^^ able professors in leading Colleges. 



aSO .act OTkkoc ra(( w.itcvo.o.* I 



TTie HOME CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL J 



Dept. H. A^ Sprinafleld. Mcwa. I 



Notes. 



Henry Nun.eresser sailed from New 

 York on the Kronprinzess Cecelia on 

 Tuesday, March 22. Business and re- 

 cuperation in equal proportion. 



R. M. Ward & Co. are about to send 

 oul a unique calendar, 23 x 2S in., giv- 

 ing the date on which Easter will come 

 for the next thirty years and other 

 equally useful information. 



L. P. Gunson & Co., of Rochester, 

 N. Y., report a very excellent mail 

 order trade, and say they are having 

 more trouble to secure stocks with 

 which to take care of orders than in 

 securing the orders. 



The Joseph Harris Co., of Coldwater, 

 N. Y., also report a very fine trade, 

 claiming they are 30 per cent ahead ot 

 last year up to this time. They are sev- 

 eral days behind in their orders, al- 

 though working their full force over- 

 time. 



We extend our sincere sympathy to 

 Frank Emerson and Mrs. Emerson, un- 

 der the staggering misfortune our dear 

 friend has suffered. We trust the loss 

 of his eyesight — which resulted from 

 an overstrain in helping to right an 

 overturned auto — may prove only tem- 

 porary; and that he may soon be re- 

 stored to us in his full health and 

 vigor. 



