176: 



HORTICULTURE 



August 6, 1910 



i®®(SXIXs)SXSXS)®®®®®i)®®®®®®®(sXS>(^^ 



Good Spawn 



'^hQ Foundation 



That there is good money for florists, farmers, 

 village people, amateurs, in growing mushrooms 

 is admitted. 



IF 



Of course there are a lot of " IFS " in this as 

 in ever) thing else; but the first and biggest 

 "if" in the path of success is 



IF 

 Yoti Start witK Good 



Mushroom Spawi\ 



Our special circular [free] tells the story. New 

 ® importations of Michell's Finest English Spawn 

 just in. 



10 lbs. $1.00 50 lbs. $3.50 

 100 lbs. $6.50 



CAN ALSO FURNISH 



Lambert's Pure Culture 



AND 



An^Io- American Pure Culture 



at regular rates. 



Sample Brick by mail, postpaid, 25c. 



Send for our Midsummer Wholesale List. 



518-1018 MarKet St. I 



Henry F. Michell Co., ^HV.XiJ'HYarpr 



mission package seeds and it is doubt- There will be some little stock of 



ful if this will prove to be the case. what are known as Farmers' Alaskas 

 However, an Improvement in every in Wisconsin. Several thousands of 

 line should be welcomed and those bushels were carried over and several 

 seedsmen whose enterprise has 

 brought about this change are en- 

 titled to congratulations. 



Seed Trade 



Improved Seed Cabinets. 

 There is very little activity in the 

 seed trade these days. Most of the 

 lieads of the different large houses are 

 away on vacations or crop inspection 

 trips and this condition is likely to 

 extend into the early part of Septem- 

 ber when the bulb trade becomes 

 active. About the only feature of the 

 seed trade which can be considered 

 doing anything just now, is the com- 

 mission end. Those of our friends 

 who are engaged in this line of busi- 

 ness have for the past two or three 

 years been experimenting with a new 

 seed cabinet or— it might be proper to 

 say— a variety of seed cabinets, as 

 each house has its own particular 

 model, though all more or less of the 

 same general design. When these 

 new cabinets were introduced by two 

 or three of the small commission 

 houses, several years ago. they noted 

 at once that their sales materially in- 

 creased, but the older and larger con- 

 cerns ignored the fact, while one 

 after another of the smaller firms 

 adopted the new style of displaying 

 their seeds. At last the two principal 

 commission houses of the United 

 States have been compelled to take 

 notice of the increased sales of their 

 smaller competitors, and within a year 

 or two more, the old style or flat 

 commission seed box will virtually be 

 a thing of the past. When all of the 

 houses have adopted the new cabinet, 

 it is a question if the increased sales 

 which have been noted when only a 

 lew were using them will be con- 

 tinued. For all to realize and main- 

 tain the increase in sales which were 

 noted when these new cabinets were 

 introduced would mean a very large 

 total increase in the sale of com- 



Vicissitudes of the Season. 



Some rains have fallen during the 

 past week in Michigan, Wisconsin and 

 some of the other western states, 

 where seed growing is more or less 

 extensively carried on, but generally 

 speaking the ground is still too dry, 

 although the weather is somewhat 

 cooler than for many weeks past. As 

 stated in the last issue of HORTICUL- 

 TURE, the pea seed crop is virtually 

 made, and no conditions of weather 

 are likely to improve it. One of the 

 factors to be feared now, is a wet 

 harvest, which would damage the al- 

 ready very short crop. Therefore, 

 rain in the pea seed district at this 

 stage is much more likely to cause 

 damage, than benefit. With beans and 

 corn it is different. Both are at a 

 stage where they badly need moisture, 

 and rain would certainly be of bene- 

 fit to these two crops and unless it 

 comes in abundant supply in the very 

 ne^r future, it may be too late. 



Seed Pea Harvest. 



The harvesting of early peas has 

 commenced and we may soon get esti- 

 mates or percentages of yields. In 

 many cases the vines of such varieties 

 as Alaskas and Extra Earlies, are so 

 short that they cannot be cut with a 

 mower and have to be pulled by hand, 

 which of course means an additional 

 cost on a crop so short that few seed 

 growers will make any money this 

 year and will be fortunate if their 

 balances are not on the wrong side of 

 the ledger. 



thousands of this year's crop will be 

 added, making a considerable quantity 

 of this degenerate seed. If it were 

 only high grade stock, it would very 

 greatly relieve the present shortage. 

 One or two large growers of seed 

 have expressed the opinion, that the 

 packers will find it necessary to use 

 this seed or operate another year with 

 a greatly reduced acreage. When the 

 packer has to decide between using 

 this kind of stock or shutting down 

 his factory, he is really between the 

 devil and the deep sea, and which- 

 ever he may decide to do, he will wish 

 he had done the other. 



Openings. 



It is reported there is an opening 

 for a good competent all-round seeds- 

 man at Troy, N. Y. Anyone desirous 

 of making a change who feels com- 

 petent to manage the seed department 

 of a general agricultural business 

 might find it to their interest to look 

 into this matter. It is also said that 

 there is an equally good prospect for 

 the same kind of a man if he is am- 

 bitious and competent, at one of the 

 seed houses in New York City. 



Notes. 



Pittsburg, Ps.— Staple's Seed Store, 

 224 Oliver avenue, was damaged by 

 water in a recent fire to the extent of 

 $1,000 covered by insurance. 



Bay City, Mich. — It is announced 

 that Bromfleld & Colvin have sold to 

 \\'. H. Grenell of Saginaw, their entire 

 seed stock and good will in the busi- 

 ness. Subsequent to the retirement 

 of Mr. Reis the older members of the 

 firm gave their attention to other 

 lines. 



