August 13, 1910 



HORTICULTURE. 



213 



THE PAST, PRESENT AND PROS- 

 PECTIVE OF THE SEED BUSI- 

 NESS IN AMERICA. 

 Prancla Brill, before the American Seed 

 Trade Association. 



After mentioning a number of the 

 pioneer seedsmen of America wliose 

 acquaintance he had enjoyed during 

 sixty years' association with the seed 

 business, Mr. Brill continued: 



I am writing from memory and may 

 have overlool\ed some of the solid "old 

 timers," but they will not feel slighted, 

 for undoubtedly they have passed 

 away, and in company with those I 

 have named who have gone before, 

 are now enjoying the reward promised 

 to all who sell honest seeds, in that 

 beautiful land "Where neither moth 

 nor rust doth corrupt, nor thieves 

 break through nor steal," nor over- 

 zealous Congressmen and State legis- 

 lators meddle with the seedsmen's 

 business. In this connection I desire 

 to say that seedsmen who deal in veg- 

 etable and flower seeds, and who han- 

 dle only stocks of undoubted purity, 

 need have no fear of any laws hatched 

 out by members of Congress or mem- 

 bers of State legislatures, which are 

 absurd, uncalled for and unnecessary, 

 as to get rid of dishonest dealers who 

 sell "any old thing" that can be 

 bought for "any old price," give them 

 rope enough and they will hang them- 

 selves. I do not handle "grass seeds," 

 but it seems to me it must be very dif- 

 ficult to detect foul seeds in most vari- 

 eties thereof and undoubtedly some of 

 the laws enacted or proposed are very 

 unjust. 



In my boyhood days, and even up to 

 thirty years ago, prices were higher 

 and profits much greater than now. 

 Seedsmen turn their money practically 

 but once a year, and in former days 

 seeds were sold at the seedsmen's legit- 

 imate profit and not as is now too 

 often the case, on the grocer's or dry 

 goods merchant's margins, or along 

 other lines where capital is turned 

 monthly or weekly; and why have con- 

 ditions changed? Simply because some 

 of our craft, not satisfied to do a legit- 

 imate competitive business, have 

 adopted a system of cut-throat opposi- 

 tion. I endeavored to procure several 

 old-time catalogues to help me out, 

 but have been disappointed, some 

 claiming that such had not been pre- 

 served, and a few failed to respond, 

 although in each case I complied with 

 the usual custom. My thanks are due 

 and hereby tendered to Mr. Fred'k W. 

 Bruggerhof, of J. M. Thorburn & Co., 

 for a copy of the catalogue of G. Thor- 

 burn & Son— 1827 — i X 7 inches, 96 

 pages — in large part a treatise on the 

 cultivation of vegetables and flowers. 

 Also catalogue of seeds — James M. 

 Thorburn & Co.— 1S47, and a bound 

 volume of their catalogs from 1S64 to 

 1877. Mr. S. F. Willard has also kind- 

 ly loaned me a "Wholesale Price 

 Sheet" of seeds for sale by Comstock, 

 Ferre & Co.— 1849. 



It is interesting to compare these 

 with the "Catalogues" and "Price 

 Lists" of the present day. For in- 

 stance, to take a few leaders: Com- 

 stock, Ferre & Co., wholesale: Beet, 

 per pound, including "Mangels" and 

 "Sugar," 50 cents, and the "Bassano" 

 (now scarcely known) 75 cents; cab- 

 bage, mostly imported varieties, $1.25 

 to $1.50; carrot, 75 cents to $1.00; cu- 

 cumber, 75 cents; lettuce, $1.25 to 

 $2.00; melon, about 75 cents; onion, 



VIEWS IN JAPAN LILY GROWING DISTRICTS. 



Photos by Courtesy of B. M. Ward & Co. 



A Field of "Formosas" of a Type Much Favored in London. 



'Formosa" Lilies In Oshima Growing in the Cycas Fields. 



75 cents to $1.00; pepper, $2.50; radish, 

 50 cents; spinach, 40 to 50 cents; 

 squash, 50 cents; tomato, $1.50; tur- 

 nip, 50 to 60 cents. In the catalogue 

 of G. Thorburn & Son— 1827, there are 

 enumerated a line of seeds some 

 names of varieties still familiar, while 

 others, having served their day and 

 generation, are no longer in vogue; 

 for instance, the list of cabbage seeds, 

 mainly imported, comprises more than 

 twenty varieties, fifteen of which can- 

 not now be found in any American 

 seed catalogue. The various articles 



are not priced as now, but are prefaced 

 by characters such as the (*) (t) (t) 

 (||) ($) etc., and letters (a) (b) (c) 

 and (d) which refer to "A Key to the 

 Prices of Esculent Vegetable Seeds," 

 on the fly leaf at the front of the 

 book. No pictures, no paint in those 

 days. Prices were 121/2, 25, 37%, 50 

 cents and $1.00 an ounce, and 12%, 35, 

 37% and 50 cents per quart; nothing 

 said about packets, pecks or bushels. 

 The subsidiary coins of those days 

 and up to 1857, were largely Spanish — 

 sixpence — 6i,4, and shilling — 12% cents 



