216 



HORTICULTURE 



August 13, 1910 



Not How Cheap 

 But How Good 



eties and sub-varieties, types and 

 strains, running into the hundreds. 



I have a daughter married to a 

 member of an extensive seed growing 

 firm in California. A few years ago in 

 writing home she said: "The soil of 

 this section does not admit of our 

 having such magnificent lawns as are 

 common in the east, but we have 140 

 acres of sweet peas in our back yard." 

 The next year 360 acres were grown, 

 last year 500 acres, and still a greater 

 acreage soon to be harvested in 1910. 

 This is only on one ranch, and prob- 

 ably not one-fifth of the annual out- 

 put of sweet peas in the wonderful 

 State of California, where thousands 

 upon thousands, yea, hundreds of 

 thousands of acres are cultivated in 

 seeds of every description from beans 

 and all sorts of vegetable to the very 

 finest in flowers. 



By chance I have found a copy of 

 my 1S60 list — a one-sided sheet, 5x9 

 inches, with prices to market garden- 

 ers: Asparagus, 75 cents; beet, 75 

 cents; cabbage, $5.00 to ?6.00; carrot, 

 $1.25; cucumber, $2.00; celery, $4.00; 

 leek, $2.50; lettuce, $4.00; melon, $1.50 

 to $2.00; onion, $1.50 to $2.00; parsley, 

 $1.00; parsnip, 75 cents; pumpkin, 

 $1.,^0; radish, 75 cents to $1.00; spin- 

 ach, 63 cents; squash, $1.50; tomato, 

 $3.00 and turnip, 75 cents per pound; 

 egg plant and pepper, 50 cents per 

 ounce. 



All figures are by way of comparison 

 with prices ruling at the present day. 

 It is true that conditions have changed 

 and very materially so, within the past 

 twenty-five or thirty years. Seventy- 

 five years back there were very few 

 regular seedsmen In America, and 

 they depended mainly upon Europe 

 for their supplies. Sixty and even up 



to fifty years ago, market gardeners 

 to a great extent grew seeds for their 

 own sowing and aimed to have a 

 plenty, hence frequently they had a 

 surplus which was eagerly sought for 

 by the few seed dealers, who were 

 willing to pay good round prices, and 

 did not "kick" as is sometimes the 

 case in these days, if a few pounds 

 were sold here and there to neighbors 

 who chanced to be short. I well re- 

 member sixty years ago how the five' 

 market gardeners on the Van Vorst 

 property at Jersey City, interchanged 

 seeds — each one growing one or more 

 kinds and selling surplus to seedsmen. 

 Dr. Tracy, of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture, whom all of you know, 

 writing of "Vegetable Seed Growing as 

 a Business," asserts: "Records of only 

 about 45 firms that were in business 

 in this country as distinctly seed mer- 

 chants previous to 1862 can be found, 

 while a list of American seedsmen 

 published in 1908, includes the names 

 business is the growing and handling 



of over 800 American firms whose sole 

 of seeds; with more than 650 other 

 firms making seeds an important part 

 of their business." 



Were it not for making my paper 

 too lengthy, I would like to quote 

 further from Dr. Tracy, whose article 

 is full of information, and as a whole 

 very interesting. I must, however, 

 beg to differ with him wherein he 

 says: "Fifty years ago there was lit- 

 tle general appreciation, even among 

 experienced gardeners, of the import- 

 ance of the quality of the seed used 

 (provided it only would grow) as a 

 factor in determining the real profit 

 in growing a crop." My observations 

 were quite to the contrary. I will 

 cite Just one instance: My father and 

 my uncle were the first to grow the 

 Early Wakefield cabbage in this coun- 

 try, having received it from Europe 

 about 65 or 70 years ago, and it re- 

 mained in the hands of the five Jersey 

 City market gardeners for a number 

 of years. Among those who were- 



DIRECT PURCHASE FROM FRENCH GROWER WITH- 

 OUT PASSING BY DEALER 



Hyacinths white Roman, Etc. 



Narcissus Grandlflora P. W,, Trumpet Major, Etc. 



Freesia Refracta Alba. 



Etc., Etc., Etc. 



SOLEILLET, Horticulfeur, Toulon, France 



