218 



horticulture: 



August 13, 13.1: 



®®<SXSXS)«)®®SXS)(SXS)®SXSI®(S)(SX4)(SXS)«^^ 



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® 



m 



Good Spawn 



Ufye Foundation 



Thit there is good money for florists, farmers, 

 village people, amateurs, in growing mushrooms 

 \i admitted. 



IF 



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

 in everything else ; but the first and biggest 

 "it" in the path of success is 



IF 

 You Start witK Good 



Mushroom Spawi\ 



Our special circuUr [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 Ptxre Culture 



AND 



Ang(lo - American Pure Culture 



at regular rates. 



® 



Sample Brick by mail, postpaid, 2Sc. 



Send for out Midsummer Whokiale List. 



Henry F. Michell Co.. "{.Vil^Jfei^^^ 



518-1018 MarKet St. 



Pa. 



eventually attracted to its good quali- 

 ties, was one Johu Lundeigan, of 

 Watervliet, near Albany, N. Y., whose 

 custom it was for several years to 

 come down to my father every fall 

 and buy seeds of various kinds, espe- 

 cially Early Wakefield cabbage. Upon 

 one occasion my father's crop thereof 

 was almost a total failure, so when 

 Mr. Lundergan came there was no 

 seed of that variety for him. My fath- 

 er had explained to him that his en- 

 tire crop was but a single pound, 

 which he must retain for his own sow- 

 ing for market and tor growing seed 

 in subsequent years. After trying all 

 sorts of persuasive argument Mr. Lun- 

 dergan drew from his wallet a $50.00 

 bill which he offered my father for 

 that one pound of seed, but of no 

 avail. That was a matter of confi- 

 dence, the corner-stone upon which 

 the seed business more than almost 

 any other must rest for a successful 

 upbuilding. 



In regard to the "Government Free 

 Seed Distribution:" If such must ex- 

 ist, why not confine it to seeds of 

 American production, the best of their 

 kind that can be procured, ignoring 

 entirely all commonplace stocks, and 

 importing, if at all, only new and rare 

 things, not yet introduced into this 

 country? But "TTncle Sam" will have 

 to get around early to get ahead of 

 the enterprising, hustling seedsmen. 



Now, in conclusion, why is it that 

 while almost every other business is 

 protected in some manner, working 

 along in perfect harmony, yet so many 

 of our craft are at swords points, cut- 

 ting and slashing? I am utterly and 

 unalterably opposed to trusts and com- 

 binations organized for the purpose of 



greed and robbery, but as "self-preser- 

 vation is the first law of nature," why 

 should not we work together for our 

 mutual benefit? Ridiculously low 

 prices are not an incentive to garden- 

 ers and farmers to buy large quanti- 

 ties — each one knows for himself just 

 how much seed he must have to pro- 

 duce a certain number of plants or to 

 seed a given acreage, and whether the 

 seed costs $1.00 or $10.00 per pound 

 he buys the necessary quantity — en- 

 tirely unlike living commodities — for 

 instance, meats. If beef sells for ten 

 cents per pound, the laborer will buy 

 more beef for his family than he will 

 at twenty cents per pound. The same 

 argument applies in the purchase of 

 wearing apparel and other necessaries 

 of life. 



I have given you an idea of prices 

 prevailing half a century and more 

 ago. You know what they are in these 

 days. Of course Europe with its cheap 

 labor, and California with its even 

 climate and many other superior ad- 

 vantages are important factors in 

 making prices with which other sec- 

 tions have to compete; still I am of 

 the opinion that it is up to our Asso- 

 ciation to take action whereby all may 

 live and let live. At the age of sev- 

 enty-four, I can hardly expect to at- 

 tend many more conventions. My re- 



lations with my fellow seedsmen, as a 

 whole, have been pleasant. I thank 

 you for your patience in listening to 

 such a dry and seedy subject. If I 

 never again meet with you in conven- 

 tion, I trust that we may one and all 

 meet in the good seedsmen's paradise. 

 I shall endeavor to at least be entitled 

 to a rear seat. 



SEED TRADE NOTES. 

 Atchison, Kans. — The reorganization 

 of the Mangelsdorf Seed Co. has been 

 completed. William Mangelsdorf and 

 Henry D. Back assume the business at 

 EUinwood, Kans., and all the real es- 

 tate in Barton County. August Man- 

 gelsdorf and his sons took over the 

 entire business at Atchison. The com- 

 pany is capitalized at $100,000. 



Vinton, la. — E. D. Roberts, a farmer 

 of Red Oak, la., charged with de- 

 frauding a number of the farmers of 

 Benton county by selling seed corn last 

 spring, was fined $100 by Squire Bry- 

 ant. W. F. Heath, the complainant, 

 finding the corn to be poor, shipped it 

 back to the seller and demanded the 

 return of the $2.50 per bushel for the 

 nine bushels he had bought, but was 

 refused and his money retained. — Ues 

 Moines Capital- 



Francis Brill 



— GROWER and DEALER 



Hempstead, L. I. 



NEW YORK 



Choice Seeds 



For Gardners, Truckers and Plant Growers 



Long Island Cabbage Seed, Cauli- 

 flower, Egg, Pepper, Tomato, Etc. 

 Price Lists Frn Quality Finest Wlioltsale and RetiH 



