608 



HORTICULTURE 



October 29, 1910 



Seed Trade 



The New League Prices. 

 The new League prices are out and 

 sustain the predictionis made in HOR- 

 TICULTURii; as to prices for the com- 

 ing year. A forecast of these was 

 given in last weeli's issue, though we 

 could not at the time give any de- 

 tails. Judging from what we hear said 

 by members in the trade, there will 

 be another upward turn liefore the Jan- 

 uary price lists are issued. We under- 

 stand that the League holds another 

 meeting some time next month when 

 final prices for the January lists will 

 be decided upon. 



The Pea Situation. 

 As far as we can ascertain, very few 

 offers of peas are appearing, which 

 only confirms the general view of the 

 extreme shortage on this line of stocks 

 this year. A few varieties of the 

 Dwarfs such as American Wonder, 

 Nott's Excelsior and Gems are being 

 offered by one or two of the leading 

 houses at very advanced prices, and 

 even at these figures they are very 

 eagerly bought. So far as we can as- 

 certain up to thi.s time, it is practically 

 impo.ssible to get a quotation on any 

 of the large podded varieties, such as 

 Gradus, Laxton, Duke of Albany, Tele- 

 phone, Stratagem. Heroine or in short, 

 any of this class of peas. Even such 

 varieties as Champion of England, 

 Yorkshire Hero and other standard 

 sorts are not quoted, and it is doubtful 

 if they can be procured at wholesale in 

 any quantities any time during the sea- 

 son. We are informed that one of the 

 largest seed houses in the country and 

 one which seldom fails to have stocks 

 to offer in short years, is this season 

 refusing to quote any variety of peas. 

 This is further evidence of the very 

 sreat scarcity of this item. 



There seems to be a wide difference 

 in the deliveries of peas by the differ- 

 ent growers, showing that some were 

 very much more favored in the matter 

 of weather conditions or soil than 

 others, as there is no reason to sup- 

 pose that those growers making light 

 deliveries are not acting honestly and 

 in perfect good faith. They simply, 

 owing to the localities where they 

 operated, suffered more from the lack 

 of moisture than others of their com- 

 petitors. Probably a reversal of condi- 

 tions next year and a little too much 

 rain, would also reverse the order of 

 deliveries now being made by the for- 

 tunate ones. Certain soils will hold 

 moisture and produce better crops in 

 dry seasons than others, while a wet 

 season is often very disastrous to them. 

 This is generally an evening up in the 

 long run. 



Future growing prices will no doubt 

 show an advance over last year, as the 

 farmers must be paid more, and con- 

 sidering the risks involved in the grow- 

 ing of peas, the growers insist on bet- 

 ter compensation as a reward for their 

 time and outlay. We have heard that 

 certain of the European growers of 

 ]jeas are booking orders for future de- 

 livery on an open plan only; that is, 

 no prices are named at this time, but 

 are to be fixed after harvest. It does 

 not seem as if this plan would be very 

 popular, and we doubt, if those who 

 are attempting to carry it out will meet 

 with any marked success. 



French Celery Seed. 



One of the very scarce items will be 

 French-grown Golden Self-Blanching 

 celery. It is reported that the Vil- 

 morin house are delivering only 10 per 

 cent, on contracts, and the League 

 price of $7.00 therefore does not seem 

 so extravagantly high as might appear 

 without full knowledge of conditions. 



California Limas. 



We learn that there has lt(>en some 

 heavy rains in California which have 

 done considerable damage to seed crops 

 and especially to Lima beans. The ex- 

 tent of the damage has not been fully 

 developed, but it is hoped it will not 

 prove of a very serious character. 



Notes. 



Dallas, Tex. — Fire destroyed the 

 warehouse building of the Texas Seed 

 & Floral Co. on Oct. 8th. 



Houston, Tex.—Tlie Reichardt & 

 Schulte Co., seedsmen, are now in 

 their new building at 206-208 Milam 

 street. 



Pedricktown, N. J. — A new seed 

 warehouse 30 x 60 feet, three stories 

 and basement is being built by George 

 R. Pedrick & Son. 



Crop reports from Germany are to 

 the effect that the wet season there 

 has caused a shortage of lily of the 

 valley pips — especially in the higher 

 grades. The quality is not up to last 

 year's standard. 



The K. K. K. Medicine Company of 

 Keokuk, Iowa, has filed suit in the dis- 

 trict court against W. B. Barney, state 

 food and dairy commissioner of Iowa, 

 asking that he be enjoined from en- 

 forcing the provisions of the act passed 

 by the legislature in 1907 looking to 

 the prevention of fraud in the sale of 

 agricultural seeds and concentrated 

 commercial feeding stuffs, and further 

 asking that the act be declared uncon- 

 stitutional and void. It is claimed 

 that it is in conti-avention of the con- 

 stitution of the State of Iowa and of 

 the United States. 



BULB INDUSTRYOFTHE NETHER- 

 LANDS. 



The following information concern- 

 ing the bulb industry of the Nether- 

 lands is taken from an article entitled 

 "Market Gardening in Holland," pub- 

 lished in the Department of Agricul- 

 ture Journal for Ireland, July, 1910. 



Since 1750 the cultivation and export of 

 Ijullis bas been regularly carried ou in Hol- 

 land, though the trade only readied its 

 present enormous proportions during the 

 last decades of the nineteenth century. 



The bulb-growing industry was tirst con- 

 fined to Haarlem and its vicinity, but has 

 graduall.v extended wherever a suitable 

 piece of land was available. In order to 

 .tirow liullis, meadows have been trans- 

 formed and sand dunes leveled. The prep- 

 aration of laud for this purpose is often 

 ver.v costlv. and the value of the best plots 

 laries from £320 to £.500 ($1,557 to $2,433,1 

 an acre. 



The export statistics of the industry, 

 which have been carefully kept since 1S97, 

 show that the total export has ver.v largely 

 increased in the last ten ycurs. Tiie vaiuV 

 of this export cannot now l)e less than 

 £800,000 ($3,893,200). 



England is still Holland's best customer 

 for liulbs, taking nearly 40 per cent, of the 

 total export. The number of l)nll>-export- 

 ing firms in Holland is about 200; there are 

 also over 2. .500 growers who do not export 

 directly, but send their produce through 

 the larger firms. The number of per.snns 

 employed in the luilb indnstrv is estimated 

 at 4,<X)0. 



The Dutch liulb gtowers are organized 

 ir'to a general federation, wiiich now nura- 

 liers nearly 3.000 members, and is divided 



CALIFORNIA 



PRIVET 



1 Year Old, 



30 to 34 Inches Ilish, 



Well Branched. 



Ready for Delivery. 



Per 100 $1.^5 



Per 1000 $16.00 



C.-VN YOl' BE.AT IT? 



HENRY F. MICHELL CO. 



518 Market St. 

 ^KtiladelpKiia, ^a. 



into 37 local groups. A paper is published 

 twice a week, weekly exchanges are held 

 during the trade season, novelties are ex- 

 amined and reported upon by a committee 

 of judges, and a trade council inquires 

 into and decides all trade dlllerences. 

 Many exhibitions have been organized by 

 the federation, and of late exhibits have 

 also been sent to foreign countries. In 

 addition to the general federation, there 

 are two special .societies, one to protect 

 the interests of bull) exporters and the 

 other to protect those of growers who do 

 not export. 



Imports and Exports by Countries. 

 The following statement showing the 

 quantities of bulbs exported from the 

 Netherlands in 190S and 1909, in kilos 

 of 2.2 pounds, is furnished by Consul 

 Frank W. Mahin, of Amsterdam: 



Kxports. 



Country. 1908. 1909. 

 France, Belgium, Italy. 



Spain, Portugal and 



Greece 743,000 945,100 



(Jermanv and Austria. . 4.179,100 4,733,.500 



Russia 420, 7(K) .519,100 



Scandinavia 1,183,200 1,709,400 



T'nited Kingdom 5,028,t>00 fi,478,800 



rnited States 2,730,000 3,483,200 



All other countries ,38,900 53,400 



Total 14.323,500 17,922,500 



.\N EVENT AT AMHERST. 



Invitations have been issued by the 

 trustees of the Massachusetts Agricul- 

 tural College, Amherst, Mass., for the 

 dedication of the new building for En- 

 tomology and Zoology, to take place 

 on FYiday afternoon, November 11th, 

 1910, at 2 o'clock. 



Mr. Louis Brandt, a graduate of the 

 Mass. Agricultural College, has been 

 appointed instructor in landscape gar- 

 dening at the University of Illinois, 

 Urbana. 111. He succeeds Horace F. 

 Major, who has accepted a position as 

 instructor and superintendent of 

 grounds at the University of Missouri. 



VEGETABLE PLANTS 



Per loo Per looo 



C4BBACE— Wakcficl'l >°<i 

 Succession. aoc. $i.oo 



LETTUCE- Grand Rapids, 

 Pig Boston, Boston Market 

 and Tennis Ball. ace. l.co 



PARSLEY- 3°c. -25 



R. VINCENT, JR., & SONS CO. 



White Marsh, Md. 



