4:14 



HORTICULTURE 



March 25, 1911 



Seed Trade 



Mail Order Trade Light. 

 The mail order trade for March has 

 fallen rather below expectations. Jan- 

 uaiy and February were said to be 

 very good and it is quite possible the 

 last halt of this month may make up 

 for the rather unsatisfactory first half. 

 Counter trade has not assumed any 

 very active proportions as yet, except- 

 ing in the Southern States. There is 

 of course more or less business every 

 day, but the height of the season has 

 not yet been reached. March as a 

 whole up to this time has not been as 

 warm or spring-like as the same 

 month last year, which probably ac- 

 counts to some extent for the back- 

 wardness of counter trade. 



Potatoes and Onion Sets. 

 Seed potatoes seems to be somewhat 

 in the class with onion sets and both 

 are on the decline, or rather they have 

 been on the decline for some time, and 

 the latter at least can hardly go much 

 lower unless they are given away. 

 Those dealers who are heavily inter- 

 ested in these two lines must have 

 had a very unsatisfactory time of it 

 for the past two seasons, as prices 

 have had several bad sinking spells 

 towards the close of the season. 



Unsatisfactory Stock Situation. 



As the time approaches for "fill-in 

 orders" the trade begins to realize how 

 badly broken stocks are this year, and 

 how many crop failures are to be 

 charged against 1910. We are informed 

 that one of the leading jobbing houses 

 is finding it difficult to supply a large 

 percentage of the items, which are 

 coming to them almost every day. 

 Common standard varieties, which are 

 supposed to be nearly always carried 

 in surplus by the leading wholesalers 

 are not procurable this year at any 

 price, and of course the retail houses 

 are disappointed and veiy much dis- 

 satisfied with the present situation. 

 There is no help for it, however, and 

 it is earnestly hoped that the general 

 crop situation of 1911 will show a 

 marked improvement over that of 1910. 



Seed Houses, New and Old. 



We are informed that one and pos- 

 sibly two new seed firms are to be 

 launched in Baltimore. They have not 

 as yet been formally incorporated. We 

 have good reason to believe that at 

 least one of them will be an accom- 

 plished fact within the next ten days. 

 Regarding the other, we have not suf- 

 ficient information to Justify us in any 

 comments. In this same connection 

 we may add that we also have inform- 

 ation that one of the old-established 

 houses in Baltimore is about to be 

 reorganized or liquidated; which it 

 will be, will not be known for several 

 months yet, but we believe it is safe 

 to say that important changes are 

 about to take place in the concern re- 

 ferred to. 



The Holmes Seed Company of Har- 

 risburg. Pa., seems to be experiencing 

 considerable trouble with fires. This 

 concern had most of its stock and fix- 

 tures destroyed in November last, prin- 

 cipally by water, but about as effec- 

 tively wiped out as though they had 



been burned. In this instance the fire 

 started in the adjoining store, while 

 very recently fire started in a stable in 

 the rear of their storage warehouse, 

 causing them a loss of several hundred 

 dollars by water. They seem to have 

 had their full share of this sort of en- 

 tertainment for one year, and it is 

 hoped that neither they, nor any of 

 our other friends will experience any 

 further trouble from this cause. 



Embarrassing the Late Ones. 



We remarked in these columns some 

 weeks ago that most of the pea and 

 bean growers were contracted about to 

 their capacity of the 1911 crop, and we 

 have since been reliably informed that 

 many of them have turned down thou- 

 sands of dollars' worth of business be- 

 cause they could not consistently ac- 

 cept it without imperiling their deliv- 

 eries in case of a crop shortage the 

 coming year. 



We are informed that one concern 

 claims to have turned down business 

 amounting to nearly $100,000. It really 

 looks as if the late comers this year 

 will have to sit on the mourners' 

 bench, and regret their tardiness in 

 placing their orders. Those who get 

 on to the job early rarely have occa- 

 sion to regret it, while the tardy ones 

 frequently do. 



We are informed that Mr. and Mrs. 

 Jerome B. Rice are still at Hot 

 Springs, Ark., but are expected home 

 about the middle of April. His many 

 friends in the trade will hope that this 

 veteran seedsman has been able to find 

 the benefits to his general health as 

 well as his rheumatic troubles, which 

 he has been seeking the past winter. 



STRAY LAMBS. 



"Aud tlie sun ivaiue up like thunder 

 On the road to Maudalay." 



— Kipling. 

 "Has a duck got eyebrows." 



— Puddeuhead Wilson. 



Twelve Canterbury pilgrims arrived 

 in Philadelphia on St. Patrick's and 

 stayed over to Shela's day. Some had 

 staff, some had scrip, but most of them 

 depended on the Purse Bearer. What- 

 ever their wives had allowed them for 

 a red-hot time in this land of plain 

 living and high thinking was blown in 

 among the Quakers. They had stayed 

 just two hours after they got off the 

 steamer in New York — then ho for 

 Philadelphia! 



At 7.20 P. M. they were met at the 

 Collonade by a committee consisting of 

 George W. Kerr of Burpee's and re- 

 galed at Kugler's. By and by How- 

 ard M. Earl came around from the St. 

 Patrick banquet at the Bellevue- 

 Stratford and added much to the eclat 

 of the occasion. 



The next morning they were given 

 an auto trip through the city and en- 

 virons and at noon a reception took 

 place at the Burpee seed warehouses. 

 Mrs. Burpee graced the occasion with 

 her presence and was ably seconded by 

 Mrs. Vincent, wife of the vice-presi- 

 dent of thi' Society of American 

 Florists. Mr. and Mrs. Vincent had 

 met the party at New York and took 

 a fatherly and motherly interest in 

 the pilgrims' progress from the start. 

 Then came the Burpee dinner at the 

 Harris Club. Congressman Irving P. 

 Wanger represented the State of 

 Pennsylvania: Samuel S. Pennock rep- 



resented William Penn; H. Bayersdor- 

 ter had a keen eye on the business 

 end aud Howard M. Earl was watch- 

 ful for the spoons. George W. Kerr — 

 poor orphan — refused point blank to go 

 back home on the Lusitania, April 5. 

 Seems to be having a good time in 

 America. Sad thing about old Coila! 



"Of all tbe suns tbat ever leave lier 

 De'il a one g*'es ever bai-k !" 



W. Atlee Burpee made the speech 

 of his life. J. S. Brunton (Purse 

 Bearerj returned thanks. His well 

 turned phrases were polished and irre- 

 proachable and it maKes me mad to 

 think he isn't an American citizen. 

 He is smart enough to ue one. I think 

 he is of the same breed as the Pilgrim 

 Ji^athers, who landed at Plymouth 

 Rock: 



"Fust they fell upon their knees 

 Aud praised the Lord 

 And then got up with Are and sword 

 And fell upuU the Ahorlgeuees." 



If Mr. Brunton can moult the time 

 tables long enough to give other mat- 

 ters his attention we would advise the 

 unannexed to get down into the cy- 

 clone cellar. 



J. Brown, Stamford, said some nice 

 things about Alexander B. Scott, How- 

 ard M. Earl and George W. Kerr. 

 Everybody seemed to like him. C. 

 Engelmann, F. R. H. S., is a man after 

 my own heart. He talks it right out 

 — what he thinks of the country and its 

 people and "who's who" and "what's 

 what" 24 hours after he lands. I'm 

 afraid I was just such another 27 

 years ago. So there's a job on for 

 yours truly — all right. And won't I 

 be de-lighted! 



Score one more for Burpee. When- 

 ever anything has to be done as a 

 trade courtesy in Philadelphia Burpee 

 is the man who never fails us. What 

 he does is always just the right touch, 

 — neither overdone nor underdone, and 

 all with distinction and in the best of 

 taste. 



On Sunday morning — after a trip to 

 New York to attend the Florists' Club 

 dinner, the visitors were taken by J. 

 Otto Thilow to the new Dreer estab- 

 lishment at Riverview and thence by 

 auto to the main Dreer establishment 

 at Riverton. Here the 13 acres of 

 glass — the biggest general plant fac- 

 tory in the world — was an eye-opener 

 for the strangers. Messrs. Bisele, 

 Strohlein, Clark, Sim and various other 

 officers of the company were indefati- 

 gable in the role of reception com- 

 mittee. A luncheon was served and 

 the speeches that followed from both 

 hosts and guests, although brief, were 

 both hearty and witty. 



Monday morning the visitors left 

 Philadelphia for Baltimore. Washing- 

 ton aud the West. 



GEORGE C. WATSON. 



