676 



HORTICULTURE 



May 6, 1911 



Seed Trade 



Hearing at Harrisburg. 



A delegation of the Philadelphia 

 seed trade headed by W. Atlee Bur- 

 pee went to Harrisburg on the 2nd 

 inst. to reason with the legislators on 

 the pending seed bill. The senate 

 committee gave them a most courte- 

 ous hearing and readily agreed to the 

 amendments suggested. Mr. Burpee 

 stated that it was the general opinion 

 of the trade that no bill was required 

 but if there must be a bill of some 

 kind to please the politicians then it 

 should be made as reasonable as pos- 

 sible. In its present shape the bill 

 now covers only half a dozen or so of 

 the ordinary grasses and clovers in 

 common use by farmers — all grasses 

 and clovers not mentioned being ex- 

 empt. On most of the items covered 

 the percentage has been greatly re- 

 duced and it would seem as if the bill, 

 if passed in its present shape, would 

 do no great harm and would furnish 

 a good easy berth for somebody as 

 inspector. Vegetable and flower seeds 

 are not mentioned at all. The general 

 feeling seemed to be that if we are to 

 have seed legislation it should be fed- 

 eral and not state. Mr. Miller of the 

 Albert Dickinson Co. was present at 

 the hearing and made some interest- 

 ing statements. He said that thirty 

 states had already passed seed laws 

 of more or less severity but that up 

 to date not a single prosecution had 

 been heard of under any of these 

 statutes. He thought that this showed 

 their impracticability. To the writer's 

 mind it also shows the high standing 

 of the seed trade of the country — and 

 that there hasn't been and there isn't 

 now. any necessity for legislation of 

 this kind. Harry L. Holmes of the 

 Holmes Seed Co. of Harrisburg, has 

 been a strenuous worker in looking 

 after the seed interests in connection 

 with this bill for a month back and 

 has given generously of his time and 

 money for the general good of the 

 "trade. Wm. Henry Maule of Phila- 

 delphia also deserves a hearty vote 

 of thanks from the trade for his un- 

 selfish efforts to protect the general 

 welfare. It was stated on good au- 

 thority that if the bill was not report- 

 ed from committee inside of a week 

 it would not be possible to pass it. 

 The hope of the trade therefore is 

 that it may stay where it Is and die a 

 natural death but if it does go 

 through it is not such a monster as 

 it was. The amendments take away 

 its most objectionable features. 



On the Pennsylvania Seed Bill. 



An expre-^.sion of opinion from a farmer and 

 soortsnian of thirt.v-live years" experi- 



enoe in Europe and America. Sub- 

 mitted to the Legislative Committee 

 at Harrisburg, May 2, 1911. 



If such a bill is passed it will do 

 iiway witii another good old Pennsyl- 

 vania indi'.stry and allow other states 

 and foreign countries (o supply an iti- 

 forior article but yet give the almighty 

 "purity and growth" which this extra- 

 ordinary bill calls for. 



Owing to our peculiar climatic con- 

 ditions it is impossible to hold our 

 farmers down to arnitrary germination 

 of their seed crops; and while it is a 

 well-known fact about Pennsylvania 

 seeds, that while not always giving the 

 high germination and purity that can 

 be gu;.ranteed by less desirable stocks, 

 they when sown yield the farmer much 

 more desirable and more satisfactory 



Asparagus Plumosus Nanus Seed 



New Crop Just Received 



True to Name and of High Germinating Quality 



GREENHOUSE HOME GROWN SEED 



500 Seed $ 2.25 



1,000 " 4.00 



5,000 " 18.75 



10,000 " 35.00 



25,000 



LATHHOUSE GROWN SEED 



500 Seed $ 1.50 



1 ,000 " 2.75 



5,000 " 13.50 



10,000 " 26.00 



83.75 25,000 



62.50 



Send /or our Florists^ Price List. 



HENRY F. MICHELL CO. 



518 IVIarket St. 



Phiia., Pa. 



crops. Take the past two seasons; 

 both have been poor seeding years, and 

 if such a bill had been in force the 

 farmers would have been prohibited 

 from fretting any Pennsylvania seed at 

 all at any price. Just think of the 

 monstroi s absurdity and wickedness 

 of such a law. 



The^ consider things as they are. 

 Everybody can get now just what they 

 want and at their own valuation (as 

 to fair price), and the crops in the 

 Keystone State will be as good if not 

 'better than ever before (weather per- 

 mitting: droughts, floods, bugs, blights, 

 old Boreas, and other circumstances 

 beyond human control, not counted). 



On the other hand, if this bill be 

 passed no Pennsylvania farmer in his 

 senses will dare to save any of his own 

 feeds but will have to depend on the 

 legislative article from elsewhere 

 (which will pass the letter of the law 

 but will be very inferior in every 

 ether respect). The hardiness to stand 

 any winter such as Pennsylvania has 

 will count for nothing. The drought- 

 lesisting qualities of the breed such as 

 the hot summers of Pennsylvania call 

 for, will count for nothing. No, noth 

 ing counts but that the rubbish from 

 outside shall come up to the law stand- 

 ard of purity and germination. What 

 ludicrous absurdity! Is a selfish, self- 

 sufiBcient little coterie of pedants in- 

 sisting on they know not what, going 

 to be allowed to ruin the agricultural 

 interests of Pennsylvania? 



So far as any sane person can see, 

 there is no necessity for any such bill. 

 The farmers of Pennsylvania ought to 

 do their utmost to place this matter 

 in its proper lisht before their legisla- 

 tors, and thereby conserve the ancient 

 industry of Pimnsylvania Seeds for 

 Pennsylvania Farmers. Must we throw 

 away our valuable Pennsylvania seeds 

 that suit our climate just because we 

 have to sow them a little thicker after 

 a bad season? Most farmers would 

 rather have stocks growing 50 to GO 

 per cent, of acclimated and tested 

 strains thai'' the same thing growing 

 99 per cent, from some different envi- 

 ronment; the latter, likely as not, 

 picked up anywhere with nothing to 

 recommend them but purity and ger- 

 inination. 



Selection and improvement in seeds 

 are the great things for Pennsylvania 

 farme-s. but these cannot be got by 

 prohibitory laws based on "purity and 

 germination" foolishness. How "is it 



that the agricultural industry of our 

 state has managed to go on profltably 

 and on ai? ever-improving scale for the 

 past two hundred years without any 

 grandmotherly supervision from Har- 

 risburg? Why all this excitement now? 

 Why these bills? There seems to be 

 a mania for making bill and bills and 

 bills, and it looks to an outsider as if 

 a halt ought to be called somewhere. 



I am a believer in progressiveness, 

 but there is very little chance of any 

 progress in repressive and impossible 

 laws. Rather offer rewards for merit 

 and then see how things would im- 

 prove. To penalize where there is no 

 crinie and make a crime of innocence 

 and virtue is both absurd and wicked. 



Notes. 



J. W. Edmundson has been appoint- 

 ed sales manager of the Braslan Seed 

 Growers Co., San .lose. Calif. 



On April 19 John C. Bodger, of 

 John Bodger & Sons Co., Los An- 

 geles, Calif., was united in marriage 

 to Miss Bertha Jones. 



Dallas, Texas. — The Texas Seed & 

 Floral Co. is building a 100 x 150 foot 

 warehouse of reinforced concrete con- 

 struction to cost $65,000. 



San Antonio, Texas. — The United 

 States Seed Co. has been incorporated 

 with capital stock $25,000. Incorpor- 

 ators, C. M. Rathbun, F. M, Roesch. 



The Huber pure seed bill has been 

 taken off the calendar in the Ohio sen- 

 ate and committed to the judiciarj' 

 committee, which, it is said, is equiva- 

 lent to a final burial. 



Des Moines, la. — An Ohio seed man 

 has made inquiry as to the prac- 

 ticability of establishing a wholesale 

 seed store here. Also if from five to 

 twenty acres of land suitable for an 

 experiment farm could be secured. 



Albert Dickinson, the millionaire 

 seedsman of Chicago, was married on 

 April 22 to Miss Emma L. Benham. 

 Ml'. Di( kinson is fi9 years of age and 

 the maiTiage is said to have been the 

 culmination of a twenty years' ro- 

 m.ance. 



SEEDS BULBS 



For Immediate Planting 

 Finest Florist Strains 



k« 



BUDS 



»» 



. R. CLOECKNER, Free. 



76 Barclay Street. New York 



