428 



HOBTICULTUEE 



March 21, 1914 



SEED TRADE 



A.lffEIUCAN SEED TRADE iVSSOCIATTON 



Offlcera — Prealdent, CbM. C. Masaic, 

 Vinneapolls, Minn.; Ist Tice-president, 

 J. U. Lopton. Hattltock, N. ¥.; 2nd 

 Tloe - prealdent, W. F. Therkildaon, 

 PmlneaTlUe, O. ; aecretary, C. E. Ken- 

 del; MaUtant aecretair, 8. F. Wlllard, 

 Jr., boUi o( Cleveland, O. 



Mail Order and Counter Trade. 



Mail order business is said to be 

 coming in good volume again which 

 indicates that the users of seeds still 

 believe in the promise that seed time 

 and harvest shall not fail. This shows 

 good judgment on the part of the buy- 

 ers. Those who depend largely on 

 counter trade report that orders are 

 coming quite up to average, but, of 

 course, there will be no improvement 

 in counter trade until there are more 

 noticeable signs of spring. When 

 warm weather does smile on us again, 

 there will not be hours enough in the 

 day to take care of the business that 

 is likely to swamp the majority of re- 

 tail seed houses. 



San Francisco's Outlook for Canners' 

 Convention. 



We reported some few weeks since 

 that the three associations compris- 

 ing the annual canners' convention 

 were taking a referendum vote of 

 their members as to their choice for 

 the place for holding the next annual 

 convention. We are informed that 

 the great majority of canners favor 

 San Francisco, above any other indi- 

 vidual town, but it is said that the 

 Pacific Coast is in a minority when 

 the vote for other towns is combined, 

 and so far as the Machinery and Sup- 

 plies Association are concerned, while 

 San Francisco is said to lead as a first 

 choice there are one or two others 

 which lead when first and second 

 choices are combined. The Brokers' 

 Association we learn are pulling 

 strongly for Frisco. The responsible 

 oflioers of the three associations, ac- 

 cording to information which has 

 reached us, do not believe that it is 

 practicable to go all the way to the 

 Pacific Coast; but the pressure from 

 their members may compel them to 

 go there against their judgment. 

 Many of those who have signified that 

 San Francisco is their first choice, 

 have at the same time stated that 

 they will be unable to attend a con- 

 vention held there personally. It does 

 not seem to be a fair way to vote on 

 this proposition and only those who 

 expect to attend should vote for any 

 town. It will doubtless be some weeks 

 yet before the matter is definitely 

 settled. 



If the convention does not go to the 

 Pacific Coast, it naturally should go 

 to some place in the Middle West, but 

 the difficulty of finding a town with a 

 hall large enough for the Machinery 

 and Supplies Association, which has 

 hotel facilities sufficient to accommo- 

 date the crowd, is proving a hard nut 

 to crack. 



Surplus Peas. 



There are no signs as yet that the 

 congestion and the great pressure of 

 the surplus peas in the country is be- 

 ing materially reduced, and great ef- 

 forts are being made by both canners 

 and seedmen to find a market for their 

 surplus; where everybody has all they 

 want of an item, it is difficult to in- 

 duce them to take more, consequently 

 those who are burdened with more 

 than their usual requirements will 

 probably have to carry the stock over 

 into another year. 



Free Seeds Again. 



Congi-ess has again voted for the an- 

 nual free seed distribution, despite the 

 attitude of the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 who is known to be opposed. While 

 many of the Congressmen and Sena- 

 tors resented the term "graft" as ap- 

 plied to this annual free seed distribu- 

 tion, many are so thick-skinned that 

 it does not worry them in the slight- 

 est degree. We fail to see why the 

 sending of seeds by Congressmen to 

 their constituents is not in a sense at 

 least buying the electorate. It looks 

 as though those who favor this use- 

 less expenditure do so because it 

 helps their political fortunes. They 

 do not care especially about the 

 farmer excepting his vote, and if cus- 

 tom had sanctioned the sending out 

 of any other class of merchandise 

 with the same end in view, they would 

 undoubtedly favor that just as they 

 do the free distribution of seeds. It 

 looks as if the trade may as well ac- 

 cept the situation with the best grace 

 possible, as there is no indication that 

 Congressmen who are the beneficiaries 

 of the System will relinquish any of 

 their privileges. 



Notes. 



Portland, Me. — E. L. Thompson has 

 opened a new seed store at 21 Free 

 street. 



"The South Carolina Legislature has 

 adjourned without taking action on 

 the seed bill, which was vigorously 

 opposed by the seedsmen. 



St. Louis, Mo., March 17. — At least 

 two persons were killed, 15 buried 

 under debris and 10 injured when the 

 west wall of the Missouri Athletic Club 

 building, which was destroyed by a 

 fire in which 30 persons lost their lives 

 a week ago, collapsed under a high 

 wind today and crashed through a 

 four-story building occupied by the 

 St. Louis Seed Company. The four- 

 story building occupied by the St. 

 Louis Seed Company had weakened, 

 apparently, during the burning of the 

 Missouri Athletic Club building, which 

 adjoined it on the east, and when the 

 brick wall crashed on the roof of the 

 four-story building, the walls of the 

 latter gave way and all above the 

 second floor crumpled. 



PERSONAL. 



Alexander Proctor has taken the po- 

 sition of gardener for Mr. W. J. Tully, 

 at Locust Valley, N. Y. 



G. KrossQhell, Sassenheim, Holland, 

 who has been on his annual visit to 

 the United States, sailed on the Maure- 

 tania, March 17. 



Philip Hansling, formerly super- 

 intendent of the street department of 

 Hartford, Conn., has purchased the 

 nursery business of C. H. Sierman, 

 Park street. 



Prof. H. C. Irish, who spent the 

 winter at Ames, Iowa, as instructor of 

 botany at the Ames College, is back 

 again and has accepted a position with 

 the school board of education as su- 

 pervisor of the City School Gardens In 

 St. Louis. 



Mt. Holly, N. J.— Frank K. Ben- 

 nett's greenhouse, on Burlington 

 street, was badly damaged by the 

 weight of the snow last week. One 

 section of it collapsed, killing several 

 hundred dollars' worth of young 

 flowers which he was forcing for Eas- 

 ter. John Clair also lost some stock 

 in his greenhouses, through the break- 

 ing of the glass. 



I More Red Devil Cutters Used Annually Than All Others Comhined 



Send 6c. for sample No. 024 

 and Booklet 40 styles, and 

 understand why. 

 SEND FOB BOOKLET ANT- 

 HOW. 



I SMITH & HEMENWAY CO., . . 161 CHAMBERS ST., NEW TOKK 



