88 



HORTICULTURE 



July 31, 1920 



HORTICULTURE 



EHtabllHhed by Wlllliim J. Stewart In IflO-l 



Vol. XXXII 



July 31, 1920 



No. 5 



PUBIISHBD WEEKLY IN 



HORTICULTRE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

 739 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. 



EDWARD I. FARRINGTON, Editor. 



ADVERTISING RATES: 



Per Inch, 3» Indies to pace $1.25 



DUcount on Contracts for consecutive insertions, as follows : 



One niontll (4 tinies). 5 per cent.; three niontlis (13 tinie«). 10 

 per cent.; six months (26 tinies), 30 per cent.; one .vear (53 times), 

 30 per cent. 



Page and half page space, not consecutive, rates on application. 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 



One Year, In advance, $1.00; To Foreisn Countries, $2.00; To 

 Canada, $1.50. 



Entered as Becond-clasa matter December 8, 1904, at the Post Office 

 at BoatoD, Mass., under the Act of Congress of March 3. 18'J7. 



The recent convention of the Pacific coast 

 A Woman's nurserymen was unique in as much as the 

 Suggestion leading address was made by a woman, 

 Mrs. Ruth Day. Mrs. Day presented a num- 

 ber of suggestions which were received with interest. 

 Among other things she said: 



"The leading things we need to consider are the sta- 

 bilizing of prices, the raising of quality, the importance of 

 publicity, conservation in growing, and cooperation among 

 ourselves." She declared that nurserymen have a tendency 

 to make some prices a little too high and others a little 

 too low, so that a comprehensive basis for a cost-finding 

 system is most desirable. She also declared that while 

 quality can't be made perfect, it can be made much higher. 

 This is a point, by the way, upon which emphasis has 

 been laid at a number of meetings. The advantage of 

 establishing a clearing house was proposed by Mrs. Day, 

 and the suggestion met with such favor that a committee 

 was appointed to investigate the proposal. The idea, as 

 Mrs. Day outlined it, is to arrange a system by which 

 nursery stock may be well balanced by transferring surplus 

 stock from a member who has too much to other members 

 who are in need of such stock. Just how practical this 

 plan is remains to be seen. It seems as though it might 

 be worked out to a certain extent, and no doubt the Asso- 

 ciations of Nurserymen in other parts of the countrj- will 

 watch the Pacific coast growers to see what eventuates 

 from their study of the problem. 



Florists should find much satisfaction in the 

 A Pleasant growing tendency on the part of business 

 Tendency organizations to use flowers in constantly 

 increasing quantities at their business meet- 

 ings and conventions. A case in point was the recent Style 

 Show conducted by the Shoe Trade in Boston. At this 

 show an enormous number of flowers, especially carnations, 

 were used, several thousand dollars' worth having been 

 purchased from one concern. Conventions and shows of 

 this kind in the past depended largely upon bunting and 

 similar decorations to make the hall attractive. The event 



just mentioned, however, was entirely different. It had for 

 its main feature a large collection of pretty girls who sat 

 upon the platform and displayed the different types of foot- 

 gear. Of course, the young ladies were decked out in their 

 daintiest dresses and naturally wore fine silk hose. Such 



an exhibit would lack in effectiveness if it did not have a 

 proper setting. 



Accordingly the shoe people used flowers in great pro- 

 fusion, creating an atmosphere of luxury and affluence. The 

 trend seems to be in this direction, so that in the future 

 there should be an increasing demand for flowers and 

 decorative plants at all kinds of business gatherings, just 

 as for social functions. This is something which should be 

 encouraged even in the smaller cities, where suggestions 

 of this sort from florists will often be kindly acceptel by 

 managers who perhaps have not had the idea enter their 

 minds. There are far more opportunities for selling and 

 using flowers than have yet been recognized. 



Honest dealings and straightforw-ard 

 Nurserymen's reputations in all lines of business have 

 Principles come to characterize the seed trade, the 

 nursery trade and the flower growing in- 

 dustry to a constantly increasing extent. This is a happy 

 tendency, and will be to the financial advantage of all con- 

 cerned. The nurserymen are to be commended for the 

 strong position which they have taken, but the American 

 Seed Trade Association has adopted a similar platform, and 

 is working to carry it through. At the recent convention in 

 Milwaukee, the delegates, by unanimous vote, adopted a 

 Declaration of Principles which pledged the association's 

 support to the honest reputation of the seeds handled by the 

 trade. The resolution is reproduced below: 



STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES 



The following resolution was adopted at the Thirty- 

 eighth Convention of the American Seed Trade Association 

 at Milwaukee: 



RESOLVED. That the American Seed Trade Association 

 does now clearly and solemnly affirm and pledge its sincere 

 and active support to those principles of honest representa- 

 tion of seeds and other commodities sold or offered for sale 

 by catalog and otherwise by members of this association 

 and seedsmen generally. This association believes in and 

 encourages the enhancement of the value and volume of 

 agricultural products by the improvement of the quality of 

 seeds; the elimination so far as practicable of weed seeds 

 and compliance by seedsmen with fair seed laws and regula- 

 tions. Furthennore. we condemn any seedsmen as un- 

 worthy of membership of this association whose practices 

 violate the aforesaid principles. 



One matter in this connection has been taken up by 

 the Seed World, of Chicago, which publishes the following 

 editorial remarks: 



"As far as seed legislation is concerned we believe that 

 seed laws are a good thing, provided they do not interfere 

 with commercial transactions and their provisions are such 

 as may be complied with. It is to be regretted that we 

 have some state laws that have been drafted by persons 

 unfamiliar with seeds, practical testing and labeling 

 methods. Seed legislation should be constructive, should 

 have for its purpose the benefiting of agrioiltural condi- 

 tions, and should not be framed for the purpose of restrict- 

 ing trading between producers, the trade and consumers, as 

 the wording of some laws seem to indicate. We think that 

 the large majority in the trade will agree with us that fair 

 seed laws are as beneficial to the trade as they are to 

 farmers." 



