52 



The Florists' Review 



•T^ 



June 21, 1917. 



Seed Trade News 



THE DETROIT CONVENTION. 



Largest Ever Held. 



Following on the heels of the most 

 unusual season the seed trade ever has 

 experienced, the attendance at the thir- 

 ty-fifth annual convention of the na- 

 tional organization of seedsmen ap- 

 pears to be the largest on record. ■ 



The consensus about the Hotel Pon- 

 chartrain, Detroit, where the conven- 

 tion is being held, is that it has been a 

 wonderful season. Of course, higher 

 prices have accounted for part of the 

 increase, but usually only for a small 

 part of it. Everyone reports an in- 

 crease, mostly forty to sixty per cent, 

 but some 100, 200 or even 300 per cent. 

 The marvel is, where did they get the 

 stock to do it with? The high cost of 

 food of course is responsible. It is ex- 

 pected to continue. Consequently an- 

 other big season is expected next year; 

 not so large as this one, perhaps, as 

 many an amateur's garden will fail and 

 discourage him, but still enough to 

 make the question of supply the all-im- 

 portant one today. "What have you 

 for sale?" It is the question heard on 

 all sides. Stocks of vegetable and field 

 seeds are at the lowest ebb in the his- 

 tory of the trade. It appears there has 

 been no unusual demand for flower 

 seeds. 



Getting Down to Business. 



ii The program was outlined with only 

 four sessions, two open and two execu- 

 tive. President White introduced Wil- 

 ber Brotherton to make an address of 

 welcome and Watson S. Woodruff to re- 

 ply. Each was brief, eloquent and 

 witty. 



The president 's annual address, which 

 will be found in full in this issue, was 

 referred to the executive committee, but 

 for the members who registered for the 

 draft Ailing Woodruff expressed hearty 

 concurrence in the recommendation that 

 the trade do not seek occupational ex- 

 emption from military service. 



J. L. Hunt was named to act on the 

 membership committee, in place of H. 

 G. Hastings, unavoidably detained, and 

 the committee subsequently reported 

 favorably on twenty-four applicants, 

 the largest list in years. 



J. A. Jossman, Leonard Vaughan and 

 Lee Gillespie were named as a banquet 

 committee. 



David Burpee, Linnaeus Allen and 

 Ed. Leonard were appointed as the 

 auditing committee. 



On motion of George S. Green, a reso- 

 lution was adopted expressing the sense 

 of the meeting that, in view of the cour- 

 teous and full service which American 

 seedsmen enjoy on the part of the Cana- 

 dian seed control office, the Secre- 

 tary of Agriculture at Washington be 

 petitioned to grant similar facilities to 

 Canadian seedsmen with regard to our 

 import law. 



Committee Beports. 



In a general way, conditions in the 

 seed trade have been less disturbed this 

 year than usual and the committee re- 

 ports, part presented at the open ses- 

 sion June 19 and part at the executive 

 session June 20, reflected the high de- 

 gree of business activity and the abate- 



Kirby B. White. 



(President American Seed Trade Association.) 



ment of outside pressure. It was ap- 

 parent, however, in the report of the 

 May conference of the executive com- 

 mittee with government officials at 

 Washington and in some of the other 

 reports, that pressure is being increased 

 to secure the marking of all important 

 packages of grass and field seeds with 

 full information regarding the con- 

 tents. Also, with the development of 

 facilities for prompt tests, a change in 

 the attitude of the trade is apparent. 

 No seedsman of standing objects to 

 stating the exact nature of the stock 

 offered and many, indeed, believe volun- 

 tary control measures will result great- 

 ly to the benefit of the legitimate trade, 

 the objection being to the application 

 of impracticable standards and the im- 

 position of harsh penalties for mistakes. 

 The standing committees and their 

 chairmen, most of whom reported brief- 

 ly, are: 



Legislative — Jolin L. Hunt. 

 Postal Laws — W. F. Tlierkildson. 

 Experiment Stations — L. L. Olds. 

 Government Ciiarges — C. D. Boyles. 

 Tariit — J. C. Vaughan. 

 Terms of Credit — L. B. McCausland. 

 Nomenclature — H. G. Hastings. 

 Pure Seed Growers' Associations — C. A. Burp- 

 ham. 



There also was a report from Counsel 

 Curtis Nye Smith, who also is counsel 

 for and secretary of the American Asso- 

 ciation of Nurserymen. 



The Association's Year. 



C. E. Kendel, sq^etary and treas- 

 urer, reported on the business year as 

 follows: 



RECEIPTS. 



Balance, June, 1916 $1,386,73 



Initiation fees 500.00 



Dues for the year 2,865.00 



Contributions 100.00 



Interest fund 58.72 



Total $4,910.45 



EXPENDITURES. 



Stenographer's ffervlces $ 120.50 



Secretary's salary 400.00 



Counsel's retainer 1,625.00 



Counsel's fees and expenses 682.21 



Retiring president's expenses ". . 50.00 



Legislative committee expenses 25.66 



Initiation fees returned 25.00 



League dues 25.00 



Printing annual report 276.85 



Other printing 48.75 



Cuts for report 3.85 



Stamps and stationery 45.00 



Badges 46.76 



Incidentals 8.74 



Total $3,383.31 



Balance on hand 1,527.14 



Total $4,910.45 



The total membership for the year, 

 including three honorary, is 196. 



Papers and Addresses. 



It seems that seedsmen no longer 

 have anything new to say to each other, 

 as the programs of recent years have 

 been, in steadily increasing proportion, 

 made up of papers and addresses by 

 those the trade calls "scientists," men 

 whose work is connected with agricul- 

 tural research, instruction or the admin- 

 istration of laws. This year the pro- 

 gram announcements were limited to 

 two, both at the open session Tuesday 

 afternoon, June 19, as follows: 



"Voluntary Seed Control," by Hon. George H. 



Clark, seed commissioner for the Dominion of 

 Canada. 



"Disease Resistance in Plants," by Dr. L. R. 



.Tones, plant pathologist at the University of 

 Wisconsin. > 



At the executive session on the morn- 

 ing of June 20, H. A. Johns, of Sioux 

 City, la., led a discussion to which the 

 secretary had assigned the title "Crop 

 Stealing. " It is a subject of which 

 nearly every seedsman is sure to be 

 full after a season of rising prices. The 

 remedy lies not so much in the law as in 

 cooperation. 



n 



