54 



The Florists' Review 



Junk 25, ltl4. 



The peas are approaching the critical 

 period with excellent prospects. 



The Holland bulb salesmen have nearly 

 all completed their canvas and sailed 

 away. Not one of them would admit 

 having booked less business than in 1913. 



The Eudy-Patrick Seed Co., at Kan- 

 sas City, Mo., has leased the building at 

 Ninth and Santa Fe streets, containing 

 80,000 square feet, from the Western 

 Grocer Co., for seven years, at $6,000 a 

 year. 



Summing up the talk in the trade, it 

 appears that 1914 was the banner season 

 to date on vegetable and flower seeds, 

 but that on field and grass seeds the 

 showing was not so good as in several 

 recent years. 



The president of the New York Pro- 

 duce Exchange has just appointed the 

 following members as a committee on 

 seeds, for the ensuing year: William 

 Jacot, chairman; Marshall H. Duryea, 

 Ernst Wehncke, 0, W. F. Randolph and 

 Chas. Wimmer. 



The demand for pansy seed increases 

 steadily. Not only are greater and 

 greater quantities imported, principally 

 from Germany, but American pansy spe- 

 cialists who have worked up first-class 

 strains steadily are adding to their pro- 

 duction, while, the number of growers 

 also is increasing. 



It looks as if it may be up to the 

 growers of sweet pea seed to migrate, 

 just as did the growers of culinary peas. 

 The reports on the California crop keep 

 getting more and more pessimistic until 

 now there are the moat direful forebod- 

 ings as the result of failure to control 

 the aphis. Probably, however, things are 

 not so black as they are printed; they 

 seldom are. 



Kelway & Son, Langport, England, 

 have this year received from the United 

 States government an order for flower 

 and vegetable seeds totaling in weight 

 ^nearly forty-four tons. This is one of 

 the largest orders for flower and vegeta- 

 ble seeds ever received by one firm from 

 one customer, as it is not composed even 

 in part of agricultural seeds or of large 

 seeds, such as peas and beans. Of the 

 four other European firms which, in ad- 

 dition to the Langport firm, are this year 

 favored by the United States govern- 

 ment with orders for seeds, one is Eng- 

 lish, two French and one Dutch. 



SEED TBADE CONVENTION. 



FREE SEEDS CONTINTJE. 



History has repeated itself — the con- 

 ference committee has put back into the 

 agricultural appropriation bill the pro- 

 vision for free seeds that was elimi- 

 nated by the Senate. The appropriation 

 for this purpose as provided by the 

 House is restored. The conferees elim- 

 inate the $12,000 for the encouragement 

 of bulb growing in this country that 

 was provided for in the bill as it passed 

 the Senate. The conference report was 

 preseoied to both branches of Congress 

 June 23, but has not yet been adopted. 



P. 



In Session at Washington. 



The thirty-second annual convention 

 of the American Seed Trade Associa- 

 tion, which opened at Washington June 

 23, is perhaps the record meeting of 

 the organization. Following what gen- 

 erally has been an exceptionally pros- 

 perous season, Washington is at the 

 moment a special point of interest. The 

 grass seed people have in recent years 

 been extremely active, almost dominant, 

 in the affairs of the association, and 

 only last week the government issued 

 its latest report on the analysis of sam- 

 ples of Kentucky bluegrass and redtop 

 obtained in the open market, showing 

 that some houses of excellent standing 

 last season handled extremely poor red- 

 top. This meeting gives the grass seed 



Charles C Maasie. 



(President American Seed Trade Association.) 



dealers the opportunity to personally 

 acquaint themselves with the govern- 

 ment's seed testing laboratories and 

 Botanist Edgar Brown is keeping open 

 house. The garden and flower seed peo- 

 ple who oppose the free distribution of 

 seeds by the government also have had 

 a special reason for visiting Washington 

 at this time. One branch of Congress 

 has provided funds for the usual dis- 

 tribution in 1915 and the other branch 

 has refused to do so, the matter now 

 being in the hands of the conference 

 committee. Interested seedsmen are 

 this week calling on members of the 

 conference committee, singly and in 

 groups. Some of the congressmen are 

 said to have considerable difficulty in 

 understanding the point of view of the 

 seedsmen who say they oppose the con- 

 gressional free distribution but who 

 nevertheless bid for the business. 



Hotel Raleigh, the headquarters, be- 

 gan filling up with seedsmen as early 

 as Sunday, for the Grass Seed Dealers' 



Association holds its annual meeting 

 one day ahead of the general body. The 

 custom of executive sessions was not 

 followed so closely this year as re- 

 cently, for it seemed inexpedient to 

 give official Washington the idea that 

 the affairs of the seed trade require 

 secrecy. With the younger men taking 

 a more active part in the affairs of the 

 association there is apparent a change 

 of sentiment in the attitude toward 

 newspapers and the public. 



It is a warm convention, not only in 

 the discussion, which seems to center 

 around the points where the seed busi- 

 ness is touched by the law, but in tem- 

 perature: the mercury climbed to 92 

 degrees on the opening day, but had 

 fallen to 74 by 7 p. m. 



The sentiment appears to favor a 

 trip to California for 1915, with an in- 

 ternational congress of seedsmen as a 

 feature of the convention. 



Official Reports. 



At the opening session at 10 a. m., 

 June 23, W. F. Gude, president of the 

 Chamber of Commerce and Washington 

 representative of the S. A. F., delivered 

 an address of welcome, after which 

 ^ President Massie made an optimistic ad- 

 dress from the chair, printed on page 62 

 of this issue. 



Secretary C. E. Kendel made the fol- 

 lowing report on membership: 



Total membership reported 1913 176 



New members added 7 



Itesignations 1 



Dropped from the rolls 2 



Total membership at present, including two 

 honorary 180 



As treasurer, Mr. Kendel showed the 

 financial operations of the year to have 

 been as follows: 



RECEIPTS. 



Balance reported June, 1013 $1,282.77 



Dues received 2,465.00 



Initiation fees 180.00 



Interest M.60 



Sale of codes and disclaimer cards 4.36 



ToUl $3,956.73 



DISBURSEMENTS. 



Counsel's retainer $1,600.00 



Secretary's salary 400.00 



Committee expenses 327.11 



Stenographer's services 116.46 



Printing 242.57 



Stamps and stationery 30.05 



Dues to Wholesale Seedsmen's League. . . 25.00 



Refunds 65.00 



Badges 38.76 



Office incidentals 4.38 



Total $2,740.21 



Balance 1,216.52 



Grand total $3,056.73 



Committee Reports. 



The order of business after the re- 

 ports of officers is the reports of stand- 

 ing committees. These committees, with 

 the chairmen, are as follows: 



Legislative — All)ert McCullongb, Cincinnati, 

 chairman. 



Postal laws — W. F. Therkildson, Philadelphia, 

 chairman. 



Customs and tariff — J. C. Vanghan, Chicago, 

 chairman. 



Transportation — D. I. Busbnell, St. Louis, chair- 

 man, not present, no report. 



Experiment stations — L. L. Olds, Madison, 

 Wis., chairman. 



Crop improvement — H. G. Hastings, Atlanta, 

 chairman. 



Crop Improvement and Seed Laws. 



H. G. Hastings, of Atlanta, reporting 

 as chairman of the committee on crop 



