DECEMBEIt 7, 1905. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



J 59 



Seed Trade News. 



AMERICAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION. 



Pres., W. H. Grenell, Sagrlnaw, W. S., Mien.; 

 First Vice- Pres., L. L. May, St. Paul; Sec'y and 

 Treas., C. E. Kendel, Cleveland. The 24th annual 

 meetiner will be held at San Jose, Cal., June, 1906. 



Watkins & Simpson, London, have 

 sent the x\merican trade a surplus list of 

 peas of their own growing. 



M. B. Faxon, formerly of Boston and 

 later employed at Newport, is now with 

 the Livingston Seed Co., Columbus, O. 



Sluis & Groot, Enkhuizen, Holland, 

 are sending the American trade a large 

 sheet showing in colors their new Cin- 

 eraria grandiflora maxima nana. 



Of the twenty-two ex-presidents of 

 American Seed Trade Associatipn, eight- 

 een are living. Those who have passed 

 away are E. A. Eobbins, C. H. B. Breck, 

 G. S. Haskell and T. W. Wood. 



The Union Trust Co., Indianapolis, 

 receiver for J. A. Everitt, has sold to 

 George H. Swain the branch store known 

 as the Vale Seed Co. Mr. Swain will 

 continue the business under the original 

 name. 



THE GRASS SEED MARKET. 



Henry Nungesser & Co. have issued 

 their annual blue list, containing the fol- 

 lowing on crops and prices: 



The crop of orchard grass was far below an 

 average one, and qualities very disappointing, 

 seed being light and chaffy. Thus, In recleanlng 

 the seed, there was considerable loss, which 

 makes the prices of the better qualities rather 

 high. 



Tlie crop of Kentuclsy blue grass was very 

 small. However, considerable seed was carried 

 over from last season, and prices are still not 

 high. 



Reports from the clover-producing districts all 

 over the world state there Is a short crop. Of 

 course, there Is a great deal of speculation in 

 this seed, and for this reason the prices will be 

 governed somewhat by speculation. As It loolcs 

 to us, we do not expect to see any material 

 surprises in the marliet, and think about 13 to 

 13^ cents per pound will rule for first-class 

 seeds. 



A very short crop of crimson clover was har- 

 vested. Stocks are much reduced and prices are 

 very firm and high. 



The reports from the alfalfa districts are very 

 Irregular. America, Italy and Austria have very 

 little seed. However, France, In some sections, 

 has a good crop, but on account of unfavorable 

 weather during harvesting qualities are not up 

 to the standard, especially as to color. We 

 may also state that Germany does not produce 

 any alfalfa seed whatever. We will state that 

 at least ninety-flve per cent of all the alfalfa 

 harvested contains more or less dodder, and 

 In offering alfalfa It is the custom the world 

 over, when not especially stated, that alfalfa 

 is not cleaned of dodder. We are buying some 

 under the guarantee "free of dodder," and some 

 lots we buy In the natural state, which we clean 

 ourselves. However, It must be distinctly un- 

 derstood (as is the custom with the most promi- 

 nent control stations In Europe) that a guaran- 

 tee under "dodder free" does not mean "abso- 

 lutely free of dodder." An occasional grain of 

 dodder will always be found In alfalfa, as so 

 far It has been Impossible to have It absolutely 

 free from dodder. A good business has already 

 been done In alfalfa, and although the market 

 is at present somewhat easy for medium and 

 low qualities, the fine qualities are held very 

 firm and are getting very scarce. 



FREE SEEDS. 



A Washington dispatch on December 

 3 stated that "thirty of the leading 

 seed dealers of the country have sent 

 President Eoosevelt a petition protest- 

 ing against the free distribution of seeds 

 by members of congress, and urging him 

 to include in his message a paragraph 

 disapproving the present practice and 

 recommending that only the intent of the 

 original act authorizing seed distribu- 

 tion be the future policy. The intent, 

 the petition says, was that the seeds 

 should be obtained from remote corners 



NEW SWEET PEAS 



•^ 



EVELYN BYATT 



A GORGEOUS 

 NOVELTY 



The most gorgeous colored Sweet Pea yet Ifitroduced. It may be termed a self Oorfifeous, 

 having a rich orange salmon standard, and falls or wings still a trifle deeper color, giving a 

 rich, flery orange or deep sunset color to the whole flower, very strilcing and unique. It has 

 caused quite a sensation wherever shown during the past year. ^ 



PHYLLIS UNWIN 



A GIANT 

 NOVELTY 



I 



Color a deep rosy carmine self, the same form as GLADYS UNWIN, with the prettily waved 

 and bold standard of that variety, but a little larger, producing 3 to 4 flowers on a stem. It 

 is quite sunproof and perfectly fixed. The stems are long and stout, and it may be described 

 as A OIASTT IN EV£BT WAT. 



Each of above novelties, $14.60 per 100 packets; 

 $1.75 per doz. (Retail, 26 cents). 



I 



GLADYS UNWIN l^lfv^.r^*''^ 



This finest of all Pink Sweet Peas we introduced last season. It is a striking* 



and sterling* improvement, quite fixed and distinct, and a 



gr»a.t acquisition for Cut Blooms. 



OLADTB UHWIN has a very large and bold flower, not hooded, but with a very striking 

 upright crinl£led or wavy standard, and broad wings. Color, a pale rosy pink. A strilf- 

 ing feature is that about 75 per cent of the long flower stems are with tour blooms, which 

 is a most unusual thing in Sweet Peas. It was first raised four years ago, viz., in 1901, and 

 has kept perfectly true and fixed in character each year since and we have no hesitation 

 in saying it Is a bona-flde departure in pinks. For market growers especially it cannot be 

 surpassed, and is just the lovely pink color which is so much in demand. 84.60 per pound. 

 Vegetable and Flower Seed catalogues free on application in December. 



WATKINS & SIMPSON, 



SEED MERCHANTS 



12 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, England ] 



of the earth unknown to the people of 

 this country, for the purpose of increas- 

 ing the wealth of the nation. The pe- 

 titioners allege that the present practice 

 is a 'grevious restraint of trade' and 

 that the United States should abolish the 

 practice as unfair, as class legislation 

 antagonistic to a branch of commerce, 

 and unbecoming a great government." 

 The President did not mention the seed 

 distribution in his message, 



PANDANUS SEED. 



In the matter of a protest by F. B. 

 Vandegrift & Co. against the assessment 

 of duty by the collector of customs at 

 New York, the following statement is 

 issued : 



"The subject of the board's decision 

 was pandanus seed, classified under the 

 provision in paragraph 254, tariff act of 

 1897, for seeds of all kinds not specially 

 provided for, and claimed by the import- 

 ers to be free of duty under paragraph 

 622 as palm nuts. Protest overruled, 

 the board finding that the pandanus is 

 not strictly or scientifically a palm, and 

 there being no evidence showing pan- 

 danus seed to be commercially known as 

 palm nuts. ' ' 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



R. Vincent, Jr. & Son, White Marsh, 

 Md., descriptive price-list and catalogue 

 of geraniums; Floral Gem Nursery, 

 Webster, Tex., list of field-grown roses; 

 E. A. Beaver, Evergreen, Ala., illus- 

 trated catalogne and price-list of 

 Christmas greens; Sluis & Groot, Enk- 

 huisen, Hc^flnd, color plate of new cine- 

 rarias; Wm. Deal, Kelvedon, England, 

 sieed potatoes. 



ADULTERATED ALFALFA. 



In view of the very great howl which 

 has gone up at the action of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in publishing the 

 names of seedsmen who sold it adulter- 

 ated alfalfa, a seedsman calls attention 

 to the address of Prof. J. W. T. Duvel, 

 of the department, before the American 

 Seed Trade Association at Alexandria 

 Bay last June. Prof. Duvel called at- 

 tention to the fact that 100,000 pounds of 

 trefoil at less than 5 cents a pound was 

 imported in March and April of this 

 year for use as adulterant ; he quoted the 

 law which made the recent publication 

 mandatory and said: 



"The department takes this oppor- 

 tunity to call attention again to its of- 

 fer to tost and report upon samples 

 sent for that purpose. What you want 

 to know particularly, as I understand 

 it, is whether or not your samples are 

 adulterated. Our experts can tell it at 

 a mere glance, almost, whether a sample 

 is adulterated and in five minutes can 

 tell approximately the amount of the 

 adulterant and the general value of the 

 sample. So that we can test the seed 

 and send you a telegram which you will 

 receive the same day we get the sample. 

 The conditions of the trade demand 

 that the thing be done with the utmost 

 dispatch, for as soon as you receive the 

 seed you want to send it out on orders, ' ' 



GOOD CACTUS DAHLIAS. 



In view of the increased interest in 

 the cactus dahlia, the following notes, 

 made by a committee of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society of England, will 

 be of interest. The members eacli 



