V." 



4*. I*-. 



3d 



.:/. 



The Weddy Rorists* Review. 



JuNB 27, 1907. 



SEED PANSY SEED 



y ,- -.,.•■•. •■. 



Brown's Extra Select Superb Giant Prize Pansies 



awarded Silver Medal, St Louis Exposition, 1904. It is a well-koowo fact that my superior strain of Pansies is the finest in th< 

 market and has won prizes wherever exhibited. Flowers are from three to four inches in diaiheter} id beauty they are unsurpass- 

 able and in color they ut incomparable* My own grown seed, new 1907 crop ready. 



PRICE MIXED SKID: 3000 seeds, $1.00} X-oz., $1.50; Vz-ot^ $2.50) 1 o«., $5.00; X-Ib., $14.00; /z-IK $25.00; 1 Ib^ $5a00. 



PLANTS READY SIPTKMRlR 1. 0»«h with order. 



PETER BROWN, 



PAN8T BKXD 

 GROWBR 



124 Ruby St., Lancaster, Pa. 



as you now know, dated from 1847, at 

 which time rutabaga seed, according to 

 a catalogue of that date, did not sell at 

 $1 per pound, but rather at 12% cents 

 an ounce, at which price some sixteen 

 varieties of turnips were quoted. The 

 item of black pigs does not appear on 

 our lists, and I am sure they were not 

 c< ^idered seeds in those days. In that 

 year, 1847, and for several years there- 

 after the seed trade in respect to flower 

 and garden seeds was insignificant in 

 proportions through all of this country, 

 and my records show that the actual 

 seedsmen did not exceed in number fif- 

 teen or sixteen, and those were all of 

 modest pretensions and scattered be- 

 tween the cities of New York, Phila- 

 delphia, Baltimore, Bochester, Boston, 

 Cincinnati, New Orleans and St. Louis. 

 Many garden seeds were grown, however, 

 in Wethersfield, Conn., as well as in 

 Lebanon, N. Y., and vicinity. These lat- 

 ter were grown by the Shakers. In the 

 small towns garden seeds were sold prin- 

 cipally by druggists, hardware merchants 

 and grocers. 



Probably many of you are of the opin- 

 ion that in those bygone days the va- 

 rieties of different classes of seeds were 

 small, but such really is not the case, 

 and you will be surprised to find that 

 in the catalogue of Grant Thorburn, in 

 1822, there are quoted some nine varieties 

 of snap beans, and among them you will 

 see Six Weeks, White Kidney and Eef- 

 ugee. Now, as regards pole beans : They 

 also appear in some six varieties, such 

 as Dutch Caseknife, Bed Cranberry, Scar- 

 let Bunner, Large Lima, etc. Among 

 the cabbages I find there were twenty 

 varieties, such well known favorites as 

 Early York, Early Sugar Loaf and 

 Globe Savoy appearing 



A Catalogue in 1847. 



• Now, in 1847 the catalogues were in- 

 creasing in size and the varieties of 

 vegetables were increasing in propor- 

 tion. This catalogue of 1847 shows a 

 corn list of seven varieties, some of which 

 are well known at the present day, like 

 the Early Golden Canada, Early Burling- 

 ton, Early Tuscarora, Early Button, etc. 



A^-TlMtbiirn lavokeof Obc Hoadred Ycm Ago. 



In 1864 other varieties were added to 

 this corn list, like Early Dwarf, Dar- 

 ling 's. Eight Bowed, Asylum and 

 Stowell's Evergreen, Sugar, etc. 



Even in 1847 the list of peas was 

 quite an extensive one, there being at 

 least thirty sorts catalogued, but of 

 these only two sorts were wrinkled. 

 These were the Tall and Dwarf knights, 

 and British Queen, and the next year 

 brought us that famous old pea, the 

 Champion of England. In 1864 a dozen 

 more wrinkled sorts were added, and 

 among ttiem was the Advancer. 



Up to a period beginning about with 

 our Civil war, nearly all garden peas 

 were imported from England and they 

 were indeed beautiful samples. Up to 

 1850 and for some years thereafter, all 

 such imported seeds came by sailing ves- 

 sel; peas and other articles in five- 

 bushel casks costing a guinea apiece. 

 Later, however, they were shipped in 

 very heavy double sacks, which were re- 

 turned to the old country and used over 

 and over again for several seasons. 



A Gnnparison of Prices. 



Our catalogue of 1864 contained a long 

 list of most of the leading vegetables of 

 today, and what strikes me as being pe- 

 culiar is— and it may be something equal- 

 ly curious to you, gentlemen — that the 

 prices of those days averaged about the 

 same as the prices of the present day 

 and the only marked exception to these 

 prices was that of the Advancer pea, 

 which had only been recently introduced 

 as a fine wrinkled sort and it was quoted 

 at $1 a quart, while all the other varie- 

 ties were listed at from 20 cents to 60 

 cents a quart. 



The high retail price for seeds began 

 in 1867 and continued for some ten or 

 eleven years, during which period the 

 ruling price for Valentine, Mohawk and 

 Befugee beans was $10 per bushel. Beets 

 were then quoted at from $1 to $2 per 

 pound; cabbage, from $2.50 to $8 per 

 pound; leek, from $4 to $7 a pound; let- 

 tuce, from $3 to $5; onions, from $3 to 

 $6; peas, the common sorts, $10 per 

 bushel; Little Gem, $28 per bushel and 

 $1 a quart; Yorkshire Hero, $18 per 

 bushel; Champion of England, $10 per 

 bushel; peppers, from $5 to $7 a pound; 

 radish, from $1 to $1.50 a pound; tur- 

 nips, from $1 to $2 a pound. 



In 1869 all onions were quoted at $6 

 per pound. It was in 1870 that the 

 Egyptian beet was a novelty and its seed 

 sold at 50 cents an ounce. In 1873 I 

 found Cohover's Colodfel asparagus 

 listed at 50 cents per ounce, Trophy to- 

 mato $10 a pound, while the other va- 



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