38 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



JUNB 24, 1909. 



Seed Trade News. 



AHEBIGAN SEED TBADE ASSOCIATION. 



Pres.. Watson 8. Woodruff, Orange, Conn.; 

 First Vice-pres., J. C. Robinson, Waterloo, Neb.; 

 Sec'y and Treas., O. £. Kendel, Cleveland. 

 Twentv-seveotb annual conveotion, Niagara 

 Falls. Ont., June 22 to 24, 1909. 



The illness of W. W. Barnard, Chi- 

 cago, is reported to have passed the 

 critical stage. 



D. M. Ferry & Co., Detroit, are now 

 represented in the American Seed Trade 

 Association by Kirby B. White, who was 

 elected to membership at Niagara Falls 

 this week. 



The New York pure seed law is dead, 

 having failed to receive the signature of 

 the governor. Marshall H. Duryea, of 

 Nungesser & Co., who has led the seeds- 

 men in their efforts to get a reasonable 

 law, states that nothing further can come 

 of the matter until both houses of the 

 legislature meet again next winter. 



NIAGARA FALLS CONVENTION. 



Seed Trade ia Annual Session. 



The twenty-seventh annual convention 

 of the American Seed Trade Association 

 opened at the Clifton House, Niagara 

 Falls, Ont., June 22. The association 

 never has had a more delightful place of 

 meeting, the attendance was large and 

 the interest keen. 



The convention was called to order by 

 President Watson S. Woodruff, of Orange, 

 Conn. The usual address of welcome was 

 delivered by Hon. E. P. Slater, mayor of 

 Niagara Falls, Ont., and responded to by 

 H. W. Wood, of Bichmond, Va., in a 

 felicitous way. After congratulating 

 members upon the representative attend- 

 ance. President Woodruff delivered his 

 address, which was referred to a com- 

 mittee of five, consisting of Messrs. J. 

 C. Eobinson, Walter P. Stokes, C. H. 

 Breck, Charles Dickinson and Albert Mc- 

 CuUough, who at a later hour recom- 

 mended concurrence in its various recom- 

 mendations.' A vote of thanks was re- 

 turned to the president for his able ad- 

 dress, on motion of Captain Landreth. 

 The address as far as it refers to the 

 paramount issues is printed in full, be- 

 ginning on page 44 of this paper. 



^ New Members Elected. 



New members elected were: Kirby B. 

 White, Detroit, Mich.; Cargill Elevator 

 Co., Minneapolis, Minn.; Edwin C. Foltz, 

 Louisville, Ky., and D. B. Gurney, Yank- 

 ton, S. D.; Lyons H. Williams, of Will- 

 iams Seed Co., Norfolk, Va.; H. A. 

 Sculthorpe, Port Hope, Ont.; Northern 

 Seed Co., Valley City, N. D. 



The Year's Figures. 



C. E. Kendel presented the following 

 reports as secretary and treasurer: 



Total membership, June, 1908, 155; 

 received into membership at the last con- 

 vention, a total of twelve; memberships 

 dropped, failed and resigned, total five; 

 net gain, seven, with a present member- 

 ship of 162. 



Treasurer's Report for 1909. 



RECEIPTS. 



From initiation fees $ 350.00 



From membership dues 1,445.00 



From interest at bank 50.75 



From sale of codes 15.89 



Total 11,861.64 



Watson S. Woodruff. 

 tPresident American Seed Trade Association.) 



DISBURSEMENTS. 



Secretary's salary $ 250.W1 



Stenographer's service 113.00 



National Council of Horticulture 200.00 

 Expenses of executive, • tariff 



committee, etc 403.72 



Guest tickets at banquet 32.00 



Printing report and Index 265.00 



Other printing and stationery. 57.66 



Cuts and mailing cases 13.25 



Membership In National Board 



of Trade 25.00 



Membership In Wholesale Seeds- 

 men's League 25.00 



Membership In Merchants' and 



Manufacturers' Association.. 10.00 



Postage 31.19 



Badges 32.50 



Incidentals 3.55 



Total $1,261.87 



Balance % 599.77 



Various Reports. 



The auditing committee, F. W. Bol- 

 giano, S. E. Briggs and Ben P. Cornell, 

 reported the books in good shape and the 

 accounts correct. 



Albert McCuUough presented a report 

 of the delegates to the National Board 

 of Trade. Himself and W. Atlee Burpee 

 had participated in important work on 

 committees of the National Board of 

 Trade, on postal and other matters of 

 mutual interest to the two associations. 



C. E. Kendel presented a report of the 

 delegates to the National Council of Hor- 

 ticulture, showing the great value of the 

 work of the council to the seed trade and 

 horticultural interests. 



C. F. Wood, of the committee on 

 weights and measures, read a letter from 

 F. E. Eichman and I^. C. Palmer, sub- 

 committee of the National Conference on 

 Weights and Measures, and same was 

 filed without action at this time. 



The application of Linnaeus Allen to 

 continue the membership of C. L. Allen, 



deceased, was favorably reported by the 

 membership committee and concurred in. 



Federal Seed Legislation. 



George S. Green, chairman of the com- 

 mittee on seed legislation, presented a 

 report of the committee referring to its 

 general federal aspect, and Charles N. 

 Page, vice-chairman, presented a sepa- 

 rate report referring to seed legislation 

 in the various states and territories. 



Mr. Green's report favored laws to 

 prevent the importation of adulterated 

 and low grade seeds as for the general 

 good of the trade and the public; he 

 recommended the passage of a proposed 

 bill carrying out this idea. With regard 

 to absolute freedom from dodder in the 

 minutest ratio, he felt that a minimum 

 pei'centage should be favored, such as 

 will not exclude commercially valuable 

 seed in years when a suAcient supply 

 cannot be obtained in this country. The 

 European screenings should be excluded 

 from this country. In regard to pro- 

 hibited seeds, a reasonable margin of 

 tolerance should be shown. As to germ- 

 ination, hard and fast rules should not be 

 adopted. The methods of testing for 

 germination are so variable, and the re- 

 sults of tests vary so much in various 

 hands, that it really is unreasonable to 

 try to enforce a criminal law, the punish- 

 ment based on such evidence as can be 

 possible with regard to germination of 

 seeds. Seeds that are abojpe a certain 

 minimum standard should not have to be 

 labeled, for while there are laws against 

 burglary, the seedsman should not have 

 to be compelled to tag himself as not a 

 burglar. He deprecated the fact that 

 much of the legislation seemed to be 

 class in its nature in that it endeavored 



