Seep Business From tun Deaters’ Sranppornr 1311 
French-grown celery seed commands the very highest price in 
the American market. (I take the following quotations from 
to-day’s list: ‘“ Golden Self Blanching Celery, true French stock, 
$18.00 per pound. American-grown Golden Self Blanching seed 
$5.00 per pound.”) From England we receive various seed 
crops, especially mangels, turnips, parsnips and herbs, together 
with special varieties of sweet peas. From Belgium we get 
the sugar beets and special sorts of mangel-wurzel. This list 
is by no means complete, but I simply site these particular vari- 
eties to show that the whole world contributes its share of seed 
for American growers. 
Cannot we produce all these seeds in this country? We can; 
but why don’t we? It is simply a question of expert labor. We 
buy these vegetable seeds in Europe and devote our time to the 
cultivation of wheat, corn, cotton and various other crops. 
HOW THE SEED IS BOUGHT 
The seed business is also unique in its uncertainty. We never 
know what quantity of seed we shall receive, for contracts are 
made one, two, three and four years in advance of the harvest. 
Our contracts always read that we must stand the shortage on any 
failure of the crop, but the contractor agrees to plant the neces- 
sary acreage to produce the quantity for which we contract. To- 
day I contracted with an English house for the growing of 4,000 
pounds of Norbitan Giant Mangel to be delivered after 1917. 
I need just this amount for my normal trade. How much will 
this house deliver? I have not the least idea. 
There is a very limited open market for the big seedsman of 
the country. If contracts are not delivered in full it means an 
almost universal shortage in that particular variety. As an in- 
stance of this I site a personal case which occurred this year. 
I had a contract with a French house for Golden Self Blanching 
celery, but the crop was a failure and it was absolutely impossible 
for me to buy more than a tenth of what I needed for my normal 
trade, and this was purchased in the open market at an advance 
of 270 per cent. over the price at which the seed had been 
contracted. 
a, ae 
