272 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1908 



I TH E TALK- OF-THE * OFFICE- 



1908 



A GREAT many prophecies have been made 

 as to what is going to happen during the 

 next twelve months. In volume of business and 

 general activity the year just ending has been the 

 best ever experienced by Doubleday, Page & 

 Company. Notwithstanding all the stories of 

 general depression, we expect 1908 to be quite 

 as active, because our business is still young, 

 with great opportunities for expansion, and be- 

 cause, further, we are willing to work harder 

 and give more to our customers than ever before, 

 and can do so with our increasingly efficient 

 force of people and extended list of customers. 



ON DECEMBER 1ST, 



when this was written, the month just closed 

 showed an increase of quite a third in the amount 

 received for paid-in-advance subscriptions to all 

 three of our magazines, The World's Work, The 

 Garden Magazine-Farming, and Country Life in 

 America. We are quite aware that this is not 

 the time to brag or to feel vainglorious, but it is 

 the time to tell of the encouraging and inspiring 

 things that happen, instead of bemoaning a sad 

 fate which as a rule does not materialize. 



"the cheerful fact," 

 a favorite phrase in The World's Work, is that 



the country is still rich, richer than it was a year 

 ago. We will receive a third of a billion dollars 

 more for our agricultural products than we 

 received a year ago. The one upsetting in- 

 fluence is, of course, that some people who are 

 perfectly well off "feel poor," and if we all stop 

 enjoying life we shall be poor indeed. People 

 who have speculated in stocks on margin have 

 no doubt lost vast sums; the holders of good 

 securities need not even feel poor, as all good 

 securities are paying their dividends, hardly 

 without an exception. Perhaps, as a people we 

 have been extravagant, and if so, a wholesome 

 let-up will do us all good if we don't go to the 

 other extreme and cry "Wolf! Wolf!" until the 

 light-headed become thoroughly alarmed. 



WHY PHILOSOPHY IN AN ADVERTISEMENT 



is a question perhaps naturally asked by any 

 stray reader who has gone so far in these para- 

 graphs. 



Our reply is that in our small way we want to 

 hustle and make haste to keep up active, whole- 

 some, and legitimate trade as distinguished 

 from speculation. The articles made and sold 

 by Doubleday, Page & Company are not extra- 

 vagant things. The house appeals, or means 

 to, through books and magazines, to that great 



body of sane and vigorous people who act as a 

 balance to the whole country. 



THEREFORE WE ASK YOU 



to look over these pages carefully and read of 

 the advertisements, which describe c::_J.lent 

 things for every good citizen, to buy what 

 appeals to you, and use your influence among 

 other sane people to do the same. The croakers 

 and pessimists in the world never did anything 

 vital or upbuilding yet, and at this particular 

 time they should be especially unpopular. 



TO ADVERTISERS 



may we suggest, with all humility, that this is 

 not an inopportune time to push your wares? 

 The timid will draw out and bury their talents 

 in a napkin; the active minded will take the 

 chance to increase their possessions. We are 

 especially anxious to see more effective adver- 

 tisements. If copy were improved by care and 

 study, the results would more than pay for 

 any possible loss in trade. Our own magazines 

 give as large a circulation as ever, and in 

 quality very much better than ever. If by 

 chance you agree with the above-expressed 

 philosophy, may we not hear from you and 

 consult together? 



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A Book Every Reader of this Magazine Really Needs and Will Use 



GARDEN&FAM 

 ALMNAC 



v 1908 ^ 



Last year we ran out of The Garden and 

 Farm Almanac. This year we have printed a 

 few more, and made it just about twice as good, 

 nearly twice as large and with illustrations 

 added. 



Price 25 cents, or send $1.00 for a year's 

 subscription to The Garden Magazine-Farming, 

 and get it free. 



See description of contents of book, page 

 271 of this issue. 



DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO. 

 New York 



Enclosed find 25 cents. Please send 

 The Garden and Farm A Imanac to 



DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY, 



133-135 East Sixteenth Street, New York CitvJ 



