The Townsend Plant Farms 



Situated in the garden spot of the world — the Eastern "Sho" of Maryland. 

 About half way between the Atlantic Ocean, and the Chesapeake bay. 



OTHER SPOT on earth is 

 as well situated for the grow- 

 ing of healthy nursery stock. 

 In the summer we get the 

 moist breezes that keep our 

 stock growing free from dis- 

 eases. Nine months of the 

 year our nursery stock grows 

 and the other three months 

 are mild enough that we do not need to mulch 

 our growing plants or to cellar our other stock, 

 as is so necessary in the Northern states. 



Some catalog writers try to tell us that it is 

 necessary in order to grow hardy nursery stock 

 to seek a Northern latitude. Never was any- 

 thing further from the truth than this state- 

 ment. A plant that has to be mulched to keep 

 from freezing during the severe winter months 

 becomes tender and brittle, and will not stand 

 the handling and shipping that plants grown in 

 our climate will. Growers from all sections of 

 the country have found this to be true, and to- 

 day there is more nursery stock being shipped 

 from the Eastern Sho' of Maryland than from 

 any other section of the world. 



there must be a reason: That the Eastern 

 nurseries are getting the business. It is not 

 what the Northern writer tells you, nor is it 

 what the Eastern Shoreman tells you, that is 

 convincing evidence. But the fact of the mat- 

 ter is this — thousands of fruit growers from 

 all parts of the country have tested both North- 

 ern and Eastern Sho' of Maryland plants, and 

 have found out the facts. That the Eastern Sho' 

 nurseries are getting the business is the verdict. 

 Well — our nurseries are situated on this 

 Eastern Sho'. Our grandfathers, and their great 

 great grandfathers, were born here. We have 

 been brought up on this soil, that we love so 

 well. We know how to handle our soil so 

 that it will produce. Not as good, but the best 

 plants that it is possible to grow. We have 

 given this subject our life work. We likewise 

 expect our sons, and grandsons, to follow us. 

 Not only as growers, but as leaders, in the 

 growing of plants and nursery stock. 



The time has passed when anything called 

 plants and seeds can be sold the American 

 farmer. They now want the best in everything 

 — plants, seeds, live stock, machinery, and every 

 product they handle. They have found that the 

 best is none too good, and that the best is al- 

 ways the cheapest in the end. 



Our aim has always been, to grow the best 

 plants possible for our trade, and to make our 

 prices as low as possible, with just a living 

 profit between the cost of production and our 

 prices to our customers. For the past two years 

 our labor problem has been fierce, 1917 being 

 the limit. Hundreds of our best farm laborers 

 have left us, either to join the colors, or to work 

 in the ammunition factories in the cities. We 

 are now paying nearly three times our former 

 prices, not only for farm labor but even-thing 

 that enters into the production of our crops. 



Of course, this is no new story to our cus- 

 tomers. Labor troubles and high prices are felt 

 all over the world at this time, and we all have 

 nothing else to do but make the best of it. 



It is our hope that before it is time that we 

 shall write another catalog this horrible war 

 will have passed and we may once more be en- 

 joying peace with all the world. 



We shall continue to grow the best plants it 

 is possible for us to grow for you, and to charge 

 you only a small living profit above our cost of 

 production and other legitimate expenses. As 

 soon as the times become normal again we shall 

 so soon lower our prices. It is now up to our 

 customers to plant only the best stock of plants 

 and seeds as they have never done before, and 

 grow the largest crops possible, and reap the 

 high prices that are bound to be paid for all 

 farm products. It costs no more to grow an 

 acre of strawberries that produce 10,000 quarts 

 than it does to grow an acre that produces only 

 3,000. You will no doubt find that all growers 

 of plants will be advancing the prices this sea- 

 son. Many did this the past season. We sold 

 millions of plants at wholesale to plant growers 

 who sold the plants again at three times the 

 price we catalogued our plants at. We are 

 among the few growers that grow the plants we 

 sell. Many dealers get out a large catalog, well 

 written and illustrated, and charge two prices 

 for the stock they list, and could not tell you 

 the difference between a perfect and an imper- 

 fect blossom. These dealers have no way of 

 knowing that they are selling you the genuine 

 article that you are paying for, and according 

 to reports that come to our office many do not 

 care. 



We are in the business to stay. We must tote 

 fair or lose your business. Even if we had no 

 disposition to be honest, we could not afford to 

 be anything else. A satisfied customer is our 

 best asset, and we trace our great increase in 

 business every year to this fact. 



Townsend's Plants are known the country over 

 wherever strawberries are grown as a house- 

 hold word. Thousands of letters reach us from 

 people whom we never heard of before, stating 

 that their neighbor had recommended Town- 

 send's plants so highly they wanted to give them 

 a trial. We fail to find words to express our 

 gratitude to our friends who have stood by us 

 and recommended us to their friends, and the 

 only way we know to repay them for all this 

 kindness is to stick that much closer to the job 

 and try to produce a still better product for them. 



We believe that we will be able to give a dol- 

 lar's worth of satisfaction this season to every 

 one who sends us a dollar. 



We have discarded again from our long list of 

 varieties, trying to keep our list up to date in 

 every way, and have added some wonderful va- 

 rieties to our list of good ones, especially in the 

 everbearing varieties. As usual, we are making 

 a specialty of the everbearing strawberries. 



We were compelled to cut our acreage in 

 plants about one-fourth owing to shortage in 

 help in growing, and fearing that we would be 

 unable to get good labor to dig and pack our 

 crop. We would rather fill one hundred orders 

 right than ten thousand wrong. We promise vou 

 our best efforts, and believe that we shall con- 

 tinue to please you. 



And again we solicit vour orders. 



COPYRIGHTED 1917 BY E W TOWNSEND 



