t\' P^RRY S- Qq, 



JSeed . Annual 



■-.___^ QM CJ TT\OSSIBLY this may be the first seedsmen's catalogue the 



^^^^^l::::^^^ '•'^;^ - ^" ^ L->^ ±^ reader has seen, but there is more likehhood that he has 



'' looked over a fresh Ferry's Seed Annual every spring for 



the past decade and not only that, but has seen the catalogue of 

 several other seedsmen, and as he turns the pages of these beau- 

 tiful books he wonders why they should be sent him. He finds 

 many of them not onh' beautiful, but filled with useful informa- 

 tion, but they are evidently so costly that no amount of gush 

 about "'dear customers and friends" can hide from him the fact 

 that they are not sent from mere philanthropy, but as a matter 

 of business. "Why the business of the seedsman should require 

 these catalogues more than that of the "butcher, baker or 

 candlestick maker" may be profitable to consider. 



First.— Every seedsman offers a more or less extended list 

 of varieties, and every one of these varieties, at least every 

 one offered by a reputable seedsman, has proved in the 

 hands of someone and under some set of conditions and 

 requirements, superior to any other with which the planter 

 was familiar. If the list of sorts with which it was com. 

 pared included most of those in cultivation and care was taken 

 to have the seed equal in purity and qualitj- to that with which 

 the trial was made, it is reasonably certain that that variety, under similar conditions of growth and requirements, would 

 prove the best and most profitable that could be planted. The conditions of culture and requirement differ wonderfully. The 

 soil of some gardens is wet, that of others drj-: in some cases it is sandy, in others heavy clay, sometimes rich, sometimes 

 poor. To some gardeners quantitj' of product is the most important requisite, to others ease of culture; some ai;k for high 

 quality, others prize beauty of appearance most and the difference in degree to which different varieties will fit these require- 

 ments and conditions is very marked. Every season we see scores and hundreds of cases where a part of a field planted with 

 one sort has given most satisfactory and profitable returns, while the balance of the area planted with another kind, but 

 equally well tended was disappointing and unprofitable. 



Secondly.— The outcome of every planting depends largely upon the way the work is done and the growing plants culti- 

 vated and tended. Xo matter how well chosen the variety or how good the seed, if the cultivation is poor or injudicious, the 

 result will be disappointing. 



We think we have shown that if the foundation rock on which every successful and permanent business should be built is 

 the pleasing and satisfying one's customers, effort on the part of the seedsman to inform his patrons in regard to the char- 

 acter of the varieties he offers and the best modes of culture is legitimately in the line of business and he is warranted in send- 

 ing such catalogues as this to all intending purchasers. 



We think we have shown, too. what a seedsman's catalogue should be and that the use of grossly exaggerated cuts of 

 some new varietj- or of extravagant claims of merit which never can be realized, are an insult to the judgment and good sense 

 of the reader. In the following pages we have endeavored to give a simple and fair statement of our facilities for knowing 

 what is good and for securing such seeds in liberal quantities and also for putting tliem into the hands of our customers 

 promptly and economically. In the botly of the book we have given the fullest description of each variety 'we offer, which 

 space would allow, and have in many cases reinforced this by illustrations which are all drawn either from nature or from 

 photographs, and a great deal of care has been taken to have both the descriptions and illustrations accurate and truthful. 

 The cultural directions are such as our own extensive experience and our familiarity with the methods of the most successful 

 growers, suprgest: in short, we have done our best to put everj- reader in the way of obtaining the best possible seeds of the 

 sorts best suited to his wants and of cultivating them so as to insure success and satisfaction. 



An essential starting point for a big crop of fine vegetables is goo^i seed, and the foundation for good seed is 

 superior stock seed, or that from which the seed crop is grown. Recognizing the importance of this, we have estaWi^ed 



