HIS 
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3l ESTABLISHED 1895 
GARDNER’S 
ANNUAL 26 th CATALOG 
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U 1921 E 
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c/fn Appeal for Early Orders 
Prudence dictates that no one should wait until the last minute for their seed supplies 
this year. Let the watchword be “ORDER EARLY — SHIP EARLY. 
The present conditions and the approaching heavy shipping season indicate an even 
more serious transportation shortage than has heretofore obtained. The Railroads are en- 
deavoring to transport a greatly increased business with practically no increase in cars, mo- 
tive power and facilities. 
The present situation demands the greatest service possible from existing railroad facil- 
ities. Our Traffic Manager, therefore, has urged us to obtain your fullest co-operation in 
securing the best and most satisfactory-to-all use of present railroad equipment and facilities, 
and we have deemed the matter of sufficient importance to devote this whole page of our cata- 
log to that purpose. 
We respectfully request your earnest consideration and aid in carrying out the following 
suggestions. 
I Urge customers to have their orders in by January or February and arrange with them 
so that we can ship their orders at the first opportunity after January 1. This is most im- 
portant for unless we can stretch our shipping season out over a longer period, we cannot 
hope to secure enough cars at one time during the rush of the early Spring months to 
move all our orders. 
2 Explain to customers that the transportation facilities of our country during the com- 
ing months will be taxed far beyond their capacity, hence delays must be anticipated. Those 
who get early shipments will be ready to plant when their ground is ready, and will 
harvest the best crops. Seeds will keep as well with our customers as with us, so urge 
every one to avoid annoying, possibly disastrous delays by sending in their orders early. 
When the ground is ready is the time to SOW — not the time to order. 
3 Impress upon C. O. D. customers the importance of having order bills of lading ready 
for immediate surrender upon arrival of their seed. Urge delivery agents to keep in touch 
with their freight agents so that they can lift the seed shipments promptly when they are 
received. Much damage occurs and needless expense arises when shipments are left at 
freight houses for several days after their arrival. The Railroad Companies now require 
shipments lifted within 48 hours. 
4 Tell customers who request shipments held until late April or May that they are run- 
ning risks they cannot afford to take. In spite of the railroad strike all but a very few of 
our shipments last year were received in time for planting, simply because we got them 
under way early. Gardner Seed Company customers were fortunate in this respect as com- 
pared with customers of firms that waited until Spring to start shipping and then could not 
get facilities to move half their orders, causing not only a loss to the customers and them- 
selves, but also a serious curtailment of food production. 
5 Make every delivery show a minimum total weight of at least 200 lbs. Small orders 
for several adjoining stations should be bunched together and delivered from one central 
point. 
Cjardner Seed Company 
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