i89i 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
837 
Business. 
THE ORIGINATOR’S SHARE ! 
DOES PRODUCING NEW VARIETIES PAY f 
If It Does, Who Gets the Money? 
Can you give us any facts showing what originators of 
really excellent vegetables and fruits have been paid for 
their work ? People have mistaken ideas as to the actual 
money made by these originators. We would like to know 
of any cases with which you are familiar. 
We can hardly give a sitlsfactory answer to the ques¬ 
tion ; we have paid from $50 to $500 for new fruits. 
ELLWANGER & BARRY. 
Nurserymen Can’t Afford Much. 
We have never known much about what new vegetables 
have brought the originators, and in but few cases have 
we a knowledge as to fruits. It was claimed, and we sup¬ 
pose with truth, that George A. Stone paid some $4,000 or 
$5 (00 for the Empire State Grape. We are Informed that 
years ago Ellwanger & Barry paid $500 for the Dr. Reeder 
Pear ; very much more than it was worth, if they did. The 
f act is, nurserymen cannot afford to pay very much for 
these new things, as it will be but a very brief time after 
once starting to disseminate a new fruit before the country 
will be fnll of it; for instance, the first trees of the Idaho 
Pear were sold to the general public In the spring of 1890. 
We venture to say that now one could buy 500,000 one- 
year olds. R G. CHASE & CO. 
Originating Without Business Is Dead. 
Originators or introducers of new fruits, plants or vege¬ 
tables rarely publish the pecuniary results of their sales. 
There are usually so many blanks, as compared with the 
prizes, that, in the majority of cases, the real profit is 
small—in very many cases nothing, or worse. In a few 
cases, like that of the Niagara Grape, the profits have ap¬ 
parently been large; but the results seem to have depended 
quite as largely upon the ability and tact of the intro¬ 
ducer as upon the actual merits of the variety introduced. 
The real merits of a new variety, especially of the larger 
fruits, cannot be fully tested till long after the profit to 
the Introducer must be realized. For this reason, the 
securing of the needful prompt and extensive sales, re¬ 
quires business tact and expensive advertising to Insure 
the needful profit. T. T. LYON. 
Cost of Introduction Is Immense. 
Possibly the highest awards may have followed the 
raisers of new grapes ; but even here I do not see how much 
can go to the originator, for the cost of making a new and 
good thing known is simply enormous, and much more 
skill is required to do this than to raise the new fruit in 
the first place. In our own special line it has taken years 
to get back the co3t of introducing a new tree or shrub, 
and we would not venture at all on such an effort, if we 
had to pay much for the novelty in the first instance.) 
THOMAS MEEHAN. 
About Some Vegetable Prices. 
I can give little information outside of my own experi¬ 
ence. The largest sum I have received for a novelty was 
$600 for 35 bushels of my Magog Extra Early Pea. The 
next largest, $500 for 24 bushels of my Vermont Wonder 
Pea. These were both renamed by the purchasers, i have 
received minor sums on quite a considerable number of 
other things; but I do not think there Is any money in the 
business for me, as an immense amount of labor is in¬ 
volved, and fully nine-tenths of the work brings no re¬ 
turn at all, outside of the interest one takes in doing it. I 
think dealers are disposed to pay less and less for such 
things. It is interesting to contrast their letters to the 
producer with their announcements in their catalogues 
after making the purchase. Some very good things are 
unsalable. The Rural remarked, some dozen or more 
years ago, that it was queer that there were no yellow 
wrinkled peas. I went to work and produced one that has 
so much merit that I have grown it constantly in my mar 
ket garden. It is as sweet as the blue kinds, but dealers 
say that buyers could not be made to believe it to be so, 
and I dare say they are right. I thought, when I worked 
out an extra early Black Mexican sweet corn more than 
two weeks earlier than the old sort, with much better ears, 
that it would surely find a purchaser. It was tested in 
the Rural Experiment Grounds, and found to be all I 
claimed for it; but the letters I received from dealers were 
all to the effect that it would not sell, yet they all go on 
offering the old much later and imperfect kind. 
Mr. C. G. Pringle, of this State, who has abandoned 
horticulture for botany, has done as much, probably, in 
this line as any man. His Snowflake and Alpha Pota¬ 
toes, Conqueror Tomato, and a number of other things, 
brought him into notice the world over. He was always 
very particular, careful and conscientious in his work, 
and I think he threw aside a good many things of as 
great merit as those introduced. He probably made some 
money, but I doubt if he was fully compensated for his 
labor. Potato originators have, I think, found their work 
more profitable than any, and next to these the tomato 
originators. These are the lines I should recommend to 
beginners, though I have never meddled with either, my¬ 
self. T. H. HOSKINS. 
Who Will Guarantee 15 Per Cent? 
As to the notion that originators of really valuable new 
fruits and vegetables make much money out of their pro¬ 
ductions, I think there is a general misconception. My 
experience is that not half of them make a cent, and of 
the other half not more than one in ten gets a just com¬ 
pensation ; while perhaps one in fifty makes a really good 
thing. So far as I know, in recent years the Fay Currant 
is the only new fruit that has paid the originator hand¬ 
somely. To be sure, many new fruits and vegetables are 
bought up at very low prices by seedsmen and nursery¬ 
men, who then boom them in their catalogues, and are 
supposed to make much of the money that should have 
gone to the originator ; and while a great deal of money is 
received for these novelties, the cost of colored plates, cata¬ 
logues, newspaper advertising and postage is so great that 
often 85 to 95 per cent of the receipts, and sometimes more 
than the whole, is swallowed up by these expenses, and the 
introducer gets little or nothing. While now and then a 
“ taking ” novelty pays a very handsome profit, seldom 
are the fortunes made that outsiders suspect. In travel¬ 
ing about the country, different parties have told m 3 that 
P. M. Augur & Sons made $10,000 to $15,000, and some said 
as high as $20,000, on the Jewell Strawberry. And yet Mr, 
Augur himself told me a year or so before his death that he 
had received from the sale of plants only a very little more 
than enough to pay the cost of propagation and sale. Our 
own firm will have several valuable new varieties of small 
fruits to offer in the near future, some of our own origi¬ 
nation and others purchased; and to any one who will 
guarantee us 15 per cent over and above the cost of propa¬ 
gation and sale, we will turn over the entire proceeds from 
the sale of the plants. j. h. hale. 
Geo. W. Campbell on Grapes, 
Judging from my own experience, and from what I know 
tf that of others, I think very few have received or made 
any money worth mentioning. As a rule, I think more 
money has been made from the discovery of accidental 
seedlings, or by appropriating the products of others’ 
work, than by the origination of new varieties by seed¬ 
lings, crosses, selections, or hybridizing. So far as I know, 
and my knowledge is confined principally to grapes, Mr. 
J. H Ricketts, of Newburgh, N. Y., received more money 
from his production of new grapes than any other origi¬ 
nator. Mr. Stephen Underhill, of Croton Point, N. Y., 
was nnrlerstood to have made some money from the intro¬ 
duction of the Croton and Senasqua, which occurred when 
the demand for new grapes wan great and nearly univer¬ 
sal. Irving, Black Eagle and Defiance, by the same orig- 
nator, did not obtain much popularity; Irving lacking in 
quality, and Black Defiance being too late for most locali¬ 
ties, and also deficient In quality. Black Eagle always 
seemed to me a remarkable grape and worthy of more at¬ 
tention than It has received. It is a fair grower ; the foli¬ 
age, with me, Is not subject to mildew ; the vine endures 
10 degrees below zero without injury, and is sufficiently 
productive, bearing large and handsome clusters of black 
grapes of pure flavor and high quality, ripening about with 
Concord, or very little later. 1 believe Mr. Ricketts sold 
his Secretary Grape and another to Mr. Underhill for 
$1,500, but for some reason they were never pushed, and 
were never much grown except by amateurs. Messrs. 
Hance, of Red Bank, N. J., afterward bought of Mr. 
Ricketts some three or four of his hybrlda, at a price 
understood to be $2,000, but the cultivation of none of these 
ever became extensive. His latest sale of the Empire State 
to Mr. Stone, of Rochester, for $4,000, was probably the 
highest price ever paid for any variety ; and this, I regret 
to say, has not been generally as successful as was expected. 
The EmpireState does not seem to sustain its early prom¬ 
ise, and has not proved as well adapted to general cultiva¬ 
tion as I believed it would after two or three years’ expe¬ 
rience in this locality. It is capable, under proper and 
careful treatment, of producing fair crops of fiae grapes; 
but without this care, it will prove a disappointment in 
many places. The vine Is a strong grower, the foliage 
large, abundant and healthy, the blossoms perfect, and it 
sets its fruit well; the clusters are large and well-formed ; 
the berries medium. But if allowed to overbear, it ripens 
its fruit very late and Irregularly, or not at all; and the 
flavor is poor. It does not seem to have the constitutional 
vigor to enable it to mature a large crop, or nearly all that 
naturally forms upon a healthy vine. If the grapes are 
severely thinned, and only a moderate quantity is left 
upon the vines, I have found It to ripen early and per¬ 
fectly, and to hang well upon the vine till fully matured, 
when it is, to my taste, one of the best of American grapes; 
and I have no doubt it was upon grapes so grown and ex- 
hibi ed by Mr. Ricketts that its reputation was estab¬ 
lished and the large price was obtained for its ownership 
and control. 
Various reports exist as to the money made by the 
owners of the Niagara Grapj. I have heard it estimated 
all the way at from $50,000 to a quarter of a million. 
Probably no one knows, but the above estimates are 
probably exaggerated. The Lady Grape, which I bought 
from Mr. Imlay for $500, paid me fairly well, and still re¬ 
tains its popularity as an early white, good grape for 
general use. But it was an accidental seedling selected 
from a large lot of vines grown from Concord seeds by 
the late Mr. Miner, who introduced the Victoria, An¬ 
toinette, Carlotta and several other varieties. He offered 
these seedlings as premiums to subscribers to his paper, 
and the Lady Grape was one of them sent to Mr. Imlay 
as a premium. It was generally understood that the 
Early Rose Potato paid its originator or introducers very 
well, as it was largely sold at high prices. I paid $20 for 
the first investment I made for a half bushel. I grew 
some remarkable seedlings from seed saved from the first 
crop of Early Rose, among which were apparently repre¬ 
sentatives of nearly every variety I had ever seen. One 
was remarkable for producing, the first year, from a sin¬ 
gle seed, eight pounds of potatoes, most of which were of 
large size. It continued to be very productive, requiring 
but one eye to the hill to produce abundantly. In quality 
it was good; much like Early Rose when well matured ; 
but it was too late for most localities. I have kept but 
one of the seedlings to the present time—and still find It 
the best late variety for my use I have ever found; but I 
have by no means tested all the new varieties which have 
been produced since that time. geo. w. Campbell. 
A Weil Versed Veteran Talks. 
The only instance I know of in which adequate comp9n 
sation was received for a new fruit is that of the family of 
Lincoln Fay, the raiser of Fay’s Prolific Currant. Mr. 
Josselyn, the Introducer, has stated that he paid the family 
in the course of 10 years, more than $30,000 as a royalty on 
the sales of the plants. The family propagated the plants 
during that tltn • exclusively for Mr. Josselyn and the 
latter advertised d sold them, and according to his con¬ 
tract he could buy them of no one else. Mr, Josselyn gave 
them 50 per cent of all the sales. I have a letter from John 
B. Moore & Son, introducers and originators of Moore’s 
Early Grape, informing me that they sold over $5,000 worth 
of theviues to T. S. Hubbard alone. E. S. Rogers told me 
that he was paid for the Salem Grape, between $2,400 and 
$2,800 cash for the entire stock. T. S. Hubbard, before 
mentioned, wrote me that he had paid for the Prentiss 
Grape, $2,500, according to my recollection. He once told 
me also that he thought the great demand for the vines of 
Moore’s Early from the originators was due to the fact 
that the sort was hard to propagate. John Charlton told 
me that he had paid to the raiser of the Pocklington Grape 
as a royalty on the sales of the vines for five years, $8,500. 
J. J. H. Gregory wrote me that he had made a present of 
$100 to Albert Breezee, raiser of the Early Rose Potato. I be¬ 
lieve this is about all he received for its production. 
Although James H. Ricketts was paid $4,000 cash for the 
entire stock of the Empire State Grape, it was not suffici¬ 
ent to counterbalance the cost of his experiments for the 
production of that and his other varieties. I have shared 
the same fate. The amounts paid me for my productions 
have been small, extending over a period of many years— 
not enough at any one payment to give me sufficient 
capital to make any desirable investment against a rainy 
day. The majority of the originators of new varieties of 
fruits and vegetables have not obtained any recompense at 
all for their productions. They have been robbed with im¬ 
punity. The highest department of horticulture is a prof¬ 
itless field in the Nineteenth Century. It is a mere rang¬ 
ing ground for scoundrels to despoil the originator and 
swindle the public by means of false labels. 
JACOB MOORE. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Working on a Seed Farm. —I sometimes receive letters 
from young men who want to work on a seed farm. While 
some of these are evidently actuated by a praiseworthy 
motive—the desire to increase their knowledge along the 
line of their taste—others evidently have an impression 
that labor on a seed farm is lighter and easier than ordi¬ 
nary farm work. Now, while there is there a class of work 
different from that on the farm in general, yet seed farm¬ 
ing really differs from ordinary farming in that it has this 
class of work in addition. A moment’s consideration will 
show that this must, as a rule, be so: unless the seedsman 
buys his roots (and this rarely happens) from which to 
raise seed, he must raise them himself, just like an ordinary 
farmer. It is true that if he is an honest man he takes 
special care to get extra stock, but this calls for not less 
but more manure and labor than ordinary farming. 
Like others, he has land to clear of bowlders, to ditch, to 
reclaim, to manure, to plow, to cultivate, to weed, and 
the crops to harvest, all of which means hard labor, just 
like that on the average farm. The selecting of seed stock 
out of the crops; the storing of it over winter; the plant¬ 
ing of it in the spring; the care of it through the summer, 
and the final gathering, curing and cleaning of it—these 
operations, of course, differ from those of general farming, 
and include much knowledge in the various steps, which 
the seed grower has accumulated through years of obser¬ 
vation and experience; still back of it all, as I have stated 
at the beginning of this article, lies the hard, rough work of 
ordinary farming. JAMES J. h. Gregory. 
Essex County, Mass. 
New Steel Wind Engine.— The United States Wind 
Engine and Pump Company, of Batavia, III., has recently 
put on the market a new machine called the Gem Steel 
Wind Engine. It is made complete of cast and malleable 
iron and steel. When furnished with graphite bearings, 
which cost but little extra, no oiling is needed. A new 
steel tover has been devised. This company has been 
making wind engines for over 37 years and has a fine busi¬ 
ness reputation. Those who desire outfits for irrigating 
will be especially pleased with the work done by this 
house. 
Corn Harvesters. —The Farm Implement News has 
collected information from dealers in the great corn grow¬ 
ing States as to the sales of corn harvesters the past sea 
son. In most places sales were very slow and many of the 
implements were returned. The sled harvesters were gen¬ 
erally considered too heavy and many of them did not 
work well in “down” corn. It looks as though a 
home-made sled harvester is as good as any that are sold 
at the stores. 
A Good Stone Drain. — The following method of 
making a drain may be useful to those who have soils like 
mine. I dig a ditch 2>£ feet deep, at which depth I reach 
hard-pan. Then in the center I dig a smaller one, both 
sides of which slope to a point about six inches down, 
leaving a two-inch shoulder on each side at the top. The 
small ditch I cover with large stones, which rest on the 
shoulders on both sides, and then fill up with small stones 
to within one foot of the top. This plan I have found very 
successful. L. w< 
Philips burgh, Pa. 
The ice-growers of Maine are bitterly complaining at 
the action of the Western rainmakers in diverting the 
rainfall of the country from Its legitimate course. They are 
crying out that the streams are all low, and the outlook 
for harvest dim. How people in distress are apt to avail 
themselves of the most ludicrous pretexts for grumbling I 
