W. C. SLATE 
1893 
1934 
A Farmer’s Contribution to American Agriculture 
Seventy years ago, an old southern Major hung his sword in the attic and turned his efforts 
towards making his beloved land yield better crops. Major R. L. Ragland, the founder of this 
business, was the first man to grow tobacco seed on a commercial basis. To his untiring efforts, 
we today owe some of the best varieties. To his studious nature, we owe the flue-curing pro¬ 
cess which has made our great tobacco industry possible. 
Major Ragland died in 1893 leaving his business in the hands of his son-in-law, W. C. Slate, 
who for many years successfully carried on the work the Major started. Mr. Slate was an 
expert farmer, a student of plant breeding, and to him we owe such valuable varieties as Slate s 
Improved Gold Leaf tobacco, First on the Market Cantaloupe, Slate’s Extra Early Peas, Slate’s 
Extra Early Perfection Tomato and hundreds of other items that have made farming more 
profitable. 
There are few agricultural figures of the past fifty years who have made richer 
contributions to the American farmer than W. C. Slate. At Mr. Slate’s death in 1934 
MAJOR R. L. RAGLAND 
the business passed into the hands of his two sons, R. R. Slate and W. C. Slate, Jr., 
who have been actively engaged in seed growing for the past twenty years. Already 
from the efforts of these men there has sprung such varieties as Improved Big Warne 
Tobacco, Extra Early Red Ball Beet, Slate’s Champion Peas and many others. 
The seed business with us is a family tradition. We must carry on to keep faith 
with our predecessors. In a modest way, we bring to you a message of the better things 
for your farm and garden. Glaring descriptions and expensive advertising matter are 
not in keeping with our policy of giving the world the best seeds at a moderate cost. 
We believe that American Gardeners are interested in good seeds rather than pretty 
catalogues, so we are telling you briefly in the following pages about the best seeds 
to be had. Nearly seventy years of breeding, through three generations of seed grow¬ 
ers makes Slate’s Seeds better. Quality in seeds cannot be illustrated, it cannot be 
printed in words, so when you buy Slate’s Seeds you are buying this unseen element 
which goes so far towards making your efforts successful. 
Sincerely yours, 
SLATE SEED COMPANY, INC. 
January 1. 1935 South Boston, Virginia. 
1866 
