T 
HE year 1936 marks the eightieth anniversary of the Ferry-Morse 
Seed Co. Eighty years is a long time. Eighty years ago, no letter boxes 
were on the streets of New York. Horse-drawn omnibuses passed under 
flaring gas lights; the telegraph linked only the larger centers; the 
telephone was unknown. Travel was slow and hazardous. The migration 
from the East to the Middle West and Far West had begun only a few years 
before. Vigilance committees were maintaining law and order in Califor¬ 
nia. New towns were springing up rapidly in the Middle West, following 
the advance of the railroads. Settlers brought their families and belong¬ 
ings from the East and hewed out homes for themselves in these new 
territories. Gardens were a necessity, but garden space could be cleared 
only with considerable difficulty. Seeds for gardening purposes were 
scarce. The seeds planted in these virgin gardens either had been saved 
carefully from previous years or were obtained from a few seed compa¬ 
nies who imported most of their supplies from European countries. Neigh¬ 
bors exchanged seeds with each other. The commercial growing of garden 
seeds in the United States was in its infancy. 
