American Agriculturist, October 18, 1924 
269 
To Fight Seed Frauds 
Wholesalers Meet with State to Stop Abuses 
T HE wholesale seed dealers of New 
York State met on October 8th at the 
New York State Department of Farms 
and Markets at Albany on the request of 
Commissioner Berne A. Pyrke, to hear 
charges against some seed dealers for mis¬ 
representation and fraud in the sale of 
alfalfa and clover seed. 
When the conference was called to 
order by Commissioner Pyrke, he stated 
that there were many cases of fraud in the 
sale of seed, particularly in alfalfa and 
clover seed, constantly brought to his 
attention, and that it was the responsi¬ 
bility of the industry to clean its own 
house, or there was danger of the 
public tearing it down. The Commis¬ 
sioner said that he had faith in human 
nature and that therefore he believed at 
least 90 per cent, of the men in business 
were honest; but that the big difficulty 
was in controlling the other 10 per cent, 
who were carrying on a fraudulent busi¬ 
ness. He said that he had called this 
conference to put the situation squarely 
up to the seed men, and to ask them what 
could be done to end it. 
State a Big Seed Buyer 
Then Commissioner Pyrke proceeded 
to read specific cases and charges where 
evidence existed that fraud and misrepre¬ 
sentation had been committed. 
He stated first that the State itself was 
the largest farmer in the State, operating 
some 36,000 acres on 40 different institu¬ 
tional farms. Last fall when the Depart¬ 
ment of Farms and Markets purchased 
its alfalfa and clover seed for their State 
larms, specifications were made in the 
Contracts of purchase for northern grown 
domestic seed. When this seed was re¬ 
ceived, samples were submitted to the 
Geneva Station for analysis, and it was 
found that some of it was from Argen¬ 
tine and that of the thirty-eight differ¬ 
ent lots, at least fifteen were imported. 
The chief trouble is due to practices of 
some seedsmen in selling foreign seed for 
domestic, and southern grown for north¬ 
ern. Neither southern grown alfalfa nor 
clover seed will succeed in New York 
State. Northern grown foreign seed will 
probably grow fairly well in New York. 
But domestic, according to most authori¬ 
ties, is better and besides it is difficult to 
be certain that foreign grown seed is not 
of southern origin. 
The Commissioner said that the State 
could protect itself through its Attorney- 
General, but that he was much concerned 
over the small farmer who purchased such 
seed under the impression that it was the 
best kind, and who had no means of pro¬ 
tecting himself. The Commissioner then 
mentioned cases where small farmers had 
purchased clover and alfalfa seed, believ¬ 
ing it to be northern grown and domestic 
and that later analyses of samples of this 
seed showed it to be otherwise than as 
represented. 
Commissioner Pyrke concluded his 
opening talk by asking the seed men the 
direct question, “Here is the situation. 
Now what is the seed industry going to do 
about it?” 
Mr. Curtis Nye Smith, representing 
the American Seed Trade Association, 
stated that the reputable men in the in¬ 
dustry were anxious to clean up cases of 
fraud and promised that his association 
would do all that it could to remedy the 
situation. He stated that there was no 
excuse for a dealer to offer foreign grown 
seed as domestic, and that his associa¬ 
tion would take any charge against 
anyone in the trade, get the facts, and 
then punish. He asked for the coopera¬ 
tion of the Department in furnishing 
detailed facts whenever cases of fraud or 
alleged fraud arose. 
Where Some of the Blame Lies 
Several of the seedsmen stated that the 
wholesalers were not always to blame, 
that often the retailers changed the tags 
on the seed bags in order to get a larger 
profit. Some of the seedsmen claimed 
that the Geneva Experiment Station had 
been partial in its services in analyzing 
seed, and that seed experts, either at 
Geneva or elsewhere, could not absolutely 
analyze seeds and be sure of their point 
of origin. These charges were ably de¬ 
fended by Mr. Munn of the Geneva Sta¬ 
tion, who said that the services of the 
station were open to everybody and that 
if the seed men had not received as much 
as they thought they should, it was their 
fault in not asking for such service. 
One good result of the conference will 
likely be a larger use of the seed labora¬ 
tories of the Geneva Station by the 
seedsmen, and more cooperation between 
them and the Station in getting only good 
seed onto the market. 
Up to Seedmen Themselves 
Nearlv everyone in the conference took 
part in discussing the situation, and Com¬ 
missioner Pyrke asked each speaker as to 
suggestions of how to control the situa¬ 
tion. It was the consensus of opinion that 
more laws will not help much, that it was 
the job of the seedsmen themselves to 
work out the problem, and that failing to 
do this, full publicity will be given to the 
names of firms who fail to properly label 
their seed or who in any way try to 
work fraud on farmers through misrep¬ 
resentation. 
What Does Your Credit Cost? 
{Continued from page 26Jf) 
There are four fundamental planks in a 
program for sound efficient financing of 
farm operations. The first one is '‘Pay 
Cash.” In paying cash a farmer can 
make a double saving. He does not buy 
what he cannot afford, and he gets a cash 
discount on what he does buy. If your 
store will not give you a cheaper price for 
cash, go to the one that will. Cash stores 
are making rapid headway in all lines, 
and they have come to stay. 
The second plank in this program of 
sound financing is “Buying in quantity.” 
Discounts are usually given for quantity 
purchases, making a further saving pos¬ 
sible. 
The third plank is “Buy when the 
commodity is cheap.” It is good business 
for dairymen to buy a large part of their 
year's feed requirements in summer when 
demand is slack and prices are usually 
low. It pays to figure out your probable 
needs. By buying in quantity, for cash, 
and when feed is cheap a saving can be 
made in three ways: a cash discount, a 
quantity discount, and a saving in price 
by buying when the commodity is cheap. 
But perhaps you can’t pay cash. 1 hat 
brings up the fourth plank in this pro¬ 
gram for more efficient farm financing. 
“Borrow at the bank, when credit is 
necessary.” Any farmer who has saved a 
little money, is honest, and has a reputa¬ 
tion for paying his debts promptly, can 
get credit at his bank more cheaply than 
from his feed or fertilizer dealer. 
The answer to the farm credit question 
in New York State is the greater use of 
banks by farmers for the credit necessary 
to carry on farm operations. The banker 
will usually be glad to cooperate. It is 
his business. The banker cannot be 
asked to furnish credit, however, unless 
the farmer is willing to do his part. In 
building up credit standing with a bank 
there are several things that a farmer 
should do. 
1. Be prompt in looking after obliga¬ 
tions on or before the date they are due. 
Promptness costs nothing and is worth 
much. The easiest way to lose credit is 
to let a note run overdue. The man who 
won’t pay without compulsion must 
continue to pay someone to collect his 
bills. 
2. Always pay cash. Don't run store 
{Continued on page 272) 
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