national IRursersimait 
FOR GROWERS AND- DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK 
• The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., Incorporated 
Vol. XXII. 
ROCHESTER N. Y.. EEIHIUARV, IDU 
Xo. L> 
DANGER OF OVER-PRODUCTION 
By ROBERT PYLE, President, Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, Pa. 
Read before the Meeting of the Ornamental Growers Association, New York, January 13th, 1914 
livery man in this room, doul)tless, has read of the 
recent announeement of Henry Ford, of Detroit, re¬ 
garding- a plan to distribute during- the coming year 
$10,000,000. among his employees in wages. AYe all 
know YI r. Ford as a large producer of automobiles, 
hut in sjhte of the enormous ont])ut, we also realize 
that Ylr. Ford is in no immediate danger of over-])ro- 
diiction. Indeed, it is a marvel to many that he has 
ke])t so nearly in sight of the demand. 
Another motor car firm limits the out})nt of their 
factory to four cars a day, and in their advertising 
insists that every particle of energy and enter|)rise 
is used to build in the best ]^ossil)le material, and to 
make the best ])ossible ]n-odnct that anyone can de¬ 
sire. In the case of neither car above mentioned does 
there seem to be, in sight, any danger from over-|)ro- 
duction, and yet at the same time there are other cars 
on the market waiting for buyers. Cars that either 
from the standpoint of material, workmanship, con¬ 
struction, design, or price have failed to meet conpie- 
tition, win admiration, and secure ultimate owners. 
The demand for automobiles is still on the upward 
curve. I believe the same thing may be said of our 
business. There are differences, to be sure, but from 
an economic stand])oint, are not the two comparable? 
In the very few hours at my disposal for classify¬ 
ing some of my ideas on this subject, I have been 
more than once led to observe that, among first class 
nurserymen, this subject is one of minor importance 
because little likely to bother us. To be sure, among 
those who are guilty of producing stock that is ])oor 
to begin with, stock that nobody wants, and nobody 
should want, among those who are far enough behind 
the times to continue growing stock that has been su- 
])erseded by something- far superior, the danger of au 
over-])roduction is a very reasoualde kind of night¬ 
mare to have. But, among such men as make u]) tlu* 
membership of this organization, might we not truly 
with better grace consider this question under the 
head of ‘‘The Problem of Under-consumption?” 
Economists, I believe, agree that there is not yet, 
and is not likely to be soon any such thing as general 
over-})roduction, but rather that there is frequently 
seen exani])les of luicirii producton, and u])on this 
point I believe ex])erience will have taught us to 
agree. 
If every man here, or every firm here re])resented, 
should i)ut in one ]nle all the stock that they have 
burned, or otherwise destroyed during the i)ast year, 
doubtless such a fire would be l)ig enough to attract 
attention even in this l)ig city. And then siqijiose 
that we should get u]) an excursion of this group of 
gentlemen and should start on an oliservation tour 
throughout the inhabited sections of our land, with 
all eyes o])en for i)laces that need ])lanting, and some 
day will be ])lanted, I believe, we should not get far 
across the country before we should turn back Avith 
a deeply fixed conviction that all we had burned 
might have been sold, IF, the r)rnamental GroAvers’ 
Association for the group, liad its fingers on the ])ulse 
of demand in each section of our country; and had 
Ave made use of aAuulable means to arouse those who 
live in bare spots to a consciousness of their needs, 
and had Ave transformed those needs into demands. 
Prol)ably eAmry one of you here are more ex]Aer- 
ienced than the S])eaker, but almost oA^ery time he 
traA-els across the country, the impression is forced 
home, not that nurserymen are in danger of oA^er- 
])roduction, but that we are devoting 90 ])er cent, of 
onr efforts to ]Aroduction and to mere distriliution. 
Are our sales departments creating demand to the 
extent that is true in other lines of trade? 
AVe all know that our counti-y is lug, that the ]) 0 ])- 
ulation is increasing, especially in the suburbs, that 
educational influences are at Avork among old as well 
as young, fostering a higher a])preciation of ]fiant 
life; eA"en the increased cost of living results in driA'- 
ing some ])eo]fie back from more exjiensiA^e luxuries 
to the high hobby of garden and country ifieasures. 
But of course the thing to bear in mind in consider¬ 
ing the (lanfic)' of orrr-prodiictioii, is its constant reJo- 
fioii to ]A0ssible and likely (‘onsuDipfion. 
It seems to me A^ery much like the old see-saAA’ Ave 
used to haAm as children. BetAAmen production and 
(‘onsumptiou the first inqan-tant thing is to fiud the 
balance. 
