THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
15 
keeping and at considerable expense but, of course, it could 
be done. A nurseryman growing only a block of Apple, 
Peach or Pear could very easily keep account of expenses 
against each block and when sold, credit amount received 
and in this way get close to the cost of growing each tree but 
even with this, the cost would vary from year to year. 
“We figure outside nursery stock by bulk, in whole rows 
or more, as to time taken to produce, and time spent on culti¬ 
vation, and fertilizer. 
“For greenhouse stock, wc arrive at a pretty fair conclu¬ 
sion by the 100 or so in the various size pots, and time taken 
to get into salable condition. We are governed also some¬ 
what by others’ quotations and in some cases sell certain lots 
at very near cost rather than hold them over, but this is a 
very rare procedure. 
“We are not selling any stock below cost.’’ 
No. 16 
“ I. As far as I know a cost system has never been worked 
out for growing nursery stock. The best thing I know of is 
the paper by the late Geo. Sweet, published six or seven years 
ago in the annual report of the nurserymen’s meeting. Also 
I am working out a system and in five years expect to have 
something that is fairly accurate. It will take a ten years’ 
average to be anywhere near accurate in showing the cost of 
growing nursery stock. Your best guide on this subject will 
be to take the contract prices of various contract growers. 
With this, and the average stand and-the average per cent of 
the different sizes, you can figure out a cost estimate yourself. 
It will be about as accurate as anything I know of. 
“2. My system is not far enough along to write about as 
yet. 
“3. Our prices are based on what we believe to be a fair 
wholesale price for the stock. You can get this average from 
the large wholesale nurserymen. The markets fluctuate so 
that the cost of growing is often entirely lost sight of. 
“4. The other man’s catalog prices can never be used as a 
guide for your business, at least, that is the way it strikes me. 
“5. Nearly every nurseryman is selling some item too 
low. Often this is not necessary. The price question is the 
greatest problem before the nurserymen today. It will never 
be solved until a number of other things are generally known, 
including the cost of production. Take a number of the 
different representative wholesalers lists and you will see a 
very marked difference in prices, often a hundred per cent or 
more on some items. If the wholesale market is in such 
condition what can you expect of retail prices?’’ 
No. 17 
Replying to your letter of December 3d, as to method of 
determining cost of production of nursery stock, etc., would 
say. 
I. We have no rule of determining the cost of production. 
In our line where we grow so many small lots of some things, 
and such a great list of varieties, it is impossible to do so. 
We do, however, take special things now and then and keep 
cost of the work so as to get a general idea of the cost. For 
instance, supposing we plant out a block of 20,000 Hydrangea 
P. G. In this particular item, we will keep record of the cost 
of i)loughing the ground, cost of setting the plants and the 
cost of the young plants. This then gives us the cost of the 
stock up to that point, but after that, we arc lost. Again, 
we might take the cost of digging and grading a whole block 
of plants, but these figures arc merely for the purj^ose of 
getting an idea of certain portion of the cost of production. 
Again, we might transplant 1000 or 2000 Norway Majdcs, 
I inch to iX inch caliper. Wc use the same method of 
arriving at the cost of that work. 
We believe that it is impossible to really arrive at an 
accurate cost of growing and selling a plant. Conditions 
make the cost variable. We may .set out a block of 10,000 
Hydrangea P. G. this Spring, and get a ninety-five per cent, 
stand. Next year, we might set out another block of the 
same quantity and get a poor growing season and a long 
period of dry weather and we may not get over seventy-five 
per cent, stand. Again, when we come to dig our plants, it 
may be that we have had two excellent growing seasons, and 
at the end of two years, our plants are larger and will bring 
more money than another period when we have had poor 
growing weather and it will take three years to make plants 
of the same size. There are so many conditions which enter 
into the nursery business, favorable and unfavorable, that we 
consider it impossible to reach a conclusion that is anywhere 
near accurate. 
2. No, the cost of production is not a particular factor in 
the fixing of the selling price. We have to be governed by 
the market price to a very great extent; nevertheless, if we 
feel that the price is too low, we advance it to a figure more 
nearly what we think it ought to be. We do not want to 
sell stock at less than cost, if we can help it. This also 
answers your question No. 3. 
4. In our opinion, all nursery stock is being sold too low. 
It may not be at or below cost, but we certainly think that 
nurserymen are not getting the percentage of profit they are 
entitled to considering the risk which they assume in growing 
their stock and the expenses in handling it. The same 
amount of money invested in almost any other business 
would produce a greater percentage of profit. We would like 
to give a dinner to all of the men who have gotten rich actually 
from their nursery business. Of course, there are some 
nurserymen who have acquired wealth but it has mostly been 
from the increased sales of real estate or something of that 
sort. Would have to set but very few plates at a dinner for 
those who have gotten rich actually from their sale of nursery 
stock. Don’t all speak at once! 
[Note —The name of the author of the above will be fur¬ 
nished to those applying for the dinner upon application.— 
Editor.] 
No. 18 
Replying to your favor of the 9th would say, that we have 
no particular method of detennining the exact cost of produc¬ 
tion of our stock, only in a general way. Of course, the cost 
of growing trees, etc., varies every year. We know the 
expense of running our business, what the stock which we 
plant cost us, and in a general way figure that we can grow 
certain trees of a certain grade one year with another at a 
certain price, but even the fact that we are sati.sfied we are 
selling sometimes goods less than they cost us is not much of a 
