THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
215 
AMONG NEW YORK IMPORTERS 
Striking Features of the Import Business 
Special Correspondence of THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN by Messrs. M. C. Meikel and 
Edward L. Bernays 
McHUTCHISON & CO., IMPORTERS 
A Short Story of the Activities of a Hustling Firm 
McHutchison & Co., 17 Murray Street, New York, fill a 
particular need and position in the nursery business. They 
are import agents and forwarders and in this specialized age 
of commerce are the link that binds the older producing 
salers and jobbers, nurserymen and seed.smen through 
special price lists and trade lists issued by the foreign growers, 
giving prices for stock, out of the ground with packing 
charges extra. The orders arc then placed with McIIutchi- 
son & Co., for future delivery, usually a year ahead of time, 
at an open j^rice to be detennined later or at a given price. 
A consignment of Madagascar Raffia in McHutchison & Company’s Warehouse. 
countries of Europe to the American wholesaler and jobber. 
McHutchison & Co. are the sole import agents of six large 
European finns, of France, Holland and Germany. Their 
diversity of interest is shown by the variety of the material 
they import. So we sec azaleas, palms and bays from 
Arthur De Meyer in Ghent, Belgium; lily-of-the-valley pips 
from Bitterhoff Sons, Berlin, Gemiany; deciduous trees 
and evergreens from the Union Nurseries in Oudcnbosch, 
Holland; French fruit and ornamentals from Lebreton of 
Angers, France; roses, boxwood and conifers from Schaum 
& Van Tol in Boskoop, Holland; herbaceous plants from 
the Tottenham Nurseries in Dedemsvaart in Holland besides 
Japanese and English material from producers in these 
countries. 
Business is done on a wholesale basis exclusively. The 
different sorts of stock are offered to the American whole- 
at the discretion of the buyer. These orders are then sent 
to the foreign growers, specified by the' buyer, and this 
grower renders his original invoice to the buyer, through his 
American sole agent, who also attends to all the custom 
house arrangements and the forwarding, if the goods are not 
shipped through in bond. 
The credits of the business are on the long term basis. 
With the orders placed in the December preceding the 
delivery the following December, and final i)aymcnt of all 
charges to the grower in the June following, it is indicated 
upon what sound business management the fimi of Me 
Hutchison has been built up, and this is even more sur¬ 
prising when we note the large amount of commissions 
involved in the filling of large orders, yet the finn has never 
had to cancel a single order. 
At present the firm is specializing in car lots to whole- 
