8 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
efforts of the National Association and its publicity bu¬ 
reau there was a belief that the demand w as growing for 
ornamental nursery stock which will greatly stimulate 
sales. 
On the other hand, an idea seemed to prevail thru the 
association that there was something radically wrong 
with the rose business, that the rose market was not 
open to the ordinary competition that is found in other 
lines. This undercurrent of belief that the rose growers 
are artificially controlling the market will result in the 
stopping of sales on H. P. s and standard roses during the 
coming year hy the nurserymen of the Northwest until 
such time at least as they are satisfied that the rose mar¬ 
ket is open to normal and healthy competition. 
Mr. M. R. Cashman, who has been president of the 
association since its inception, insisted upon being re¬ 
tired and the following officers were elected for the new 
year: 
President—E. C. Hilborn, Valley City, N. D. 
Vice President—L. J. Tucker, Madison, Wis. 
Sec’y-Treas.—Robert Wedge, AAlbert Lea, Minn. 
Sincerely, 
E. C. Hilborn, 
Acting Secretary N. N. It. A. 
THE TRADE PRICE QUESTION 
Napoleon, Ohio, November 27, 1920. 
The National Nurseryman, 
Flourtown, Pa., 
Gentlemen: 
This summer a manufacturing concern requested me 
to prepare a plan for the beautifying of their factory 
grounds. Which I did and supposed I was to do the 
work, but when I called to sign a contract I saw 7 two 
wholesale catalogues in the office and was informed they 
had purchased their stock. One of these firms is in 
Ohio, the other in Pennsylvania and both good sized firms. 
It seems to me that this is pretty small business on the 
part of both nurseries as I can not see where any one is 
entitled to wholesale prices unless he is in a nursery 
stock selling business. 
This summer the president of this same concern re¬ 
quested me to figure on his home grounds and when it 
came to what we would plant he produced a wholesale 
catalogue and wanted me to do his work and give him 
the wholesale price for the ornamentals. 
In this particular city I have worked up quite an in¬ 
terest in landscape work, in fact due to my efforts there 
is twice as much nursery stock sold there as has been 
sold at any time before I began to work in that place, 
many people of limited means whom I do not deal with 
purchasing their stock direct from the nurseries because 
they see the results on the better grade homes and want 
to beautify also. A well landscaped home is an adver¬ 
tisement for all nurseries as it will cause a certain num¬ 
ber of people to purchase a few plants at least and all 
nurseries should be big enough and honest enough to 
give the landscape architect credit for the good lie does 
his line of business and not offer plants to any one at 
wholesale prices. It does a lot of harm as the party who 
gets the benefit will advise his friends that he can pur¬ 
chase stock much less than it can be had through a land¬ 
scape architect. 
I wish you would publish this letter and advise me 
whether it is permissable for members of the nursery¬ 
men’s association to sell stock at wholesale prices to any 
one who will purchase over fifty dollars worth. I do 
not think it is fair to mail a wholesale catalogue to any 
one not in the business. 
Yours truly, 
W. A. Ritter. 
Napoleon, Ohio, December 6, 1920. 
The National Nurseryman, 
Flourtown, Pa., 
Gentlemen: 
Since writing my letter of the 27th ultimo 1 went to a 
small city to see a park board that I had prepared a park 
plan for. They wanted me to handle the stock and do 
the planting. I made them a price and was told I was 
$300 too high as they could buy the stock for that much 
less than I agreed to furnish it, I said they could not 
whereupon they produced a wholesale catalogue. 
Two of the members of this board want some work 
done on their homes and I will not be able to do it for 
them because they will figure they can buy wholesale as 
did the factory president. 
This kind of business has cost me over fifteen hundred 
dollars this fall and has not made the nursery one cent. 
I would have done all of these jobs and would have 
bought the same stock. 
This surely is a case of the nurseries working against 
their own interests, because it is the landscape architect 
that is showing what can be done with ornamental nur¬ 
sery stock, and the nurseryman should appreciate that 
fact and make certain they are not underselling him. 
Yours truly, 
W. A. Ritter. 
COSTS 
The Nurseryman who is in business in a small way 
cannot install elaborate cost systems. It is very often as 
much as he can do to keep his accounts straight. His 
bookkeeping to say the most, is very primary. The bus¬ 
iness has grown up under his care and he knows his 
own affairs from A to Z, or thinks he does. 
In spite of his personal attention to all details of his 
business at the end of the year he wonders why he is not 
in better shape financially. He got good prices for the 
stock he sold, he charged more for the labor he supplied 
to his customers, he worked hard himself and he was 
very busy during the planting seasons, figuring how he 
will stand at the end of the year he finds his profits are 
not up to expectations and his business has not made the 
progress commensurate with the turnover. 
The cause of course is in the leaky overhead. A cer¬ 
tain part of the overhead can be tagged and kept track of, 
taxes, water, advertising, purchase of those items for 
use in the business for which there is no return. 
These are self evident but there are a host of others 
that are not so noticeable yet which leak away the profits 
and capital too if allowed to run freely. 
In the nursery business labor is the biggest item, and 
it has to be paid in cash. There is often a leak in con¬ 
nection with it that is not always apparent. 
We will suppose a contract is made to do a certain 
