Cbe Mional inur»2r$)inan. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., Incorporated 
Vol. XXXII HATBORO, PENNA., JANUARY 1924 No. 1 
COST FINDING—WHY NOT? 
The writer has read witli a great deal of interest the 
article published in the November National Nurseryman 
signed J. W. and entitled '‘Cost Finding.” He, however, 
cannot hut take exception to the two propositions offered 
in his article: 
1. That finding costs for growing nursery stock will 
benefit nobody. 
2. That such costs can’t be found. 
These same propositions have been olfered to cost 
accouidants by the managers of nearly every type of 
enterprise when it was proposed to install systems for 
cost finding, and one after another such systems have 
been installed with success. Each trader, no matter 
what is his line, puts forth the argument that his busi¬ 
ness is exceptional and it would be impossible or too ex¬ 
pensive to keep his costs. These “impossibilities” have 
each been surmounted one after another. 
Of course, most of these systems have been installed 
in manufacturing enterprises and it is difficult for the 
layman to picture the conditions of a manufacturing 
enter})rise as applicable to a nursery. But why not? 
Isn’t a nursery fundamentally a factory producing rose¬ 
bushes and peach trees—or whatever it is the public is 
willing to pay their cash for? About the only difference 
is perhaps, in the length of the process and the risk of 
crop failures. 
The latter difference seems to be the basic argumeid 
J. W. puts forth for his lirst proposition. Half way 
methods of cost linding may benefit no one, but suppose 
a nurseryman knew how much each block in his nursery 
had cost him up to the time he was ready to sell it—which 
might be any time before the stock had matured. If he 
had kept cost and production records for a period of 
years he would be very much more able to estimate the 
additional cost of bringing the stock from the time of 
sale to maturity and delivery. 
Planning future production is the biggest problem of 
nurserymen in this case and with also a record of past 
production and past cost, cost finding should benefit 
almost any nurseryman. He must of course consider 
the possibility of such things as droughts, hail, etc. 
What nurseryman does not take the depreciation of 
his buildings and equipment as part of his costs? These 
are based on an estimation of the life of these assets, (or, 
perhaps, as much of a deduction as the income tax unit 
will allow). With crop production records to base his 
judgement upon why could not the nurseryman set up 
the same sort of reserve for crop failures and add this 
charge to his costs. 
Oidy manufacturers of a patented novelty and with no 
competition, can expect his costs to control his selling 
price and even then he is confronted with the possibility 
of competition from an imitatoi' and a change in his 
market. Why say then that the nurseryman is unique in 
his knowledge that costs do not control selling price. 
How about the tanners, tiu' woolen mills, the independent 
steel mills and countless others that also know this fact 
but keep right on keeping costs? Gan we suppose for a 
minute tliat they would continue this expense without 
benefit? It may not govern their selling price, but it 
certainly guides them in planning their production so 
that they can confine themselves to the lines that, on the 
average, show the greatest margins betw^een costs and 
market prices. No one can expect to regulate their own 
selling prices based on their costs in this day of competi¬ 
tion, but they can always let their competitors market 
the items of their line on which they know' they are not 
showing sufficient profit and confine themselves to the 
more remunerative products. 
J. W.’s second proposition presents more of a problem 
to the nurserymen than his first. We may surmise that 
the greatest reason for such a proposition is that very 
little definite and organized effort has been put forth by 
the nurserymen to obtain their costs. Cost keeping is a 
philosophy very different than that of the average nur¬ 
seryman, because his interests and efforts have all been 
directed toward growing and marketing nursery stock. 
Much more difficult propositions have been put up to 
Cost Accountants than that of the nurserymen, and have 
been satisfactorily and practically solved. True enough, 
the nurserymen cannot afford to burden themselves with 
cumbersome cost systems unless they can obtain data of 
value to their operations. But. with some organized 
effort along this line and w ith the oid of some good cost 
accountants it would soon develop whether ‘‘Such Costs 
Can’t Be Found” or whether they can be compiled in a 
practical and inexpensive manner and give to the nur¬ 
serymen sound data upon w hich to base their production 
and trading. Let us see if good cost accountants cannot 
do for the American Association of Nurserymen wdiat 
they have done for the National Association of Paper Box 
Manufacturers, for the United Typothalae (the associa¬ 
tion of job printers) and for many others. Our jiroblem 
was theirs except for the cost of croj) failures and the 
overage cost of such failures can be pretty accurately 
estimated after a few' years records were kept. 
G. S. P. 
