34 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
shade I did the previous year. Unless a person has 
plenty of time to spare or has a person he can put in 
charge who understands this method of propagation, it 
will be much cheaper to buy his plants from some grow¬ 
er he knows will sup])ly the kind of plant he desires. 
GOST FINDING 
The National Nurseryman. 
Easton, Maryland. 
Gentlemen: 
The discussion in your columns relative to Cost Find¬ 
ing in the nursery business has been quite illuminating. 
In view of what has been written on the subject and 
what every nurseryman can determine from his own ex¬ 
perience the writer believes the situation may be summed 
up as follows: 
(1) The cost of each crop of plants of any given 
variety may be determined, and the cost of each size or 
grade of plant of that crop may be apportioned or ap¬ 
proximated. 
(2) The cost of any future crop may only be esti¬ 
mated from past crops, and the cost of each size or grade 
of plant of that crop will vary from the general average 
of the past according to the variations in growth and 
crop stands, as well as the variations in cost of produc¬ 
tion. 
It occurs to the writer that the chief beneficiaries of 
an established system of cost finding will be the nurser¬ 
ies who grow large blocks of each kind or variety of 
stock. The various items that enter into the cost of pro¬ 
duction, such as fertilizers, labor, stocks, etc. can be 
noted down more readily and a fairer average of cost 
can be obtained. On the other hand any knowledge 
which can be learned relative to the average costs of 
raising different lines of stock cannot but help the nur¬ 
sery trade as a whole. If some nurseries are growing 
certain lines at a loss year after year they are the ones 
who will be benefited. 
As a practical suggestion some cost figures might be 
obtained on certain representative varieties. Costs could 
be obtained from five or six representative nurseries 
located in different sections, said nurseries being desig¬ 
nated A, B, etc. Cost figures may theji be collected and 
tabulated as to cost of land, cost of stock, expense of 
planting, cultivating, budding and grafting, if any, dig¬ 
ging, selling, and overhead. 
It might be quite interesting and instructive to see 
some of these figures worked out. As suggested by C. 
S. P. some nurseries might find that they could buy some 
items cheaper than they have been raising Ih'un, and 
on other items the reverse might be true. 
In all this cost investigation, however, it must be kept 
in mind that the results are never final. In manufactur¬ 
ing concerns the cost of producing a certain piece of ma¬ 
chinery under certain conditions will be found fairly 
constant and the firm is warranted in spending quite a 
little time and money in determining costs. In the case 
of the nurseryman, however, the costs of two different 
crops may be found to differ widely. A very dry grow¬ 
ing season will operate to reduce the stand and the stock 
will not “make up” in the desired sizes. 
The writer would be interested in seeing some actual 
cost figures evolved by some of our members, giving the 
proportions of cost allotted to land, labor, etc. 
Yours very truly 
Ralph I. Coryell^ 
BirmingJmm, Mich. 
Thomas McBeth, Springfield, Ohio, writes us a very 
interesting letter, in which he gives his opinion in rela- 
ton to Cost Finding, which is being discussed in the 
National Nurseryman. He says in part. In general I 
agree with J. W., in the November issue. “Costs can not 
be found if considered from an annual operation, but a 
general average over ten years would give data from 
which pretty accurate estimates could be made.” 
Mr. McBeth hardly thinks Cost Finding, as an annual 
affair, such as is practiced in factories, is what 
the nurseryman needs, but rather to find what crops he 
can grow profitably and then stick to them, growing first 
class stock, true to name. 
The fad of efficiency, spelled with a capital E, is a 
big humbug foisted on an unsuspicious public, and the 
nearer the nurseryman can stick to the simple methods, 
the more likely he is to make money. Mr. McBeth says 
that J. W. is right w^hen he says nurserymen do not sell 
peach trees, they sell peaches; if the tree was all he was 
buying there would be very little demand. 
As to cost of production wbat difference does it make 
to a man who finds himself in possession of a block of 
stock, what he is interested in is what he is going to get 
for them. He can’t tell in advance what the cost is go¬ 
ing to be only by estimating. His opinion is that the price 
of nursery stock is regulated by the immutable law of 
supply and demand. Take for instance the hog market, 
The Ohio farmers this fall are selling hogs for 6 cents 
that cost them 9 cents. Now all the cost accounting in 
the world will not add one iota to the price but rather 
enhances the costs, all he has to do is to take what he 
can get and the sooner the better, but that is no reason 
why he should not grow hogs another year. 
His opinion is that the nurseryman that will grow 
what the market demands, grow it right, deal justly and 
not more than he can properly handle will be the man 
that will make the money and enjoy life while doing it. 
The New York Agricultural Experiment Station makes 
definite recommendations between low headed and high 
headed fruit trees. The tests show that low heads are 
best for all varieties of pears, especially the too upright 
growing types. 
The Valdesian Nurseries report business very good; 
they have just completed a 100-foot greenhouse, in which 
they are propagating conifers. 
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Pitkin, Newark, New York, are 
in California for the winter. They went out via the Pan¬ 
ama Canal. Every morning is a fine Spring morning 
these days with Jim. 
