THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
207 
In emergencies plants can stay out of the soil under 
protection for several days and transplant alright. 
The baskets will last a long time, apparently, as these 
have been in use for two years and still good. 
Digging very simple, very much easier than digging 
stock for hailing and hurlapping. Ordinary spading 
forks will usually lift out a plant quickly. 
All varieties of plants may he used, deciduous and 
coniferous, perennial and woody plants have all been suc¬ 
cessfully handled. 
Burlapping these baskets is not necessary if they are 
liandled locally. Exposure of a few hours to the sun has 
had practically no detrimental effect. Usual planting- 
prudence will give satisaction. 
The actual expense of planting will hardly exceed four 
or five cents, containers not included and the filled space 
need not he more than given under ordinary outdoor 
growing conditions. 
The item in which you are now most interested is in 
the cost of the basket. These last ones cost us about 
eighteen cents. We have done a lot of experimenting, 
changing shape, material, etc., and this no doubt has 
added to the overhead and actual expenses of the manu- 
acturer which has been taken up in his charge to us. 
These were made in ten thousand lots but if the use of 
baskets increases to the extent where quantity produc¬ 
tions may be had the price will drop materially. I judge 
that in hundred thousand lots the baskets could be profit¬ 
ably made at 10c, which is less than price of clay pots 
in medium sizes. Like pots, with the baskets you too 
have some opportunity of saving a fair percent for use 
over again. At any rate the idea is sound, it is successful 
and with sufficient interest and usage this summer plant¬ 
ing by the retail nurseryman may soon he really made 
worth while. 
Time does not permit my telling you of all the experi¬ 
ences of the past few years, hut I hope I have inter¬ 
ested some of you in this idea. We have not launched 
heavily into this newer practice hut have made a very 
profitable side line of it. We have made profitable sales 
on stock handled in this way. Our assortments have 
not been quite complete enough to do a great deal of 
landscape work but now that we are out of the experi¬ 
mental stage we will he in position to make this even 
more extensive. I have no misgivings but that this sum¬ 
mer planting may he profitably practiced in a number 
of local nurseries in the country. 
In closing I would say this to the skeptical—“Be icono¬ 
clasts,” break the idols that you and your forebears have 
so long worshipped, not exactly in vain hut follow the 
])ro gress of the time which I hope may lead you to even 
greater iirosperity. Summer planting may not he a 
panacea for all the nursery troubles and ills hut per¬ 
haps it may he a “manna” falling in the great financial 
wilderness that exists with the nursery business from 
May to October. 
BLMOVES BAN ON GUT FLOWEBS FROM CANADA 
Lifting of the Federal ban on bringing in cut flowers 
from Canada is announced by the Federal Horticultural 
Board, United States Department of Agriculture, effective 
July 1. This action is in line with the board’s policy of 
avoiding unnecessary restrictions on international trade 
in its enforcement of the Federal quarantines. Cut flow¬ 
ers may now he brought in from Canada free of any re¬ 
strictions whatever when free from sand, soil, or earth. 
Experience during the last few years, it is said, indi¬ 
cates that the importations of cut flowers from Canada 
are rather limited and no risk of the introduction of in¬ 
jurious insect pests or dangerous plant diseases with 
them has been detected. 
ANNUAL CONVENTION OF AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 
OF NURSERYMEN 
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Atlantic City, June 25-27, 1924 
Address, “Cost Finding,” By C. Stuart Perkins 
Gentlemen: 
When I was asked to speak to you at this convention 
I had some of the feelings of a religious convert with a 
testimonial. Having been in the nursery trade myself, 
I could not help feeling as though I were telling on my¬ 
self. Like the Scotchman— 
Scotch Story 
I feel very sure, that all of you here, today, are in 
business for profit, or at least for the hope of such. I am 
going to try, then, to show you how you MAY be able to 
increase your profits. 
There are only a few fundamental rules of profit mak¬ 
ing. The first is—charge a little bit more for your pro¬ 
duct than it ACTUx4LLY costs you. This is a very sure 
way of making a profit. 
There is a catch to this, though. In order that this 
rule may function you MUST KNOW THE FACTS 
ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. One way of losing that 
profit is to guess at the facts; guess at the market con¬ 
ditions ; or guess at your costs. 
Suppose we make an analysis to see just how much 
jmu know about your business. 
1. Can you tell just what your AVERAGE production 
per acre is for Baby Ramblers, Ampelopsis, etc.? 
2. Do you know whether you are getting the proper 
return from that nine acres up back of the big barn? 
3. How many items of your list could you get on con¬ 
tract to better advantage than to grow them? 
4. Which items of your list are being carried through 
on the profits of the others? 
5. Are your salesmen’s expenses, commissions and sal¬ 
aries bringing in the returns this investment should? 
6. If you are a catalogue retailer, are you getting the 
proper return from your catalogue and from your other 
advertising? 
I could go on questioning at great length, but what is 
more important is the answer. IF NOT WHY NOT? 
BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW THE FACTS OR IF 
YOU DO KNOW THEM YOU WON’T FACE THExM. 
We had the pleasure of discussion of this subject last 
week with the American Seed Trade Association at Chi¬ 
cago. In their discussion of “Profit Making,” one of 
their members mentioned a government rei)ort showing 
the yield of lettuce seed in Michigan as 600 pounds per 
acre. Of course, they wei'e all amused. One member 
said it should be 400. A member from Detroit was con¬ 
sulted and his records showed 200. Who was right? 
Who had the facts? 
