■‘‘vpplement  to 
224  JOC/RXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  Mmch  13.  1902.' 
w  here  they  are,  and  leave  business  severely  alone.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  man  or  fair  business  acumen,  willing  to  work  and  wait, 
may  by  patience  and  energy  make  for  himself  a  good  living,  not 
from  seeds  alone,  but  by"  introducing  other  cognate  subjects 
with  them. 
In  stalling  a  seed  business  it  will  be  necessary  to  look  out  for 
a  suitable  position,  where  not  only  is  there  likely  to  be  a  local 
demand,  but  where,  if  possible,  country  carts  are  passing. 
People  who  bring  their  own  produce  to  market  towns  are  among 
the  best  cu.stomers  of  any  local  seedsman,  and  when  once  they 
get  into  the  habit  of  dealing  with  him  are  not  likely  to  go  else¬ 
where  so  long  as  the  goods  he  sells  are  .satisfactory.  Having 
secured  such  a  position,  the  que.stion  arises.  What  will  be  best 
to  introduce  in  connection  with  the  seeds?  The  gardener’s  first 
thought  may  perhaps  turn  to  plants  and  flowers,  or  possibly  fruit 
and  vegetables.  He  will  do  well  to  remember  that  all  these  are 
very  perishable  commodities,  and,  although  showing  a  good 
margin  of  profit  when  the  demand  is  brisk,  must  be  a  dead  lo.ss 
if  h'ft  on  hand.  A  more  suitable  adjunct  to  seeds  will  be  Com  and 
other  requisites  for  poultry  and  horses,  that  these  same  country 
put  that  value  in  it.  Don’t  buy  them  full,  for  they  show  less 
profit  than  seeds  purchased  in  bulk,  and,  to  put  it  mildly,  the 
(juality  is  not  always  the  best.  Select  a  good  wholesale  or  trade 
firm,  and  purchase  your  seeds  first  hand.  Place  your  orders  early, 
or  pos.sibly  some  of  the  most  popular  sorts  will  be  sold  out,  and 
you  may  have  a  difficulty  in  obtaining  them.  Respecting 
sundries,  such  as  manures  and  various  proprieta^  articles,  buy 
only  sufficient  for  present  needs,  as  goods  that  lie  about  in  the 
shop  soon  look  dirty  and  soiled,  though  the  contents  perhaps 
of  the  tins,  boxes,  or  what  not,  may  be  perfectlj^  good. 
Regarding  bulbs,  these  have  been  the  stumblingblock  to 
many  young  seedsmen.  The  traveller  from  the  Continental  firm 
calls  with  ills  prices,  which,  compared  to  those  charged  for  the 
goods  retail,  seem  very  low  indeed.  They  are  the  vei'y  thing 
jmu  have  been  thinking  about,  too.  He  may  show  vou  some  fine 
window  tickets,  as  “  Bulbs  imported  direct  from  Holland,”  or 
some  such  legend,  and  you  are  asked  to  accept  some  for  your 
shop.  But  this  is  only  one  part  of  the  story.  The  wily  Dutchman 
will  be  in  good  time,  and  obtain  all  the  orders  he  can  at  a 
remunerative  price.  When  he  has  done  this  he  dumps  down  all 
My  Lady’s  Garden — Broughton  Castle.  (See  note  on  page  24i.) 
customers  often  require  in  quantity.  These  do  not  spoil  by 
keeping  and  are  always  in  request,  and  though  on  the  face  of  it 
the  profits  may  appear  less,  yet  by  judicious  buying  when  markets 
are  low,  and  a  progressive  or  pushing  trade,  they  may  have  more 
in  them  than  at  first  appears. 
Then,  in  the  neighbourhood  chosen,  there  will,  in  all  pro¬ 
bability.  be  a  small  coterie  of  “fanciers”  of  some  kind — as 
fanciers  of  poulti’y,  pigeons,  or  cage  birds,  dogs,  or  .some  other 
animals.  Find  out  what  is  in  demand  for  these,  and  what  is  most 
difficult  for  these  fanciers  to  obtain ;  stock  this,  and  sell  it  at  a 
fair  profit,  and  the  co-oiieration  of  “  the  fancy  ”  is  yours  for  the 
a'-king.  .V  seed  business  in  a  small  way  can  never  be  sufficient, 
a.s  there  are  times  when  literally  nothing  is  sold,  and  this  is  my 
reason  for  calling  attention  to  these  outside  matters. 
W  ith  regard  to  the  seeds  themselves,  it  will  hardly  be  neces¬ 
sary  to  mention  that  only  those  of  first-rate  quality  should  be 
bought.  You  can  buy  penny  packets  of  rubbish  from  the  nearest 
chemist,  the  ironmonger,  or  the  grocer,  and  the  assistants  at 
these  places  will  soon  pick  out  “the  best  sorts”  for  you!  But 
the  real  patron  of  the  seedsman  will  have  none  of  them.  To  use 
a  slang  phrase,  “  He  has  been  there,  so  ought  to  know.”  By 
all  means  have  the  pictorial  packets;  but  have  them  empty  from 
the  wholesale  merchants,  and  if  a  customer  wants  a  penny  packet 
his  surplus  stock  in  some  of  the  principal  towns  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  and  they  are  sold  by  auction  at  prices  far  below  those 
he  obtained  from  the  Trade.  Now,  were  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  an  intimate  friend  of  mine,  I  should  suggest  in  a 
friendly  way  that  here  is  an  exceptionally  fitting  foreign  product 
for  a  big  duty.  Bulbs  are  not  absolutely  necessary,  any  more 
than  whisky  or  tobacco  is.  Many  of  them  can  be  produced  at 
home  by  our  own  growers,  and  this  would  furnish  splendid  work 
for  British  labourers.  If  the  duty  did  no  other  good,  it  would 
at  least  prevent  the  Dutchmen  from  sending  over  stuff  that  only 
just  pays  for  freight  and  other  expenses,  and  he  would  have  to 
conduct  his  business  differently. 
One  word  as  to  customers.  There  are  often  people  who  have  a 
fancy  for  some  special  variety.  In  your  own  mind  you  know  well 
enough  that  there  are  better  varieties,  and  perhaps  more  pro¬ 
ductive  sorts :  but  beyond  a  slight  mention  of  these  it  is  not 
always  wise  to  go.  xtgain,  in  some  localities  a  certain  variety 
of  Potato,  Pea,  or  other  vegetable  may  be  thought  of  highly. 
If  you  know  a  better  one  in  its  season,  stock  it,  and  endeavour 
to  get  your  customers  to  try  it  alongside  their  favourites;  but 
stock  their  favourite  kinds  too,  for,  where  some  will  be 
persuaded,  others  will  not,  and  in  business  one  has  many  masters. 
— H.  R.  Richards,  Bristol. 
