Seed Trade in United States

Production of Vegetable and Flower

Seeds.—In contra distinction to farm seeds, vegetable and flower seeds are produced almost wholly by special growers or by farmers under contract with dealers or larger growers. The nature of such a seed-grow ing establishment may vary from that of the large general grower producing a variety of seeds limited only by the climatic condi tions to that of the highly specialized grower producing but one article, as cabbage seed.

In general, such seeds as peas, beans, sweet corn and vine seeds are grown under a contract system. In this the large wholesale grower makes contracts with farmers in suitable territory for the planting of a definite acreage with stock seed furnished by the wholesale grower. The grower retains the right to send his repre sentatives into the field at the proper time in order to "rogue" the field. This work is necessary to maintain a high standard of purity in the stock. The farmer delivers the crop at a fixed price.

Such seeds as onion, radish, lettuce, carrot, cabbage and sweet peas are generally produced by the professional seed grower on his own farms or on nearby farms under his direct supervision. Flower seeds other than sweet peas are produced by special growers ; in many cases these growers specialize on one crop, as double petunias or pansies, and devote great care to the produc tion of the best quality seed.

While there is scarcely a section of the United States in which some kind of vegetable or flower seed is not produced, the main producing region is California. All the lettuce, sweet pea seed, and most of the onion seed is produced in this state, as well as flower seeds in great variety. Pole and lima beans are also exclusively produced in California as well as carrot and much of the radish seed. Considerable quantities of radish, dwarf beans and vine seeds are produced in Michigan.

Garden peas are produced in the Northwest, while dwarf beans, sweet corn and vine seeds are grown in various parts from New England to the Rocky Mountains. The production of cabbage

seed is confined to Long Island and the Puget Sound region in Washington State.

Seed for the Canning Trade.

This is an important branch of business for a number of the large growers, the most important single item in this trade being peas. Here the purity of stocks is a first consideration, since faulty stocks may cause enormous damage. The volume of business is large, as one acre of seed peas will supply seed for only three acres of canning peas. For some other crops as tomatoes, small quantities of seed are needed and the canner either produces his own or has seed grown by specialists in this work.

Trial Grounds and Stocks.—An important feature of the business of every prominent vegetable and flower seed grower and dealer is the stock record and trial ground. The reputation of a grower and dealer is built on the purity of his stocks. Most dealers depend on the grower to attend to this feature and seeds of the standard varieties offered by a hundred or more dealers may all have been produced by one grower. In a few cases, how ever, dealers maintain extensive stock seed farms and all good dealers and growers maintain careful records of the history and quality of their stocks.

Trial grounds in which samples of a grower's or dealer's stocks are planted for observation and selection are maintained by some of the larger firms, and on a smaller scale by many growers of special lines. These trials are of value not only in checking the quality of the dealer's stocks but in determining the value of varieties offered by competitors. Since there is no final au thority in the matter of names some varieties may be offered un der more than one name and an alleged new variety may be only an old acquaintance under a new label. (A. J. Pi.)