The field men organization.
Organization of the nursery forces should be effected at the very inception of the business, and a correct system of daily and weekly reports in stalled, so that the cost of any given class of trees and plants may be arrived at by the management at any time. The highest standard of grade, thrift and health, produced at the least possible cost, should always be. aimed at ; this can be accom plished only by a close check on labor employed at all times.
Superintendent of in authority and reporting directly to the general manager should be the superintendent, who necessarily must have a practical knowledge of all the details con nected with the growing department of a commer cial nursery. He should be selected for his wide experience in the business, together with his ability to manage men and direct the forces in the field.
Division foremen. — U nder the superintendent are the field foremen, whose business is to take charge of and direct the men from day to day in the field work. In any well-regulated commercial nursery, there should be at least three foremen who are responsible for the amount and kind of work done in their departments. First would be the foreman in charge of the cultivating depart meat, which should include, in addition to plowing and cultivating, the care of horses, tools, and the like. Next would come the foreman of grafting, budding and the general work of growing and digging. In addition to these two, there should be a foreman in charge of spraying, which work is now acknowledged to be very important to the thrift and health of the trees and plants, as well as necessary in keeping the stock free from all insect pests and diseases. This, at the present time, is one of the most important points in con nection with the nursery business, as it is impos sible to ship nursery stock from one point to another unless it is free from pests and diseases.
Daily report from field foremen to superintend ent.— The system established should include daily reports from each of the field foremen to the superintendent, showing in detail the amount and kind of work each man performed during the day.
The daily reports should be arranged to accommo date the various kinds of work in which one man may be engaged during the day, although it might be changed every hour. These reports will be a guide to the foremen as to the value of individual men and help to form the basis for arriving at the cost of stock in any given block, enabling the man agement to fix the price at which a tree can be sold and a profit made.
Superintendent's weekly report.—The foremen's daily reports should form and be made a part of the superintendent's weekly reports to the general manager, which should include a general review of the work done in the different departments and the nurseries generally, with recommendations for changes or new equipment required.
General managers' monthly report.—If a corpo ration, the general manager may use the superin tendent's weekly reports, together with the fore men's daily reports, in a monthly report to the officers and directors of the company.
Office After planting the seedling stock the first year, the erection of suitable office buildings must be considered. These should be large and roomy, with a view to increased business from year to year, great care being given to proper lighting, heating and ventilation.
Sales department.—In the organization of the office force, the sales department must be given first consideration, for on the management of this department will depend largely the success or failure of the entire structure. Whether the stock is to be sold by wholesale, retail, or by both methods, great care should be exercised in laying a founda tion on which to build a sales structure to accom modate daily balances between stocks and sales, and weekly reports from the salesmen, together with the weekly and monthly reports to the general manager. The retailing of nursery stock through the medium of traveling salesmen being the most generally in favor with nurserymen, these remarks will apply more particularly to that system, al though the same principle will apply to any other system of selling.