The sales manager.— The sales manager is the man on whom rests the responsibility of disposing of the products of the nursery farm. He should have a general and practical knowledge of the nursery business and be able to organize, manage and direct a selling force, which work, in itself, requires unusual skill, perseverance and tact. He should also have a personality that will gain the confidence of the salesmen working under him, and have sufficient aggressiveness to inspire the men to put forth their best energies in the advancement of the mutual interests of the nursery and of them selves. The sales manager must also be able to install an accurate system of accounting or aggre gating of stock sold and balance in surplus to be disposed of.
The aim of the successful sales manager must always be to dispose of those kinds and varieties of trees, shrubs and plants that are grown in the nursery farm, and to avoid as much as possible the sale of varieties that are not produced in his own nursery ; this can best be accomplished by keeping an accurate record of sales made from week to week. This, when checked against stock grown, will show remainder yet to be disposed of. The salesmen's weekly reports, together with a general review of the work accomplished during the week, may form the basis of the sales manager's report to the general manager, which report should in clude condensed comparisons with corresponding periods in previous years, together with general information affecting the business.
Accounting, delivering and collecting departments. —In addition to the sales department, the office force should be organized into accounting, deliv ering and collecting departments, each of which will report periodically as desired by the general manager.
The stock-buildings and organization.
It is important and necessary, in establishing a commercial nursery, that suitable buildings be erected to store the stock during the operation of packing, and as a protection from the elements be tween the time when the trees and plants are taken up and the time they are sent out to customers. These buildings should be arranged for receiving, storing, packing and shipping, and should be grouped conveniently so that the stock will pass from the receiving floor to the storage, billing and shipping departments with the least expense in handling. Special attention must be given the storage cellar to insure a low and uniform temper ature as a protection to the stock from extremes of heat and cold, it being important that stock be held in a perfectly dormant condition for late spring shipments.
Superintendent of packing department. — The superintendent of this department fills a very im portant part in the work of the nursery, and must be a man of experience and ability, quick to decide and accurate in his judgment of men and of nursery stock.
Packing-house foremen.—Under the superintend ent and reporting to him there should be foremen over the different divisions of the packing houses, whose business it is to direct the men and keep an accurate account of the kind and amount of work performed by each during the day. Verbal reports from the foremen to the superintendent daily dur ing the busy season, will greatly facilitate the work.