The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-25
California Seeds Gaining
Preference Over the
European.
Home Planters That Send East
for Native Products Pay
Double.
'ritten for THE CALL
BY JAMES SPROULE,
Manager of the Sunset Seed and Plant Company,
San Francisco.

| MauageT Oh Lne SUNSET Secu Auu fldut COmpdhy
San Francisco.
| One of the most important OF the grow
ing industries of California is that which,
at the invitation of THE GALL, shall en-
deavor to describe with rs little technical
detail as may be. California people and
newspapers are apt to forget in writing and
TALKING of California industries that not
the least of these is the nurseryman's bust
ness, which comprehends the growing OF
| seeds, plants and flowers.
! Let me say at once that the past year has
shown a creditable improvement in this
| industry, and that the indications for the
| year of 1886 are bright. Now wish to say
something about how they might be
made still brighter. The way Is simple
Californians should learn the value of CAL
ifornia seeds, plants, flowers and the en-
tire nurseryman's produce.
When California people are willing to
buy their seeds from California nursery
men, instead of sending to the big Eastern
houses for the same article and paying
freight or postage both ways, the Califor-
mia nursery business will improve rapidly
and the California nurserymen will be-
come the most famous ones OF the world.
Already the Eastern people have learned
much and are still learning the superior
vitality, size and beauty OF plants, veget-
ables and flowers grown from the superior
seeds that are available only in California.
1t is positive fact that there are Cali
fornia seed-growers who sell flower seeds
by the ton to the great Eastern seedsmen.
h. h dtcca ntY1o ion n
gaudily illustrated catalogues-ando on the
principle, suppose, that prophet is not
without honor save in his own land-send
great quantities of these seeds back to Cali
fornia in innumerabls small quantities.
If these California purchasers were bet
ter acquainted with the products of their
own State they could get the same goods
at home cheaper and more seasonabiy.
This is true more especially OF flower seeds
than of vegetable seeds, because the former
are sold in smaller quantities, which are
more readily transmitted. Still almost
every nurseryman knows of many in
stances where considerable packages of veg
etable seeds have been planted in California
soil only after having twice travelled across
the continent. OF course the seeds do not
come back to the California soil as Cali
fornia seed, but merely as Jones' or Smiths
specialties. Nevertheless they are Califor-
MIA seeds.
With plants it is different. California
customers have been disappointed so often
in the arrival of plants that have twice
travelled over the Rocky Mountains that
they have about abandoned the practice
of purchasing California plants in Kansas
~ h; "a I,
at home.
The nurserymen of this State find the
Eastern dealers quite appreciative OF the
merits of California seeds. In the last few
years the class of seeds that previously
were grown for the Eastern dealers by the
farmers of the East and North have come
to be ,rown more and more extensively in
this State. Take as an example the item
of sweet peas, the seed-growing of which
had It's inception in this State by Timothy
Hopkins. No longer than two or three
years ago it was often the case that East
ern seedmen who came out here turned up
their noses when we showed them sweet
pea seed and calmly told US that they could
land that seed in mixture at New York
from Europe at the rate of pence, or
cents, a pound.
AS matter of fact we have this season
sold many tons OF this same Towering
sweet-pea seed in mixture to these very
same parties and others at double the
New York price for European seeds.
Why? Because the sweet-pea seeds of
California are vastly superior to those OF
Europe. In Europe the seeds are grown
in small patches by Individual cultivators,
who grow the same thing on the same land
year after year and from the same seed.
Herein is the secret of Americas strength
in all lines of produce, believe. Ameri-
cans strive ever for improvement. Cali
fornia is no exception. If we have choice
sweet-pea seeds one year we try to have a
choicer crop next year. AT any rate we do
not let the stock depreciate by continual
planting on the same land. This is true
of all seed-growing in California. The
growers see to it that each years stock is
specially selected and that the land used
is rested when tired. The result is that
we have crop of seed that the Eastern
houses are willing to pay US double prices
for, and it is of so much better grade, both
as to size and quality. as to fully warrant
the extra price. In fact it was European
4
California seed against the seed of the
world.
California is the country OF monsters
and monstrosities in the floral world. You
can go to the nurseries to-day and see
cosmos or a petunia, or marguerite
which is monster in size, and you can
find there mignonette that is truly
monstrous. California grows giants in
the floral world, and the real difficulty
is sometimes to hold her down when
necessary to preserve the finer qualities.
The monsters / have named are still
beautiful, but perhaps the mignonette in
particular would have been more appre-
ciable if less ambitious. However, the
point is that whether the amazing growth
be monster of beauty or only notable
for its size, we get seed from it that, in
whatever part of the world it is planted. it
talks big for California and produces a
beautiful plant or flower.
There have been couple of new plants
put on the market this year with which