Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-09
Government Seeds to Be Distributed
This Year by Charles Parker.
The SUCCESSFUL BID WAS $64, 300
Packing and Distributing Must Be
Performed in This City.
MANY TO BE EMPLOYED

The contract for distributing government
tary of Agriculture to Charles Parker of
Santa Clara, Cal. His bid, 1914 900 was low
er than the present contractor. A. C. Nellis
& Company's, figure last year, and the low
est reliable proposal submitted this year.
The unsuccessful bidders were ]. b. Rice
& Company of Cambridge, n. Y; the IN
lathorne Seed Company of Memphis, Tenn.
the Henry Phillips S. & l. Company of To-
ledo Ohio: H. w. Gardiner of Troy, n. Y;
\. c. Nellis & Company of this city, Brown
Bag Filling Machine Company of Fitchburg,
Mass; Sioux City Seed Company of Sioux
City, Iowa, and L. L. May of St. Paul
MINI. The bids ranged from $4,000 down
ward. The successful bid last year was
about $4,000.
The new contract requires the work of
packing and distributing to be done in this
city. All the varieties of seeds must be de-
livered here by December 1, so to permit
carly inspection and oversight. The dis
tribution will begin in January next and a
large force will be employed until May next.
The contractor will spend a large part of
his money for wage hire in the District,
The present contractor, who has done the
work here has demonstrated that il gives
better satisfaction to all concerned when
performed in this city under the immediate
view of the department. The distribution
for 1898 is almost over, having lasted since
January last.
Difficulty Obviated.
The only trouble has been caused by the
inability to get the seeds here in time. Sec
rotary Wilson obviated this for the future
by letting the new contract early this year
so that the contractor may observe the
seeds as they grow and have them all in
by December at the latest. Mr.. Parker is
one of the largest seed growers of the west,
and the Secretary expects he will furnish
an exceptionally fine grade of seeds.
The total packets to be put up this year
is IA l24 J6S OF these - UsS 600 are vege-
table seeds. There are eight separate as
sentiments of these seeds ard each contains
| five distinct varieties. The list of seeds
embraces the beet. cucumber, lettuce,
muskmelon, watermelon. onion, radish
bean pea and sweet corn. There will be
5000 packets of field and lawn grass seeds,
which comprise tobacco, cotton and grass
for lawns. CT flower seeds there will be
600 5tiS packets, and the various assert
ments will each contain five different seIec-
tons from this list: Alyssum balsan, as
ter, candytuft, Gamma, d!anthus, gallardia
farkspur, linum grandinorum, marigold,
mlgnonet;e, nasturtuin, pansy. petunia.
phlox drummondn portU,aca. stocks sweet
peas, sweet william and Z!nnia.
The Distribution
Under the present system of distribution
each congressman gets about 5000 packets
of the eight assortments of vegetable seeds,
about 400 of the flower, about 30 of the
lawn grass and smaller numbers of the
tobacco and corn. There is some varia ion
in the supply, as the Secretary endeayors
to send only to each state the seeds adapt
ed to its farms and climate, that some
congressman get more of one kind and per-
LIST
The appropriation by Congress for this
work amounts to 100000, and the differ
enee between it and the s64,9o0 to be paid
the contractor is expended in other ways.
The Secretary spends sum in the pur-
chase of rare special varieties of Seeds
both foreign and domestic, and the cost of
handling and distributing these is con-
siderable.