The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-30
FORTUNES FROM SEEDS

FORTUNES FROM SEEDS REVELATIONS OF A GREAT LON- DON STORE HOUSE.
 buainess of Far Bigger Proportions Than Generaly Supposed-Collec- tions Made From All Over the world.
 Far larger sums change hands in season over simple seeds than the outside public. however devoted it may be to the art of gardening. has any idea of." said a London ware house man to Carnochan Douglass, as report ed in Chambers's Journal.
 Take the innocent sweet pea, for instance. Who would believe that of the better varieties an average whole sale price for its seeds may be esti- mated at from f100 to f300 ton, and that anywhere from f50.000 to 100000 would represent the output, wholesale. in one season alone? A specially choice novelty would command at least f5 an ounce retail, which would total out of f179.200 a ton. if such quan- tity were ever required. This is truly an astonishing figure-and ample for tune for many a man.
 As compared to these, we find the cost of the cheaper varieties of seeds |-say. the common convolvulus- would probably amount to only f56 a ton wholesale.
 Even so. the vegetable and agri- cultural seeds vary in representative money value; cauliflower, onion, eel cry. parsnip. mangold, swede. turnip. clover and grass seeds all differ in price according to their quality and novelty
 'It is obvious that the enormous quantities of seed required are not grown within the British Isles: they are gathered from every corner of the world, and the Intermediary be- tween the grower and the retailer or market gardner is the wholesale seed merchant.
 These heads of these wholesale housese are not known to the general public. Advertising in any form is as strictly avoided as it Is by the mem- bers of the Royal College of Surgeons; the retail house only may advertise to their hearts content.
 'The bulk of the seed imported Is temporarily stored in large ware guarded and inaccessible to the out slider.
 The flower seed department alone of one of these large Repositories oc- cupies a whole building, consisting of a basement and four floors. The ground floor is entered through mas- sive double iron fireproof doors which effectively protect 1t frome fire and thieves
 "In the centre of this floor are large bins filled with seeds. mainly sweet peas, while around the sides run long fixed counters. where men are busily employed. one of each couple weighing out the quantity ordered, while the other puts it into seed 'pock- ets,' or brown paper bags. according to the size required.
 Behind these workers the walls are lined with innumerable drawers filled with loose seed. These contain every known variety of flower seed. carefully labelled each with its Latin name Some of these drawers when filled with choice kinds of seeds. such as primulas and cinerarias represent an enormous money value. One pound of such seeds would cost from ft30 to f20O wholesale, or a choice of petunia csc, for example. would range at about f10 los for single ounce.
 "On the next floor. in place of the drawers of seed, part of the walls are filled with pigeonholes, into which the packets of different varieties of seeds are put. At the counters in front of the pigeonholes men and wo- men are engaged rapidly filling and making up the packets, which are placed in the holes ready for dispatch at moments notice.
 "The centre of the floor of the third story Is piled high with stacks to re- plenish the drawers and bins on the lower floors. Here are bales and bales of masturtium seed from Great Britain and the Continent; tons and tons of sweet pea seeds from California;; also tons of mignonette seed harvested on the banks of the Loire. the native land of Margaret of Anjou, Queen of our Henry VI, or grown on the fields near the Bodethal, in the neighborhood of the fairy haunted Brocken. while the rest was harvested in Essex. In addi- tion to all these there are innumera- ble bags of marigold and echscholtzia seed. "r~. .~ :<":-~- .~..
 "On the shelves that Hanks the sides of this granary are placed smaller sized bags containing costlier varieties of different seeds-one with 16 1-2 pounds of a choice variety of pansy, representing a money value (wholesale) of S4 pounds. Asters there are in end- less variety. for of these seeds some growers order as many as twenty pounds to be used for cut flowers alone.
 "A large portion of the top floor Is covered with bags of seeds piled high to the ceiling, which are likewise used to replenish the stock on the lower floors. The more interesting portion of this story, however, is that part par titioned off with strong wire netting and securely locked. Behind this stout barricade are kept what are known as the stock seeds of the firm. These seeds have been carefully selected and improved on the firms own trial grounds to insure that the seeds for disposal one or two years hence may be sent to those countries whose cli- mates are best suited to the production and their products are received back after harvest. Before the seeds thus obtained Is allowed to pass into the hands of the retailer 1t Is once more tested to see If it's growth Is perfect.
 As in the case of famous race horses the pedigree of these precious stock seeds are carefully preserved in large. heavy locked 1edgers. so that the family tree of each class of seed may be readily traced back through generations of an