SEEDS OF SUCCESS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2842, 5 August 1916, Page 15

SEEDS OF SUCCESS

A GROWING N.Z. INDUSTRY F. COOPER, LTD.'S, BIG BUSINESS. A son of Erin, referring nonchalantly to businesses in his native. town, once said, "Most av thim that, hev bin goin' l'ur halt a cintury have either proved worth whoile or are ' did entoirely.' There is at least one firm in Wellington, which has been going for half a conturr and has proved well worth while, and is far from "dead entirely." That is the old-establshed firm of P. Cooper, ltd., i seed growers and merchants. They were i recently reminded of the fact by passing i the fifty-year mark.. "What do they know of Cooper's, who only knew the ' flower and seed shop in Willis Street?" , one might, ask in the language of Kipi ling. The shop, which, has lately been i removed round the corner to Mercer i Street, is, as a matter of fact,, only ■ a i branch of the business, for. the purpose of. . keeping in retail' touch with the people , of Wellington. It' may surprise people > to know that the big four-story building • in Willis Street, which, was erected some , ten year 3 ago or bo, was really needed i by the business, but so rapidly was its I growth that the firm was soon under the ; necessity of acquiring more floor space, ' and a flat in Odlin's large building on I the waterfront was rented. Still the busii ness grew, and some three years' ago , they built thoir present capacious' pre- ' mises in Dixon Street—a veritable fiive of industry, the work of which helps to i cover thousands .and thousands of aoros 1 of land in New Zealand with food- ' stuffs good for man ; and - beast, and shrubs, trees, and plants to delight the ' eye and gladdening the earth. P. Cooper, ' Ltd., is ono of the oldest of ' its class ■in New Zealand, and to the ■ layman' the quantity of seed handled is' a • revelation. The firm puts through about r 2000 tons of seed- per annum, distri- ; buted to all parts of the Dominion and the four corners of the earth, in paokete ranging from the little beflowered eni '

velopes that are known to every gardener to groat double sacks, holding a couple of hundredweight each, which carry thft rape seed, beans, peas, , and other seeds to the farmers in bulk or to the firm's agents in every town in the country.. It is interesting to hear Mr. Cooper stat6 that over 1,000,006,0f the 'smaller.'packets of flower and vegetable . seeds ara' disposed of every year. ' What is of the, utmost importance to the buyer of seed is the quality of the seed ho purchases. Careless buyers will not worry much about this—until they find an impoverished crop rich in "rogues" besmirching their fair lands. The provident- wiseacre will see that he gets seed from a reputable firm, that is always hero to answer questions. Every lino of seed that comes into the warehouse of F. Cooper, Ltd., is tested by both the officers of the Department, of Agriculture and the firm's own experts as soon as it - arrives, and six months afterwards, in order to bo quite sure that the seed sold is vital, and, under ordinary conditions, sure to germinate. On their own farm in New Zealand all seeds .are submitted to exhaustive tests and trials with a view to improvement by selection. In very many cases their pedigree stocks are worked up from a single plant;" so as to ensure the best results and uniformity of type. Mr. Cooper remarked that it was a curious phase of the importing madness to 6ee people obtaining seed from England at. a much higher price than they could get better seed of-the same varieties here. As a matter of fact, the firm exported a great deal of seed to tho Old Country, and as likely as not people importing English seed were purchasing the product of New Zealand seed. There had been cases.quits recently "where a large quan-' lity of imported shrubs had been condemned owing to tho prevalence of disease' . amongst them, "whereas the same trees could be obtained in New Zealand mycli cheaper, and without any risk of disease and. condemnation. . ' The firm's new wholesale warehouse in Dixon Street is a monument to its 1 efficiency in the seed business; It has a frontage of 60ft. to" Dixon Street by a depth of 150 ft., and has about one acre of floor space. Each of the four floors is capable of carrying 600 tons weight, and' is often asked to. do it. Here everything is stocked that is re.quired by the trade, the farmer, the horticulturalist, or the kitchen gardener. Both in Wellington and Marlborough the firm has machinery plants, which are sensk tivo enough to clean every speck of .dirt, and every light-weight or immature seed from the good standard seeds, and the same cleaning process removes all foreign matter and weed seeds. Under such conditions llm linn is able absolutely to guarantee "Cooper's Selected Seeds," and during tho approaching planting season growers could not do better than try them. This is easy, as Cooper's agents are in every town in New Zealand. As proof of good faith, it is.mentioned that the firm lias 3000 acres of land reserved for seed-raising exclusively, which means that hundreds of hands are employed directly or indirectly in the business. At the warehouse . everything is kept in its allotted place, and most conveniently arranged for the prompt «xe.' cution of orders, be they bv post, from agents, or from Overseas. For the convenience of local growers the firm still retains its retail premises in Mercer Street, noff under the direction of .Mr. R. Wall, the well-known horticulturist, who is always ready lo supply tho fullest information, or catalogues dealing with the firm's many activities.—(Published by arrangement.) - '