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SEED CATALOGUE AND GARDEN GUlDE.
ADDED IMPROVEMENTS FOR 1911.
A STATEMENT OF OUR PREPARATIONS FOR THE PRESENT YEAR.
No changes have been made in the directive forces of our establishment. The same management continues in force and the same policies will be the rule as for former seasons. Experience counts, and each year adds to the knowledge of our chiefs who remain in direction on the different departments of our business. We consider the years of training given to our men our chiefest hope for the future, as we know that the same care and conscientious effort which has prevailed in the past will continue; and result in increased numbers of firm friends and generous patrons.
While the personal force is yearly growing stronger from added knowledge, the facilities for handling the trade are constantly being increased by the investment of earnings in new buildings and appliances to save time and labor and assist in the rapid and successful handling of the business entrusted to us. The enormous growth of our plant trade has forced us to extend ten of our greenhouses, adding 12,000 feet of glass to our already large plant, and we have been compelled to place additional heating apparatus; these improvements together costing several thousand dollars.
At the mail order building we have spent large sums of money in new cleaning machinery, in building for increased storage space, and in new equipment to enable us to move larger stocks than were possible before.
At Altoona we have added additional room for corn sorting, increased our shelling capacity, installed more grading machinery; and in fact have nearly doubled the daily output of seed corn of the best quality, and this has been accomplished only by the outlay of a considerable sum.
No material change has been made at the retail store except that new appliances and fixtures have been installed, so that an increased trade of forty per cent has been handled without added space.
Several hundred acres were this year added to our plantings, and we are pleased to say that our crops will not only be increased in quantity but the quality generally is superior to most seasons.
This business has now reached such proportions, and is so diversified that it is impossible to conduct it all under one roof, and the accompanying illustrations will help you appreciate our efforts in building up one of the most substantial enterprises in the world.
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FIFTH STREET WAREHOUSE
STORE AND OFFICE
MAIL ORDER BUILDING
SEED FARMS - 8600 ACRES
ALTOONA CORN HOUSE
GREENHOUSES
OUR ESTABLISHMENTS
THE IOWA SEED STORE is so well known in Des Moines that it would be difficult to find even a child in this city of 100,000 inhabitants who does not know its location. It occupies the large building at 613 - 615 Locust street, within a few blocks of the postoffice, express offices and the principal railroad passenger stations. The large store room is full of interest to everyone who has a farm or garden, or who loves flowers. Here are located the offices and correspondence department. During the busy season we receive 2,000 to 7,000 letters every day. We are always glad to have our customers call and see us.
THIRTY - THREE GREENHOUSES erected during the past few years are devoted exclusively to growing plants for the mail order trade, and contain a greater variety of plants than any other greenhouse establishment in the west. They are located convenient to the electric car line and fronting on Kingman boulevard, one of the finest driving streets in the city. Here we devote fully twelve acres to flowers, making the finest display to be found in the west.
MAIL ORDER BUILDING. - Our trade has increased so constantly that we purchased the ground at 208-210-212 South Eighth street, about six blocks from our store, and erected thereon a large building specially arranged for our business. The railway tracks beside the building give us excellent facilities for handling carload lots, and we are centrally located between the various freight depots so that small shipments can be made promptly. Our machinery is operated by four electric motors, and we claim that our mills for cleaning seed cannot be surpassed. We can readily fill 2,000 to 4,000 orders per day in this building, and they are handled in such a careful way that errors seldom occur. Most of our empoyees have been with us many years, and no 'green hands' handle seeds in bulk.
THE WAREHOUSE on South Fifth street we have occupied for many years for storage purposes only. Large lots of seed which come in after harvest are thoroughly cleaned and then put away in this building for the spring trade.
SEED CORN HOUSE. - The seed corn branch of our business has continued to grow every year and in order to handle it in the best manner increased facilities were necessary. To meet this urgent need and provide for future growth which was sure to come, we erected this building on our seed farm at Altoona. We now have capacity for 25,000 bushels of seed corn, every ear of which can be given the personal inspection of an expert.
SEED FARMS. - It requires the seed crop from about 8,600 acres to supply our trade and the farms are widely isolated so as to avoid any mixtures. Some seeds cannot be grown to advantage here, and we contract practical seed growers elsewhere to grow for us.
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