Woodruff Seed Scoops - Lovely Utilitarian Things; Plus Company History

These have all the charm of the Russian nesting dolls!  They turn up on ebay off and on, the ones below nicely showing their use.

I was happy to find out the Woodruff family was from Orange, Connecticut...my state.  I found a few bits and pieces that fill in a good picture of the company.

S.D. Woodruff & Sons (Orange, Connecticut, later also New York City) from 1898-1937.

A great link with many photos adding to the Woodruff story is the Orange, Connecticut Historical Society site.  I like to find things from Connecticut since I live there :-)

American Florist, Volume 26 - 1906 gives us some field photos and an ad.

 "The company produced garden seed and became one of the largest dealers of garden seeds, selling both at wholesale and retail levels, in the east.  They not only grew the standard varieties of garden vegetables, but have also done considerable experimenting and originated and introduced several varieties.  These included 'Country Gentleman' sweet corn, 'Early Ford Hook' tomatoes and the 'Ensign Bagley' and 'Admiral Foote' potatoes." from http://www.saveseeds.org/

'Country Gentleman'

Could there be anything finer than a perfect ear of corn? Over the years, different varieties have been popular at different times, but this one has held its own for the better part of 100 years.

'Country Gentleman' was developed to solve a problem in an even older variety called 'Shoe Peg'. The original 'Shoe Peg' was a very high quality white corn. It was sweet, tender, and very tasty, named because its kernels were tall and narrow, shaped something like a shoe peg. About the only flaw this variety had was that its ears were smallish. Seedsmen set to work to solve this problem, and Frank C. Woodruff of S. D. Woodruff & Sons came up with this variety in 1890. A year later, Peter Henderson listed it in his catalog. Even as late as 1932, it was still, according to noted horticulturist U. P. Hedrick, the "best of its type".

'Country Gentleman' grows about seven feet tall. It produces cobs that measure eight or nine inches long. Like the original 'Shoe Peg,' it has peg-like kernels that appear tightly packed on the cob, but not in even rows like most other varieties of corn. Today, 'Country Gentleman' is another of the many varieties that are disappearing from seed catalogs. Twenty years ago, more than 40 companies sold it. Now, it's down to half that many.

• http://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/corn/Corn-Country-Gentleman-OG.html

This obit says a lot...

Stiles D. Woodruff

Stiles D. Woodruff, senior member of the firm of S. D. Woodruff & Sons, Orange, Conn., died April 11.

Mr. Woodruff enjoyed comparatively good health to the last, although a sufferer with heart trouble, and had only been confined to his bed for a few weeks before his death. He was always an exceedingly active man, with a hobby toward selecting seed stocks, and producing the best of everything that he grew.  One of his achievements was the originating of the Country Gentleman corn, which came out in 1892. He began his seed growing industry in 1865 upon his return from the civil war, and some of his early experiences make interesting reading for the present day seed grower.' The first seed crops grown were turnip, beet, parsnip, cabbage and sweet corn. The ruling prices for the first few years to the wholesale seed trade in 100 pound lots for turnip, beet and parsnip was 40 cents per pound. Cabbage then sold for $3 per pound, and sweet corn for $3 per bushel. Onion seed was grown shortly after, and then prices ranging from $3 to $5 per pound at wholesale were received by Mr. Woodruff for the seeds he produced. Market gardening was taken up in a limited way shortly after the war, and his records show some fabulous prices for vegetables. The year 1870 is recorded as one with a great drought, and wholesale prices this year were extremely high. Cabbage sold for $25 per 100 heads, sweet corn $5 per 100 ears, and tomatoes and lima beans $3 per bushel.

Mr. Woodruff confined his business to growing seeds for the wholesale trade until 1892, when he took into partnership his two sons, Frank C. and Watson S. The firm has been progressive  and kept pace with the remarkable strides and advances that are general throughout the seed trade. Where pounds and quarts were handled years ago, hundreds of pounds and hundreds of bushels are handled now. The firm, of which he was the founder, makes a specialty of garden seeds in variety, growing extensively on their own seed farms such seeds as beet, carrot, parsnip, turnip, onion, tomato, sweet corn, etc., and they also make, a specialty of Maine seed potatoes and onion sets. They have seed potato store houses in Aroostook county, Maine, and have recently leased a large house at Queen's, L. I., where a large stock will be carried, in addition to their places of business at Orange, Conn., and New York.

Notwithstanding the fact that his business demanded close application to bring it to such a successful condition, Mr. Woodruff found time to hold many positions of trust, and he twice represented his town in the state legislature. Besides the two sons mentioned above, he leaves another, Robert J., an attorney, who is prosecuting attorney for the common pleas court, New Haven county, and one daughter, Mary.

And just for fun...go to rareseeds: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for a great page that shows many different corn seeds (including Country Gentleman, of course) but other cool, rare varieties like the Yurackallhua Incan Giant

This turned up at a UK sales site...The History Store.   Nice design...lovely onion.

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