Sluis & Groot - Seed trade and an insolvable postal rate

Seed

The devastating consequences of the rinderpest which caused many farmers to loose their livestock during the 18th century, made some affected farmer force to change their way of livelihood. In West Frisia some of them opted for a more stable profession in the seed-cultivation. Better drainage systems improved the (already) very fertile grounds in the region and the first generation of market gardeners / agriculturalists grabbed this opportunity not only to generate and cultivate seeds for their own usage, but for sale as well. At first these West Frisian entrepreneurs combined seed-cultivation and trade in one company, but in the industrial 19th century the (inter)national demand for good quality seed increased so strongly that the businesses of old had to be split in seed-cultivation and trade only companies respectively. To this day seed-cultivation remains one of the biggest industries in West Frisia. 

Trust

One of the most essential elements in the 'seed industry' is the trust between seed-cultivator-trader and trader/supplier-customer/agriculturalist. Whereas a greengrocer judges the crops he buys by checking the freshness of the foliage and the colour, a crop farmer who buys the seeds for these products cannot judge for himself if a particular batch of seeds will produce healthy crops. He has to trust his trader in good faith.

Sluis & Groot

It goes without saying that some traders had more reliable contacts in the seed industry than others, which made customers opt for the best-quality traders. The early start of seed-cultivation and trade in West Frisia wouldn't do the reliable dealers any economic harm in the increased international trade of the 19th century. On the contrary: some of the them became fabulously successful. One of them was Nanne Janszoon Groot (1771-1855) who lived in the small village of Andijk. After his death his sons Pieter and Simon continued the business. In 1867 Nanne's grandchildren Nanne Sluis and Nanne Groot formed the company Sluis & Groot and two brothers of Nanne Sluis, Jacob and Pieter began a company called the Sluis Brothers (later on called Royal Sluis). Both companies became part of large multinationals recently (Syngenta, Seminis, now Monsanto).

Sluis & Groot company in Enkhuizen. Shows the room where all seeds were assembled and prepared for being sent away.

Enkhuizen and the world

At the end of the 19th century both companies moved to Enkhuizen due to better means of transport over water and from 1885 the rail connection with Amsterdam. Already in 1855 certain international contacts were established when the company was still stationed in Andijk (seed traders as Vilmorin-Andrieux in Paris and Ernst Benary in Erfurt). After 1855 the international trade exploded due to the trustful relationship and personal contact between Sluis & Groot and the Sluis Brothers with their customers. They even visited their customers and inspected the quality of the grounds and climate in situ to judge how their seeds would grow there and which seeds would perform better. This research was also in the interest of the seed industry in West Frisia as the companies could inform the cultivators to which standards their seeds should comply. A real win-win situation.

Seed and administrative boom 

It should be no surprise that with such expertise the companies rocketed: in 1905 Dutch seed firms exported a 'mere' 750.000 kilos in seed abroad, but already in 1925 they exported a staggering figure of 5.000.000 kilos to every country in the world. Together with the increased interest in Dutch seeds, both companies had to manage their contacts by means of a large administrative office. In the posts on this blog to follow I will often refer to this one as we'll see many postcards, envelopes, bills etc. addressed to and sent by seed traders, agriculturalists etc. The first example is shown below:

Cover (front only) from Sluis & Groot to a crop farmer (landbouwer) in Avereest in the Dutch province of Overijssel. 22th of August 1905. 

The cover above was registered and weighted 30 grams. It was sent registered and insured since an amount of ƒ210,00 was enclosed. The rate was made up as follows: 10c for a domestic destination (2nd weight class 15-50 grams) + a 10c registered fee + 3 times 2,5c for insurance. Per ƒ100 it would have cost the company 2,5c. So that would be (10 + 10 + 7,5 = 27,5) 27,5c.... 27,5c? Yes, according to the handbook by W.S. da Costa on Dutch rates, but why is there a Wilhelmina fur-collar stamp of only 22,5c attached to the cover?

Wilhelmina fur collar 22,5c stamp

The reason why there could be a 22,5c stamp on this cover could have resulted from a (for the PTT) unprofitable arrangement. Until the first of March 1921 the registration fee was (partially) included in the assurance fee. So, Sluis & Groot only had to pay a 2,5c registration fee on top of  the 7,5c insurance costs. Then the sum should tally: 10c 2nd weight class + 7,5c + 2,5 = 20c.......... Ooopsss....

Maybe the postal clerk forgot to charge the 2nd weight class of 10c: the first weight class which goes up to 15 grams needed a 5c stamp in 1905. 5 + 10 + 7,5 = 22,5. However, it is odd to forget such a basic rule and moreover he completely forgot the registration fee inclusion as well.

I cannot believe though that I've more knowledge than a 1905 postal clerk. The rate has to be right, but the difficulty remains: how was is composed?