July 31, J909 



HORTICULTURE 



141 



NURSERYMEN PULLING TO- 

 GETHER. 



A paper read before the Xatioual Associa- 

 tion of Nurserymen by J. H. Daytou, 

 of Painesville, O. 



We have been assured that there is 

 never too much of a good thing, yet 

 have sometimes thought that a reduc- 

 tion in the number of nurserymen 

 might be a benefit to the trade. Yet 

 when we consider the joys that flow 

 into his life, how near he is to nature's 

 heart, how calm, sweet and peaceful 

 an existence he leads, how cares, wor- 

 ries and perplexities skip him by, the 

 wonder is not that we have so few 

 but that many more are not scorning 

 the temptations to engage in some well 

 organized, well conducted business 

 with established customs, rules and 

 regulations ,and becoming a free lance 

 in the tree world, where every man 

 can be a law unto himself, and un- 

 limited competition takes the place of 

 organized effort. 



It certainly is fine fun to cliase the 

 elusive woolly aphis to his lair with 

 a swab of fish-oil, to bend the gentle 

 swaying branch of the cherry or apple 

 heavily laden with black or green ap- 

 his down into the depths of the pail 

 of tobacco-juice, to listen to the wily 

 tree buyer, as he calmly convinces you 

 that the trees you thpught were worih 

 15 cents on your grounds are in reality 

 high at 7 1-2 cents, boxed and freight 

 paid; to open ube letter dated April 

 7th, saying: "Gentlemen — We have as 

 yet leceived no no dee of shipment of 

 our trees, as per our order of the 5th. 

 ^\ e call on heaven and earth to wit- 

 ness that everything else ordered the 

 same date is in. that it is impossible 

 to bill up a single order until your 

 shipment is received, and eternal and 

 everlasting ruin is our portion, unless 

 your shipment reaches us at once." 

 You grab your telephone, order the 

 foreman to drop everything else and 

 rush the shipment off. The next let- 

 ter opened is from the same firm, or- 

 dering a long list of assorted stock to 

 be shipped with their first order. 



To judge from the letters published, 

 the papers read at some of the fru.t 

 growers' and horticultural societies-, 

 the remarks made and laws introduced 

 into some of our legislatures, the sole 

 object of every nurseryman is to do 

 up his customers, mislabel and kill as 

 many of his trees as possible before 

 shipment. The truth is, that outside 

 of the few genuine mistakes that are 

 bound to occur in any business, the 

 swindling dealer or nurseryman is able 

 to carry on his operations only by the 

 ignorance or cupidity of the buyer, and 

 the customer who will use as much 

 brain work in buying nursery stock as 

 his wife does in buying clothing for 

 the kids will get what he buys and 

 pays for. However well-established, 

 our reputation seems to be for deeds 

 that are dark, do you not think that 

 a little honest striving together might 

 eliminate some abuses, destroy some 

 bad habits and set us a little nearer 

 right in the eyes of the consumer? 



We will all agi-ee that taking into 

 consideration the inevitable risk in 

 growing and handling perishable stock, 

 the experience and care that must be 

 exercised to produce good stock, the 

 capital" that must be provided and 

 locked up in growing blocks for from 

 one to ten years or more, that the re- 



JOHN WATERER & SON, Ltd. 



American Nursery Bagshot, England 



Are Specialists In the 



REALLY HARDY VARIETIES 



of Rhododendron Hybrids and in Select Varieties 

 of Hardy Border Plants 



Box Trees 



-i -Hk" EVERGREENS for Tdlis -"■^ Bom 



Our Prices are Always Rl^ht — Catalog Pre* 



THE NEW ENGLAND NURSERIES, Irc. 



turns are not and have not been at all 

 eSmmensurate. and that in any series 

 of years, more stock leaves the actual 

 grower's hands at an actual loss than 

 at a profit. Whoever heard of a rich 

 nurseryman who obtained his filthy 

 lucre from the profits in growing stock? 

 Who is to blame? Well, you and I, if 

 we are honest about it, will shoulder 

 the responsibility and acknowledge it 

 is our own fault. We cannot figure 

 to a certainty the cost of our products, 

 as does the manufacturer, who is able 

 to control conditions and to insure 

 bcth his finished products and raw ma- 

 le ial. but can we not establish a table 

 of values and fix a basis below which 

 everyone will understand he is selling 

 at a loss? Can we not educate our- 

 selves as to the true value of our stock 

 and the amount we must procure, if it 

 is sold at a profit? In fact, do you 

 not know that active, intelligent co- 

 operation among nurserymen could be 

 made to establish confidence among 

 ourselves and in our dealings with the 

 public? 



Commerce is not war. and the good 

 bargains benefit both parties. I under- 

 stand the first fruit trust was organ- 

 ized in the Garden of Eden, with his 

 Satanic Jlajesty as promoter. Per- 

 haps the disastrous result of that spec- 

 ulation is one of the reasons why it 

 seems almost an impossibility to 

 secure active, honest co-operation 

 amongst the growers of agricultural 

 and nursery products. 



I remember hearing Mr. Collingwood 

 make a statement something like this: 

 "If you should lock up seven farmers 

 (he might have said nurserymen) in, a 

 room, give them a week to deliberate 

 and their choice of coming out to pool 

 their issues, buy and sell their prod- 

 ucts as one, directing one or two of 

 their number to attend to their busi- 

 ness as officers, or to be hung, there 

 would be seven hangings on the sev- 

 enth day." 



lis not now a good time for con- 

 ceited action in a common cause? Can- 

 not we agree on some things that we 

 kr"v and acknowledge to be wrong? 

 Eliminate and bury them so deep that 

 their specters will never again trouble 

 even the dreams of our trade. Cannot 

 a fe.v- things that we all know would 

 improv'^ our business and put money in 

 our pockets be adopt«d :ind lived up 

 to by enough of our members to ma"ke 

 them so essentially the niles of- our 

 trade that no one will think of break- 

 ing them? 



What about price lists? Like some 

 minister's texts, are they not often 

 used only as a point of departure, only 

 we run prices down while the Rever- 

 end is trying to elevate. What about 

 the price list of steel or iron, or a 

 thousand other manufacturers? In 

 what other convention in the world 

 could I step from the platform and re- 

 ceive such a variety of prices on what 

 purported to be the same article, and 

 on what other commodity would there 

 be such a diversity in grade or value 

 when delivery was made? 



If you knew nothing about our busi- 

 ness, and was made a trustee of some 

 institution, who desired a bill of trees 

 for their grounds, and you made up a 

 list and asked prices, and received bids 

 offering exactly the same lot of stock 

 at from $81S to $675 and every offer 

 from a reliable house, long in the busi- 

 ness, well quoted in commercial re- 

 ports and capable of filling their con- 

 tracts, what would you think of the 

 business sense and sagacity of the or- 

 ganized nurserymen? 



{To be continued') 



JAPAN GROWnHalTaS? 



If not, try them to con- 

 vince you of their superior 

 quality. Not affected by 

 disease. Bulbs verj- solid, 

 grown one season in loam 

 to make them fit for long 

 voyage. Shipment ex- 

 pected end of July. Prices 

 CD application. 



THE YOKOHAMA NURSERY CO. 



31 BARCLAY STREET, NEW YORK 



Mum Canes 



What you want now 



7 to 8 ft. $7.00 1000 



Wm. Elliott ft Sons 



42 Vesey St., New York 



