664 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



NURSERY STOCK, HOW TO BUY IT. 



R. M. G. Rohlfs, before the Scott County Farmers'" Institute. 



It has been my good mission for the past two winter seasons to sell 

 nursery stock, consequently have some experience along that line. I say 

 good mission because I believe an honest nursery agent or nurseryman to 

 be one of the best missionaries to the (so-called) civilized world. But 

 today as our secretary has put it, I am to assume the role of discussing 

 nursery stock from a buyer's standpoint. 



Of nursery stock we have a great many varieties and classes. As to 

 varieties I shall, with probably a few exceptions, leave them undisturbed 

 turning my pointers chiefly to the grades and classes. 



Most of our trees as put upon the market, are two and three years old, 

 with an occasional lot of one-year-old whips and four-year-old scrubs. 

 Remember the nurseryman has also to contend with the perplexities, of 

 not being able to make a first-class tree out of every graft planted, just 

 as well as the fancy stock breeder has at times on hand, stock of his own 

 raising, which might well do as a living advertisement for some of our 

 large meat canning establishments. What the nurseryman likes to raise 

 is as large a tree with as good and plenty of roots as he can in three years. 

 What most buyers like to buy is a tree just a little larger than the nur- 

 seryman has or can raise in three years, without once giving a single 

 thought to the size of the roots. To hear some men buy trees would seem 

 to a blind, although not deaf, person as though the conversation tended 

 towards buying fence posts or telephone poles. Noav why not be reasonabio 

 and upon investigation find that a small tree has more roots in proportion 

 to its top than a large one. And surely roots are what you want, because 

 a tree without roots or even with poor roots such as you can find by the 

 dozen through the country is indeed a poor investment. The roots to a 

 tree are what a foundation is to a house. The top can grow and be 

 trimmed, but the roots are out of man's reach. Upon them depends the 

 future, the longevity, the ability to reward the planter with bountiful fruit, 

 and further its capability to resist our summer's heat and our winter's 

 cold. 



Ninety-nine per cent of our, during the winter of 1898-99, damaged 

 trees were hurt at the root. But why you may well ask? Quite natural. 

 Most of our old orchards and a number of the young ones were planted 

 with eastern trees. Eastern trees are raised by methods of propagation 

 entirely different from our own western methods. Of course entirely suit- 

 able to their climate and conditions but not at all to ours. Their trees 

 are raised by means of budding on whole seedling roots, while our western 

 trees are mostly grafted on piece roots, using a long scion, which finally 

 takes: root, thereby giving us a tree on its own roots. In other words a 

 Ben Davis tree on Ben Davis roots, etc. By their methods they get nearly 

 as large a tree in one year as we do in two years, consequently their trees 

 at three years old will take the cake for size and beauty when those fence 

 post or telephone men come along. Alas! but have they not forgotten 

 something? Will their trees on seedling roots stand such winters as Da- 



