254 Forestry Quarterly. 



fore, of more definite, as well as more consistent, figures from Mr. 

 Hill, I think that there is no room for doubt that forest planting 

 and the demand for seedlings for that purpose is comparatively 

 new, and as yet comparatively undeveloped. Mr. Hill will hardly 

 deny that much the most important part of his business is in orna- 

 mental stock ; he will certainly not deny that his hundreds of 

 farmers, each of whom is planting several thousand trees in the 

 middle west, will be most unlikely to import their trees from 

 abroad. The effect of such importations on Mr. Hill's business 

 would seem, therefore, to be almost negligible. 



May I further say that my article, which was written for sub- 

 mission to the Ways and Means Committee, was called forth by 

 the effort of Mr. Hill and some other nurserymen to increase the 

 duty on evergreen seedlings from one to two dollars per thousand. 

 Their effort seemed to me but one more indication of the utter 

 demoralization fostered in the business world by a tariff system 

 which is enacted largely by the protected interests for their sole 

 benefit. Fortunately, more powerful interests than mine were at 

 work in this particular matter, and evergreen seedlings are now 

 on the free list. What effect the discovery of blister rust on this 

 year's stock will have on future importations cannot now be fore- 

 told, but it is fairly certain to cut down the area of new planta- 

 tions for a few years. 



