OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 



113 



basis or at a fixed price for the plants, cost of 

 transportation, and planting, other nursery- 

 men were not willing to undertake this ser- 

 vice and preferred that their responsibility 

 cease upon delivery of plants to the common 

 carriers. 



Mr. Vitale requested a discussion on the 

 phrase "nursery grown" in an endeavor to get 

 the trade explanation of the term. After due 

 deliberation Mr. Meehan dictated the follow- 

 ing, which was adopted: 



"The definition of the phrase 'nursery 

 grown' would be any nursery stock grown 

 at least one year in a nursery and which has 

 been subject to State Inspection." 

 Mr. Olmsted presented a draft on the ob- 

 ligations which are normally implied by the 

 placing and acceptance of an order for nursery 

 stock, in the absence of specific stipulations to 

 some other effect. 



A draft of insurance policy prepared by Mr. 

 Vitale and Mr. Olmsted in collaboration was 

 presented for discussion. It was immediately 

 evident that the opinions of the members of 

 the Joint Committee were so different, and in 

 instances so diametrically opposed that it was 

 impossible to come to any agreement. It was 

 decided to drop all consideration of any kind 

 of insurance and so notify the nurserymen and 

 landscape architects; then, if necessary, it may 

 be taken up later. 



The next meeting of the Joint Committee 

 of the Ornamental Growers' Association, the 

 American Association of Nurserymen, the 

 Garden Club of America, and the American 

 Society of Landscape Architects, was held on 

 February 19, 1919, in the office of Mr. Vitale. 

 Three principal items were taken up: 



First, a statement of well understood obli- 

 gations which are normally implied by the 

 placing and acceptance of an order for nursery 

 stock unless specifically modified. These ob- 

 ligations were finally accepted as appears in 

 the appended statement. The Board of Trustees 

 of the A. S. L. A. approved of them with 

 slight modifications and the Society voted 

 their acceptance. 



Second: A brief statement was approved 

 which outlines the methods for the payment 

 of bills for nursery stock ordered by land- 

 scape architects for the account of their 

 clients; also a procedure for collecting these 

 bills on the part of the nurserymen. This 

 memorandum is herewith appended and has 

 been approved by our Society. 



Third: The matter of insurance of plant ma- 

 terial was thoroughly discussed but it was 

 evident that no agreement could possibly be 

 reached on the subject. It seems to be the 

 concensus of opinion on the part of landscape 

 architects as well as nurserymen to discour- 

 age any form of insurance or guarantee, and 

 it seems that the nurserymen wish to avoid 

 any committment one way or another in re- 

 gard to this insurance or guarantee. It was 

 decided at the meeting that further study of 

 the matter be made with the idea of later re- 

 porting on the subject. The Chairman, Mr. 

 Vitale, felt that without action of a different 

 kind nothing could ever be accomplished on 

 this subject, and he submitted a form of guar- 

 antee contract in use in the office of Vitale, 

 Brinckerhoff and Geiffert, to a number of land- 

 scape architects and nurserymen, requesting 

 them to state if they would agree to use it in 

 all cases where a guarantee is necessary, and 

 the majority of the answers were favorable. 

 The form of contract was then presented to 

 the Board of Trustees of our Society, request- 

 ing them to approve it and recommend it to 

 the membership. The Board of Trustees ap- 

 proved of it and the majority of the members 

 of the Society voted for its adoption. The 

 Committee does not believe that the Nursery- 

 men's .Associations will equally adopt it 

 officially, but is convinced that the individual 

 nurserymen will not refuse to sign it in in- 

 dividual cases. It also believes that this form 

 of contract is really the only protection that 

 a landscape architect can give his clients 

 when, in spite of his endeavors to discourage 

 a guarantee, he is compelled to request the 

 nurserymen to guarantee their stock. 



Apart from the meetings of the Joint Com- 

 mittee as stated above, it has had considerable 

 correspondence with associations and in- 

 dividuals in regard to the Quarantine Act No. 

 37, and in regard to greater co-operation be- 

 tween nurserymen and landscape architects in 

 the vast work of public education which the 

 nurserymen's associations are undertaking. 

 The majority of the best nurseries are in favor 

 of the Quarantine Act. Those who arc not 

 in favor of it have not been able up to date to 

 bring sufficiently weighty arguments to war- 

 rant reopening the matter at Washington. 



A meeting of the Joint Committee was held 

 May 31, 1921, at the City Club, and attended 

 by Miss Rose Standish Nichols, Chairman of 

 the Committee on the Garden Club of Ameri- 

 ca; Mr. Thomas B. Meehan, Chairman of the 

 Committee of both the American Association 



