A BIG NURSERY FIRM. 



465 



from one portion of the nurseries to an- 

 other, and ever)- fifth year the farms are 

 changed. In this way frequent changes of 

 soil are secured. As a rapid healthy growth 

 is necessary, the land must be kept rich, 

 which means a heavy expense for fertilizers. 

 From Toronto alone we purchase $5,000 to 

 $7,000 Avorth of fertilizers yearly. As we 

 ■do not calculate to grow culls 40 to 50 tons 

 of fertilizers are used per acre. This re- 

 sults in a rapid growth and thrifty stock. 



"The demand for new and rare plants is 

 increasing rapidly. Most of it has sprung 

 up within the last ten years, more particu- 

 larly the last few years, until now it has be- 

 come one of the most important branches of 

 our business. I remember when we only 

 planted 500 elms. This increased to 1,000, 

 a few years later to 3,000, and last year I 

 planted 15,000. It is no uncommon occur- 

 rence for us to receive an order for $500 of 

 ornamental stock from one man. 



" This year we found it necessary, in or- 

 der to fill the demand for rare shrubs, to 

 make a special importation from Holland. 

 Most of our seedlings are purchased from 

 France, which in this line supplies the 

 world. Th^ stock is brought over in win- 



ter and arrives in good condition, via New 

 York, being transported in frost-proof cars. 

 Our last importation included 100 dififerent 

 varieties of evergreens alone. 



" When we purchase or lease a farm, for 

 growing nursery stock, it is generally neces- 

 sary to underdrain it extensively. Several 

 hundred acres of our farms have been un- 

 derdrained. Even when we only lease a 

 farm for a few years we find it pays to tile 

 it. On one occasion we leased a farm of 

 100 acres and did not think it "necessary to 

 underdrain it. We lost enough through 

 not doing so to have more than paid the ex- 

 pense of putting in the tiles, and I never in- 

 tend to take the same chances again. In 

 this connection it is rather astonishing to me 

 to see how little the value of under draining 

 is appreciated by some men. One farm 

 leased by me was thoroughly under drained 

 and when the lease expired the owner was 

 given the benefit of these under drains. He 

 did not think enough of it to even keep the 

 drains open." 



The description of how these immense 

 nurseries came to be established, as given 

 by Mr. Morris, is a most interesting one. 

 "Over 30 years ago," said Mr. Morris, "I 



Cultivating Young Peach Trees at tlie Nurseries. 



The careful cultivation that is given the nurseries of Messrs Morris and Wellington, at Fonthill, is one of the secrets of the 

 success of this firm The illustration shows a block of one year old peaches, being cultivated, no less than eleven men with culti- 

 vators being shown at work in this small block. Great pride is taken by Mr. Morris in his pure bred horses, as he has four pure 

 ^red Shire stallions and over sixty horses altogether. Some of these fine pnimals can be seen in the illustration. 



