NOTES ON EUBOPEA^f XTRSEEIES. 37 



M. B. Faxon said that the lesson which he drew from "Mr. 

 Temple's paper was that we should not attempt to grow ten 

 thousand different things, but should select special olijects and 

 endeavor to attain perfection in their cultivation. 



Mr. Temple said that the nursery stock which was sold at such 

 wonderfully low rates was almost wholly grown from seed. If 

 one orders grafted plants from Europe the prices will be foand 

 much greater than here. Grafted apple trees from five to sis feet 

 high are obtained from American nurserymen at abouthalf the prices 

 charged by European growers, and peach trees at from one- third to 

 even one-fourth of European rates. But on the other hand seed- 

 ling plants are sold there at one-tenth of American prices. In so 

 great a disparity of prices in these a duty of twenty per cent 

 would make no difference in the amount of importation. He 

 hoped that no duty would be put on European tree stock. 

 England, which is the most beautiful country in the world, has 

 free trade, and yet plants bring the highest prices there. More 

 money is paid for nursery stock there than in all the world beside. 

 In answer to an inquiry as to the loss on imported plants Mr. 

 Temple said he had already received a dozen packages this year, 

 and that five dollars would cover all the losses. If one handled 

 French seedlings more than one year, he thought the average loss 

 should not exceed two per cent. These little seedlings are not 

 stocky : they need to be planted carefully very early in the spring 

 and the earth should be trodden down firmly around them. In 

 reply to a question how large trees could be transplanted safely, 

 Mr. Temple said that it depended on how carefully they are 

 handled : which qualification applied to the removal of plants of 

 all sizes. His judgment was that practically it is not profitable to 

 transplant trees that are over two inches in diameter, and generally 

 not over one inch. But he had once moved between thirty and 

 forty trees ranging from ten to fifteen inches in diameter, and 

 they did well. They were taken from a peaty soil and were like 

 pot plants. 



Mr. Strong said that we have quick ingenuity and great mechan- 

 ical skill. We are experts in budding, root-grafting, and various 

 other modes of propagating. The mild climate of the South and 

 the rich soils of our Western States are considerations much in 

 our favor. But still, with their cheap labor, European nurserymen 

 can produce stock in many lines at prices with which we cannot 



