the glorious exhibits, and experts from every part of the globe met in 
the Horticultural Center of the World ! . . . . 
In 1 9 14 the first thunderbolt came from a blue sky. Shipping 
plants to Austria, Belgium, France, Germany ceased; with great 
difiSculties shipping to America was continued until in Spring 191 7 all 
shipping stopped. 
The nurserymen then were facing a most difficult situation; unlike 
an industrial plant, a factory, nurseries can not be closed, they must 
be kept clean, plants must be transplanted or they are ruined. 
However, the nurserymen did not lose courage. Would not the 
war be over soon now that America came to the assistance of the 
AUies; and would not America, with its uncalculable wealth, buy ail 
plants that could be offered for sale, all plants suitable for American 
gardens? Consequently many nurseries were kept in first class shape; 
only the very best plants were planted in order to have sufficient 
room, everything that was not first class was discarded. Some nurs- 
eries never were in finer shape ! 
In June, 1918, the Horticultural Trade Papers brought the news 
that a hearing had been held in Washington; that a law was under 
consideration to stop the importation of some plants in 19 19, of others 
in 1925. After that date no importation of plants would be possible, 
with some exceptions of Httle importance to the wholesale trade. 
Some American horticultural papers did not take this intended law 
seriously and .... we nurserymen? We never had any warning, 
neither from our American friends, nor from the Holland Government; 
we could not beheve that such a thing could be possible. Did not the 
American nurserymen need our Rhododendron, our Azalea, our Coni- 
fers, our Lilacs, would we not be able to ship the many things which 
we actually had grown on verbal contracts, which were ready now 
to ship after so many years of cultivation? 
. November 13, 1918, we learned from the papers (letters at that 
time took several weeks to come over) that Quarantine No. 37 had 
been sent to the Secretary of Agriculture for his signature and Decem- 
ber 5th, we received a cable stating that the Secretary of Agriculture 
had signed the new Regulation which excluded all plants for im- 
mediate sale with the exception of fruit stocks and rose stocks, two 
articles, almost without importance to the Boskoop nurseries. The 
original idea to allow the importation of Azalea and Rhododendron 
until June, 1925, even had been abandoned. 
Grabbing, what we thought was the last straw, the writer of this 
letter was sent over to America by the Holland Government to try 
to get exceptions or modffications, but .... all in vain. 
Since Quarantine No. 37 became effective, several Holland 
nurserymen are facing ruin, Europe can not buy their products; their 
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