GENERAL CATALOGUE. 
5 
Twenty years later Mr. John J. Thomas, then, as now, editor of the “ Country Gentleman,” made the 
following statement in the “ Register, ” concerning this establishment: 
“T his Nursery was established in 1840 by Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, in the southerly part of Rochester, since 
which time it has been so enlarged that it now covers five hundred acres, probably the most extensive Nursery in 
the world. The wide celebrity of this great establishment, its extent of business, and the interest generally felt to 
know its operations, require a notice of corresponding fullness 
“The fruit department occupies 350 acres, in about the following proportion of the different kinds: Standard 
apples, 72 acres; dwarf apples, 31 acres; standard pears, 69 acres; dwarf pears, 57 acres; standard and dwarf cher¬ 
ries, 25 acres; standard and dwarf plums, 20 acres; and 82 acres of other fruit trees, seedling stocks, &c,, &c. 
“The ornamental department occupies 90 acres, about as follows: 24 acres of evergreen trees; 50 acres of hardy 
deciduous trees and shrubs; 8 acres of dahlias, bulbs and herbaceous plants; 5 acres specimen trees, &c. 
“The men employed are about 225 to 250 in the season, and about 80 through the winter. Three men are con¬ 
stantly employed in book-keeping, correspondence, &c., in addition to the extensive labor in correspondence per¬ 
formed by the proprietors themselves. They have opened and built a street, which is exclusively occupied by their 
foremen, head workmen, &c. 
“A single season’s budding numbers about 700,000 in the fruit department, and 100,000 in the ornamental. To 
insure complete accuracy, one of the proprietors cuts all the buds, which he immediately passes to a number of 
hands who accompany him, who remove the leaves, when they are marked and transferred to the foreman of the 
respective budding companies. 
At the commencement of the twenty-first year, the following reference to our prosperous growth was 
made in a new catalogue issued at that time : 
“We give this brief history of our progress, not in the spirit of boasting, but simply to show our friends and 
patrons how their generous encouragement has aided us in extending and perfecting our culture, and in carrying 
on the plan of a large Nursery, upon which we started twenty years ago, and which was then considered a youthful 
chimera hy almost everybody hut ourselves .” 
“ During the period of seven years that have elapsed since our last edition was issued, fruit culture has made a 
greater progress in this country than it ever did before in the same period of time. Not only have fruit trees been 
planted to an extent altogether unequaled, but numerous societies have been vigorously prosecuting the work, in 
all parts of the country, of eliciting and collecting information regarding the best modes of propagation, culture, 
and general management of fruit trees, the best varieties for the various soils and climates of the country, and, in 
fact, upon all that concerns fruits and fruit-tree culture. The information which has by these means been placed 
within our reach, added to the results of our own experience and close and constant observation, enables us to 
correct many errors which unavoidably existed before. We have given much attention to the work of testing 
varieties. Our experimental grounds have cost us much, in both money and labor; but we are well pleased with 
the investment, for it enables us to carry forward our work with a degree of intelligence that is in a measure sat¬ 
isfactory to ourselves, and gives to our patrons a reasonable guarantee of our accuracy.” 
The editor of the American Rural Home, in writing recently of the Nurseries, said : 
“We think that we are speaking within bounds when we say that the Mount Hope Nurseries, in this city, founded 
and perfected by Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, are the most complete nurseries on the American continent. There 
are others, doubtless, that cover more acres, devoted to two or three specialties, as apples, pears, etc., but no other 
in which the various species of fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, vines and plants are so fully and so well repre¬ 
sented. The professional horticulturist, florist and landscape gardener can find a better opportunity of examining 
specimens and studying their peculiar merits here than elsewhere, and the amateur who wishes to ornament his 
grounds with the choicest that will grow in our climate, will be more certain to find them here than in any other 
nursery in our land. The products of this grand nursery have been scattered all over the United States, and have 
been sent far beyond our borders. Scarcely a city, town or hamlet in this country but has been made more beau¬ 
tiful and enjoyable by its contributions. It must afford the honorable proprietors in this, the afternoon of their 
lives, a great deal of pleasure, when they reflect how much they have contributed to the physical comfort, the 
refinement and the moral elevation of their countrymen by a vocation which, while it has conferred such blessings 
upon our people, has brought a generous return to themselves.” 
We have thus placed before our patrons iu a concise form the history of the origin, progress and 
development of what has certainly proved to be one of the largest commercial enterprises of the country. 
The City of Rochester during the period of her early growth profited largely from the employment of 
so large a number of men, and the impetus then received contributed greatly to her future prosperity. 
At the present writing our Nursery is fully up to the times. The stock is large and complete, both in 
the fruit and ornamental departments, and embraces, besides all the old standard varieties, a number of 
novelties which seem to have merit. 
We have recently erected a new storage house of large capacity, which makes the third of these houses 
that we have built. All are filled with choice fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, roses, small fruits, 
grapes, pteonies and plants, forming a complete assortment. We are therefore prepared to fill orders all 
winter for early planting. 
We retain our large force of skilled nursery assistants and are unusually well equipped to execute all 
orders, large or small, promptly and correctly, and upon the most favorable terms. 
ELLWANGER A BARRY. 
January, 1890. 
