The National Nurserj^^^ilift. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOC 
Copyright, 1893 , by The National Nurseryman Publishing Co. 
VOL. II. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y., APRIL, 1894. 
A WESTERN GROWER’S EXPERIENCE. 
The following paper was read by A. L. Brooke, of 
North Topeka, Kan., before the recent meeting of the Hor¬ 
ticultural Society of Shawnee County : 
“ ‘ Every man has his price.’ This sentiment was uttered 
in my presence a few days ago by a ‘ down easter.’ It is 
a sentiment I do so thoroughly condemn that I could not 
help but deny his statement, though he was a stranger to 
me. But you ask, what has that old saying to do with 
your subject. Nothing, except that it is companion to some 
other expressions used by many in connection with nursery¬ 
men that are neither flattering nor complimentary. It is 
true they, as a class of men, are so closely allied with 
another class—the much-abused tree man—that they, the 
former, are often made to carry the blame of the oftentimes 
overzealous work of the latter. Let me only add a word 
here in defense of the tree man, which is, that to him must 
be given much of the credit for the fruits that we eat from 
our gardens and our orchards ; for did he not roam up and 
down the earth, seeking whom he might devour, many of 
these would be bare of the trees and fruits they now con¬ 
tain. 
“ The nurseryman occupies a middle place between the 
fruit gardener—the originator—on the one hand and the 
horticulturist proper on the other. The man who under¬ 
takes to originate, to discover new varieties, is generally of a 
different temperament from the individual who takes these 
fruits when known and propagates them for the planter. 
“ One of the first lessons in our trade is to learn what 
to grow. It is a healthy indication when we find instead of 
‘ What grows best? ’ the question, ‘ What does the countiy 
demand ? ’ The active, live grower is constantly keeping 
this question before him, and as men do in other trades, 
is trying to supply this demand. Downing says of the 
propagation of the apple from seed, ‘ When reared from 
seeds they always show a tendency to return to a wilder 
form, and it seems only chance when a new seedling is 
equal to or surpasses its parent. Removed from their nat¬ 
ural form, these artificially created sorts are also much more 
liable to disease and decay.’ This short quotation from 
this most renowned author of ‘ Fruits of America ’ tells you 
much plainer than can I in many words why fruit trees are 
reared from buds and grafts instead of from seed. It is 
not because of its convenience and cheapness but rather 
from compulsion. To propagate from seed would be too 
slow and uncertain and must be left to the slow process of 
the fruit gardener. 
“ The prime object then is to get good stock for our 
young shoots whether they be buds or grafts. To get 
these we go as nearly as can be to the natural or wild state, 
so as to avoid as much as possible the diseases so prevalent 
in our country. It has been proven as per example that 
‘ the yellows ’ in the peach can be readily inherited from 
unhealthy seed, just as the germ of disease is conveyed to 
the offspring in the animal kingdom. The great essential 
then is to keep the stock upon which you wish to propagate 
healthy. To keep as nearly as possible to this desired state 
the seed sown generally is the natural. You will under¬ 
stand, of course, that my remarks pertain to fruit trees, and 
not to small fruits, which latter you well know are propa¬ 
gated in a different manner. 
“ Having secured then natural stock, we then proceed 
to get the particular variety desired, either by budding or 
grafting. In either case it is the aim to get good thrifty 
scions or buds from the parent stock. Here I wish to relate 
an anecdote that came to my notice a few years ago in one 
of our farm journals. The editor who now occupies a high 
position in another field, gave the nurseryman a good scor¬ 
ing, as he so well knew how to do, for cutting scions and 
buds from the tree in the nursery row, before the tree had 
borne fruit and thereby given proof of its correctness, true¬ 
ness to name. This was truly amusing to that nurseiyman 
who, as a student of nature, knows his trees as he walks 
among them and can call them by name from their marks, 
growth and appearance, as readily as ean the shepherd name 
his sheep as he walks among his flock. I will venture 
the assertion that there are men growing nursery stock in 
Shawnee county who can name more varieties of fruit cor¬ 
rectly from the appearance of the tree than the honorable 
gentleman referred to can name from the appearance of the 
fruit itself. 
“ As has already been stated, the natural tendency of 
seed is to return to its wild state, and also the improved is 
more liable to weakness and disease; so are the shoots cut 
from the branches of an old tree more liable to disease, and 
the seeds from the fruits of old trees are more prone to go 
back to their wild or natural state than are the seeds from 
more vigorous and younger trees. For reasons already 
advanced I would advocate getting scions from the nursery 
row, or from trees not long in bearing, of course barring all 
mistakes fin selection of varieties. As eternal vigilance is 
the price of liberty, so is eternal Avatchfulness helpful in 
keeping your line of stock true to name. 
“Just what will give success in this western country in 
securing a good per cent, of a stand in either buds or grafts. 
