72 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
the last knotty problem and a peaceful calm steals o’er you 
like the gentle dews of evening on a sleeping lake, but the 
winter of your discontent is soon upon you and the awful 
realization of your failure forces you into ambush, and not 
until time softens the blow and the elixir of repose heals the 
cruel sting, do you come forth to renew the conflict, but 
come you will, for there is an inborn desire to meet and 
overcome all obstacles and from the bracing air and blue 
sky of Minnesota comes the strengthening energy that pul¬ 
sates through every fibre and gives determination to triumph 
over disaster. 
“ The nursery industry in the North requires an element 
not necessary in more favored localities, for not only must 
the nurseryman know how to grow, but he must know 
what to grow, and what will best succeed with his custom¬ 
ers. How to grow nursery stock in the North is a study 
full of exceptions to the general rule. Protection from 
drouth and protection from cold are familiar terms to him 
who is even partially successful and a variety of experiences 
greet him at every turn. 
“ It will not surprise me if in the near future we shall 
grow standard apples and pears, as we are now growing 
peaches by laying them down and covering up for winter. 
Some of the most interesting developments in fruit growing 
have been brought about by intelligent processes of protec¬ 
tion, which have added very materially to the scope of nur¬ 
sery products for the North. Small fruits that were unprof¬ 
itable to raise are now grown in abundance, and at a profit, 
and our attention is now running to other fields for con¬ 
quest, and if we cannot have roses in that surfeit of pro¬ 
fusion with which they grow in the South, where no effort 
is required, we can, with protection, bring our treasures 
through the severest winters without harm. We can also 
generate more enthusiasm over one fine bush in bloom than 
is known and experienced over a thousand that have been 
grown without effort. 
“ Cultivating, mulching and irrigation are important 
factors to our success and are the basis from which we must 
determine what protection is needed for the winter. A 
proper amount of moisture and at the right time are also 
necessary to success and I am inclined to think that many 
nurserymen in other localities could study the conservation 
of moisture in the soil to good advantage for where the best 
conditions of location and soil exist there is often a lack of 
moisture at just the time it is most needed. 
“ Another interesting feature of the nursery business of 
the North is the originating and developing of varieties of 
fruits and flowers that are most hardy and best adapted to 
the rigors of a dry cold climate and if it is not at all times 
as remunerative as our southern friends desire, it has an 
element of adventure for which northern and western men 
have a keen relish, the greatest ambition being to develop 
those kinds of fruits that can be successfully grown in the 
North. Some valuable and certain progress has been made 
in that direction. The experimenter, of course, will not 
reap the reward he deserves, but he will confer a lasting 
benefit upon others and will be entitled to the reward due 
the benefactor ol his fellow men. Failure upon failure may 
be his experience, but when success does perch upon his 
banner, it is colored by the glorious tints of the brightest of 
sunny skies and tinged by the bloom wafted on the purest 
and freshest of air. Fruit in Minnesota is perhaps unex¬ 
celled for its beauty of coloring and richness of flavor, 
which always is an incentive to persevere, and so the busi¬ 
ness, if not always as remunerative as we could wish, is 
spiced with a rich element of satisfaction that may not 
always be found elsewhere. 
“A few words in regard to our particular business. 
Our shipping season begins from April ist to 5th, with 
shipments to other nurserymen. Our spring deliveries 
are generally made about April 15th in Illinois and 
Southern Iowa first, following northward as the season 
progresses, and usually ending in northern Minnesota, 
North Dakota, and Manitoba about May loth to 15th, 
according to the season. 
“In our earlier shipments we are compelled to use 
extra precautions to protect our stock against frost, using 
tight boxes, lined with paper and very little moisture, 
confining our packing principally to damp moss among 
the roots and nearly dry straw outside of that. 
“There is a theory extant among nurserymen, that 
stock may be frozen without injury, if thawed out in the 
original packages. We have in some instances expe¬ 
rienced very little loss where stock was frozen, but it 
has invariably been in the case of very tight boxes and 
very gradual exposure to heat. Goods when packed in 
air-tight boxes, may be thawed out in a cool, dark place, 
pLnty of time, with a minimum of loss, but the 
cases must be packed full and tight, leaving no air 
spaces. With all this we have a strong prejudice 
against frozen stock under any circumstances. 
“Our sales for the spring of ’94 were a trifle less 
than for the spring of ’93, though our mail orders and 
office business increased fully 25 per cent. The bulk of 
our business, is of course, a retail trade, as the increased 
cost of growing goods in our climate and latitude pre¬ 
vents our making prices to compete with southern and 
eastern growers at wholesale. 
“I note a heavy demand for some of the iron-clad 
varieties of standard apple, the Duchess of Oldenburg, 
Wealthy, Hibernal, etc., as well as many of the hybrids 
or crab apples. We had also a heavy demand for na¬ 
tive plum on plum, of the American types, such as the 
Weaver, De Soto, Forest Garden, etc. 
“ Our planting in the spring of ’94 was a slight in¬ 
crease over that of ’93, principally in the hardier varie¬ 
ties of standard apples, hybrids or crab apples, and plum 
on plum roots. 
