THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
73 
“ We find trade somewhat influenced by the finan¬ 
cial depression, but if the usual conditions obtain, we 
have reason to expect a fairly good business for fall of 
1894. 
“In conclusion, whatever failure comes to nursery¬ 
men in the North, we have a work to accomplish that 
cannot be set aside, and that is to see that every man in 
our part of the vineyard has a succession of fruits from 
the time strawberries ripen till the latest winter apples 
are harvested and if Coxey’s army does not solve the 
labor problem, we shall endeavor to establish every 
unemployed man on a five-acre fruit farm in the center 
of each quarter section of land throughout the great 
Northwest. ” 
NURSERY INDUSTRY IN THE WEST. 
In the absence of Henry Augustine, of Normal, Ill., 
who was to have spoken on “The Nursery Industry in 
the West,” President Pearsall spoke for that section. 
He said : “ Fruits have brought best prices where 
planted most largely. We are apt to forget that up to 
this time the prices of fruits have been almost prohibi¬ 
tory to the common man. When the working man can 
afford to have fruits on his table as ordinaril}' as pota¬ 
toes, then the consumption will extend wonderfully. 
Western people sometimes say that it is better to raise 
apples at 20 cents a bushel than wheat at 40 cents The 
trees at the West are free from disease, and with the 
exception of leaf roller and codlin moth, free from insects. 
I expect a full crop of most varieties of apples. In regard 
to stock, its value is determined by variety, etc., not by 
the locality of its production. It is a bugbear to talk about 
‘home grown stock.’ Apple trees grown in Kansas 
will do just as well as those grown in New York, and 
eastern stock is just as good for the West as western 
stock. It is the same with vegetables and grains. We 
must grow things where we can grow them the best and 
cheapest. Eastern people cannot grow corn at eight 
cents a bushel and pay interest on land, while this has 
been done by me.” 
Professor L. H. Bailey, of Ithaca, N. Y., read a 
paper on “The Natural History of Synonyms.” The 
question as to whether it is possible for the same variety 
to originate twice ; or is every new seedling a distinct 
variety, was the gist of some sharp controversy in the 
horticultural world. The confusion attending the dis¬ 
cussion of this question arose because there are two 
opposed views of what constitutes a variety, one con¬ 
tending that a variety is determined by its origin, while 
the other defines a variety by its own tangible attributes. 
Professor Bailey proceeded to distinguish the two posi¬ 
tions, in order that just conclusions might be arrived at 
respecting the origin and uses of synononious names. 
SECOND DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. 
Early in the forenoon of the second day of the con¬ 
vention the members were photographed for the frontis¬ 
piece of The National Nurseryman. 
Wing R. Smith of Syracuse, N. Y., read a paper on 
“ Pear Culture,” based on experience in Syracuse. The 
firm with which he is connected grows a high grade of 
standard pears. The first requisite was to have a good 
healthy stock. To be good, stocks should have proper 
size, a quarter of an inch and up in diameter ; and should 
bg thrifty with good branched roots. The second requis¬ 
ite was soil adapted to the growth of pear trees, which 
should be put in proper condition for insuring a rapid, 
healthy and continuous growth of the trees. His firm 
had found a clay loam, with a stiff, clay subsoil, best 
suited to standard pears. It should be thoroughly un- 
derdraincd, subsoiled, and pulverized, so as to allow the 
stocks to at once start to grow when planted. He ex¬ 
plained a plan for underdraining the ground with tiling, 
and why he objected to open ditches. They take up 
too much land, have to be constantly cleaned and re¬ 
paired, and they lose the very essential requirement, 
cross sub-soiling, by which is meant, sub-soiling and 
plowing across the drains, which not only loosens the 
soil, but draws the water to the ditches. He advocated 
liberal use of barnyard manure or proper commercial 
fertilizers, and thorough cultivation. He aimed to bud 
stocks as early as buds can be procured thaf are suffi¬ 
ciently ripened and mature ; and the stock is then left 
untested until the following spring, e.xcept the keeping 
of the earth mellow by frequent cultivation. He did 
not approve of the leaving of a stub. From this on, 
there was little else to do than to keep the sprouts 
rubbed or cut off, and to stimutate a rapid growth by 
never ceasing and thorough cultivation. In the fall a 
furrow should be plowed up to the trees as protection 
against frost, and the following spring prune to whips, 
headings them back to desired height, which, with his 
firm, was three feet five inches from the ground. From 
time to time take off a few of the heavier limbs, and here 
the greatest caution and best judgment should be exer¬ 
cised. He did not advise winter pruning. 
imported stocks. 
Irving Rouse, of Rochester, N. Y., presented a 
paper entitled “Why are Foreign-Grown Shade and 
Evergreen Trees Sold so Largely by American Nursery¬ 
men ” It is as follows : 
“The question has been asked me, ‘ Why do nursery¬ 
men urge the sale and planting of foreign sorts of shade 
and evergreen trees and why is it so difficult to get 
native American sorts ? ’ The discussion of this ques¬ 
tion is perhaps of less importance now than it was ten 
years ago, as the demand on the part of planters for 
native trees is, I believe, such as to compel most nurse- 
