THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
Donald came into power, there was a duty placed upon 
nursery stock of all kinds. I cannot tell whether it was 
all ad valorem, or part that and part specific ; but it 
was amended the. next year following, I think, or soon 
after, placing a heavy specific duty upon many things, 
with a clause attached to the bill, stating that if the 
United States government admitted nursery stock free 
from Canada, the governor-general of Canada had the 
power to issue a proclamation to admit such stock into 
Canada without duty; but it appeared they were not 
very sincere in this matter, for the next meeting, or the 
next meeting but one, of our Congress after this clause 
was added to the statutes of Canada, the duty on nur¬ 
sery stock was abolished by the United States. Al¬ 
though the attention of the Canadian government was 
called to this matter at once, they did not take any 
action to remove the duty on nursery stock for some 
four or five years, and then they did not until very strong 
pressure was brought to bear upon them by our minister 
at Ottawa, and the duty was removed for a short until 
the McKinley bill placed a duty upon nursery stock 
coming into the United States, when the Canadian gov¬ 
ernment at the very next session of Parliament, again 
placed a duty upon nursery stock coming into Canada, 
at a very high rate ; on some things almost prohibitory. 
Therefore it is plain enough to be seen that it was a re- 
talitory measure.” 
Mr. Albaugh said that foreign nursery stocks were never 
so cheap as they have been since 1890 ; that Canada tariffs 
did not follow United States tariffs ; that he had paid 20 per 
cent, tariff on stocks shipped to Canada, nearly twenty years 
ago ; that he believed in a reasonable degree of protection 
upon all things that could be produced in this country; that 
free trade was a myth ; that nearly every foreign country 
had a tariff more or less protective ; that the American 
laborer was better paid than the laborer anywhere else ; 
that he lived better and consumed more of the luxuries of 
life than the laborer in any other land; that thereby Ameri¬ 
can markets were the best in the world, and that these 
markets thus made by our munificent system of govern¬ 
ment, should be protected for American producers and not 
be allowed to be overrun by the merchants and traders of 
foreign lands. 
Howard A. Chase, of Philadelphia.—“ Let us at least 
try to be consistent. If we are to have a revenue tax equiv¬ 
alent to a cent a pound on every pound of sugar that enters 
into the most remote and humble home in this broad land, 
let us not object to a paltry ten per cent, upon nursery 
stock and seedlings. I agree with Mr. Sweet that from a 
purely personal and selfish standpoint, it would probably be 
to our advantage to have seedlings, especially pear seed¬ 
lings, on the free list; but if we are to have a tarilT on rev¬ 
enue lines, let us be consistent and not advocate placing on 
the free list an article that we cannot successfully produce 
ourselver. On the other hand if we are to accept the 
theory of protection, and it be found practicable to place 
pear seedlings on the free list and maintain a protective 
duty on such nursery products as we can successfully grow 
in this country, we will be acting in a consistent manner. 
As you are all probably aware, under the tariff bill of 1883, 
all nursery products were on the free list, and as a natural 
result, every spring the surplus stock of Europe was 
dumped into our larger Atlantic coast cities, notably Bos¬ 
ton, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and peddled 
out for whatever it would fetch. The damaqe and loss, 
direct and indirect, that resulted to the American nursery¬ 
men under the operation of that law, can never be calcu¬ 
lated. The McKinley bill with its duty of twenty per cent, 
greatly reduced these importations, with the exception of 
roses. As the result of roses remaining on the free list, 
one of our largest retail general stores in Philadelphia sold 
the past spring, hundreds of thousands of dormant im¬ 
ported two-year-old bushes, which were retailed in con¬ 
nection with dry goods, four bushes, four colors, for four 
nickels—five cents apiece ! Gentlemen : Do whatever you 
please as regards pear seedlings, but when it comes to gen¬ 
eral nursery products, no free list for me.” 
William C. Barry, Rochester, N. Y. — “ I am glad 
Mr. Chase has drawn attention to this part of the ques¬ 
tion. The discussion so far seems to have been in ref¬ 
erence to seedlings which American nurserymen import 
largely, but it should be borne in mind that there are 
many nurserymen in this country who grow ornamental 
stock on an extensive scale, and whose business suffers 
greatly from the introduction of foreign goods. There 
are many rose growers on this side whose goods come 
into direct competition with those from abroad, and if 
no duty be imposed on the foreign goods, American 
rose growers will be forced to quit the business. ‘ This is 
only one illustration ; when there was no duty foreign 
growers shipped into the various ports of New York, 
Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia, large quantities of 
their surplus stock which was sold at auction, thus com¬ 
ing into direct competition with the goods of American 
growers. It is not difficult to see that such a condition 
of things would soon ruin the American trade, and I am 
therefore of the opinion that it would be wise to impose 
at least a duty of 40 or 50 per cent, upon the articles 
which can be grown in this country, and letting such 
stock as we cannot grow here come in free. The inju¬ 
rious effects of these ruinously low prices for foreign 
goods affects not only the nurserymen, but also all such 
men as have agents.’’ 
President U. B. Pearsall closed the discussion saying 
that he had listened to the words of wisdom of veterans in 
the business, both pro and con, and hoped all would profit 
by it, but he could not agree with his friend Sweet in the 
proposition to remove the duties from all classes of trees 
and shrubs. It would strike a severe blow at the nursery 
