THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
31 
by the experience of the last 40 years and escape many 
of the failures of his fathers. We now know that 90 per 
cent of the apples planted by these pioneers are worthless, 
and that but half a dozen of the long list of pears they sup¬ 
posed to be profitable are worth planting; also that a few 
varieties like the Keiffer, Seckel, Tyson and some of the 
new sorts are practically blight proof under proper manage¬ 
ment, and that this fine fruit can be grown very cheaply. 
Peach growing is now under a cloud and it may not 
be wise to plant largely in this latitude, but every planter 
should have a few trees, and even with our present var¬ 
ieties we get fruit enough to more than pay for planting. 
But there are several new sorts now being introduced 
that seem to have the power to endure 5 or. 10 degrees of 
cold more than the ordinary kinds. The Crosbey, a native 
of Connecticut, and the Champion, a native of this state, 
seem to have great power of resistance. Last fall at 
the state fair I saw two seedlings from Logan county 
that were of superior quality, large size and fine appear¬ 
ance, that are said to be hardy, and the fact of their 
producing such fine specimens last year seems to indicate 
their value. They, as well as all other promising new 
fruits that can be found, are being tested in our horti¬ 
cultural experiment stations. 
“The native plum is our most hardy fruit in both tree 
and bud, as well as the most productive. But it reached 
its best 20 years ago, on account of the curculio and 
fungus diseases that attacked it, but Vv^e have now 
learned that arsenical poisons and sulphate of copper 
are remedies, if not positive specifics, for those difficul¬ 
ties, and we may now plant with the assurance of gather¬ 
ing a harvest. As with peaches, some very promising 
new seedlings have lately come to the front, and several 
of the Japanese varieties promise to be valuable. These 
new sorts, if they prove to be as good as they now ap¬ 
pear to be, will revolutionize plum growing in this lati¬ 
tude. What has been said of plums will also apply to 
cherries. Spray carefully and the worms—larva or 
curculio—will not be found. My conclusions are that 
it is safe to plant all the orchard fruits for commercial 
purposes if the right varieties are selected and carefully 
cultivated, and proper attention given to the trees. 
“But what is the prospect for the approaching season.^ 
Last year when our fruit trees were nearly defoliated 
by fungus attacks, a great many orchardists supposed 
that the injury was so great that if the trees ever recov¬ 
ered they would not produce fruit the coming year; but 
as they had no crop to ripen and the fall was favorable 
they ripened up their wood fairly well and were abun¬ 
dantly furnished with fruit buds; and if the spring is 
favorable I know of no reason why we may not have a 
good crop. Apple trees and .the ground beneath them 
are undoubtedly covered with fungus spores, and if the 
spring should be wet they may again destroy the leaves 
and fruit as last season, unless an effort is made to kill 
them. If the trees and ground are sprayed, before the 
leaves appear, with a strong solution of sulphate of cop¬ 
per—one pound to one hundred gallons of water may 
be used—most of the spores will be killed. Pears, 
plums and cherries are apparently in good condition 
and promise a full crop. Peaches have enough live 
buds for a full yield, and I think it safe to conclude that 
the outlook is fairly good.” 
KNOTS ON MARIANNA ROOTS. 
In reply to the article in the February number of 
The National Nurseryman, by Thomas Meehan, of 
Germantown, Philadelphia, on the discovery of knots 
on Marianna plum stocks obtained from the South, W. 
F. Heikes, of Huntsville. Alabama, says : 
“Such a report, if not refuted, would effect an un¬ 
deserved injury to the reputation of the Marianna as a 
stock. The knots on the roots of plants received from 
Georgia, reported by this correspondent, have no rela¬ 
tion to the ‘ Black Knot ’, but are caused by an insect 
or some peculiar condition of the soil in some parts of 
Georgia. There are spots in the soil, sometimes a few 
acres in a hundred acres, in which the roots of peach 
trees and plum trees are affected with galls. The fibrous 
roots of young peach trees growing in such spots are 
sometimes strung like beads with thousands of these 
galls, the size of peas and larger. Trees or plants 
grown in very sandy soil are most subject to these 
‘knots’. It should be explained that only a small pro¬ 
portion of the land in Georgia is productive of these 
galls, and this only in spots, which may be avoided. 
Plants grown from seeds on these spots are just as 
liable to be affected as plants grown from cuttings. We 
are the largest growers of plums on Marianna stocks 
North or South, and we have never seen a sign of a 
gall or knot in our nurseries—evidence sufficient that 
the cause of the galls is not inherent in the Marianna.” 
In reply to an inquiry, Chief J. M. Samuels of the 
Department of Horticulture at the World’s Columbian 
Exposition said, regarding nursery exhibits, that the 
following firms have engaged space in the west end of 
Midway Plaisance, which will be devoted to these 
exhibits : Geo. Pinney, of Wisconsin ; Robert Douglas 
& Son, Sol. Stahl, J. C. Vaughan, of Illinois ; R. L. 
Moore, T. S. Hubbard & Co., Ellwanger & Barry, of 
New York ; the W. H. Moon Co., and Dingee & Conard, 
of Pa. ; U. B. Pearsall, of Kansas ; Davis & Co., of 
Maryland ; G. W. Stover, La.; T. V. Munson, of 
Texas ; Nanz & Neuner and J. S Downer & Sons, of 
Kentucky ; G. W. Ford, and the California Nursery 
Company, of California. Some of the exhibits are in 
place. 
