THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
47 
Dansville, May 2—A leading firm here‘estimates 
that the amount of stock sent from Dansville this season 
at retail was from 12 to 15 carloads and the amount 
sent out at wholesale from 75 to 80 carloads. 
C. F. McNair & Co. shipped about 9 car loads this 
season, a third increase over other seasons, with fair de¬ 
mand, prices however, ruling low. Surplus stock is 
about all taken up. 
IN KANSAS. 
Fort Scott, Kan., April 20.—Over 100 men have 
been employed during the last few weeks in packing the 
stock handled by the Hart Pioneer Nurseries here,under 
the personal 'supervision of the proprietors, Messrs. 
Combs & Pearsall. 
Aside from the large force employed at the packing 
grounds in the city, this firm has had upwards of seventy- 
five men employed in planting and pruning their stock 
at their nurseries for the past three weeks. They now 
have two hundred and forty acres in nursery stock about 
three miles north of the city, and have also secured 560 
acres one mile south of the fair grounds, known as the 
Judge Miller property. Upon the latter tract they have 
made their entire new plant this Spring, consisting of 
over one million grafts of various kinds, with peach 
seedlings sufficient to bud one half million more trees, 
together with cherry, plum, apricot and quince, in cor¬ 
responding quantities, also one million grape cuttings, 
and large numbers of ornamental shrubs and roses. 
With a view of handling their business at this last 
named point, the Missouri Pacific railway company has 
already put in a switch, and the K. C., F. S. &M. R. R. 
company will doubtless provide the same facilities, and 
the junction depot of the latter road will probably be 
made a station for billing out freight. 
It is the intention of the firm to concentrate their 
plant upon this tract, as the stock can be grown and 
handled to much better advantage than on the tracts 
north of the city. The firm has a large market in 
Colorado, and many car loads of trees and small fruits 
are shipped East to such nursery points as Bloomington, 
Dayton, Geneva and Rochester. 
Colonel Pearsall, in reply to an inquiry, said : 
“The season here has been unusually favorable for 
packing and shipping, as we have had a much dryer 
Spring than usual. The planting -of nursery stock 
of all kinds is nearly completed, except the grape cut¬ 
tings, which we usually defer planting until about the 
last week in April. Our business this year has been of 
greater volume than any previous season, and we have 
the same report from our brother nurserymen in this 
section. We think the prospects for a good trade the 
coming year are exceedingly bright. Prom what we 
can learn, the plant West of the Mississippi River is 
about the same as last year. Some have planted more. 
others less, but we think it will average about the same. 
The crop prospects, with the single exception of wheat 
in Northwestern Kansas, are good. Stock of all kinds 
came through the winter in good condition, and in our 
case, we have the best stand of buds we have had in 
many years. We are still very busy shipping orders 
for the Northern trade.” 
IN MISSOURI. 
St. Louis, Mo., April 22.—The spring packing 
season for nursery stock is now about over in St. Louis, 
all undug stock being in full leaf. The season began 
much later than usual, and closed at about the same 
time, as the result of the weather turning warm quickly. 
Sales have been excellent in this vicinity, but prices on 
most staples are too low for profit. S. M. Bayles said 
to-day : “ Our individual sales ‘ in dollars and cents’ 
last Fall were about 20 per cent., and this Spring about 
30 per cent, greater than in any previous year in the 
history of our business, notwithstanding the prices were 
decidedly lower. There was a good demand for all 
staples, and an extra heavy demand for standard pear, 
cherry and peach. We clear all our fruit trees when 
two years old from bud, with the exception of apple, 
which we grow to three years, and peach to one year, 
and have nothing of salable size left on our packing 
grounds or in nursery rows except a few dwarf pear. 
The prospect is bright for a good fruit crop, in this 
locality, with exception of berries which have been 
hurt somewhat by late frosts.” 
Up at Louisiana, this state, 'Stark Brothers have been 
doing an immense business. They have recently added 
to their facilities for handling and shipping stock. By 
means of thirteen large packing houses and cellars they 
are enabled to prolong the shipping season and thus dis¬ 
pose of more stock than even their large force of em¬ 
ployees could handle to advantage otherwise. They 
have large branches at Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas 
City, and have built up an enormous trade as the result 
of unlimited push and enterprise. It is difficult to esti¬ 
mate the amount of their business this season, but it is 
safe to say that it will exceed that of any firm in the 
West and will doubtless equal or exceed that of any in 
the East. 
IN MICHIGAN. 
Monroe, Mich., May 2.—The characterizing feature 
of the trade in this field was the increased demand for 
peaches. The people clamored for peaches and the 
agents echoed the cry. Nearly every planter had his 
mind set on this fruit and it is safe to estimate that the 
four nurseries located here disposed of at least 400,000 
trees. The demand was felt with great force from the 
Lake region where many planters set out from 1000 to 
2000 trees each. 
The demand for Crawfords was not so large as usual 
while that for the Elberta, Hill’s Chili and New Prolific 
