VOL. 1. 
National Nursery 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyright, 1893, by The National Nurseryman Publishing Co. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y., AUGUST, 1893. 
PAINESVILLE. 
The Home of the Largest Rose-Growing Estab¬ 
lishment IN THE World. 
One hundred and fifty thousand roses in a single 
BLOCK—A SEVEN-ACRE FIELD IN FULL BLOOM—OVER ONE 
THOUSAND ACRES UNDER NURSERY CULTIVATION—ANNUAL 
PLANTING OF ONE MILLION STOCKS—TWENTY-EIGHT GREEN¬ 
HOUSES—T WO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MEN EMPLOYED. 
The nursery business of the Storrs & Harrison Co. 
was commenced 40 years ago by J. Storrs & J. J. Harri¬ 
son under the firm name of Storrs & Harrison. Stock 
w'as grown in a small way for a local retail trade. The 
company w'as incorporated in 1881 with a capital stock 
of $100,000. This amount was afterwards increased to 
$150,000. The present officers are: President, J. J. 
Harrison ; vice-president and general manager, W. G. 
Storrs ; assistant general manager, W. P. Storrs ; treas¬ 
urer and superintendent of greenhouses, Robert George ; 
secretary, J. H. Dayton The main offices and grounds 
are situated two miles east of Painesville on the line of 
the L. S. & M. S. R. R. and extend for two miles along 
the shore of Lake Erie. The soil along the lake is a 
stiff clay, admirably adapted to the production of stan¬ 
dard and dwarf pears, plums, etc. The clay runs off 
into the muck beds that have made Lake county famous 
for its onion production and that grows to perfection 
certain varieties of ornamental trees and small fruits. 
South of the muck lies the sandy and gravelly loam 
ridges that have made the Western Reserve celebrated 
for its successful farmers and diversified farming. All 
the clay and muck soil is thoroughly underdrained, much 
of it at a cost greater than the original cost of land. It 
is now producing superb blocks of trees that formerly 
furnished a few loads of marsh hay during the season. 
The company now owns 620 acres of land nearly all 
under cultivation. In addition they hold under lease, 
running from 3 to 10 years, 485 acres, a large portion of 
which has been underdrained. Stock is disposed of en¬ 
tirely through direct sales at wholesale to nurserymen 
and florists, and to planters at retail through catalogues, 
no agents being employed. The value of advertising 
and attractive reliable catalogues was early realized and 
the policy then adopted of advertising through local 
papers and small lists has been steadily pursued until 
the Storrs & Harrison trees, plants and seeds are well 
and favorably knovv^n in every state and territory in the 
United States. 
The annual nursery planting’ is now upwards of 
1,000,000 fruit and ornamental tree stocks, besides 
thousands of shrubs, hardy plants, etc., and the seeds sown 
for hedge plants, forest seedlings, etc. In the item of 
shrubs is the annual propagation of 50,000 Hydrangea. 
Over 100 acres are devoted to grape vines and small 
fruits. All the new and old varieties of grapes, rasp¬ 
berries, blackberries, strawberries,gooseberries, currants, 
etc., are grown in quantity, 600,000 root cuttings of 
blackberries being planted in one lot last spring. The 
ornamental department has always received special at¬ 
tention, no firm in the West attempting the variety or 
quantity, the aim being to keep pace with the ever-in- 
creasing demand for more and better trees in larger 
t 
variety for ornamenting not only private grounds but 
for the decorations of public grounds, parks, cemeteries, 
etc. A small greenhouse for propagation was built soon 
after the firm started. Erom this the greenhouse de¬ 
partment has developed. There are now 28 large 
greenhouses with over 60,000 feet of glass, supplemented 
by a large amount of hot-beds, cold and propagating 
frames. The houses are largely heated with steam and 
they are mostly new or are rebuilt in the most approved 
modern manner. Grape vines, evergreens, 'etc., for 
transplanting into nursery rows are propagated largely 
under glass. A full line of tender and hardy greenhouse 
and bedding plants is grown and annually distributed 
among the florists and planters of the United States by 
mail and express, the yearly production being about 
250,000 plants. 
Roses have always been a strong feature and their 
propagation and sale made a leading specialty. About 
500,000 are propagated in frames, grown in greenhouses 
and sold from pots every year, the sale of strong nursery- 
grown hardy rose plants averaging 175,000, one of the 
most magnificent sights in the nursery being a seven- 
acre field of hardy roses in full bloom. 
The firm has always realized the importance of 
facilities for the prompt packing of orders and for winter 
storage. Additions and enlargements of cellars and 
packing houses have been made from time to time until 
the firm is now using over 12,000 cubic feet of cold 
storage and is erecting this season a mammoth frost-proof 
cellar with double brick walls enclosing a space 84 x 
122 feet and 16 feet high. To this will be attached a 
packing house 43 X95 feet, amply supplied with all ap¬ 
pliances for the quick and accurate packing of orders 
An abundance of water is furnished packing grounds 
