44 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
Dansville, N. Y., April 17 . —James M. Kennedy: 
“ Spring here opened up very late, owing to the long 
winter and so much frost in the ground to contend with. 
Nurserymen here could not dig until about the first of 
April and in some soils and locations could not dig until 
the 8th. But when the frost did come out every nursery¬ 
man was in a rush. The late spring caused a good many 
countermands of orders. Some nurserymen here packed 
a good many of their cars at night to save time and to get 
their stock off on time. The weather thus far has been 
characterized by much rain and cold. 
“ Thos. Kennedy & Sons have shipped this spring 115 
cases and several car loads, an increase over last spring ; 
prices ruling lower than last spring. Our railroad agent 
informs us that at least 150 cars loaded with trees in bulk 
and boxes will leave Dansville this spring, an increase 
over last spring. The demand for stock has been very 
good, but the prices very low, in fact, lower than cost of 
production. We think about all the surplus will be taken 
up except some varieties of apple, cherry and plum. We 
feel safe in saying that no nursery stock in this locality 
has been injured by the winter to amount to anything. 
Last year’s budding is looking fine. 
“ George A. Sweet, Morey & Son, Ed. Bacon, Bryant 
Bros, and C. F. McNair have made their usual sale, with 
an increase over last spring. Little stock has been planted 
yet. 
“ The prospects for next fall and spring as far as can be 
judged are that prices will not advan.ce much from last 
fall. Several large sales have already been made for next 
fall’s delivery. The amount of stock that will be planted 
here this spring will be 20 to 30 per cent, more than last 
spring, as nurserymen are in hopes of better prices when 
this year’s planting comes in market.” 
Warren, O., April 17.—C. L. Whitney: “Business 
here is about as usual this season. Sales in Norway Spruce 
have dropped off somewhat, but they are quite heavy in 
some other sorts of evergreens. Trade in chestnut trees 
is very good. While the sales this year are not quite up 
to former seasons, they may be considered very good. 
Prospects for future business probably as good as usual.” 
Portland, N. Y., April 21.—This has been one of the 
busiest seasons in this section for a number of years. 
Owing to the fact that severe freezing weather lasted so 
much later than usual, many large shipments that are usual¬ 
ly got out of the way in March, could not be shipped with 
safety until April, thereby making a much larger propor¬ 
tion of business to be handled during the same length of 
time. 
Prices of grape vines, especially Concord, have ruled 
below the cost of production. All varieties are cleaned 
up very close, and while planting was reduced quite a per¬ 
centage last spring, there was a surplus of Concord vines 
carried over from the previous year, and evidently every 
nurseryman believed there was a big surplus, but at this 
date there is scarcely a Concord vine of any grade to be 
had in this section, showing that it would have been pos¬ 
sible to realize much better prices, had the nurserymen 
taken a sensible view of the case and held their stock for 
fair prices. In fact, we believe more profit would have 
been realized to have sold one-half of the stock at a fair 
profit and burned up the balance. We are unable at this 
date to give an intelligent estimate of the planting for 
spring. 
The Chautauqua Nursery Co. are the only firm doing a 
retail business at this point, and their spring packing is 
about double that of one year ago. They have already 
shipped away six car loads, and with favorable weather 
expect to finish packing by the 27th inst., the late spring 
making them somewhat later in getting out than usual. 
Perry, O., April 23.—L. Green & Son Co.: “Our busi¬ 
ness has been very satisfactory indeed this spring, much 
better in fact than we anticipated. We think as far as 
we have heard that it has been good throughout this sec¬ 
tion.” 
IN THE MIAMI VALLEY. 
Dayton, O., April 20.—The character of the trade in 
this section this spring is peculiar in many respects. It 
opened up sluggishly—more so than the number of previ¬ 
ous inquiries led most nurserymen to expect. There was 
an evident disposition to defer ordering until the last 
moment so that only actual needs may be supplied, rather 
than take any chances on ordering a surplus, however 
small. As a result almost all the orders were placed and 
shipments made within an incredibly short time. 
Wholesale orders were, as a rule, unusually numerous 
and likewise unusually small on an average. The retail 
sales throughout the country were evidently light, owing 
to the prevailing hard times. Yet it is encouraging to 
note that even with light sales most of the smaller estab¬ 
lishments were obliged to buy more or less stock result¬ 
ing in the large number of small orders above referred to. 
With the exception of cherry, stock is generally sold, very 
little surplus being left on hand and that mostly of odd 
varieties. 
In view of the light retail sales it is quite evident that 
the activity in the wholesale trade this spring is largely 
due to the growing scarcity of most lines of stock, the 
usual demand for which would certainly have exceeded 
the supply. 
Another peculiarity of the trade this spring was the fact 
that while prices were fairly well sustained until shipments 
began, yet the bulk of the sales were made on a declining 
market, brought about by the unusually late orders and 
nervousness of holders rather than by any excess of stock. 
The aggregate planting throughout this country has 
been continually reduced for several years, and a very 
ordinary trade this summer will reveal that fact with 
startling vividness next fall. By way of prophecy, we 
believe the nursery business will be the first to experience 
a revival in trade and prices. 
Tadmor, O., April g.—N. H. Albaugh: “Our sales 
for spring have been larger than usual, and this is the case 
generally, with the nurserymen of the Miami Valley. 
The outlook for next fall’s trade is much better than last 
year.” 
