98 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
for good stock, true to name. A “ Cheap John,” that is 
a man who sells poor stock at low prices, can never build 
up a large business. If by the name “Cheap John” ref- 
rence is made to men who by careful management are 
able to sell superior stock, true to name, at a lower price 
than competitors, we have here to deal with a man of 
more than average business ability. Surely we may ex¬ 
pect that such a man will get his full share of trade, and 
he ought to do so. But such a man does not come under 
the head of “ Cheap John ” any more than such dry goods 
stores as John Wanamaker’s or others in every large city, 
who will sell as cheap as they can afford, and yet make 
money rapidly, Wanamaker and many others of his 
stamp have the ability to furnish their customers with 
reliable goods at reduced prices, adopting new schemes 
and systemizing, economizing, and yet continually ex¬ 
tending. 
This is a good-sized country. There are a number of 
states in the Union and the most of them are of consider¬ 
able magnitude. The number of nurseries on the other 
hand are few in proportion to the amount of territory 
covered. I see no reason why a nurseryman with good 
fair business ability should not be prosperous. 
I am certain that competition brings good results; that 
the reliable tree agent paves the way for sales by those 
who rely solely on catalogues, and that a good descriptive 
catalogue interests purchasers so that the agent makes a 
sale more readily when he finds one in the house of the 
individual he calls upon. The main point is to get peo¬ 
ple interested in the subject of orcharding and fruit gar¬ 
dening. To this end we should encourage national, state 
and local horticultural societies, farmers’ institutes and all 
that educates along these lines. 
MAHALEB AND MAZZARD STOCKS. 
R. J. Bagley, Mexico, Mo., writes to the Southern Illi¬ 
nois Agricultural Visitor : “ Many of us remember when 
the much-abused tree agent began to tell how the cherry 
trees that he offered to sell were grown on stocks imported 
from Europe. He insured that the cherry trees that he 
sold would never make a lot of troublesome sprouts. The 
Mahaleb stock was then becoming known and was ex¬ 
tensively used by all the large nurseries. It soon became 
popular with nurserymen all over the country, and prob¬ 
ably at this writing over ninety-five per cent, of the cherry 
trees growing in nurseries are on Mahalebs. One Mis¬ 
souri firm has planted an orchard of Mahalebs from which 
to raise seed. The writer visited this thirty acre orchard 
of Mahalebs last June. The trees seem to be about eight 
years of age. They are dwarfish in appearance, and taken 
altogether are certainly not a healthy, thrifty lot of trees. 
If this orchard becomes of practical value to the owners 
for the crops of seed, the Mahaleb stock will have come 
to stay. The Mahaleb comes to us from France, usually. 
If it is properly planted in light sandy clay soil, it grows 
well and makes splendid roots. It can be budded from 
June till October, and if we keep at them, a good set of 
buds will be secured. The stocks pass through the coldest 
winters uninjured, if they are not in low wet land. It 
makes up nice stock in both sweet and sour varieties, and 
the trees go into the hands of planters in a thrifty, healthy 
condition. The orchardist has a right to expect the very 
best results. The trees in orchard bear early and abund¬ 
antly. There are splendid orchards all over this country 
of young bearing trees, that would perhaps never have 
been planted if Mazzards alone had been depended on. 
“We are all acquainted with the Mazzard. If the fruit 
is sometimes of no value, we must admire the strong 
vigorous growth, making as it does, a splendid shade tree. 
It is probably seldom injured by cold if the thermometer 
does not go more than 15 degrees below zero. A few 
days ago we measured a large Mazzard, the body of which 
would make a good cut for a saw mill, being over seven 
feet in circumference. The fruit of this tree is of most 
excellent quality, and the average crop of this one tree for 
several years past has exceeded ten bushels of cherries per 
year. These old Mazzards planted by the early settlers 
to Mo. from Va., are to be found in many parts of the 
state, still vigorous old trees. As a stock, it transplants 
well and makes very satisfactory roots in the nursery. If 
we undertake to propagate by budding, we often have 
much difficulty in getting a good set of buds. Cherry 
trees can be grown on Mazzards safely and cheaply by 
grafting on the whole root before transplanting the stocks. 
By this manner of propagation the variety grafted will 
root from the scion, and can be safely planted wherever 
cherries are grown.” 
TREES FOR WESTERN PLANTING. 
Charles A. Keffer, of Washington, D. C., writing to 
Garden and Forest, says: The principal deciduous trees 
that succeed in the West are Cottonwood, Box Elder, 
Russian Mulberry, Silver Maple, Catalpa, Black Locust, 
Honey Locust, White Elm, Green Ash, Black Walnut, 
Wild Cherry and Burr Oak. Besides these. White and 
Red Oak and Chestnut grow well in certain localities, 
principally toward the eastern part of the region south of 
the Dakotas. In addition to these, several other well- 
known species can be successfully grown in the plain 
region. The Hackberry, or Nettle-tree, has a natural dis¬ 
tribution almost as wide as that of the Box Elder, being 
found throughout Nebraska and South Dakota, and along 
the streams of Northern Kansas. It grows rapidly under 
cultivation, and succeeds very well on high land. It 
endures shade well, at least while young, and can be used 
for mixing with Box Elder and other shade-enduring 
species. 
Ailanthus was recommended almost without qualifica¬ 
tion in the early days of Kansas tree-planting, but the 
past few dry seasons have proved that it is worthless on 
high land, and of little value in any locality. Grown as 
coppice—that is, to be cut to the ground every few years 
—it makes a great deal of fuel, but in close plantation it 
