THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
5 
sent in his bill for amounting to $71.10. Of this $40.00 is salary 
allowed him by the society for superintendence, keeping records and 
making reports; $15.00 is ground rent. The balance, $16.00, is his bill 
for planting what was received this year, and cultivating and caring 
for all these trees and plants. Do you consider this a sinecure ? 
An anonymous communication from Makanda, Ill., is 
concluded in the same issue, as follows: 
T believe that if the nurserymen and politicians connected with the 
State society could understand the true feelings of the practical horti¬ 
culturists of this end of the state, they would cease all efforts to run 
the State society as at present. 
I earnestly hope that you will show up the farcical management of 
our State society. If we can't get the hay, we might bark at the cow. 
More anon. 
SAVING TO NURSERYMEN. 
The following from the Rural Netv Yorker regarding 
the propagation of trees for planting, suggests a saving 
to nurserymen : 
H. M. Stringfellow, of Galveston. Tex., insists that the whole theory 
and practice of tree planting, as handed down from time immemorial, 
is wrong. In other words, trees when transplanted, need fewer and 
shorter roots, rather than many and longer roots. Instead of large 
holes and carefully spreading out the roots, and working in the soil by 
hand, as now practiced, he would prepare his soil, stretch a strong line 
with tags tied at the desired intervals, make a small hole with a dibble 
a couple of inches in diameter, put the trees down the proper distance 
and, when a row is done, turn back and tramp thoroughly. The tramp¬ 
ing he regards as very important. 
Ilis directions for root pruning are : Hold the tree top down, and 
cut all roots back to about an inch, more or less, sloping the cuts so 
that when the tree is set, the cut surface will face downwards. Ex¬ 
perience has shown that these roots are generally emitted perpendicu¬ 
larly to the plane or surface of the cut. This final pruning should be 
done shortly before planting, so as to present a fresh surface for the 
callus to form. If trees are to be kept some time, or shipped by a 
nurseryman, about two inches of root should be left, the planter to cut 
back as directed when the tree is set. About a foot of top should be 
left; more or less makes no difference. If the tree is well staked, three 
feet may be left without diminishing the growth much. 
Mr. Stringfellow’s chief insistence is that trees treated in this way 
will live longer and be far more vigoious and healthy. The planter in 
his haste for fruit, “demands large trees with plenty of roots and top, 
to support which and to make them live, the nurseryman often trans 
plants several times. This gives a mass of fibrous roots which will 
insure their living, but practically dwarfs them and destroys their 
future usefulness.” 
The value, from an economical point of view, of his method is 
claimed to be almost beyond computation. There is an enormous sav¬ 
ing to the nurseryman in digging his stock ; an equally great saving in 
packing. Instead of great bales of tops, roots, moss, bagging and 
rope, and labor of putting up the same, or large boxes containing 
thousands of pounds of the same useless dead weight, a thousand root 
and top-pruned trees could be packed in a medium-sized, tight box, 
with a layer of wet moss in the bottom to maintain a moist atmosphere, 
and shipped with perfect safety around the world. The saving to the 
buyer will be even greater. It would be hard, he says, to estimate how 
many hundreds of thousands of dollars are annually paid by planters 
to railroads in charges on worse than useless tops, roots and packing. 
It appears that Mr. J. II. Hale is the only nurseryman, thus far, that 
cares publicly to advocate Mr. Stringfellow’s method of pruning roots 
for transplantation. He practiced this close root-pruning upon the 
100,000 peach trees set in his Georgia orchard, and less than one-half of 
one per cent, failed to grow, all making the most vigorous and even 
growth he has seen in any orchard in America. Mr. Hale says that he 
is thoroughly in favor of this system of root pruning. It is plain that 
only trees which make roots readily would thrive if so severely pruned. 
We dare say that evergreens, magnolias, hickories, etc., could not stand 
it at all. There need, however, be no speculation about the matter. 
The advantages or disadvantages of the system may easily be deter¬ 
mined by experiment stations and others who deem it worthy of scien¬ 
tific investigation. 
THE GRAPE OUTPUT. 
• The Chautauqua output of grapes in 1895, amounted 
to 3,200 carloads of 2,800 baskets each, bringing $1,209,- 
600. The output in 1894 was 3,600 carloads bringing 
$1,1 59,200. 
The Ohio district shipped 700 carloads or 1,960,000 
baskets. The Northern Ohio Grape Co., shipped 366,728 
baskets by rail, bringing $52,909.75. The average price 
per basket in both districts was 13^ cents. 
The Northern Ohio Grape Co. handled 391,900 baskets, 
as follows : Miscellaneous varieties I [,219 baskets, Nia¬ 
garas and Pocklingtons, 6,327 ; Concords, 301,106; Dela¬ 
wares, 9,226; Wordens, 7,502; Catawbas, 32,518; Ives, 
24,002. 
THE APPLE CROP. 
Early in January the New York Tribune quoted a 
prominent shipper of apples as follows; “ Shipments to 
Liverpool, London and Glasgow, up to date amount in 
round numbers, to nearly 550,000 barrels, against 1,156,- 
223 barrels for the corresponding date of last year. In 
view of the abundant trans-atlantic crops and the immense 
American crop, it cannot, of course, be expected that ex¬ 
ports will be as heavy this year as they were last year, 
when the European crop failed and there were 1,438,155 
barrels exported from this country, which had a good 
crop. If full crops were gathered in all of the apple grow¬ 
ing states, the aggregate would be about one hundred 
and twenty million barrels, and the market would be so 
glutted that it would not pay the growers to pick the 
fruit.” 
©bituav\>. 
Tbe Western Association of Wholesale Nurserymen has adopted these 
resolutions upon the death of II. T. Kelsey, president of the associa¬ 
tion : 
Whereas, This association has learned of the death of our esteemed 
friend and co-worker, H. T. Kelsey, of St. Joseph, Mo.; therefore, 
Resolved, That by the death of Mr. Kelsey, this association 
has lost one of its most valuable and active members, whose merits 
we recognized by repeatedly electing him president of our association ; 
one whose high character and genial social qualities endeared him not 
only to each member of this association, but to all his associates. 
Resolved, That by the death of the deceased, horticulture has met 
with a severe loss and the community in which he lived a valuable, 
public-spirited and upright citizen, whose many good deeds will be 
remembered and appreciated. 
Resolved, That this association tender to the widow and children of 
the deceased, our deepest sympathy in this hour of their great bereave¬ 
ment, and while it is beyond the power of words fully to express our 
sympathy, yet we trust they will find much consolation in the fact that 
the deceased left a rare legacy in the form of an unblemished character 
which not only his relatives but friends will admire, respect and refer 
to as a model to follow. 
Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be furnished the family of 
the deceased and also a copy be furnished The National Nurseryman 
for publication. 
By order of the association, 
U. B. Pearsall, ) 
Peter Youngers, Committee. 
.J. II. Skinner, ) 
