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THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
nursery stock this spring. They now have seventy-five acres in decid¬ 
uous nursery stock. This will make one of the largest nurseries in 
Southern California. Mr. Killian, of the same firm, will plant 200 
acres in softshell walnuts.. He has fifty acres in walnuts, and predicts 
a future demand for them. 
President Underwood, of the Minnesota Horticultural Society, 
speaking of black raspberries endorses the suggestion of Wyman 
Elliot that when plants can be procured in quantity, tw r o be planted 
in each hill ; then one at least is apt to grow and thus a waste of land 
resulting from a missing hill, is avoided. President Underwood thinks 
it is a good argument in the interest of nurserymen who have plants 
to sell. 
William R. Monroe, of Unionville, O., recently addressed the Lake 
Shore Farmers Institute at Ashtabula on the subject of the Monroe 
doctrine. It was a ringing address, interspersed with anecdotes, and 
it was received with great enthusiasm. Mr. Monroe discussed national 
questions in a telling manner. On ordinary occasions his doctrine is 
that which declares that the Sirocco is the most useful tool the nur¬ 
serymen can possess. 
J. II. Hale relating his experience and success in growing peaches by 
the 1,000 acres, concludes his article with the following sensible 
remark: “All in all it has been a satisfactory experiment, but the 
average fruit grower, with moderate capital, and a thorough acquaint¬ 
ance in his own neighborhood, will be safer and better off to remain 
right where he is, and develop to its utmost possibilities the fruit 
industry w'hich surrounds him.” 
The nursery of W. & T. Smith Co., Geneva, N. Y., is one of the 
most extensive in the country. This well-known corporation this 
spring calls special attention to its stock of apples, standard and 
dwarf two-year pears, Downing gooseberry, three-year Industry, 
Columbian raspberry, Cut-leaved birch, Kilmarnock willow, Carolina 
and Lombardy poplar, Silver maple, White-leaved linden, American 
elm, shrubs, vines, hardy roses, and dormant plants of Crimson Rambler 
rose. 
Many nurserymen in Rochester, like those of other sections, use the 
bicycle in business as well as pleasure. Within a stone’s throw of one 
of the largest nursery firms in Rochester there will be given by C. J. 
Couolly on March 5th, 6th and 7th, a cycle show which will only be 
equalled by the big New' York and Chicago shows recently held. It 
will be the most elaborate thing of the kind attempted in the Flower 
city. There will be an electrical display, beautiful decorations and 
orchestra concerts each afternoon and evening. 
Silas Wilson, of Iowa, says : “ Root grafting in my opinion, is the 
only way a reliable tree can be grown. I don’t care if the pieces of 
roots are no more than two or two and a half inches long. I use good 
scions, and expect to get roots from the scions. When they are hardy 
kinds the tree will be hardy, regardless of the original root. The agent 
will tell the farmer that a tree to be hardy must be growm from a 
whole root; that without a tap root a tree cannot be hardy. But while 
this is a very nice theory it is not true, as in any kind of nursery work 
it is almost impossible to preserve the tap root.” 
The Storrs & Harrison Co., Painesville, O., issue three catalogues, 
one descriptive of fruit and ornamental trees, evergreens, grape vines, 
small fruits, roses, etc.; another, a seed, flower, plant and vegetable 
catalogue, of 168 pages, and another devoted to Holland and other 
bulbs for fall planting, winter-blooming plants, etc. No company in 
the world grows more roses in field nor finer roses than does this well- 
known concern. It has a full assortment of first-class nursery stock, 
.lust now' it is pushing the Gault Perpetual raspberry and the Industry 
gooseberry. This is the 41st year of this company. It has 1,000 acres 
and 29 greenhouses. 
Regarding the champion budding gang of the River Raisin Nurser¬ 
ies, Monroe, Mich., the North American Horticulturist says: “The 
last season John Schneider w'on the prize, having budded 4206 trees in 
10 hours. Next came George Landrey with 4203 buds. Every bud- 
der has his helper, who follow's him and wraps the inserted buds. 
This also requires skill and experience, as a loose or tight wrapping is 
injurious to the tree. In this work George Heller and Vernie West- 
gate have excelled. The others averaged 3000 buds a day budding. 
They truly deserve the title given them by Mr. John Loeffler the gen¬ 
ial artist of the nursery : Champion Budding Gang.” 
NURSERY STOCK FOR POTATO LAND. 
B. H. Pugh, Oakland, Kan., writing to the Kansas 
Farmer , says: 
Responding to your invitation, I give you the following as an em¬ 
bodiment of my experience in raising potatoes on land previously 
occupied by nursery stock. 
My potato field is Kaw valley bottom land. The soil is sandy loam 
with a surface soil of eight or ten inches thickness and a moderately 
soft subsoil, w'hich nowhere shows any trace of clay. The field has 
been in cultivation twenty-three years, almost every year of w'hich it 
has produced some sort of crop. Potatoes were never before raised on 
it. It has never been fertilized, nor has it ever been sown to clover or 
alfalfa. 
Four years ago a crop of apple trees was taken from this five-acre 
plot, and the tree-digger running under the row's gave the soil the first 
subsoiling in its history. The two succeeding years crops of seedlings 
were taken up with the seedling-cutter, giving the land three succes¬ 
sive subsoilings. Added to this was the thorough cultivation of the 
nursery stock and complete annihilation of weeds. The result was that 
the field was reduced to a deep bed of finely pulveiized soil. During 
the winter previous to planting, this soil absorbed a great deal of rain 
and atmospheric moisture, so that by spring it was in excellent condi¬ 
tion for seeding, being very moist, yet not too much so. 
I plowed quickly, harrowed and planted immediately, and W'as soon 
rewarded with an excellent stand of potatoes. I place considerable 
stress on quick plowing and planting. Land plowed and left a few 
days—such as we had last spring—dries out and becomes cloddy ; thus 
the very moisture needed to start the seeds to sprouting is lost, and the 
lumps of dirt which would have been broken by the harrow' are left to 
harden and lock up much valuable plant food. 
HURTS THE TRADE GENERALLY. 
L. B. Rice in a communication to American Gardening 
on the subject of dishonest trading says : 
A peculiarly bad case was brought to notice at the last meeting of 
the Michigan Horticultural Society, at Adrian, one of the members of 
the implicated nursery firm being present. 
A young German, trained as a gardener in his own country, came to 
this State, and, after working a few years, married a very estimable 
German girl who had saved some money. They bought an eighty acre 
farm, paying in their combined savings, $600. The land was good for 
peaches ; they bought 18.000 trees intending to meet their payments 
from sales of fruit. This year the trees were three years old, and had 
their first crop—300 trees were good, and of the varieties ordered ; 
the balance were labeled all right, but were of varieties worthless for 
the market, so that it leaves the man in a very embarrassing situation. 
He cannot meet his payments, and must lose his farm. A half dozen 
trees in a garden are bad enough, but when one prepares the land for 
thousands of trees, and cares for them faithfully for three yearsj it is 
simply ruinous. 
The parties are all known, and the facts are vouched for by reliable 
men ; the nurserymen refuse to do anything to make up for the loss. 
NATION A I, IN CHARACTER. 
4 
Unlike several publications recently started in the horticultural 
field, which, with little concealment, have for their main purpose the 
advancement of the sale of stock of their proprietors, The National 
Nurseryman is a strictly independent trade journal, not advocating 
the interests of one firm or individual above those of another ; national 
and international in its scope, and presenting in its columns a forum 
into w'hich all may enter who have the best interests of the nursery¬ 
men at heart. 
ITS STAYING QUALITIES SECURED. 
Everett Brown, Bluff Point, N. Y.—“ Please find enclosed $1 
for The National Nurseryman. Its calling is grand and its staying 
qualities secured.” 
