The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyright, 1896, by the National Nurseryman Publishing Co 
•Vol. IV. 
ROCHESTER. N. Y.. APRIL, 1896. 
OSAGE NURSERIES. 
The Osage Nurseries, Osage, Iowa, were established in 
1872 under the firm name of Gilman & Gardner. The 
firm new consists of Captain C. F. Gardner and son, Clark 
E. Gardner. They have a large office in the city, located 
over the post office. Their office is connected by tele¬ 
phone, not only with the central office, but also with the 
nursery and residence. Captain Gardner is conductor of 
one of the State Horticultural Experiment Stations 
located here, and is vice-president of the State Horticul¬ 
tural Society. In describing their grounds the Mitchell 
County Press , Osage, Iowa, recently said : 
“ We visited the nursery .north-east of their residence. 
Here we found fruit trees by the hundreds of thousands, 
great blocks, a single one of which contained two hundred 
thousand apple trees. Some of the blocks were filled 
with evergreens from one to three feet in height. Here 
we saw three acres of the now famous “Gardner” straw¬ 
berry, the finest-looking plants we ever saw growing. We 
noticed blocks of plums, cherries, Prunus pumila and 
many kinds of forest trees. We noticed a magnificent 
Barberry hedge fence forty rods long, next to the street on 
the east. It is the best looking, neatest and prettiest fence 
we have ever seen. This plant never blights or rusts and 
endures the cold climate of Northern Iowa with impunity. 
We were shown Barberry bushes one year old, hundreds 
of thousands of them. 
“ Here are thirty or more different kinds of evergreens 
from one to twenty-five years old. Driveways on curved 
lines extend in every direction. Suddenly we found our¬ 
selves in a large inclosure, entirely covered overhead, 
seven feet high, with lath frames or brush, and on every 
side were one and two-year-old evergreen trees by the 
millions. The collection of Rocky Mountain evergreens 
to be seen here is very fine. We noticed that everything 
is staked and labeled with copper labels which are inde¬ 
structible. 
“ The wholesale trade is a very important item, extend¬ 
ing into every state in the Union. We were shown hun¬ 
dreds of bushels of different kinds of seeds stratified, 
ready for next spring’s planting. One thing cannot fail 
to impress the mind of every visitor, and that is the entire 
absence of weeds and grass, the whole nursery being under 
the highest state of cultivation. Gardner & Son, the pro¬ 
prietors of these magnificent nurseries, have by faithful 
attention to business, strict integrity and prompt dealings, 
built up an enviable reputation, and are constantly increas¬ 
ing their trade at a rapid rate. The Press is more than 
pleased at their prosperity and takes pleasure in recom¬ 
mending them to all who desire anything in their line, as 
No. 3. 
gentlemen of honor. A trip through their beautiful 
grounds at any time is well spent, and they are ever 
ready to show visitors around and explain the countless 
varieties of nursery trees, shrubs, plants, vines, etc.” 
MR. STRINGFELLOW’S SUGGESTIONS. 
H. M. Stringfellow, Galveston, Tex., writes as follows 
to the Rural New Yorker : 
In commenting on my method of root pruning, you say that it is 
likely “evergreens, magnolias, hickories, etc., could not stand it at 
all.” I have tried it fully on peaches, plums, pears, apples, grapes, 
sycamores, pecans, English and Japan walnuts and persimmons, and 
find it entirely successful on all these deciduous trees, and equally so 
on the orange, the only evergreen tested. A tree thus tested is practi¬ 
cally a seed, and will grow just as readily, with this advantage, that 
instead of one, it strikes several deep, tap roots. Your experience 
with the naked-rooted pear trees, I dare say, can be duplicated by 
all of your readers, who must, at some time, have been surprised at 
the superior growth of certaiiy-“ butchered ” trees which they were 
tempted to discard. Again, referring to your notes on Prof. Bailey’s 
bulletin on unproductive trees, a long experience has convinced me 
that no fruit trees should be propagated from young trees that have 
never borne. If continued long, it results in barren trees long after 
they should begin to fruit. In my own LeConte pear orchard, trees 
propagated from bearing ones fruited full the fifth year, while those 
grown from cuttings taken from young trees had been grown several 
generations from young trees, never bore at all until nine, and bore full 
only the tenth year. I have had oranges propagated from bearing 
trees fruit full the third year, while those from young trees took 
seven and eight years. I never noticed in the end, however, any dif¬ 
ference in productiveness. Continuous propagation from young nur¬ 
sery trees is a great injustice to the fruit grower. 
THE WALNUT. 
The walnut is best grown from the nut, but it can also 
be propagated by budding, grafting and layering. Fresh 
gathered nuts should be selected, and they can be sown 
in nurseries in drills two feet apart, or better where it is 
intended for them to remain, as this tree makes a very 
strong tap-root, which, if the tree be left too long before 
removal, may be injured in the transplanting. A deep 
and preferentially a calcareous soil should be chosen, with 
a dry bottom. The young tree is somewhat delicate and 
is apt to be injured by the spring frosts. In cold districts 
therefore it must be protected for a year or two. Plenty 
of room must be allowed, as it is a vigorous grower and 
makes fully twenty feet in height in ten years, at which 
date it usually begins to bear a crop. Once established 
little or no attention is required, and except to remove 
unsightly growths no pruning is necessary. It will attain 
quite 100 feet in height, and lives to a great age, its 
productiveness increasing with its years. It is very suit¬ 
able for avenue planting or as a roadside tree. 
