The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyright, 1896 by Ihe National Nurseryman Publishing Co. 
Vol. IV. ROCHESTER, N. Y., MAY, 1896. No. 4. 
SPRING SALES. 
Special Reports From Various Points 
Regarding the Season’s Trade. 
Unusually Warm Weather Caused a Rush on 
Packing Grounds—Unexpected Demand for 
Stock Toward the Last—Increased Sales 
—Low Prices Kept Returns Down to 
Usual Figure-Little Surplus Stock 
—Better Feeling in the West— 
Fruit Prospects Good. 
Following are reports from all sections of the country 
regarding the season’s trade: 
MoORESTOWN, N. J., April 15.—C. F. McNair, Manager 
Rogers Nursery Co.: “There has been a large demand 
for trees this spring, decidedly exceeding our expecta¬ 
tions; but we find money scarce, and a great complaint 
among planters in regard to prices on their products.” 
Cayuga, N. Y.,April 18.—Wiley & Co.: “ Our spring 
sales are giving us lots of hustle. The amount of stock 
handled by us this spring will exceed any spring packing 
in ten years, but we fear that cash returns on account of 
extremely low prices will be unsatisfactory. May some 
provision hasten the time when the hard-worked nursery¬ 
man will get better returns for his outlay of strength and 
oapital.” 
Reading, Mass., April 15.—Jacob W. Manning: “Tak¬ 
ing into consideration the slowness of the opening of the 
season and the volume of trade handled up to the present 
time, it necessarily does not compare favorably with 
that of last year, when we had at least a month of ship¬ 
ping season more than we have this year to the present 
date. 
“ On the whole, however, we expect to hold the trade 
where it was last year, and not suffer any decrease in its 
volume.” 
West Chester, Pa., April 14.—Hoopes, Brother & 
Thomas, Maple Avenue Nurseries: “ We have at present 
all we can attend to and if prices were not below the 
cost of production, we should have nothing to complain 
of. If nurserymen would only carry on the business in a 
legitimate way and not endeavor to undersell each other 
and force the market prices below the cost of production, 
we believe they would have sold as much during the last 
year as they have done and at the same time would have 
realized something for their trouble 
“ We think, after the spring business is over, there will 
be very little good salable stock left, but there will be 
very little money to pay for the expense of carrying on 
the business.” 
Morrisville, Pa., April 18.—Samuel C. Moon : “We 
are having a moderate trade in a valuable class of orna¬ 
mental stock at fairly good prices, but the business will 
not be likely to exceed last spring’s trade. All this week 
weather has been very hot and unfavorable for our busi¬ 
ness. Magnolias are now in full bloom and are very fine 
this year. Magnolia Kobus, claimed to be the hardiest 
magnolia, is blooming on young seedling plants about 6 
to 8 feet high. It has been considered a shy bloomer 
while young, but these seedlings, now six years old, have 
bloomed sparingly for two seasons. It blooms with con- 
spicua and three or four days before Soulangeana, flowers 
pure white, smaller and whiter than conspicua but larger 
than stellata. I find it an excellent stock for grafting 
stellata on, which is an elegant little bush, but so slow a 
grower that it is hard to get up to salable size and is al¬ 
ways scarce .” 
MILFORD, Del., April 17.—A. Pullen : “We are exceed¬ 
ingly busy—more so than in many years past. Fruit 
trees, more especially peach and Japan plum, were in 
greater demand this season than heretofore. The whole¬ 
sale trade in these lines was strong and the local planters’ 
demand was much beyond any expectations. We have 
handled from our nurseries fully four hundred and fifty 
thousand fruit trees this season, and yet this amount is 
not more than half the quantity called for. The low and 
unremunerative prices for grain and farm products gener¬ 
ally throughout the country and the well proven value of 
fruit growing as a source of revenue, is no doubt the prime 
cause of such a demand for fruit trees. 
“At this writing we are having summer heat and vege¬ 
tation of all sorts is in rapid growth. Fruit trees are in 
full bloom, and the outlook for a great harvest was never 
better for the Delaware peninsula than at this time.” 
Dansville, N. Y., April 18—James M. Kennedy of 
Thomas Kennedy & Sons: “ Our spring sales have been 
much larger than a year ago, at least 20 per cent. We 
should judge that all the leading firms have done a much 
larger business than a year ago. Little if any digging was 
done here before the 1st of April, which made the digging 
and shipping season very short and busy. It is safe to 
say that this spring, Dansville has shipped more trees than 
in any spring before, by at least 20 per cent. 
“As to the retail trade we can safely say it has sur- 
