THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
IOWA. 
Many Nurserymen Attend the State 
Association Meeting—Seedling 
Tests—An Old Controversy. 
Among the many who attended the annual meeting of the 
Iowa State Horticultural Society at Des Moines, December 
8 th, were: Silas Wilson, Atlantic, president of the American 
Association of Nurserymen ; C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, vice- 
president for Iowa and chairman of the executive committee 
of the American Association of Nurserymen ; M. J. Wragg, 
Waukee ; J. P. Andrews, Faribault, Minn ; Henry Schroeder, 
Sigourney; W. M. Bomberger, Harlan ; D A. Porterfield, 
Traer ; A. F. Collman, Corning ; Wesley Green, Davenport ; 
W. H. Guilford, Dubuque ; H. D. McCoy, Knoxville ; Elmer 
Reeves, Waverly ; R. P. Speer, Cedar Falls ; Samuel Park, 
Ottumwa; B. F. Ferris, J. C. Ferris, Hampton; W. C. Haviland, 
Fort Dodge ; M. E. Hinkley, Marcus ; W. E. Chapin, Des 
Moines ; E. M. Sherman, Charles City ; L. O. Williams, Coun¬ 
cil Bluffs ; F E. Pease, Des Moines ; Professor F. W. Taylor, 
Lincoln, Neb.; Clarence Wedge, Albert Lea, Minn. 
President F. M. Powell, of Glenwood,in his annual address, 
said: 
Orchard fruits of all kinds should be tested on their own roots. Experi¬ 
enced orchardists in other countries favor root cuttings and sprouts, as 
developing .trees of longer life and greater productiveness than those 
propagated by other methods. This process has been tried in this 
country to a limited extent only. It seems wise, therefore, to recom¬ 
mend that station experimenters and planters give this method more 
careful and extended attention. 
I am inclined to favor two regular meetings of the society each year; 
one to be called at the time of the state fair, or at some earlier date. 
There is much of interest pertaining to the work during the fair season, 
that can be more favorably considered in this connection than at any 
other time. 
SEEDLING TESTS. 
The secretary and librarian, George Van Houten, called 
attention to the seedlings of the state. He said: 
At the Southwestern meeting last winter, at the state fair this year 
and at many of our county fairs, seedlings have been shown of great 
promise. I have examined many of them during the year and have 
made notes of some of them, and consider that there is a prospect of 
getting several valuable varieties of those now in sight, that is, under 
observation by the members of the society. Some are very large, some 
are exceptionally fine and some of them are good keepers. Some of the 
parent trees have attained good age and are yet in a thrifty condition 
and some few have been propagated, but with most of them there is no 
one to boom them, and we are liable to lose some valuable things by 
neglecting them. The great possibilities in the seedlings of the state 
should admonish us to delay no longer, but we should at least secure 
scions and distribute them to our trial stations and as many fruit grow¬ 
ers as will plant them, for the distribution will cost but little and the 
benefits may be very great. This is not meant as a measure to displace 
the systematic crossing of our desirable varieties, for this work should 
go right on, but we should remember that nearly all the varieties we 
now have are the result of chance crosses and seedling production, and 
when we realize that we have dozens of varieties in the state that 
appear to be just what we need, it looks as though we were neglecting 
an opportunity in not gathering up and disseminating those that prom¬ 
ise to meet our requirements. Many of these varieties are in the hands 
of people who do not know how to propagate and besides some are so 
modest that they do not like to push their own productions, but we can 
well afford to give them a trial. It is probable that some of the so- 
151 
called seedlings will prove to be strays, but even if they are old varie¬ 
ties we should test them, for they may be just what we need. 
AN OLD CONTROVERSY. 
C L. Watrous made a vigorous attack upon the state experi¬ 
ment station methods under Professor J. L. Budd. He said : 
I believe Iowa bears the unenviable distinction of standing alone in 
following the plan of making sales strictly for cash in advance of its 
subjects of experimentation in horticulture before the experiments have 
shown whether the things are valuable or worthless and damaging to 
purchasers. 
The amount of nursery stock at the state nursery is much greater 
than is commonly supposed. I have it from a practical man, who has 
examined the young stock there this year, that there has been budded 
about 20,000 peaches, 4,000 to 5,000 pears, 30,000 to 40,000 plum, 15,000 
to 20,000 cherry, partly by budding and partly by grafting, and about 
100,000 apples, root grafted. This is only his estimate, but he is a 
competent and careful judge, and was fully convinced that what lie 
saw was not an experiment station, but a large nursery. 
For every dollar that the state has received for Russian trees in the 
past ten years, I estimate that the farmers of Iowa have lost at least 
ten, counting their time and labor upon dead or unfruitful trees. So 
complete has been this failure in the southeast portion of the state that 
the society which met there last week, after a full discussion, ordered 
a committee of five to draft resolutions, which they passed unanimously. 
This is one of them : “ Resolved , That we take this method of warning 
all persons that foreign varieties of the apple, pear and plum, parti¬ 
cularly those of Russian origin, recommended and sold by Professor 
Budd, and sent out from the Agricultural College at Ames, have, as 
far as they have been tested in Southeast Iowa, proven failures, and 
that we believe that about all the varieties of these Russian fruits so 
recommended and sold have been tested therein.” 
The Iowa State Register , Des Moines, the horticultural col¬ 
umn of which is conducted by Professor Budd, said editorially: 
Captain Watrous states that he has been told that the proceeds of 
the sales at the state experiment station at Ames “ have annually aver- 
“ aged from $5,000 to $10,000 or more,” and “that these sumsof money, 
“whatever they have in fact been, have been paid directly into the 
“hands of the manager of the nursery, in flat violation of law.” Pos¬ 
sibly the trustees and officers of the State Agricultural College have 
been remiss in their duties, but we cannot believe that they have per¬ 
mitted the laws of the state to be willfully and criminally violated in 
one of the college’s departments during all the years the state experi¬ 
ment station has been in operation. 
Professor Budd has made mistakes, and some of his importations, 
buddings, crossings, etc., have proven to be worthless; but he is 
capable, honest and deserving, and we do not believe that he has 
knowingly committed a criminal or wrongful act during all the years 
of his service of the state. He is now in Arizona, but the experiment 
station and all of its books and papers are at Ames ready for investiga¬ 
tion. 
VIRGINIA STATE CERTIFICATE. 
Of the following sample certificate, W. G. Johnson, state 
entomologist of Maryland writes to W. T. Hood & Co., 
Richmond, Va.: 
“Yours of the 14th inst., together with form of certificate, 
has been received, and in reply would say that it is satisfactory. 
This certificate attached to each and every box or package of 
trees shipped into Maryland will comply with all the require¬ 
ments of our law.” 
CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION. 
This is to certify that I have this 27th day of October, 1896, exam¬ 
ined the Nursery Stock consigned in this package, and that I pro¬ 
nounce the same to be free from San Jose Scale or other injurious in¬ 
sects or fungi. 
W. B. Ai.wood, Inspector, 
By J. H. Heavener, Deputy. 
