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THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
GROWING NURSERY STOCK . 
“Start Right and Keep Right,” Was the Key Note of Orlando 
Harrison’s Paper Read Before the Annnal Convention of 
the Maryland Horticultural Society—Experience 
and Industry Are Prime Factors. 
At the first annual convention of the Maryland Horticul¬ 
tural Society, in Baltimore, Orlando Harrison, of the firm of 
J. G. Harrison & Sons, Berlin, Md., read the following 
paper on the growth of nursery stock : 
“In every branch of business, it is one of the most impor¬ 
tant objects to start right, and then keep right. The nursery 
business is one branch of industry that requires the manager 
to put into action every muscle, every nerve and all the brain 
that is available, for it means a great deal to carry it out as it 
should be ; rising early and retiring late, and making use of 
every moment in the proper way. 
“In planting nursery stock, it is important to be at the 
point, and start right. The first thing is to get the ground in 
good condition by plowing it a medium depth and subsoiling, 
in order to retain the moisture and give the roots a better 
chance to grow. After this is done, then comes the planting 
of the peach seed, which, of course must be the very best 
natural seed. If not, then what shall we plant ? After the 
seed are planted, spread the land with slacked stone lime, 
about 25 bushels to the acre, which I consider a protection 
against some insects. Care should be taken that it is evenly 
applied, for if thrown in large lumps, it often injures the small 
seedlings. Before the seed begin to sprout, run the harrow 
over the ground and from then until the first of July, the 
young seedlings should be under constant cultivation, or at 
least once a week. This is one of the important features in 
growing fine nursery stock. 
“ Next comes the season for June-budding which begins 
about the last of June and continues for about two or three 
weeks. What we term fall budding, usually begins about the 
first of August, which is the only sa ( e month for dormant bud¬ 
ding, or at least, I have been taught that, by meeting with 
severe losses by later budding. Sometimes it proves success¬ 
ful, but more often it is a failure. The preparing of the buds 
is another essential feature that should be carefully looked 
into and should be done by one of self-interest and experience. 
They should be cut early in the morning while the dew is on 
and leafed as soon as possible, wrapped in a damp cloth, and 
put in a cool place and fumigated before they are inserted. 
After the trees are budded and are well wrapped with rafifia, 
they should be allowed to rest for about ten days before the 
bands are cut. 
“ The following spring comes a point that should be well at¬ 
tended to, which is the cutting back of the young trees. They 
should be cut off just above where the bud has been inserted, 
with a slant back of the bud, when the trees are beginning to 
push out their buds. As soon as all the tops are removed, cul¬ 
tivation must begin again by first bar plowing the trees, using 
potash and bone; if necessary, a little nitrate of soda during 
the warm weather. When the trees are from three to four feet 
high, we trim the lower limbs to make a smooth-bodied tree. 
“ There being so much inquiry about shipping early in the 
fall, we are compelled to stop cultivation as soon as we are 
sure that the buds are matured. We bud from the nursery 
row, unless it is some new variety which is cut from the orig¬ 
inal trees. Is there a better way ? It is useless to think about 
budding a million trees from orchard buds, and even if we 
could we would not want them under the present conditions of 
a great many orchards. For instance, I was in Hagerstown 
during the summer of 1897 and saw the McCollister peach, and 
thought it an improvement on that variety grown elsewhere. 
Upon my return home, I wrote J. Pearson Loose, who had the 
peach, asking him if it was safe for me to obtain buds of that 
variety from his orchard. In reply, he said it was not, as 
there were diseased trees near them. If every man who is 
asked for a variety of buds would be as cautious as this one, 
the fruit growers might protect the nurseryman in many in¬ 
stances in keeping clear of those diseases and thus help the 
nurseryman keep right. 
“About the last of August, the inspectors appear, which is 
usually about a week before we are ready for them, and it is 
much to Professor Johnson’s delight to make a snap shot 
and get a full view of one of us in our six-day boots. If there 
are two broods of ants in the same nursery, he will be sure to 
find them, and if there are no grasshoppers to be found, he 
will hunt the nearest cornfield. He comes as near covering 
every foot of the nursery as a fox terrier will the track of a 
rabbit, and if you do not watch him close, he will stumble over 
something. Closely following Professor Johnson, comes Pro¬ 
fessor Townsend, who has entered the broad field, looking 
after the general health of trees, yellows and other diseases 
but I am pleased to say that neither of them have ever found 
a case ot yellows in old Worcester county. I say : God bless 
the inspectors. If there were no other point but clean cultiva¬ 
tion, it is a good one in itself, for who wants these men to 
visit their nursery and find more weeds than trees. 
“ The next point of interest is the digging of the trees, 
which is usually done about the middle of October, although 
it is better to wait until the first of November, especially if 
we have a warm fall. It is much worse to strip the leaves 
from the trees, than to ship them a little late and have them 
frozen in the box. In the first age of the nursery business, 
the spade was used for digging the trees. Then came the 
tree digger, which was sold for about $40 ; and as the people 
were becoming more and more intelligent, the old tree digger 
has been greatly improved. A firm in Michigan informs us 
that they have the latest and best, which is a steam tree digger, 
costing about $750. Now where is this increased expense 
going to stop ? 
After the trees are gotten out of the ground, comes the work 
of fumigation, which is a process that is undergone to protect 
us against the spreading of the San Jose scale, if there should 
be any in the nursery, in order to keep right. Many of you 
who were here last January no doubt, remember about the 
mad dog being in Western Maryland, and it was asserted that 
the dog was with the nurseryman and they did not care to 
catch him. I was forcibly impressed by this statement, and 
returning home I wrote to Professor Johnson, Capt. R. S. 
Emory, S. B. Loose, and Howard Davis (of the Franklin 
Davis Nursery Company), who were on the committee to 
present the nursery bill 10 the Assembly, and asked them if 
they could not have the bill specify that all trees grown and 
handled by Maryland nurserymen should be fumigated, and 
much to my satisfaction, it was made a law by the state of 
Maryland. Nevertheless, it caused another expense which of 
