134 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
The National Nurseryman. 
C. L. YATES, Proprietor. RALPH T. OLCOTT, Editor. 
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., 
30s Cox Building, Rochester, N. Y. 
The only trade journal issued for Growers and Dealers in Nursery Stock of 
all kinds. It circulates throughout the United States and Canada. 
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN. 
SUBSCRIPTION RATES. 
One year, in advance, _____ $1.00 
Six Months, ______ .75 
Foreign Subscriptions, in advance, - - - 1.30 
Six Months, “ “ 1.00 
Advertising rates will be sent upon application. Advertisements 
should reach this office by the 20th of the month previous to the date 
of issue. 
Payment in advance required for foreign advertisements. 
Hgg’-Drafts on New York or postal orders, instead of checks, are 
requested. 
Correspondence from all points and articles of interest to nursery; 
men and horticulturists are cordially solicited. 
AJTERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN. 
President, Wilson J. Peters. Troy, O.; vice-president, D. S. Lake, Shen¬ 
andoah, la.; secretary, George C. Seager, Rochester, N. Y.; treas¬ 
urer, C. L. Yates, Rochester, N. Y. 
Exeputive Committee—Irving- Rouse, Rochester, N. Y.; C. L. Watrous, Des 
Moines, la.; E. Albertson, Bridgeport, Ind. 
Committee on Transportation—Wilson J. Petei - s, ex-officio, chairman ; William 
Pitkin, Rochester, N. Y.; Peter Youngers, Geneva, Neb.; A. L. Brooke, N. 
Topeka, Kan.; Robert C.Berckmans, Augusta, Ga. 
Committee on Legislation—C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, la.; N. H. Albaugh, 
Tadmor, O.: Silas Wilson, Atlantic, la.; Thomas B. Meehan, Germantown, Pa. 
Committee on Tariff—Irving Rouse, Rochester, N. Y.; J. J. Harrison, Paines- 
ville, O.; N. W. Hale, Knoxville, Tenn. 
Annual convention for 1900—Chicago Beach Hotel, June 13-14. 
Entered in the Post Office at Rochester, as second-class mail matter. 
Rochester, N. Y., December, 1899. 
RURAL MAIL DELIVERY. 
Nurserymen are among the principal users of the mail ser¬ 
vice. The report of the first assistant postmaster-general, 
Perry S. Heath, just issued, gives a full presentment ot facts in 
regard to rural free delivery. Mr. Heath says that this service 
has reached a critical stage in its existence, that last year it 
passed beyond the point of experiment, and that its permanent 
establishment is, in his judgment, now only a question of dis¬ 
creet and careful postal administration. “I verily believe,” 
says he, “ that in nine instances out of ten, where rural free 
delivery is put into operation, the growth of the revenues from 
the increase of the mails, resulting from increased postal facili¬ 
ties and the economies made possible by the discontinuance of 
other service which can be dispensed with, will render rural 
free delivery service in no sense a burden upon the govern¬ 
ment within six months after its establishment. In many in¬ 
stances it has been shown that within sixty days the increase 
of receipts and the saving in the cost of service discontinued 
more than equal the increased expenditures.” 
There are in successful operation free deliveries of mail from 
383 distributing points radiating over forty states and one ter¬ 
ritory. The only states now without the service are Idaho, 
Mississippi, Montana and Wyoming. The sum of $150,000 
granted by Congress for the extension of rural free delivery 
became available July 1, 1899, and became exhausted Novem¬ 
ber 1, 1899. During these four months the service was made 
to include nearly 180,000 persons. 
PROGRESS IN CATALOGUES. 
Recurring seasons add to the evidence that the nurseryman’s 
catalogue of the future will be very different from that of the 
recent past. The camera is rapidly taking the place of the 
lithographer’s stone. Some of the advance catalogues of the 
season of 1900, which have come to our desk, are models of 
good taste and effective presentation of the subject matter. 
The catalogue of the Glen St. Mary, Florida, Nurseries is 
deserving of special mention. There are presented in the 
simplest and most direct manner, plain, concise descriptions of 
varieties, following a brief statement in double column meas¬ 
ure under each of the kinds of fruit and ornamental stock 
offered. The forty pages of the book contain but three illus¬ 
trations, and these are full-page, half-tone engravings, one 
showing a partial view of the grounds, residence, office, and 
packing houses, making a very attractive frontispiece ; another, 
giving characteristic glimpses of the nurseries; the third, some 
of the specialties in fruits. The catalogue is printed on excel¬ 
lent book paper in new type with wide margins, headings that 
stand out boldly and a rich dark gray cover bearing the title 
stamped in green and gold in a small frame in the upper left 
hand corner, and the name of the propietor, G. L. Taber, at 
the bottom on the back. 
In his introduction of twenty-four lines Mr. Taber says; 
“ We believe that the majority of the catalogues of the present 
day are too florid in descriptive matter and overdone in the 
way of illustrations. We drop the pictures of varieties, for the 
most part, believing that concise, easily read descriptions give 
better idea of comparative values than the succession of more 
or less exaggerated pictures which are becoming so tiresome a 
feature of modern catalogues.” 
CLOSE ROOT PRUNING. 
The method of root pruning advocated by H. M. Stringfel- 
low, of Lampasas, Tex., formerly of Galveston, has been 
prominently before the horticultural world four years. It has 
been tested in several sections of the country and the results 
have been summarized. 
When in 1896 we called attention to Mr. Stringfellow’s own 
statement in detail of his method, in his interesting book, 
“ The New Horticulture,” we urged an unbiased perusal of 
the book and suggested that time might prove the value of the 
innovation proposed by Mr. Stringfellow. 
Our readers are aware of the very successful use of this 
method of root pruning by J. H. Hale and other large planters 
in the South. It is probably conceded that in the Southern 
states, by reason of the climate and soil, the method may be 
generally adopted with success; at least in the case of some 
