THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
67 
In order to decide as to the actual market value of fruit stocks at the 
importing period the past winter, the appraisers secured quotations 
from a number of large importers and upon this information they fixed 
values. Unquestionably on several items, their values were placed 
entirely too high. 
Your committee gathered the following schedule of values which 
had been accepted by the appraiser and have been informed that prac¬ 
tically all the imports of fruit stocks were entered on this basis. 
Millimeters. £ g | | f f § A iV 
Myrobolan . 2.40 2.60 3.20 .... 3.60 .... 4.00 .... 
Pear .80 1.00 1 60 .... 2.20 ... 2.80 4 40 5.20 
Mahaleb . 1.60 3.00 3.60 4 00 .... 5.00 .... 6.00 .... 
Mazzard .80 1.00 1.40 . 2.20 2.80 3.20 3.60 
Quince . 1.00 1.60 2 40 2 20 2.80 2.80 3.00 3.60 
Apple . 1.00 1.60 2.40 2.40 2.80 .... 4.40 5.40 
Manetti . 3.60 . 
After this schedule had been fixed, Customs House brokers and im¬ 
porting agents had their invoices passed at these values, and thus 
avoided the exaction of any penalties. 
Your committee consulted with many of the large importers. Customs 
House brokers and New York agents of foreign nurseries but could 
not determine upon any measure that would relieve nurserymen from 
the liability of having their invoices raised and the imposition of pen¬ 
alties, as the custom authorities seem to be working entirely within 
the provisions of the tariff act, and such regulations apply equally to 
imports of every description, in all lines of business and it would be 
impossible to secure any legislation that would exempt nursery stock 
from such laws and regulations. 
Your committee would suggest to nurserymen the desirability of 
impressing upon their Customs House brokers, or in cases where im- 
poits are handled by through freight lines, the importance of ascertain¬ 
ing the market values if possible before invoices are entered at the 
Customs House and obviate all difficulties of re-appraisement and the 
exacting of fines. 
QUESTION BOX AGAIN. 
At Thursday morning's session President Peters appointed 
as committee on exhibits : N. W. Hale, E. W. Kirkpatrick, 
E. C. Ilgenfritz. The question box was opened and the 
following was asked : 
“Which is the best protection for nursery stock in transit— 
wet or dry packing ? ” 
Mr. Albaugh—“Many trees are injured by wet packing. 
Very little moisture is needed.’’ 
Mr. Brooke—“ It depends altogether on the kind of stock. 
Some varieties will stand more dryness than others. I know 
of Russian apricot seedlings which remained in dry packing 
three weeks. They were soaked for a week in a rain water 
barrel and are growing to-day. A man swung a bundle of 
trees under his wagon and traveled three weeks. The trees 
were then soaked for a week in a creek by weighting them 
down with rocks. Several of them made perfect apple trees.’’ 
George L. Taber—“We should note the distinction in such 
cases between evergreen and deciduous trees. The roots of 
evergreen trees will not stand much dryness.” 
Mr. Wntrous—“ The juices of a conifer are of a resinous 
nature. When you dry them you have resin, and water will 
not affect it.” 
Question : “What success has attended the plan of winter¬ 
ing stock packed in boxes ready for shipment ? ” 
President Peters—“ That is an important question and 
should be discussed.” 
A. C. Griesa—“ I suggest that it would be safer to wait 
until spring before packing. I have not had any experience 
along the line suggested by the question.” 
Mr. Albaugh—“I suppose the answer to that question really 
covers the whole subject of cold storage through the winter, 
for whether in boxes, in ricks or in cords, stock must be kept 
where it wont freeze. It all amounts to the same thing; only 
in boxes the stock could be shipped quicker I here is no 
trouble, as winter after winter has demonstrated, to keep stock 
in cold storage, if the trees are packed dry enough. For the 
same reason there should be no difficulty in keeping trees 
safely in boxes through the winter, if they are packed dry 
enough. Some of us grew peaches last year. Prices’dropped 
leaving us with trees to be disposed of otherwise than to 
customers. We found that even up to the middle of June 
trees in ricks were in good condition. I see no reason why 
trees could not be packed in boxes in varieties as they would 
probably be wanted and kept through the winter. Packing in 
cold storage is far ahead of heeling in or keeping in ordinary 
buildings, for the weather is likely to become warm and 
disastrous results are sure to follow. Boxing really means 
cold storage.” 
MR. ALBAUGH’S REMINISCENCES. 
Speaking on the subject : “ Reminiscences of the Ameri¬ 
can Association and Its Members up to the Silver Anniver¬ 
sary,” N. H. Albaugh, Phoneton, O., one of the veteran 
members of the Association, said : 
Mi. I resident, I do not know when I have felt my inability to do 
justice to a subject so greatly as I do on this occasion ; but I am 
encouraged by the smaller attendance at this session and the chance 
that there may not be so much criticism of my remarks. Twenty-five 
years ago this Association was organized in this city. While I am not 
able to give a histoiical account of it, it gives me great pleasure to 
look in the face to-day of the president of the Association of 25 years 
ago, Edgar Sanders, of Chicago, our first president. 
Twenty-five years seems a short span; yet how few of those who 
met to organize this Association are here now and how few now here 
were in the nursery business then. Wonderful changes have taken 
place in the whole world’s transactions since then. Talking of the 
silver anniversary of the Association makes us all think of free silver, 
16 to 1. Probably this meeting is in point of numbers as compared 
with the first meeting of the Association as 16 is to 1 . The telephone 
was not known then. How much business is done now r by our profes¬ 
sion over the little wire ! 
Twenty-five years ago. Why it was only 12 years ago that the first 
trolley car was run ; yet how r that means of transportation has revolu¬ 
tionized the whole business of cities and towns. How many nursery¬ 
men are in close communication to-day by means of it. I am neither a 
prophet nor the son of a prophet, and I am not in shape to make a very 
good example of a flying bird. But if I were, I might predict that 25 
years from now we might come to Chicago on wings, and when we 
should hover over the Chicago hotels and find the roosting places full 
of other birds, we would urobably continue our flight further. 
I do not desire to deliver a funeral oration, nor a homily ; but the 
history of this Society cannot be written without mentioning the names 
of some of those who were with us 25 years ago, and which, we trust, 
are now written in letters of light in the Great Beyond. It would 
occupy all of our time this morning to go over even the names of the 
well-known members who have passed away, but there are a few 
names which you will all agree deserve more than passing notice. 
You all remember the tall, lean, interesting gentleman, Peter 
Henderson, always genial and ready to do his part in the Association. 
Another man we learned to love in the early history of the Association. 
He presided over two or three of the meetings. Full of brawn, 
muscle, solid brain and sterling worth, Elisha Moody was a man of 
indomitable will, always ready to do any service for a friend. He 
carved for himself his fortune and built up a character beyond 
reproach. I met him at his home in Lockport. From the Miami 
Valley we had, from the commencement of the Association, a noted 
man of quiet demeanor, always agreeable, S. W. Hoover, whose word 
was as good as his bond and whose promise never failed. He entered 
the Christian ministry and while preaching died. Another from the 
Miami Valley was the father of the president of this convention, George 
Peters, always in the front rank of nursery work and ready to deliver 
counsel to the younger nurserymen. 
