98 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
The National N urseryman. 
C. L. YATES, Proprietor. RALPH T. OLCOTT, Editor. 
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., 
305 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 - 5 °- 
Six Months, “ “ i-oo 
Advertising rates will be sent upon application. Advertisements 
should reach this office by the 20th of the mouth previous to the date 
of issue. 
Payment in advance required for foreign advertisements. 
Jgp^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. 
AHERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN. 
President, Theodore J. Smith, Geneva, N. Y.; vice-president, N. W. 
Hale, Knoxville, Tenn.; secretary, George C. Seager, Rochester, 
N. Y.; treasurer, C. L. Yates, Rochester, N. Y. 
Executive Committee—Irving Rouse, Rochester, N. Y.; C. L. Watrous, Des 
Moines, la.; E. Albertson, Bridgeport, Ind. 
Committee on Transportation—Theo lore J. Smith, ex-officio, chairman; A. L. 
Brooke, N. Topeka, Kan.; William Pitkifl, Rochester, N. Y.; Peter Youngers, 
Geneva, Neb.; N. W. Hale, Knoxville, Tenn. 
Committee on Legislation—C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, Ta.; N. H. Albaugh, 
Phoneton, O.: Silas Wilson, Atlantic, la.; Charles J. Brown, Rochester, N.Y. 
Robert C. Berckmans, Augusta, Ga. 
Committee on Tariff—Irving Rouse, Rochester, N. Y.; J. J. Harrison, Paines- 
ville, O.; Thomas B. Meehan, Germantown, Pa. 
Annual convention for 1901—At Niagara Falls, N. Y., June 12-13. 
Entered in the Post Office at Rochester , as second-class mail matter. 
Rochester, N. Y., September, 1900. 
CRITICISM OF NURSERYMEN. 
Severe criticism of alleged practices of nurserymen appears 
from time to time in the horticultural journals. Is it merited ? 
Some of these journals refer repeatedly to the “tree shark,” 
the “tree fraud,” “fake” stories, “model orchards” and 
“rascals.” This is strong language, and its application to an 
important industry cannot fail to hurt the trade generally. 
The great majority of the nursery firms of the country have 
the confidence of the public, and the time has probably not 
yet come for united action looking to the suppression of the 
alleged practices, after an investigation. But it may be neces¬ 
sary for the American Association of Nurserymen to take up 
the subject in the near future for the mutual protection of its 
members. 
In a recent issue of the Rural New Yorker whose opinion 
has great weight with the patrons of the nurserymen, appeared 
this editorial note : 
This promises to be a great season for the tree shark. The hursefy 
fraud will be abroad with his tongue well oiled, fresh paint on his 
samples, and whitewash on his conscience. He has a new volume of 
“fake” stories, “model orchards,” peaches that reasonable humans 
never heard of, apples grafted by some wonderful new process, and 
many other things will be proposed. One firm claims to be working 
with the state experiment station ! Now wouldn’t you think it a great 
waste of space to keep warning the public against these rascals ? It 
does seems so, and yet day after day, and week after week, these 
frauds capture their victims. 
This from New York. And across the continent, in the 
Northwest Horticulturist, of the State of Washington, is this 
admonition to those who buy trees of nurserymen : 
The truit tree agents are in the field. Those selling trees from 
reputable nurseries at fair prices are helpful servants of the public. 
Those offering so-called superior varieties under new names at fabulous 
prices, avoid. Treat all politely, select carefully if desiring to buy 
but firmly decline if not wanting to purchase. 
In the last issue of the Rural New Yorker is a column 
article headed “ Nursery Frauds Once More,” and the sub¬ 
caption, “Bogus Claims Exposed.” Then follows a commun¬ 
ication from a correspondent, “ W. T. G.” of Principio, Md., 
from which the following extract is taken : 
I read the article in the R. N.-Y., June 23 , under the heading of 
Final Chapter of a Fruit Fraud, which has made me somewhat sus¬ 
picious of an agent who went through this neighborhood about the 
middle of June, representing certain nurseries in Ohio. He claimed 
that the majority, in fact, all but his firm, get the seed from cider 
presses to plant to get roots upon which to graft their varieties of 
apples, and as they have grafted the Winter apple upon Summer roots 
so long, the old varieties such as the Baldwin, etc., are no longer 
Winter apples, and for that reason his firm no longer sell them. He 
said that all their Winter apples were grafted first on a French crab- 
apple root, one year old, then left for two years, when they were 
again grafted to this trunk, and after two years’ growth more, or when 
the root is five years old, and the tree is from five to six feet high, it is 
sold. WLat is your opinion of these statements ? 
The answer in the Rural New Yorker is by Professor H. E. 
Van Deman, formerly United States pomologist. “By the 
end of the summer,” says Professor Van Deman, “the semi¬ 
annual crop of suckers has mostly been hooked and landed, 
and it is now too late to do much good in preventing the public 
from being cheated by such scamps as the one referred to in 
the inquiry of W. T. G.” Professor Van Deman continues : 
The claim that most nurserymen get their apple seeds from the cider 1 
mills and that they do not make good stocks is nonsense, if nothing 
worse. Such seeds grow good stocks, with few exceptions. As to 
this one nursery using French crab-apple roots, I do not believe a word 
of it, and would not want my trees on such stocks if they existed. The 
Paradise stock is one which is used for making dwarf apple trees, and 
these are of no value except to plant on village lots or some other fancy 
use. The double grafting is a positive and absurd falsehood. 
As to the claims of this horticultural Ananias in regard to most 
cherries being soft-wooded and absorbing rain, which causes the 
cherries to rot, I never heard a more ridiculous lie. It must have been 
made up for special use upon the soft-headed victims to be found over 
the country. Ida is one of the sweet cherries and Dyehouse and 
Ostheimer are sour, but they are no more exempt from rot than many 
other varieties of as good or better quality. 
If anyone is not disposed to buy direct from the nurseries, but pre¬ 
fers to buy of agents, which is sometimes a sensible plan, let him 
beware of anyone who makes extravagant claims for any new variety, 
and be sure you are not misled with regard to old ones. The swindler’s 
plan is first to tell you some things that you know are true and get 
your confidence and then make some statements that mystify or puzzle 
you ; then he has you at a disadvantage and is in a good way to fleece 
you. 
The firms that are thus injuring the nursery trade generally 
know that such practices are condemned by all fair-minded 
