I 20 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
HALF A CENTURY OLD. 
Business of Thomas Meehan & Sons Covers Almost That Period — 
No Agents Are Employed — Thomas Meehan a Writer, Editor, 
Author, and Lecturer on Horticultural Topics-A Kew 
Graduate —These Nurseries Foremost in the Ad¬ 
vancement of Ornamental Horticulture. 
In an anniversary number, the Germantown Telegraph, 
Philadelphia, has the following account of the old and well- 
known nurseries of Thomas Meehan & Sons : 
“To glance at the modest little office, or stroll along the 
Chew Street front of the nurseries, no one would imagine the 
hum of activity going on within, nor the extent of the busi¬ 
ness which has been a part of this town for almost fifty years 
No civilized country—and some which will hardly bear that 
term—but is reached by the products of these nurseries. 
Governments, as well as their most prominent people, are in¬ 
cluded with the annual thousands of patrons. 
“One hundred and fifty acres of land are totally covered 
with hardy trees and plants of every character, but mostly in¬ 
tended for ornamental purposes. This acreage would not be 
particularly large were large quantities of fruit trees grown ; 
but for the class of stock, there is perhaps no larger establish¬ 
ment in the United States. A very rough estimate of the 
number of plants growing there at the present time is 982,000 
the size of the plants ranging from the tiny one-year-old seed¬ 
ling evergreen, of an inch or two in height, to the large, trans¬ 
planted specimen deciduous trees—twelve, fifteen, or eighteen 
feet. For the cultivation and business operation of all this a 
force of from seventy-five to one hundred men is employed, 
the number varying according to the time of year. Cultiva¬ 
te n means a great deal to this firm, as they recognize its 
need, more than most nurserymen, to encourage good, thrifty 
growth. Likewise, it is not forgotten that plants need food* 
and a great quantity of manure is annually spread over the 
ground. 
“ Thomas Meehan & Sons are not florists, as some would 
term them, but are nurserymen, the distinction between these 
professions being great. Greenhouses, usually devoted to 
raising flowers, are here used almost entirely for propagating 
thousands of vines and other hardy flowering plants. A few 
flowers, mostly sweet peas, are grown for wholesale market¬ 
ing; but this is a very small issue in comparison with the 
main. 
“The business is operated under three chief departments— 
retail, wholesale, and landscape gardening—each being in 
volume a Complete business of itself. Thomas Meehan is still 
the active head of the business ; Thomas B. Meehan manages 
the wholesale department ; J. Franklin Meehan, the landscape 
gardening ; and S. Mendelssohn Meehan, the retail. Through 
these departments grounds of every description are taken in 
hand and improved. Plans are made, grading done, and roads 
laid and trees planted. Besides private estates, small and 
large public parks, and even cemeteries, are planned. Other 
nurserymen everywhere depend more or less on the wholesale 
department for seeds or small stock for growing on in their 
own nurseries ; and also dealers who grow nothing are sup¬ 
plied with goods for immediate retailing. No agents are em¬ 
ployed, all business being transacted either by direct repre¬ 
sentation from the office, or by correspondence. Undoubt¬ 
edly, the number of sales is less without the aid of agents, but 
as these are as a class poorly informed regarding plants in 
general, they are more or less unreliable, and in adopting its 
course the firm gave its preference for that which would es¬ 
tablish confidence in its ability to furnish its patrons with true 
information, first-class goods and just as represented. 
“Great pains have been taken to prepare catalogues that 
will be a help to patrons in selecting from the thousands of 
kinds, and in this and other features they are unique and at the 
head of nursery catalogues. The merits of everything are 
clearly stated and unexaggerated, either in description or il¬ 
lustration. Thirty-four editions of the retail catalogue have 
been issued, the current one using nearly 100 pages. It gives 
prices for stock in quantities, as well as in small lots, and de¬ 
notes the sizes or grades of stock—a system originating with 
this firm. 
“Thomas Meehan, the senior partner, commenced the busi¬ 
ness in ’852, his first office being located on Germantown 
Road, opposite the old Carpenter estate—now Pelham. His 
grounds first occupied three acres. It was not many years 
before the growth of the business demanded early removal to 
more spacious quarters, and the office was moved to its pres¬ 
ent location, on Chew Street, opposite what is now East Phil- 
Ellena Street. The office and grounds have been added to 
continually, but with the growing business the facilities must 
needs be increased, and even now a large two-story addition 
to the office is being erected. 
“ Mr. Meehan’s horticultural experience has been one of the 
widest—from an English gardener’s apprentice, in his boy¬ 
hood, to his present position. He is a graduate of the famous 
Royal Garden, Kew, and an early explorer of the Western 
States, and through it all a writer, editor, author, and lecturer 
on horticultural topics. With a life of practical work among 
plants, he has combined scientific research, and now ranks 
with the leading botanis,ts of the world. His wide knowledge 
of plants is illustrated and well acknowledged by the many 
letters daily received seeking information on all topics. For 
thirty years he edited the Gardener’s Monthly, the foremost 
American horticultural publication of that time. Later he 
was the author of “Native Flowers and Ferns of the United 
States,” a work in four volumes, and illustrated by 102 colored 
plates. In 1891, Meehans’ Monthly commenced publication 
under his editorial management, and published by the firm. 
It continues the colored illustrations begun in the previous 
work, combining all the features of a first-class horticultural 
journal. It is still being issued. 
“ Meehans’ nurseries have taken the initiative in many 
things pertaining to the advancement of horticulture. They 
were the first to urge the extensive use of plants more largely 
ornamental and especially of our grand native oaks. The 
beautiful Japanese maples have been widely distributed by 
them, and one of the first specimens brought from Japan at 
the time of the Centennial still stands on the lawn at the 
nurseries. For the general cultivation of the beautiful red- 
flowered Dogwood and Japanese Snowball, the public is also 
indebted to Messrs. Meehan. Pages, and even books might 
be written in continuation of the facts already written here, 
which is only limited by lack of space.” 
Tlie official trade journal for nurserymen $1 per year. 
