The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyright, 1898, by th« National Nuraaryman Publishing Co. 
VOL. VI. ROCHESTER, N. Y. f JULY, 1898. No. 6. 
THE CONVENTION. 
Twenty-Third Annual Meeting of the 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
Western Members Well Represented—Mayor Moore’s Hearty Wel¬ 
come-President Rouse’s Address—Secretary’s Report — 
State Vice-Presidents—The New Officers—Report on 
Legislation—Incorporation Plan Again Broached 
— To Meet at Chicago Next Year. 
The twenty-third annual convention of the American Asso¬ 
ciation of Nurserymen was held at Creighton hall, in Omaha, 
on June 8 and 9. About 150 of the 426 members were 
present. Among those who attended were : E. Albertson, 
Bridgeport, Ind.; N. H. Albaugh, Tadmor, O.; H. Augustine, 
Normal, Ill.; R. C. Berckmans, Augusta, Ga.; A. L. Brooke> 
North Topeka, Kan.; Arthur Bryant, Princeton, Ill.; W. M. 
Bomberger, Harlan, la.; M. Butterfield, Lee’s Summit, Mo.; 
L G. Bragg, Kalamazoo, Mich.; John C. Chase, Derry, N. H.; 
A. B. Combs, Fort Scott, Kan.; J. H. Dayton, Painesville, O.; 
J. Cole Doughty, Lake City, Minn.; S. M. Emery, Bozeman 
Mont.; Wm. Fell, Hexham, England ; M. B. Fox, Rochester, 
N. Y.; J. A. Gage, Fairbury, Neb.; A. C. Griesa, Lawrence, 
Kan.; J. J. Harrison, Painesville, O.; Orlando Harrison, Ber¬ 
lin, Md.; W. F. Heikes, Huntsville, Ala.; T. S. Hubbard 
Fredonia, N. Y ; E. C. Ilgenfritz, Monroe, Mich.; Z. K] 
Jewett, Sparta, Wis.; Hiram T. Jones, Elizabeth, N. J.; George 
S. Josselyn, Fredonia, N. Y.; E. W. Kirkpatrick, McKinney, 
Tex.; D. S. Lake, Shenandoah, la.; Samual Lorton, Daven¬ 
port, la.; Jacob W. Manning, Reading, Mass.; Thomas B. 
Meehan, Germantown. Pa.; Wilson J. Peters, North Topeka, 
Kan.; Colonel U. B. Pearsall, Kansas; William Pitkin, 
Rochester, N. Y.; Irving Rouse, Rochester, N. Y.; L. T. 
Saunders, Plain Dealing, La.; W. N. Scarff, New Carlisle, O.; 
E. M. Sherman, Charles City, la.; Nelson C. Smith, Geneva, 
N. Y.; J. H. Skinner, North Topeka, Kan.: F. H. Stannard, 
Ottawa, Kan.; George J. Spear, Greeley, Colo.; Stark Brothers, 
Louisiana, Mo.; E. F. Stephens, Crete, Neb.; Robert C. Stoer, 
Dayton, O.; C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, la.; H. J. Weber, 
Nursery, Mo.; E. S. Welch, Shenandoah, la.; George H 
Whiting, Yankton, South Dakota ; A. Willis, Ottawa, Kan.; 
Silas Wilson, Atlantic, la.; F. G. Withoft, Dayton, O.; Peter 
Youngers, Geneva, Neb.; C. L. Yates, Rochester, N. Y. 
The headquarters of the convention were at the Millard 
hotel and it was there, that the members spent most of their 
time. The short programme at the convention hall left more 
than the usual amount of time for visiting at the hotel. As 
will be noted from the few names mentioned, a number of 
those who have attended the conventions regularly were on 
hand, but the attendance from the East was small. Mrs. 
Irving Rouse and Mrs. George E. Seager, of Rochester, N. Y.; 
Mrs. Samuel Lorton, of Davenport, la., and Mrs. Jacob W. 
Manning, of Reading, Mass., accompanied their husbands. 
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 
The convention was called to order at 10:20 a. m., on June 
8, by President Rouse, who delivered the following address : 
Gentlemen of the American Association of Nurserymen :—We are 
assembled to-day to hold the twenty-third annual meeting of this Asso¬ 
ciation ; and it is with great pleasure that I call your attention to the 
prosperous and flourishing condition of our organization. Under the 
able supervision of Secretary Seager, our income has steadily increased; 
and while our treasury balance is, I understand, at rather a low point, 
this condition is due solely to the extraordinary expenditure connected 
with the tariff and scale bills. 
During the past year I have accepted the resignation of Treasurer 
Whitney ; and with the advice and consent of the executive commit¬ 
tee, have appointed Secretary Seager to act as treasurer until such 
time as his successor is elected. 
In the matter of the treasurership, I would recommend that the in¬ 
coming treasurer should be required to give bonds, as is customary in 
positions of trust, for the faithful performance of his duties. 
Our present meeting place is marked by reason of its being located 
farther west than any convention held by this Association. We are 
now in the center of that boundless expanse of country which is taking 
and is destined to take the great bulk of the products of our business. 
It is difficult for an eastern nurseryman, unfamiliar with this country, 
to realize that here will be located the great nurseries of the future. 
As you are aware, this Association is one for mutual help and benefit, 
and it certainly serves its purpose well. While it has two off-shoots, 
the Eastern and Western Associations, both of them work with it and 
for it, and both come to it for advice and assistance. Without the aid 
of this Association the nursery schedule in the Dingley tariff act, of 
which we are expecting so much, would never have been enacted. 
The federal law or San Jose scale act, now before congress, and which 
we hope will shortly become a law, was only accomplished by the 
united efforts of this Association. A full report of this matter will, I 
hope, be received from our legislative committee. 
On March 18th last, the Dominion houses of parliament suspended 
the rules and passed what is known as the Canadian exclusion act. 
This act immediately came into effect, and bars out of Canada all 
trees, shrubs, plants and vines, commonly known as nursery stock. 
It is estimated that at least $500,000 worth of nursery stock had been 
sold from the State of New York alone, in Canada. A great portion of 
it at retail, on which commission had already been paid, not a dollars’ 
worth of which could be shipped. A protest was at once lodged at 
Washington, and our state department took the matter up with the 
British authorities. After a good deal of correspondence the governor 
general of Canada, through the British ambassador refused to suspend 
all or any part of the law, not excepting the stock covered by previous 
contract. 
All the correspondence, with copies of the state papers, connected 
with this matter, I have on file, and they can be incorporated in our 
annual report if so desired. 
In view of this state of affairs, it seems to me very desirable that 
this Association take some action looking to a rescinding of this law, or 
to retaliation on our part, if the former cannot be accomplished. 
Under the federal scale act, the secretary of agriculture would have 
power to bar Canadian fruit out of the United States, for the same 
reason that Canadians bar our trees, and with much more justice. I 
would suggest that this whole matter be thoroughly discussed, and 
placed in the hands of our legislative committee. 
In conclusion, it seems to me that any one who has successfully 
weathered the past few years in the nursery business, deserves the 
