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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, “ “ loo 
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. 
{^“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. 
AflERlCAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN. 
President, A. L. Brooke, N. Topeka, Kan.; vice-president, E. Albert¬ 
son, Bridgeport, Ind.; secretary, George C. Seager, Rochester, N. 
Y.; treasurer, C. L. Yates, Rochester, N. Y. 
Executive Committee—C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, la.; Robert C. Berckmans, 
Augusta, Ga.; F. H. Stannard, Ottawa, Kan. 
Committee on Transportation—A. L. Brooke, ex-officio, chairman; William 
Pitkin, Rochester, N. Y.; Peter Youngers, Geneva, Neb.; Wilson J. Peters, 
Troy, O.; Robert C. Berckmans, Augusta, Ga. 
Committee on Legislation — C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, Ta.; 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 1899—At Chicago, Ill., June 7, 8. 
Entered in the Post Office at Rochester, as second-class matter. 
Rochester, N. Y., August, 1898. 
THE TIDE HAS TURNED. 
While in the opinion of many in the trade, business is little 
. if any better than it has been for some time, there are unmis¬ 
takable signs of an upward tendency of prices and a disposi¬ 
tion to do business on old lines adapted to new conditions. 
At the Omaha convention an increase in prices was discussed 
and there was practical unanimity of opinion that the tide had 
turned, that prices would advance and indeed had advanced. 
On certain stock the increase was asked. At a meeting of 
nurserymen of Central and Western New York last month it 
was decided to act in unison with western nurserymen in re¬ 
storing the prices at least partially. Such action is for mutual 
advantage. It is also to the benefit of the orchardist for at 
fair prices nursery stock is not expensive and- at such prices 
the nurserymen can afford to exert every endeavor to produce 
the highest class of stock. The entire business is placed upon 
a more substantial and reliable basis and the purchaser of 
nursery stock feels the assurance that he is getting full value. 
Aside from the general improvement in business conditions 
throughout the country, there has been a cleaning up of some 
lines of nursery stock and naturally prices on such stock 
should become firmer. 
BUD SELECTION. 
The article in this issue by G. H. Powell on the improve¬ 
ment of varieties is timely. Since the National Nursery¬ 
man called attention to Professor Bailey’s terse statement that 
the introduction of new types of fruits, while important, is less 
so than the improvement of types already introduced, several 
horticultural journals have endorsed the opinion. 
There is food for much thought in Mr. Powell’s statement 
that horticulturists have never made a systematic attempt to 
improve a variety after it once appears, or even to maintain its 
standard of excellence, for improvement has ever been looked 
for through new varieties. “It seems strange,” says Mr. 
Powell, “that the slight differences which appear in the buds 
of a tree should not have formed the basis for the systematic 
improvement of orchard varieties.” 
A number of nurserymen have adopted the practice sug¬ 
gested by Professor Bailey, who says: “It would certainly 
be a good and safe stroke of business for a nurseryman to 
select his scions, so far as possible, from trees of known ex¬ 
cellence and prolificacy and to let the fact be known.” 
THE BUG-BEAR OF 1898. 
The bug-bear of 1898 has almost disappeared. Notwith¬ 
standing the dire threatenings, the press despatches from day 
to day fail utterly to record the devastation of orchards by the 
San Jose scale. We have watched the daily and weekly 
exchanges from every city in this country and Canada and 
from many of the towns. Not a single case has come to light, 
Canada, Austria, France and Germany have taken action on 
the scale subject, but the nursery business goes right on. 
Orchards will be planted under guaranty of clean stock and 
the principle of self-preservation will prevent the spread of 
pests. 
Congress has adjourned and the federal scale bill was not 
passed. It may come up at the next session, but by that time 
events may prove that it is not necessary or that it should be 
amended. It was advocated by the nurserymen because it 
would provide a uniform law for all states. The sixteen state 
laws at present contain provisions so varied as seriously to 
interfere with the transaction of the nursery business. 
“ In the July issue of the Forum , Chief Entomologist L. O. 
Howard of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
reviews briefly the San Jose scale history under the title 
“ International Relations Disturbed by an Insect.” He says 
that the German government was the first to gain exact infor¬ 
mation on the subject, because for some years that government 
has had a scientific man of ability attached to its embassy at 
Washington, for the sole purpose of studying American agri¬ 
culture. Dr. Howard thinks this should suggest to the United 
States government a similar policy. In conclusion Dr. How¬ 
ard says : 
“It is plain that foreign nations are just beginning to do 
what we ourselves might long ago have done with advantage. 
The majority of our principal insect pests are of foreign origin, 
