The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyright, 1899, by the National Nurseryman Publishing Co. 
“ Horticulture indicates the march of civilization." 
Vol. VI. ROCHESTER, N. Y., JANUARY, 1899. No. 12. 
WITH THE PLANTERS 
Proceedings of Nine State Horticultural Society Meetings—Nur m 
serymen Prominent as Officers and Active Workers—What 
Orchardists are Doing in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri , 
Minnesota, Virginia, Maryland, Iowa and Ontario. 
The Iowa State Horticultural Society held its thirty-third 
annual convention in Des Moines, Dec. 13-16. The society, 
like many of the state societies, is officered by nurserymen. 
President C. F. Gardner, Osage, in his annual address said : 
It seems to me that the time has now come to eliminate from our 
discussions the question as to whether or not it was advisable to import 
scions from Russia and other foreign countries, or to confine ourselves, 
in our experiments, to the varieties already here in America. 
Our society has been divided in opinion on this subject. In the mean 
time, both lines of experiments have been carried on with the result 
that several hundred varieties of foreign trees have been planted in 
every nook and corner of the state, have come into bearing, and have 
been here long enough to give us a general idea of whether they are 
adapted to our wants or not. Professor Bailey has said : ‘ ‘ The new 
varieties are gradually supplanting the old, so quietly that few people 
are aware of it, and by the time the contestants are done disputing, it 
will be found that there are no Russians and no eastern apples, but a 
brood of northwestern apples which have grown out of the old con¬ 
fusion.” 
Reports from the twelve districts into which the society has 
divided the state were read. G. L. Brackett from the first dis¬ 
trict reports : “ In this district, which was once famous for 
its commercial orchards from which large shipments were 
made of as fine fruit as ever grew, to-day there is scarely a 
commercial orchard of any considerable size to be found.” 
However, there is a revival in the business. Mr. Brackett says 
the time is ripe for starting commercial orchards again in the 
first district. 
R. B. Speer, of the eighth district, reported : “ Nurserymen 
should test all the fruit that they offer for sale and I would 
not buy a variety of the tree fruits or small fruits from a nur¬ 
seryman who could not show it to me in his own orchard or 
small fruit garden.” 
B. F. Ferris, for the ninth district, reported that he shipped 
apples to South Dakota, Illinois, Minnesota and Northwest 
Iowa, and car-loads were sent to Southern Iowa. Car loads of 
crab apples went to waste for want of a market. Plums were 
a failure. 
Elmer Reeves, of the eleventh district, reported that many 
peach orchards have come to his attention. He says : “ There 
seems to be a desire to grow something that we cannot grow 
and more trouble will be taken to grow a few poor peaches 
than would suffice to grow bushels of something adapted to 
our climate.” 
Eugene Secor of the twelfth district, reported that more 
fruit was grown in this district in 1898 than in any one previous 
year. Apple growing is no longer a problem for fall and 
summer varieties. Nurseries reaped a harvest in that district. 
Mr. Secor said : “ Many quite large orchards were planted 
this year and more are contemplated. Late keepers or cold 
storage is the need of this part of Iowa.” Other fruits were 
plenty in the twelfth district except plums. J. B. Mitchell, of 
Cresco, said the fruit belt in Iowa in steadily moving north¬ 
ward. 
Experiment stations were provided for as follows : Profes¬ 
sor John Craig, Ames, central station ; C. G. Patten, Charles 
City, crossing apples ; P. F. Kinne, Storm Lake, grafting 
apples ; A. Bronson, New Sharon, plum, cherry and stem 
fruits; J. B. Jackson, Glenwood, small fruits and peaches; C. 
L. Watrous, Des Moines, pear and apple ; H. P. Speer, Cedar 
Falls, crossing and top grafting apples ; M. J. Wragg, Waukee, 
plums, cherries and ornamentals. The supervising committee 
consists of Professor Craig, C. F. Gardner and Elmer Reeves. 
M. J. Wragg, Waukee, presented a paper on herbaceous 
plants. Henry Schroeder discusssed German prunes ; C. F. 
Gardner, neglected evergreens ; M. J. Graham, of Adel, Dye- 
house, Early Richmond and Montmorency cherries ; W. M. 
Bomberger, of Harlan, the marketing of fruit; President N- 
F. Murray, of the Missouri State Society, the propagating of 
raspberries ; J. B. Mitchell, Cresco, and Elmer Reeves, Wav- 
erly, apples. 
The following officers were elected : President, C. F. 
Gardner, Osage ; vice-president, M. J. Wragg, Waukee ; secre¬ 
tary, George H. Van Houten, Lenox ; treasurer, W. M. Bom¬ 
berger, Harlan ; directors by districts, first, G. B. Brackett, 
Denmark ; third, J. P. Jackson, Glenwood ; fifth, W. O. Wil¬ 
lard, Grinnell; seventh, B. Shontz, Correctionville ; ninth, B. 
F. Ferris, Hampton ; eleventh, Elmer Reeves, Waverly. 
MICHIGAN. 
The twenty-eighth annual meeting of the Michigan State 
Horticultural Society was held at Ann Arbor, Dec. 6—8. 
Among those present were : Judge F. J. Russell, Muskegon ; 
Professors Walter B. Barrows, Thomas Gunson, and C. D. 
Smith, of the agricultural college ; Charles W. Garfield, S. B. 
Smith, and A. W. Slayton, Grand Rapids ; ex-Senator C. J. 
Monroe, South Haven ; R. M. Kellogg, Three Rivers ; E. H. 
Hunt, Saranac; C. F. Hale, Shelby; Peter Collier, Adrian; 
J. C. Hanford, Detroit ; Regents Lawton and Dean, of the 
university ; Edwy C. Reid, Allegan ; and Roland Morrill, 
Benton Harbor. 
President Morrill, in his annual address, said that horticul¬ 
ture had been in the dumps for a number of years, but that 
now the whole state was becoming an orchard and the mission 
of the society was never more plainly marked out. That was 
to teach caution, moderation, and modern methods. He stated 
that the past year had demonstrated that the small fruit in¬ 
dustry is overdone. Fungus and other diseases were increas¬ 
ing and there was a demand for thorough knowledge and care¬ 
ful application to the work by the horticulturist. 
