THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
59 
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN. 
FORTIETH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 
A Message From the Secretary 
Mr. Editor :— 
Seven years ago this Association held its annual meeting in Detroit, Michigan. At the Cleveland 
convention of 1914 Detroit was again practically unanimously chosen for the meeting of 1915. So 
much enthusiasm was evinced in the discussion as to the city in which this anniversary should be cele¬ 
brated, that we consider ourselves warranted in boosting “the City Beautiful” in anticipation of June 
23-25th next. It is such fun to be a “booster,” because, after your energy has been spent, such a de¬ 
lightful satisfaction gets up under a man’s vest as he congratulates himself on his success, always, of 
course, presuming that he has boosted in a good cause. So let us all assume the role of the booster in 
one united effort to make this fortieth anniversary the most notable in the Association's history—notable 
in size of membership, notable in attendance and notable in all other ways that shall build up the bus¬ 
iness of the legitimate nurseryman. To this end let every man look after the fellow who isr“not on the 
list.” President Chase is on the war path. He has appointed a committee of seven live men to boost 
the membership, ivith Brother Will Munson, of Texas, as chairman. Somethin’ cloin.’ 
As already announced Hotel Cadillac will be headquarters. Mr. T. I. Ilgenfritz (some call him 
“Tom”) is chairman of the committee on arrangements and entertainment. He has made the per¬ 
sonal acquaintance of the manager of the hotel, who has promised not only to do his best to give satis¬ 
faction equal to that felt seven years ago but to surpass it as far as his capabilities will permit. The 
entertainment mill is working and we will shortly be able to take members more fully into the com¬ 
mittee’s confidence. The program mill is also grinding, and we suggest that members write to Brother 
C. B. Burr, Manchester, Conn., any thought they may have that will be helpful to him. 
I shall be glad to give prompt attention to all inquiries regarding membership, etc. 
Yours for a 1915 boom, 
JOHN IIA LL, Secretary. 
204 Granite Building, Rochester, N . ). 
THE YEWS 
There is a class or quality in the yews, but they are of 
such slow growth that the nurseryman has to wait a long¬ 
time before he can realize on his labor and investment. 
Much can happen from the time of propagation, 5 to 10 
years, before they are ready for the market and he 
usually prefers to import plants from Europe rather than 
attempt their propagation himself. 
They arc propagated by seeds which do not germinate 
until the second year but seedlings invariably grow faster 
than plants raised from cuttings. 
Cuttings can he rooted very readily in a cool green¬ 
house or frame but do not have the same freedom of 
growth and so do not develop into as fine specimens, their 
growth is more likely to be low and spreading. Varieties 
grafted on seedlings even make better headway than cut¬ 
tings. 
As the seeds take so long to germinate it is better to 
gather them when ripe and put them in a heap when the 
fleshy covering will rot away, then mix them with fine 
sifted sand and bury them in the ground about 6 inches 
deep where they may remain until the time for sowing. 
The Yew is a very ancient form of vegetation and 
really belongs to past geological ages. The present 
forms are very broadly dispersed over the north temper¬ 
ate zone. 
Taxus baccata, English Yew, is indigenous through 
Europe to northern India. There-are numerous garden 
varieties including the well-known Irish Yew. 
Taxus canadensis, Canadian Yew is the American rep¬ 
resentative of this family. 
Taxus Cuspidata, the Japanese. 
In addition to these there is a Florida one Taxus ftori- 
dana and one from Mexico, Taxus globosa. 
Botanists are of the opinion they are all geographical 
varieties of one species that through the ages have 
adapted themselves to the conditions under which they 
are growing. 
The yews thrive in almost any soil and are wonderfully 
tenaceous of life when once established, endure shade 
well and so make admirable plants for small city yards. 
Unfortunately they are not particularly hardy and suf¬ 
fer from dry frosty winds in winter, especially when ex¬ 
posed to the winter sun so that it is better to protect them 
in much the same way as the Rhododendrons require, in 
fact Rhododendrons and yews thrive under about the 
same conditions. As far as hardiness is concerned the 
Canadian Yew is considered the hardiest but the writer 
has seen them winter kill when the Japanese and English 
came through unharmed. 
