207 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
If you have not a personal acquaintance with the nur¬ 
seryman you have been corresponding with, come to the 
convention, it will make future business dealings easy. 
If you are honest and want to improve your credit, 
come to the convention and meet your creditors. 
If you want a good time, come to the convention. 
FREIGHT RATES 
Of the important matters for consideration at the De¬ 
troit meeting of the Nurserymen Association it would 
seem as though the subject of the proposed increase in 
freight rates and the Pine Rust quarantine by the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture questions should have earnest 
consideration and prompt action. 
The plan of increasing the present heavy freight rates 
on nursery stock in car lots of something like 25 or 30 
per cent, by the simple process of changing the classifica¬ 
tion, is one of the customary methods of insidiously in¬ 
creasing transportation charges under some specious 
plea of getting more money for the same service and, 
where there is such an important increase as that in¬ 
dicated, with the hope of securing the increased revenue 
without formidable protest or objection from interested 
shippers. 
I believe it is openly admitted that for the average 
value of car contents of nursery stock proportionate to 
the weight, the present carload rates are in reality higher 
than the relative freight charges on almost any other 
kind of crude or finished material carried by the rail¬ 
roads. This fact makes the burden of any increase from 
the present high rates seem unbearable, especially as the 
5 per cent, increase in the new trunk line rates, as per¬ 
mitted by the Inter-state Commerce Commission, applies 
to nursery stock as to other shipments: And with this 
increase it is doubtful if the transportation managers 
themselves can claim any justification for this new in¬ 
crease in the expense for moving nursery stock. 
In order to meet this situation effectively and aggres¬ 
sively it would seem as though a committee of able rep¬ 
resentative men, possibly a special committee be ap¬ 
pointed at the June meeting of the Association to take up 
this subject at headquarters, (irst with the Presidents of 
some of the roads most interested and then with other 
officials in order that the proposed increased rates to be 
effective from June 1st be rescinded. 
Any nurseryman or shipper of nursery stock has 
merely to look at his freight hills to have demonstrated 
how the material increase or cost of transportation the 
proposed change in rates will result. Instance: Our own 
car shipments from Iowa to New York, $84.30 under the 
new classification, $150.58, and similar results from and 
to other points. 
Frederick W. Kelsey. 
While we had a trying spring, we are now having nice 
rains and all young stock cuttings and plants are starl¬ 
ing out nicely and promise to be good stands. Our past 
season was fairly satisfactory, not as good as recent 
years, however, we cleaned up on most everything ex¬ 
cept apple and peach trees and we have a small surplus 
of these unsold. 
Prices, especially on apple and peach trees were some- 
what lower than usual. The indications are, that collec¬ 
tions will be a little slow, however, we trust that every¬ 
thing will adjust itself, and the coming season will give 
us a trifle better demand and prices than the season w e 
have just passed through. 
Everything considered, with the exception of un¬ 
usually large surplus, especially in apple trees our past 
season, has been satisfactory to us. 
The Westminster Nursery, 
Westminster, Md. 
E. A. SMITH, 
Lake City, Minn. 
Chairman Root Gall 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
W. G. CAMPBELL, 
St. Joseph, Mo. 
Chairman 
Publicity and Trade Opportunities 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
C. M. SIZEMORE, 
Louisiana, Mo. 
Chairman Transportation Committee 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
