258 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
Our newspapers and magazines at the present time are 
full of articles on the high cost of living. The Govern¬ 
ment has appointed a commission to investigate, ( the 
cause of causes?) writers on economics are giving their 
views and conventions are deliberating on the question. 
Do you catalogue men think Uncle Sam will find it 
necessary to appoint a committee to investigate our 
prices? Not much. While prices on everything else have 
been soaring, prices on nursery stock have been going 
down. Should he recommend an investigation, it will he. 
1 believe to examine our mental condition. 
There are many difficulties which we encounter in this 
business, for instance, the impossibility of knowing what 
our patrons or the public will feel like ordering, when 
we are preparing for the packing season. 
In 1914 the demand for currants was light, this season 
everybody wanted currant bushes. The same may he 
said of blackberry plants. Some years there will be a 
great demand for apples, peaches, cherries or other fruits, 
which leads you to stock up heavily for the succeeding 
year, when the trade switches onto something else, con¬ 
sequently you have thousands of trees to burn. 
Another serious drawback is, if you do not put in a big 
stock, you will be almost compelled to buy of irrespon¬ 
sible wholesale nurserymen whose labeling cannot be 
relied upon, and this lays you liable under the courts for 
mislabeling, though you personally are not at all respon¬ 
sible for it. 
I maintain it is far better to talk quality as well as 
service, ask a good price and you will get it. We fellows 
at Dansville, have recently adopted this method for the 
future and I believe if more of us throughout the United 
States, do likewise, it will be better for the nursery bus¬ 
iness in general. 
Several nurserymen have criticized some Dansville 
Wholesale people for selling at low prices. Has it ever 
occurred to you that you. practically speaking, are re¬ 
sponsible for it? Our seedling agents come in there and 
sell stock to everybody who wants to buy, regardless of 
whether he is a nurseryman or shoe dealer, consequently, 
for ten or twelve years, doctors, lawyers, merchants, 
farmers or any one who could raise the price, and some 
who couldn't have been planting. Many of those people 
do not know any more about growing trees right, than 
you or I about an airship. 
You come out there to buy trees, what do you do. dig 
out and hunt up some of those farmers who are no bet¬ 
ter posted on the market of trees, than we are on what 
caused the great European war. 
If cherries are worth fifteen cents, you offer ten, and 
get them. If you can't secure all you want of him, you 
may come to a legitimate nurseryman. If he won't sell 
at the farmer's price, you hunt up a shoe dealer or some 
other cut rate fellow, buy your needs and go back to your 
friends and say. ‘'I bought cherries for ten cents,” and 
how you did it. thus by your actions you have encouraged 
many to engage in this business, who should never be 
there, until what they grow aggregates many thousands 
of trees, and you absolutely force the legitimate nursery- 
men to meet prices which are in many instances below 
cost of production, and then you wonder why low priced 
circulars are sent from Dansville. This also compels 
the retailer who grows his trees to meet the price of the 
retailer who buys his needs from the fence corner nur¬ 
seryman. 
Dansville is a great factor in the nursery game, there 
is no place where God permits the sun to shine, that 
raises more or better trees than little Dansville. She 
goes a long ways towards establishing the market price 
on trees in the United States, then why in Heaven’s name 
do you compel her nurserymen by your actions to quote 
prices that tend to annihilate the market? 
Gentlemen; what right has a drygoods man. clothier 
or dentist to engage in our business? If they are desir¬ 
ous of helping some young fellow along, let the clothier 
rent a store next to his. and start him up. the dentist open 
an office next to his and start him up in business. No. 
they won’t do it. But you people will go there and buy 
trees grown by such fellows who are not depending on 
this product for their livelihood. I want to say to you we 
welcome any one who desires to engage in the business, 
as his business. 
I don’t speak of this from a selfish motive, but because 
it is annihilating the business, these men are not making 
any money and it forces legitimate nurserymen to meet 
their prices and send out low priced circulars that, you 
fellows detest. You are responsible for it, and no one 
else. Think it over gentlemen. 
FRUIT GROWERS TO MEET. 
State Horticultural Society Holds Summer Meeting. 
Commencing at noon July 27th and 28th at Champaign. 
Illinois, the Illinois State Horticultural Society will hold 
its third Summer Meeting. 
This is the third Summer Convention of the Illinois 
State Horticultural Society. The two conventions pre¬ 
viously held have proven to be of such great practical 
value, and so well attended that this meeting at Cham¬ 
paign considering the excellent opportunities for demon¬ 
stration work will undoubtedly be the largest attended 
and most interesting meeting the society has ever held. 
Everyone interested in horticultural matters, whether a 
member of the Illinois State Horticultural Society or not, 
will be welcome. 
Further information desired may be obtained from the 
secretary. A. M. Augustine, Normal, Ill. 
VICTOR DETRICHE & COMPANY 
The growing of fruit stock and ornamental shrubs is 
one of the main industries of Angers, France. Many 
nurserymen in other sections grow much of their stock 
in the rich valley of the river Loire, near which Angers is 
located, this valley being particularly suited to the pro¬ 
duction of fruit tree seedlings. 
Among the older firms, who are still active in the nur¬ 
sery business is that of Victor Detriche & Company, who 
are represented in the United States by A. Hans. 17 
State street, New York. They grow fruit tree stocks. 
Manetti rose and a full line of ornamentals. 
The unsettled conditions, caused by the outbreak of 
the war. have now adjusted themselves, and Victor Det¬ 
riche & Company are as w r ell equipped as ever to serve 
their customers in the United States. 
