THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
45 
PRESIDENT WILSON. 
The Head of the American Association En¬ 
dorses THE Position of the National 
Nurseryman—Demands a Hearing from 
Nurserymen and an Amended Bill. 
Following is the strong outspoken opinion of the president 
of the American Association of Nurserymen on the subject of 
the federal bill for inspection of nursery stock. 
Editor of National Nurseryman : 
I notice in the April number of the National Nurseryman 
an account of the national convention of horticulturists and 
entomologists held in Washington on March 5th and 6th. I 
was in Washington City at the time that the convention was 
held, but my time was so fully occupied in matters of business 
that I did not attend any session of the convention. I called 
at the Ebbitt House, the headquarters of the convention, and 
noticed that the nurserymen of the United States were especi¬ 
ally conspicuous by their absence, as near as I could learn or 
see. William C. Barry of Rochester, N. Y., and J. Van Bind¬ 
ley of Pomona, N C., were the only nurserymen I saw there. 
I have read with a good deal of interest the result of their 
deliberations. It seems to me that if the proposed legislation 
was carried out in the various states recommended by this 
committee on legislation, it would work a great hardship upon 
the nurserymen of the United States and accomplish nothing 
but confusion and a continual clashing of interstate commerce. 
It seems to me that the great nursery interests of the United 
States should be heard before any such legislation proposed by 
the said convention should be enacted into law. 
While the nurserymen of the United States realize the im¬ 
portance of all the safeguards that can be used to prevent the 
dissemination of the San Jose scale and other destructive 
insects and diseases, I don’t believe this can be done by state 
legislation. I believe that the horticulturists and nurserymen 
of the United States should unite in recommending a national 
law that would give ample protection to the great nursery 
interests of the country and at the same time successfully 
prgvent any further dissemination of insects or fungous diseases 
which trees and plants are heirs to. I believe such a law 
could be secured through national legislation at the regular 
session of the fifty-fifth congress, but no such legislation can 
reasonably be expected by the called session of the fifty-fifth 
congress. 
I believe this important question should receive the careful 
attention of the horticulturists, pomologists, fruit growers and 
nurserymen of the country at the next meeting of the Ameri¬ 
can Association of Nurserymen to be held in St. Louis on the 
second Wednesday of June next, and that a strong committee 
should be appointed to formulate and present and urge the 
passage of such a law as would do justice to the great fruit 
growing interests and the nursery interests of the country alike. 
This matter should be presented and urged befoie the regu¬ 
lar session of the fifty-fifth congress upon their assembling at 
the capital next December. 
I believe in what I have said that I have not only expressed 
my views, but I believe I have voiced the sentiment of the 
nurserymen generally. This is a very important question and 
should receive the careful attention of all fruit growers and 
nurserymen. 
Atlantic, la. Silas Wilson. 
SOUTH AFRICA NURSERY. 
A horticulturist, and former Californian, H. E. V. Pickstone^ 
is conducting a nnrsery business in Constantia, Cape Colony, 
Africa. In a recent letter addressed to the editor of the Cali¬ 
fornia Fruit Grower, that gentleman states that fruit growing 
there is in its infancy as regards practical commercial orchard¬ 
ing. He writes in part as follows : 
“ The whole country has but 2,000 dessert pear trees in bear¬ 
ing ; 5,000 ditto plums ; 1,000 drying peach and 5,000 winter 
apple trees of reputable quality and size. The only fruit 
grown in any quantity is a freestone, white-fleshed, melting 
peach of the Gross Mignonne type and apricots of a nonde¬ 
script type but of very fair quality. In citrus trees there are 
probably close to 500,000, nearly all seedlings and bearing fruit 
of fair to very good quality. 
I may say that we are moving slowly but steadily, the 
drawback being that the land is in the hands of a class de¬ 
scribed in California as moss-backs and here as there, they 
move slowly. Good fruit land is very dear. An idea may be 
gained when I say that I have to clear brush land at my own 
expense, costing $60 to $75 per acre and pay $50 per acre per 
annum in addition as rent. Several Californians have come 
here only to leave disappointed at the high price of lands 
Several others are still here however. They are settled and I 
hope to our mutual benefit. 
“ Another great drawback here are the southeast winds- 
They are a terror to the nurseryman. I have had on several 
occasions 2,000 buds blown clear out in one night and every 
leaf stripped from my peach seedlings. These results are 
not entirely due to the strength of the wind. For miles inland 
they are laden with salt which settles on the foliage, and the 
sun’s rays acting on it simply withers away the leaves. All 
nursery trees have to be staked, increasing labor considerably. 
“ In my nurseries and in others there are very nearly all the 
best known California varieties both in citrus and deciduous 
trees. There is no fruit boom and. we do not want one. In¬ 
discriminate planting would be fatal to our future with fruit. 
Yankee fruit land speculators and colonization promoters had 
best give us a wide berth. 
“That we can grow good fruit is in my opinion a certainty, 
pears in particular. I am an optimist and so can with confi¬ 
dence look forward to the day when we shall land cargoes of 
choice Bartletts, plums and grapes in New York in the months 
of February and March. This country owes much to P. J. 
Cillie now of Wellington, Cape Colony, whom doubtless you 
will remember and whose friends in California will be glad to 
hear is always in the van in the development of sound horti¬ 
cultural methods.’’ 
AN EXCELLENT INVE8T.MENT. 
W. A. Yates, Bkenham, Texas. —“Enclosed please find §1 00 for 
renewal of The National Nurseryman. I regard it as an excellent 
investment for every one interested in the growing and handling of 
nursery stock. With best wishes for your continued success.” 
