i68 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
ISEW YORK LETTER. 
Objectionable Effect of Plant Auctions Upon the Trade—Prac¬ 
tices of Unscrupulous Venders on the Streets of the 
Metropolis—Currants Sold for Roses. 
New York, Dec. 24. —The plant auctions in New York are 
becoming more and more popular. Foreign nursery stock is 
at present sold as well as trees grown in America, such as 
California privet, evergreens, fruit trees and miscellaneous 
shrubbery. As a matter of fact nurserymen in general com¬ 
plain that those sales effect the trade as a whole and ruin the 
retail business. In my opinion they do, but the question 
arises—can this not be abated, or who is to blame for this 
state of affairs ? This query can be answered thus : The 
consignors of such stock are responsible for the ruin of this 
business, and it is the common opinion of American nursery¬ 
men that only the Holland growers carry on this particular 
part of the trade. This may be true to a certain extent, 
but home growers hurt the trade more than all the foreign 
dealers. The stock which is sold consists principally—with 
the exception of roses—of plants which are scarcely known to 
the public. For instance : Azalea mollis, Staphylea colchica, 
Prunus lusitanica, Aucuba, Periploca grgeca or similar plants. 
Private buyers here in America do not even know what they 
are purchasing, but they give this stock a trial just to see what 
it is. 
Suppose “A” purchases a few plants and places them in his 
garden. It may happen that some of the plants will really 
thrive (although as a rule stock bought at auctions does not 
turn out well), and A is therefore more or less satisfied with the 
result. Some of A’s friends will notice the flowers in his 
garden ; will inquire for the names of the various sorts and in 
this way such stock is introduced. 
Suppose an agent from a reliable house were to call upon A. 
He offers the same kind of stock as A bought at the auction; 
of course, as soon as the agent calls he learns that A has pur¬ 
chased the flowers at a public sale, and he informs him that he 
would have fared much better if he had secured the stock from 
a nurseryman. He will give a thousand and one reasons to 
substantiate his statements. A will certainly give the agent 
an order; and if the latter is sharp he can sell a large quantity 
of stock in that neighborhood. 
There are hundreds of plants which are not known to the 
people, but as soon as they are introduced they will find ready 
purchasers. Now let us consider the stock that is sent to a 
public sale ; the stock of this country—so-called home-grown 
—such as California privet, gooseberries, currants, fruit trees, 
clematis, paniculata, evergreens, climbing roses, etc. This 
stock does not require any introduction, everyone is familiar 
with it, and it finds purchasers always through the agents, 
notwithstanding the prices are high. The purchaser is aware 
that California privet and such shrubbery always grows. This 
line of stock can be disposed of at the auctions, but it will not 
increase the wants, nor will there be any more sold. How¬ 
ever, from every point of view it is very plain that these sales 
ruin the trade almost entirely. 
Last spring those houses received from very eminent 
growers, large quantities of gooseberries, red currants, climb¬ 
ing roses, etc., which were disposed of at any price and in 
some instances literally given away. A few enterprising ven¬ 
ders purchased the goods, placed a stand on the street con¬ 
taining the plants on which they put a large sign, reading: 
“ Climbing Roses, Crimson Rambler,” and, in fact, any name 
whereby they could make their wares attractive and saleable. 
One day the writer was walking on Greenwich street and 
passed a small stand containing a number of plants on which was 
written “Crimson Rambler, Yellow Rambler, etc.” Upon 
investigation I found they were really gooseberry and currant 
bushes. On the next corner a man had a stand containing 
the very same goods, but he found it more profitable to have 
them labeled “Pride of California, Standard Hydrangeas and 
American Beauty Roses.” This also goes to show that the con¬ 
signor of such goods ruins the business; likely his own par¬ 
ticular branch of same. 
The new tariff law does not effect these sales at all. The 
auctioneer never loses anything in such transactions. As long 
as the consignor is willing to send the goods, he will find sale 
for them even if he only realizes what pays the tariff on them ; 
his expense will be surely deducted from receipts; for the 
grower however, things are different. While the home growers 
continue to send in thousands of currants and gooseberry 
plants, thousand of privets, these public sales will always effect 
the trade. 
A recent law passed in Germany was to the effect that with¬ 
in the city of Berlin no plants of foreign production could be 
entered, and last spring those trying to conduct public sales 
were stopped by the government. This law was passed owing 
to the petition made by the growers of Germany, as they were 
aware that the tariff would have little or no effect on auctions. 
If this was done here in America it would be better than plac¬ 
ing such a high tariff on plants, above all on fancy plants,which 
it will be necessary to import in large quantities; and this will 
continue to increase every year. These public sales can only 
be prevented by an act of the government, an act which would 
be highly beneficial to the entire trade. And last, but not 
least, no man in the trade should patronize the sales ; but it 
has been proved that some of the eminent nurserymen of 
America made bids on this inferior line of goods. X. 
FOREST PLANTING. 
Thirteen years ago the late Robert Douglas of Waukegan, 
Ill., planted a forest of 1,200 acres at Farlington, Kansas, on 
the Fort Scott and Memphis railroad. The kinds selected 
for the experiment were black walnuts, cherry, catalpa, ash, 
osage orange and chestnut. The walnuts are 40 feet in 
height and two feet in circumference. Next to the walnuts the 
catalpas have done the best. The ash has not done well. 
The trees were planted for railroad ties, many are now ready 
for such use. It is believed that better results would have 
been obtained if the trees had been planted six by six feet 
apart instead of four by four. 
The Connecticut legislature has repealed the peach yellows 
law. 
A horticultural quarantine officer at San Francisco claims 
to have discovered and confiscated a new apple pest which 
arrived in fruit from Japan on the steamer Coptic, November 
6th. It was believed to be larva of Laverna herellera which 
burrows all through an apple, instead of making but two 
tunnels as does the codlin moth. 
