84 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
winds, acid rather tlian lime or alkali soil, abundance of 
humus such as peal, leaf soil, very well rotted manure; 
good drainage yet constant moisture. 
Anyone that has don(‘ much planting around buildings 
knows that these conditions are rarely found, but the 
nearer they can be provided the better will be the success. 
While the recjuirements are exacting they are by no 
means dihicult to obtain, and are well worth the effort as 
no other group of plants furnish so well near masonry, 
and it is but fitting that when no expense has been spared 
on tbe building, or skill and effort by the architect and 
builder, our profession should furnish the most appropri¬ 
ate and best material for finishing the picture. 
As a group practically all the evergreen shrubs are im¬ 
ported, but there is no real reason why they should be, 
if American nurserymen would rise to the occasion and 
plan to grow them. 
The accompanying illustration shows a tasteful and 
practical arrangement insuring an attractive appearance 
winter and summer. The Rhododendrons which will be 
readily recognized give the necessary display of bloom in 
the spring to relieve the monotony. The tall plant in the 
right hand corner is the Retinispora squarrosa and the 
one in front of it Retinispora obtusa, Retinispora pisifera 
in front of the pier. With these three exceptions they 
are all broad leaved evergreens. Osmanthus aquifolia 
on the right, Euonynius Japonicus and Ilex crenata in 
the background. The foreground being planted with 
Rachysandra terminalis, a capital little plant for the 
purpose, and the Rhododendrons forming the central 
feature. Such a selection will not get too large for the 
position for a long time, and are much more pleasing and 
fitting than a group composed of the more formal grow¬ 
ing evergreens so often seen in such a position. 
Would A National Retail Association Benefit 
The Entire Trade? 
By J. L. May hew, Waxahackie, Texas. Read at the Annual Meeting of the 
Western Association of Nurserymen 
1 KNOW of no law against the organization of such an 
association and, personally, had given the matter no 
serious consideration until I was asked to prepare an 
address for this occasion. I know of many things I 
would have preferred talking about, but I always feel in¬ 
clined to attempt whatever my friends ask me to do, and 
the chairman of this program committee is my friend. 
This is my apology for speaking on this subject. 
I suppose this subject originated at Milwaukee last 
June and is the result of a certain set of resolutions rela¬ 
tive to trade lists, but in reality it dates further back, for 
I remember that some of those responsible for this resolu¬ 
tion were very seriously opposed to the adoption of the 
new constitution and by-laws adopted at Detroit in 1915. 
I would much prefer to address myself to these resolu¬ 
tions than to debate the advisability of a retail associa¬ 
tion, but as the National Association adopted these resolu¬ 
tions, that particular Association is the proper place for 
a reconsideration of the matter, hence I shall stick to my 
subject. 
The world is divided largely into two classes, those who 
do not believe in organization, who are “agin” all forms 
of organized effort, and those who allow their ideas of 
organization to run riot. And again, those who believe 
that organization to be effective should take special cog¬ 
nizance of their particular business, doing for them what 
they have not been able to do for themselves. The mem¬ 
bers of this and similar organizations take the position 
that organization must be along lines of and for the com¬ 
mon good, and that the individual benefits resulting from 
organized effort are incident thereto. 
It is hard for us to get away from the paternalistic in 
government, whether it be organization for the proper 
safe-guarding of society, which finds expression in muni¬ 
cipal, state, and federal laws, or organization within so- 
' cial, business, or religious lines. The question, what is 
this particular organization doing for me, rather than 
what it is doing for the common good, is a question that 
will not down. We are so inclined to view life from our 
own circumscribed environment, and I think I am not 
far wrong when I say that this question of retail organ¬ 
ization was first conceived in a spirit of retaliation against 
imagined wrongs. “The retailer is not getting a square 
deal in the American Association of Nurserymen, be¬ 
cause all the affairs of the Association are in the hands 
of those who represent wholesale interests.” Have you 
not heard such an expression, coupled with the veiled 
threat that unless certain policies believed to be inimical 
to the interests of the retailer were abolished that the re¬ 
tailers would secede and form an association among 
themselves. ‘ I believe, men, that beyond any sort of 
question this position is dead wrong and that only harm 
to the nursery interests as a whole could come from a 
further agitation of this question. 
IS THERE GROUND FOR COMPLAINT ON THE PART OF ANY 
MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN? 
I hold no brief to defend those who have in the past 
been responsible for the affairs of the American Associa- 
