94 
THE NATIONAL NURSEEYMAN 
Philadelphia 
The Convention City of the American Association 
of Nurserymen. 
The illustration above is that of Independence Hall, 
Philadelphia, which may truly be called the fountain 
head of our national freedom. Here reposes the sacred 
Liberty Bell. The historic old building, with its flank¬ 
ing structures, is situated on Chestnut street and extends 
from Fourth to Fifth street. Independence Square is 
directly in the rear. The Colonial Apartment, with its 
original furniture, and wherein the Declaration of Inde¬ 
pendence was signed, is to the left on entering; the Su¬ 
preme Court Room is opposite. On the second floor is 
a large collection of old portraits. Independence Hall 
is open every day and because of its historical associa¬ 
tions is visited by more persons than any other building 
in the city. 
No city in the country is so rich in historical associa¬ 
tions and buildings as Philadelphia. Here, in the quaint 
old Betsy Ross House the first x\merican Flag was made. 
Here is located Carpenter’s Hall, the meeting place of the 
First Continental Congress in 1774. These are but a 
few of the many historical buildings with which every 
man, woman, and child in the country should be familiar. 
Aside from its historical traditions, Philadelphia is 
one of the greatest Convention cities in the Country. 
Visitors can spend a week here and not see half of the 
many points of interest that are well worth a visit. 
There is the United States Mint, Christ Church, Com¬ 
mercial Museum, Girard College, Fairmount Park, the 
Zoological Garden, fine big department stores, and many 
of the largest manufacturing industries of their kind in 
the world. 
In the month of June, when the National Nurserymen 
hold their Convention here, the weather will be warm 
and all of the Parks and outdoor amusements will be in 
full swing. Within a few miles of Philadelphia are to 
be found historic Valley Forge, Atlantic City, which is 
aptly termed the playground of the World, and numerous 
points of interest along the Delaware river. 
PLANT BREEDING 
Extracts from an Address by Professor S. A. Beach, Horti¬ 
culturist, Ames, Iowa, before the Minnesota 
State Horticultural Society. 
The Need of Fruit Breeding 
James J. Hill some years ago put out a statement re¬ 
garding the prospective development of this country and 
the significance of land ownership, in which he included 
an estimate as to the increase in population in continental 
United States, It is a statement which I have often 
thought of and often quoted. Mr. Hill was a brainy, 
clear-sighted man, and one who could see and appreciate 
things of fundamental importance. This statement re¬ 
garding the prospective increase of population in con¬ 
tinental United States was made some years ago. The 
fact that up to this date the prophecy has been fulfilled 
gives us all the more confidence in the reliabilty of this 
estimate for the future. The time set in this statement 
for the United States to pass the 100 million mark was 
1915. We actually passed the 100 million mark in 1915. 
This estimate included the statement that by 1950 we 
should have 200 millions of people in the United States. 
Inevitably along with this increase in population is to 
go a corresponding increase in land values. Land and 
hunger is to increase. As we have frequently said in dis¬ 
cussing this matter, it is important that we do not forget 
that while there is a crop of babies every year, there is 
only one crop of land. The time has gone by when men 
can go out west and get good cheap land with which to 
compete with the farmers of this region. A generation 
or more ago the pioneers came in here to take up cheap 
land. Where do their sons go to get cheap land? They 
go into the arid or semi-arid regions to the westward or 
they go away off into the Canadian Northwest. But 
even in the Canadian Northwest they have to pay a much 
higher price for land than the Minnesota pioneers paid 
when they came into this state. The day of cheap land 
has gone by. In meeting these conditions which we are 
beginning to face and which our children must face, it 
is important that we provide for ourselves and put into 
the hands of our children the very best possible agri¬ 
cultural materials, so that we and they may be better 
able to succeed in the inevitable struggle which must be 
made with the rest of the world in order to maintain the 
type of civilization which we wish America to stand for. 
And while we are making progress in farm manage¬ 
ment, in the development of farm machinery, in an under- 
standng of the rotation of crops in a scientific way, in 
the use of fertilizers economically, we must also have, 
if we are to win this battle, the very best plant materials 
that scientific plant breeding can give us. We cannot 
afford to follow a hit or miss policy hoping to stumble 
upon the improved varieties of plants that are needed. 
On the contrary, we must go at it in the same scientific 
way in which Germany and the other countries have gone 
at the matter of preparing for this terrible conflict which 
is going on in Europe. We have another kind of conflict 
on. We must win. To win we must prepare for it by 
systematically planning to put into our hands and into 
the hands of our children the very best plant material 
with which to produce the crop of grain, fruit and 
