THF. NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
123 
of fruit tree seedlings can be siieeessfully grown here 
at all. 
Inst(‘a(l of enlirely exeluding foi‘(Mgn grown nursery 
stoek, it would be miieb more sensible to permit the im¬ 
portation of it only by Nurserymvn —that is, only in a 
eommereial way. The same idea would a|)ply, of eourse, 
to importations of llorists’ plants. Import shipments for 
nurserymen or llorists aio always of fairly large (pian- 
tities and they eould be loeated and ins])eeted before they 
were further distributed, as is done at the present time 
without serious dillieulty. Also, eommereial importations 
eome into the hands of ])eople w ho are fairly eompetent 
to diseover any injurious inserts or diseases for them¬ 
selves, and w hose own self-interests would be the strong¬ 
est j)ossible incentive to take every means to eradicate 
them. It is time that Ave nurserymen stand uj) more 
vigorously for our rights and make the strongest fight we 
know how' to against any more restrictive legislation. 
If we do not do it now, we might as w^ell do as many of 
the liquor men are said to be doing—viz. look about for 
some other investment and oeeupation. It seems strange 
that the nursery business—a trade which makes the 
woT-ld more beautiful and more productive, should be as 
much the target for hampering and restrictive legislation 
as is the liquor trade, now' universally admitted to be in¬ 
imical to public w elfare. That a])i)ears to be the situa¬ 
tion, how^ever, and w e might as w ell make up our minds 
to fight and fight hard, or else hunt some other line of 
business. 
Yours truly, 
Jackson & Perkins Coaipany„ 
By G. C. Perkins, Treasurer. 
.\ few years since in placing his resignation with the 
Executive Committee our old Secretary, George Seager, 
expressed his appreciation of the National Nurserymen’s 
Association in something like the following terms: 
“I have been connected with many business organiz¬ 
ations, but I wish to say for the National Association of 
Nurserymen, that it is the finest body of men in both mind 
and heart, that I have ever knowm,” and in casting about 
for the reason which has actuated so many of the Nur¬ 
serymen in opposing the “Exclusion Act” proposed by 
the National Horticultural Board, I can find no better 
excuse than the quality attributed to them in the latter 
part of Mr. Seager’s letter quoted above. 
European countries have been and are likely to be for 
a long time to come at lea^t, the principle sources of nur¬ 
sery importations. These countries today, are engaged in 
a life and death struggle and w'hen it is over, they are 
bound to be left with a lot of cheap labor on their hands 
which can be utilized for nursery purposes and which 
w ill be disqualified for many other lines of labor. 
With this labor they can produce and dump on Amer¬ 
ican markets, stock at prices wiiich w ill spell ruin to 
American nurserymen. 
We have been told in the past that w e cannot produce 
in this country many lines of stock wiiich are now^ import¬ 
ed; perhaps this may be true, but I do not think so. 
It has been fashionable in some European countries to 
send spies to America to investigate not only Govern¬ 
mental atl'airs, but business affairs as well, and 1 am not 
at all sure that w e have not received our share of nttention 
from these gentlenuMi, and that th(*y ai'c not biMter posted 
on the cost of producing stock in this country, than Amer¬ 
ican nursi'rymen ai‘(‘ thems(*h(‘s. or afli'r these invi'sti- 
gations have been made that jiriei's hav<‘ not bemi so 
shaped as to drive American conqxMition out of the 
market. 
I for one am tin'd of this Euiopi'an intcMiViamce in 
American affairs. I Ixiieve that we can |)roduce in the 
United States eveiy thing we seriously need if hdt un¬ 
molested for a short time to work out our probh'in. It 
may and doubtless w ill, for a time be inconvenient, but in 
the long run, I believe it wdll be for our best good. 
There are doubtless good grounds for jiassing an Ex¬ 
clusion Act for quarantine purjioses. Niorly all of tlu' 
dangerously injurious insect pests w(‘ have to contend 
with now, are from abroad and most of tlumi of recent 
importation. It is also a curious fact that many of these 
pests which with us are so serious. ar(‘, in theii- native 
habitat of no serious moment, due 1 suppose to climatic 
influence or to natural enemies. 
This being true the Horticultural Boai'd are, 1 Ix'lieve, 
thoroughly justified in the eourse they are taking. 
The American Forestry Association are, as I believe’, 
supporting the Horticultural Board in this movement and 
it seems to the wu’iter that the National Association of 
Nurserymen should join w ith the Forestry Association in 
this move or at least actjuiesce in what is being done; for 
with our support or w ithout w e oppose this measure, it i.* 
reasonably sure to become a Law'. If on the’ other hand 
w'^e oppose the Exclusion Act and it should he defeated in 
a very short time we may need this very thing and find it 
most difficult to obtain. 
Yours truly. 
E. M. Sherman. 
OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED PROHIBITION 
OF IMPORTS 
At the regular meeting of the New York Florists’ Club 
March 12th, the following resolution was adopted un¬ 
animously : 
“That the New' York Florists’ Club protests against 
the proposed legislation wiiich seeks to stop imports 
of plants, plant products, and bulbs, as being in¬ 
jurious to business—without giving any benefit to 
the public welfare, and that it looks to the Legisla¬ 
tive Committee of the S. A. F. & 0. 11. to oppose it. 
And that the Secretary be instructed to send a 
copy of this resolution to the Executive Committee 
of the S. A. F. prior to their meeting on March IGth, 
asking them to give full power to the Legislative 
Committee.” 
On March 12th, at their regular meeting the New York 
& New' Jersey Plant Growers’ Association adopted practi¬ 
cally the same n’solution as the above. 
At the special meeting of the Legislative Committee of 
the S. A. F. & 0. IL, held at the llotel Biltmore, Mardi 
15th, the suhjeet was discussed from all angles. A 
few representative growlers such as .lulius Hoc’hrs, J. 1). 
