194 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
of cold storage for the occasion. The Dinner feature is 
in tin' hands of a connnittee consisting of Robert Pyle, 
Thomas R. M(‘ehan, and Adolf Mnlh'r, aided and abetted 
by several ollnu' (lood bellow s of Pbiladelpbia, wTio insist 
that their city is very w ide-aw ake indeed and not nearly 
so slow as Raltimore claims. It came about in this wise; 
The Raltimore man was boasting, naturally, of his city’s 
wonderfully sujjplied market with its Smith Points, its 
Red Snappers, and its (Ireen turtles. The Philadelphia 
man claimed all of those things and the addition of that 
rare delicacy snails. “Snails!” said the loyal Balti¬ 
morean; “why Philadelphia couldn’t catch a snail!” Now 
the Pbiladeli)hia nurserymen say that they simply must 
jjut us right if wo feel that way about the Quaker City. 
Write any member of the Dinner Committee and say that 
your wife will be tlu're; and you come too. 
And don’t j)ut it off. Send a cbeck to Secretary Smith 
today; and copy for your advertisement in the Badge 
Book. Make your reservation at the Adelphia Hotel now. 
The program w ill be business from start to finish and 
there will be some serious business for us to transact. 
We need you and every member we have in the discus¬ 
sion and disposition of this business. 
Don’t forget: Dues; Badge Book; Hotel; Wife. 
June first, 1917. 
A VISIT TO THE BUREAU OE PLANT INDUSTRY 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 
Being in Washington, D. C., and having a few hours 
to spare, I dropped in to see Mr. Peter Bisset, Bureau of 
Plant Industry, to see if there w^as anything new that 
w ould likely be of interest to nurserymen. 
Those who have had correspondenee with the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, must have recognized the kindly 
courtesy w ith which all queries are answ ered, I found the 
same spirit dominant in personal contact, and was made 
to feel that the entire knowledge of the Department w as 
at the visitor’s service. May be the freemasonry which 
always exists between true plantsmen added to the 
pleasure, and I came away wondering if nurserymen 
realized what a splendid organization was working for 
them, and why they did not make greater use of the in¬ 
formation that is there for the asking. 
Costly experiments that no private firm could possibly 
afford are made and the results freely given for the ask¬ 
ing. 
Plants from all jiarts of the wairld tried out and dis¬ 
seminated, some of them no doubt wdll add much wealth 
to the country. 
It is this part of tin; work that the nurserymen should 
keep in close touch. 
The Department may be considered similar to an iji- 
ventor or experimental chemist, only it is not permitted 
to make a profit by its discoveries. This is left to the 
private individual who has gumption enough lo do it. 
Mr. P. 11. Dorsett is the chief of the Plant Introduction 
Gardens and Mr. Bisset has charge of the Plant Distribu¬ 
tion. The latter very kindly invited me to visit the field 
station nead Rockville, Maryland, about an hour’s ride 
on the electric cars from Washington, D. C. Yarrow is the 
field station of the Plant Introduction Bureau for the 
eastern section of the country. Others are at Miami, 
Fla.; Chico, Cal.; and Bellingham, Washington. 
The first plant to attract notice was a line form of 
Thuya orientalis wdiich had evidently stood the wdnter 
w^ell. The plants were very uniform, compact and good 
habit, and fine color. Mr. Bissit informed me they had 
been raised from seed. 
Usually this Thuya orientalis is very variable from seed 
and has to be propagated by cuttings to insure uniform 
habit. 
Another noteworthy evergreen was a tall columnar 
Juniperus that promises to be a quick grow ing evergreen 
of the habit of the Irish Juniper that w ill attain a height 
of 15 to 20 feet without spreading. 
Ulmus pumila from northern China is a small growing 
elm that will flourish under very trying conditions of 
cold and drouth and should prove valuable for the 
northern section of the middle west. 
A hybrid chinkapin—Chestnut which bears good sized 
nuts tw^o years from tbe planting of the seed and shows 
marked resistance to the Chestnut blight suggests great 
possibilities for the nurseryman. 
These are only a few of the many interesting things I 
saw, before the darkness stopped further investigation, 
of course, there are a host of economic plants, of not 
very much interest to nurserymen, and others again that 
are only valuable in their hybridizing possibilities, but in 
my short visit I was convinced that here is a field w orth 
cultivating not only for valuable information, but also 
because there is ahvays the possibility of finding a gold 
mine. 
ANNUAL OUTDOOR MEETING AMERICAN ROSE 
SOCIETY IN THE NATIONAL ROSE TEST GARDEN 
(ARLINGTON) WASHINGTON, D. C. 
Date deferred to June 4th, (Monday) 1917 
10 A. M. 
Insiiection of 2-acre National Rose Garden. 
11 A. M. 
Public Meeting. 
Chairman, S. S. Peimock, President American Rose 
Society. » 
Welcome—Wm. E. Gude, National Representative S. A. F. 
“The Significance of the National Rose Test Garden” 
Horace McFarland, President American Civic Assn. 
Response 
By Hon. Carl Vrooman, Asst. Sec’y of Agriculture. 
Other sjieakers expected are— 
Dr. E. M. Mills, President Syracuse Rose Society. 
David Fairchild, Department of Agriculture. 
Benjamin Hammond, Secretary American Rose Society. 
Dr. D. W. Shoemaker, Rep. Federation of Citizens 
Association of Washington, 1). C. 
Hon. Thomas S. Butler, (If his duties iiermit) 
Congressman from Pennsylvania 
Above Subject to Cbange 
Those intending to attend kindly notify: 
Wm. F. Glide, 1214 F. St., N. W. Washington, D. C. or 
Robert Pyle, Cliairman Washington Rose Test Garden 
Committee, West Grove, Pennsylvania. 
