THE NATTONAT. NURSERYMAN 
199 
with roreiviice to tho Aiu(‘ii(*aii Association ol’ Xwrs(‘iy- 
incn rendering assistance' to tlu' ^ove'rnine'nt in tin* war 
emergency is very greatly a|)()r('ciat(‘(l. 
Tlie pressing need at llie j)res(‘nt linu' is to insnee' a 
snl)stantial inci‘(‘as(' in tlie production of sta|)l(' non-jx'r- 
ishable crops during the pi-esent season. 
It has l)een suggested that many of the nurseryiiK'n 
operate large acreages of land on which c('i'tain croj) lola- 
tions are used between the crops of nurse'ry stock which 
are grown on them. To the extent that corn or ottu'r 
staple crops can he ])lanted this year, in j)articular. on 
such land in the cro|) rotation which has for its ultimate 
aim the ])re{)aration of the land for a new' crop of trees, 
it will helj) in the food situation. 
Those who are growing wheat, corn, cotton, and other 
sta])le crops as their main farm entei'])rise may not he 
able to increase their usual acreage of these cro])s to any 
great extent so that much of the needed increase in the 
])roduction of these crops will doubtless be realized by 
the smaller growers devoting more land to them, and by 
farmers and others who are operating land, putting in 
substantial acreages of them w here they have not hereto¬ 
fore grown these cro])S. In this latter connection the 
members of the American Association of Nurserymen 
can doubtless aid. Even if they grow' no more than 
enough corn, for instance, to supply their own needs 
where in previous years they have purchased the corn 
and other grain they have fed their horses, it w ill amount 
to considerable in the aggregate and to that extent re¬ 
lieve the draft on the general supply. 
As soon as the necessary information can be assembled, 
it is probable that the importance of preserving by drying, 
or otherwise, large quantities of fruits and vegetables 
w hich ordinarily would go to w aste w ill be enq)basized. 
In disseminating information w hich w ill assist the people 
in this line of food conservation your Association may be 
able to render substantial aid. 
The enclosed outline program adopted at the recent 
conference at St. Louis may bo of interest to you in this 
connection. 
Very truly yours, 
D. F. Houston,, Serrelanj. 
TO IMPORTERS FROM HOLLAND 
The S. S. Nieuw Amsterdam left Rotterdam 
Jan. 31st, but returned there and her cargo of 
Nursery Stock was not brought to this country. 
It seems advisable that all Nurserymen having 
a shipment on that steamer should get together 
with the object of getting a combined definition 
of their rights and liabilities. Any further in¬ 
formation may be secured from the undersigned. 
Thomas B. Meehan, 
Dresher, Pa. 
VILE PIIESIDENT STALK’S OPINION OF 
FLTLLE KUSINESS 
l{(‘garding llu' |)i‘(‘S('nt and fnlurt' coiidiliniis of the 
nursery trad(‘, Mr. Lloyd (k Sl;uk, \'ic(‘ Pi’csidcnt of the 
Aim'rican Association of Nursc'rymcn wiit('S as follows: 
I don’t know how tin' conditions in tin' East have been 
tills yeai', but our lai’gi^ orchaid plantings through the 
central-west wei'i' Ix'tti'r this si'ason than for a number 
of years. Oiiiamental busiiu'ss also good, but we don’t 
know how' the w ar w ill alL'ct that. TIk' catalog business 
will jirobably be hit sonu'. I'Ik' agi'iicy or salesmen’s 
business w ill sulfer jierhaps w lu'i’i' tin' sah*sni(‘n or agents 
cannot lie found in sullicii'iit (piantitics. but w lu're sales¬ 
men are working believe they w ill b(' abb* to do a good 
business. » 
The labor situation, of coursi', is one of the nurseiy- 
man’s big problems. Tlie freight situation is also another 
LLOYD C. STARK, Louisiana, Mo., 
Vice President of the 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
problem, however, these like all othei- problems will be 
solved somehow^ 
I note a tendency tow ards pessimism in some (juarters. 
This to my mind is all dead wrong. Now is the time to 
be conservative, of course, but pi'ssimism won’t lu'lj) and 
it will hurt a lot. There are. on tin' contrary, many 
causes for optimism in nursery circles. 
First and foi'cmost the fariiK'r who buys most ol the 
nursery products is a favored son as nevi'r betort'; both 
the government and the banks ari' holding him uji and the 
government w ill undoubtedly supjily him w ith labor. On 
the other hand, the man who jilants ornamentals in a 
large w ay, in many cases has more niomw than ever be¬ 
fore, and he w ill jirobably coiiliiiiK* to liny. I he first 
year will jirobably be worse than the succi'i'ding ones if 
Canada furnishes us a fair examjile. In the meantime, 
we nurserymen must do what w(‘ can to lim' up the agri¬ 
cultural colleges, the agricultui-al jiublications, the 1)(‘- 
j)artment of Agriculture, etc., and get them to urge jiro- 
duction and conservation ol fruit food jiroducts and in¬ 
cidentally this will help the planting of orchards. 
