THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
241 
The Future in Ornamentals 
Addrf^ss bt^fore the Aiiwrirnn Associallon of XursoryntoK ol Pli.i/adeliihin 
by John S. Kerr, Shernian, Texas. 
T ub] progress of aestheticism among our American 
peoples is to determine largely the demand for 
ornamental nursery stock, and the nurserymen 
whom this grand American Association of Nurserymen 
embodies, largely are to determine as to the supply and 
the intrinsic elliciency and value of our ornamentals. 
Let me say that the science of the beautiful or aesthet¬ 
ic among our people i srising by great strides, “By leaps 
and hounds” as it were. I figure that in the architecture 
both of buildings and of landscapes of our cities es¬ 
pecially, 35% of the outlay represents ornamentation 
while 65% looks to utility. I will never forget a re¬ 
mark made by a Bostonian before this body at St. Louis 
some years ago, w ho w as pleading for Boston as the next 
place of meeting of this Association; urging the claims 
of his city for her historic and other interests, and es¬ 
pecially the great advancement of Boston as to culturt', 
aestheticism, beautiful things to see, and to please the eye. 
Do you know he said “In these days of culture it costs 
more to feed the eye than it does to feed the stomach.” 
My friends we are hound to admit the Bostonian is 
lai'gely right. 
We would not for a moment minimize the importance 
of food production nor the importance of its w ise conser¬ 
vation and control as is now^ contemplated by our national 
administration, and while we give our unqualilied sup¬ 
port to every measure looking to a successful prosecu¬ 
tion of our part in the wo rid war, we as nurserymen must 
also grasp the fact that the science of the beautiful, as 
esj)oused and demanded by our people, is calling loudly 
upon us nurserymen for advancement in the production 
of a more efficient class of ornamental nursery stock and 
a higher development of our landscape architecture. 
The field is so broad, so varied, so many nice details to 
he worked out, so much deep thought and skilled lahoc. 
to he called into requisition, yes so much patriotism, so 
much love of our people, our homes, our public grounds, 
our flora, of everything that makes America great, that 
to undertake a full consideration of the great subject of 
“The Future of our Ornamentals” wn)uld he a task I con¬ 
fess loo great for me, and upon which I may offer only a 
few' suggestions. I hope tlierefore there may h(‘ a toll 
discussion of the subject from the floor of this ass(Mnhly. 
Some Bequisites and Problems 
First: We must possess faith, love and loyalty in our 
profession and love and loyalty to our American flora, as 
well as to adapted flora from related sections elsewhere. 
Second: Ornamentals as such must possess intrinsic 
characteristics of beauty and attractiveness, which lln'y 
can produce under the condiv/ons in whivh they are lo 
be placed. 
Third: The influence of environment and conse(|U(Mitly 
natural characteristics are prime considerations in the se¬ 
lection and the develojiing of ornaiiKMitals foi’ any given 
section. 
Fourth: Upon the nurstu'ynien of ('ach dictinct st'clion 
of our country therefore (h'volves tin* duty of producing 
and furnishing ornamentals best snil(‘d to his section. 
Then as to the first requirement, let me sugg(‘st that 
American nurserytjien have fallen far shoi1. We ha\(“ 
followed too much in the heat(Mi paths of our Furop('aii 
and our American forefathers, have j)ropagated and nscal 
in our plantings, have recommended in oui- catalogs, and 
have seid broadcast to our confiding cnstoiiKU's, tin* (‘asy 
to procure varieties, of |)lants, he tln^y Fni'op(‘an or 
American, eastern, or westein, nortluMn or sontluMii, 
rather than exercise ourselves to know, prodnc*' and 
provide classes and varieties adai)t(‘(l lo tin' principh' 
habitats of divisions of our countjy. 
I mean to say that w^e have not show n that (h'griM' of 
love and loyalty and consequent self-sacrificing labor 
and business sagacity that the imj)ortance of the snhpai 
demands. Dr. Wilhelm Miller in his great hook "What 
England can teach us about (lardening” says ‘‘England 
loves her trees and flowers more than we do onis” and 
further says “The only way we can mak(‘ onr ganh'iis 
surpass those of England is by loving oui- own tr(*es as 
they do theirs and by planting more Annu'ican titans and 
flow ers.” 
Second: To insure the intrinsic characteristics which 
make ornamentals valuable it is the duty of nnrst'rynKMi 
and all plant lovers and devotees, including oui' Depait- 
ments of Agriculture, both national and slate, lo spari* no 
pains or reasonable expense in selecting flora from (wiuy 
possible source and testing and proving tlnmi as lo tlnnr 
value as ornamentals for the various sections, and in jiro- 
pagating and distributing them. In this work many 
new crosses and hybrids may he ci'eated and dissi'ininatiMl. 
'Combining charactiu'istics of both parents making them 
superior to any known varieties now extant. 
Third: Our Oreat and Allw is(' Ui'i'ator w lio made I ho 
great universe of worlds, also mad(‘ this litlh' world ol 
ours and is bestowing gr(‘al honors upon it with all ol' 
its appointments, and upon man whom Ih' (*r(‘at(‘d ‘‘in his 
own image” with dominion, ('tc.. and lie mad<‘ tin' hills, 
the valleys, the rivers, and (W(‘ry living thing tor the good 
of man and for Ilis ow n glory. “And all vm'y good. ' 
With all His wisdom, jiower and h(oi(lc(Mic(‘ Ih* created 
our flora, and He is still cnoting it lo suit the varying 
conditions of this. His cri'ation. By lh(‘ aid ot our botan¬ 
ists we can g<‘t soiik' faint glinqisi's of the gri'al w isdom 
and order displayi'd by tin' Urealor in the thousands upon 
thousands of genera, of s|)(H*ies and of varieties into 
which He has divided the flora of this woild, and how' 
He is utilizing the inllinmce of environnumt and of na¬ 
ture’s own laws of hybridizing and of reproduction, and 
the laws of the “Survival of the fittest” in adapting oui' 
