338 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
ship of tliis Association upon their requisition. The aim 
in all Ihis is to l)rin»' the huyer and the seller too-ether 
upon a fair. <M|uilald(\ and stahh' basis. I Inna' often 
womhua'd if. aft(M' all. there is not enough good stock 
each y(‘ar in th«' hands of tin* nuunljci’s of this Association 
to supply th(' iH'cds of all. and if this is ])rov('n to be true, 
and our plan of distiihulion does not niiscairy. would it 
not. lo say tin' least (d' it. minimize tin* annual brush pile? 
What would Ik* tin' worth in dollars and cents of the stock 
which (‘ach s('ason tinds its end in the annual bontire? 
Sonn'oiK' bas ('stimat(‘d this annual loss at -^lOOO.OO per 
mendt(‘i-, miin' has oft('n been more, but if that In' true and 
wa' wa'ia' able to savt' any consi(h'rable part of this loss. 
wa)uld it not In' worth striving foi‘? 
You are alia'ady (h'claring me Utopian, but befoia; I 
ha\a' linisln'd I may give you grounds to pronounce 
harsher judgment. So far I have not offered you any- 
tlrng but the most practical thought, have not hinted at a 
scln'ine w hich w ill not w ork to your mutual betterment, 
if you will work it. It all depends on your standing 
hitcbed, and if I can tind a way I w ill do tbe bitcbing. 
And again, I would make this organization purchasing 
agent for suppli('s if you please. ffurlai), twines, box 
lumln'r, etc., ('tc., could most prol)ably be purchased in 
<|uanlity at considerable discounts, and routed properly 
could b(.' bandied car-load into certain districts at (|uite a 
saving lo tbe Imyer and w ithout liability to tbe Associa¬ 
tion. 
I would have this organization gather dependable in¬ 
formation concerning propagation, cultivation, transpor¬ 
tation, tariffs, etc. Just a word here in reference to 
transportation, because tins is a problem w hicb, like tbe 
poor, is alw ays w ith us. A member of tins organization 
should be a man versed in tbe aff'airs of transportation as 
applied strictly to tbe nursery business, one capable of 
auditing tbe freight and express bills of tbe members of 
this Association, and I doubt not there is a little fortune 
in good valid claims against the transj)ortation comj)anies 
in youj- old freight and ex])ress bills. Sucb a man could 
pay his salaiy and ])ick up for each of us a big salvage 
winch, if I mistake not. would come in ‘bnighty handy 
like.” Such a transportation man would j)rove an ex- 
c('edingly valualde asset, and the job is big enougb to de¬ 
mand all of bis time. It is al)surd to tbink that affairs 
of such magnitude can longer be taken care of by a majt 
wbo bas other obligations and who, of necessity, makes 
sacrilic('s which he should not be called on to make. 
I would have Ihis organization gather all data ])os- 
sibh' in tin' mattei' of control and treatment of diseases 
and ins('ct j)ests, and I w ant to say right here the nursery- 
meji of this Association know^ more about diseases and 
nu'thods of control than all the combined forces of tbe 
('iitomological associations. Who w ould (jiu'stion the ripe 
('xperience of these veterans w ho have, through practical 
study, laid uj) a valuable store of know ledge w bicb you 
and 1 iH'ed and w bicb I bey w ill be glad to give. This 
plan, carri('d lo its consummation, w ill place in the hands 
of ('ach th(' wisdom of all. making us co-workers to- 
g('th('r for lh(' succ('ss of all. Utopia? Then' is no 
other road lo suc(*('ss. individually, than along lines of 
co-op('i;ilioM. Man do('s not liv(' lo hims('lf alone. Each 
OIK' of us. foi' si'llish r('asons if for no olln'r, is vitally in- 
t('rest('d in llu' success of every other oiu'. An idealistic 
dream? Without faith in a more perfect future, whether 
it concerns IIk' conduct of a business, the affairs of a na¬ 
tion. or th(' linal I'esting place of tin' soul, all pi'ogiess 
c('as('s. I do not n('('d to j)ro^’(' this stali'iiu'id. 
Co-OPEUATIOX 
Now. frii'uds. I hav(' come to tlu' last and final analysis 
of the eaus('. We may eff ect projier standards and apply 
such standards w herever m'eded, and w e should. We 
may perfect tlu' be.st business oi’ganization tbe world bas 
ever seen or the mind of man conceivi'd. and w ithout the 
hearty, hom'st, and consistent co-operation of this body it 
w ill be lime, ('nergy, and mom'y w asted, yes, worse than 
wasl('d. Uo-operalive (h'aling in the trm'st sense among 
th(' memliers of this Association will guarantee tin' suc- 
eess of this plan, and just as surely a lack of co-ojx'ration 
will mean failure. Having agreed that through a com¬ 
petent commission the nursery business in all its ])hasos 
may be establisbed. w e must of necessity be governed by 
tbe report of this commission or its work is valueless. 
Your oflicers may. through the ])ro|)osed manager’s office, 
gather statistics answ ering every need w Inch, if unused, 
w ill be as valiu'less as tbe stock you grow^ and fail to mar¬ 
ket. “Huy it from a member,” should be tbe slogan of 
STANDARDIZATION, ORGANIZATION, CO-OPERATION 
this Association, and these w ords should be printed con- 
sjiicLiously upon our letter-heads and upon all our lit¬ 
erature until burned upon our consciences. I do not 
want to be understood as favoring a boycott against a 
great number of worthy men w ho in a small w ay are con¬ 
ducting a worthy business and w ho have not yet found 
their woy into oui' councils, but 1 am in favor of making 
tills Association so serviceable that all such worthy ones 
will cry aloud for admittance. The success of an or¬ 
ganization such as I am proposing suggests that each of 
us will, as far as at all ])ractical; buy and sell to one 
another on a co-operative basis, standardized as far as it 
is possible to do so. 
I have already stated that in any given season the 
probabilities are there is enough good stock in the bands 
of member growers to supply the lU'eds of all, and if 1 
am right, co-operative dealing, one with the other, would 
eliminate, or at least reduce, the annual lirush pile. The 
members of this and auxiliary associations within the 
United States do practically the business of tbe country. 
Supjiose we continue to buy trees and plants of these 
farmer grow ers only because wo tbink it a pick-up. Are 
we, after all, greatly benefitted. I doubt not. if all tbe 
facts w ere know n of misbranding, inferior grading, pack¬ 
ing, etc., but that you ])ay more for your pick-ups tban 
you do for stock jmrcbased from a legimate grower at 
advanced prices. Furtheiinore, who is the meanest, the 
■‘cussedest” conqietilor we have? Who is it that runs 
an ad in the classified columns of the farm journals dur¬ 
ing the ])lanting season. “Strawberries per 1000. 
Hlack and dewberries -KLOO ])pr 1000. Fine ])lum, 
peacb, ajijiU' trees at 2c each. Express prepaid.” Or¬ 
dinarily it is Ihis same farmer grower. You bougbt the 
bulk of his stock at pick-up prices, but you left bim 
enough lo hainmi'r you and other b'gitimate nurserymen 
to (h'alh. SoiiK' of us are critical ('vi'rywhere else but 
Ik'D'. W(' ar(' as indifferent of w hom w (' buy slock as 
w as the old darky in my state w ho wanted to get married. 
