16 
THE NATIONAL NURSEEYMAN 
WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN 
MEETS AT KANSAS CITY 
By our Special Correspondent 
It was a large and eutlmsiastic gathering which 
met at the Coates House, Kansas City, Mo., on the 
morning of Wednesday, December 10th, to open the 
meeting of the twenty-fourth Annual Convention. 
The attendance was larger than ever before in the 
history of the AVestern Association of Nurserymen 
and President Frank A. AVeber was complimented 
nx)on getting out such a strong rex)resentation. 
Everyone ai3peared cheerful, largely due to the nn- 
e::^pectedly heavy fall trade which has just closed. 
Rex^orts from all over the west showed a general 
cleaning up and shortage of many lines of fruits. 
Even apx^les, which have been considered as in heavy 
snrx^lus, have been heavily drawn upon and many of 
the standard varieties are now exhausted. 
The buying has not been of the sx)eculative char¬ 
acter which largely x)revails in the fall, but xmrchases 
have been made for actual trade requirements. This 
has imparted a confidential feeling in the trade. 
Due to the dry Aveather x^i*evailing during tlie 
growing season, the siq^ply of No. 1 Ax^x^le seedlings 
was somewhat short, but even these x^icked ip) in 
weight during the last few weeks of their growth and 
graded up in a larger quantity of first class seedling 
than was exx3ected, but have been x^retty well cleaned 
up. 
Peach, Cherry and Pear have also moved briskly, 
many growers having dug largely from their one 
vear blocks of Cherry to fill orders. 
The meetings of the Association are held behind 
closed doors, nevertheless they Avere x>ei‘iiiitted to 
ox^en to welcome AYm. Pitkin, Rochester, N. Y., John 
Watson, Newark, N. Y., John li. Dayton, Paines- 
ville, Ohio, and Thomas B. Aleehan, Dresher, Pa., 
Avho had journeyed to Kansas City for the x)urx30se 
of mingling with their brethren in the AVestern Asso¬ 
ciation. 
• The program of the meeting was prett}^ thorough¬ 
ly carried out and the various subjects ably discuss¬ 
ed. 
After the roll call and the other general order of 
business was transacted the regular program was 
folloAved. 
Is a larger membership desirable?—B. P. Bernardin. 
Discussed by A. J. Brown. 
Should we continue the PAY Report?—J. AV. Hill. 
Discussed by E. S. AVelch. 
Uniform Legislation—F. H. Stannard. Discussed by 
Prof. S. J. Hunter. 
National Meeting of 1913. What was done.—AV. H. 
Stark. Discussed by Peter Youngers, Jr. 
Recent Inspection Law of Missouri.—Prof. Leonard 
Haseman. Discussed by W. P. Stark. 
What can be done to eliminate mixtures in scions and 
buds?—J. H. Skinner. Discussed by R. J. Bagby. 
Is it practicable to obtain advanced prices solely on the 
merit of the stock.—L. C. Stark. Discussed by Herbert 
Chase. 
Best method of cultivation to conserve moisture.—E. 
R. Taylor. Discussed by F. W. AVatson. 
Retail Agents. Retail nursery business and its 
troubles.—E. M. Sherman. Discussed by C. W. Carman. 
The New Tariff Law, and how will it effect our busi¬ 
ness?—Henry Chase. Discussed by W. C. Reed. 
Retail Catalogue Trade.—Carl Sonderegger. Discuss¬ 
ed by W. P. Stark. 
Better Quality Trees, and paying more attention to 
parentage.—J. Moncrief. Discussed by E. P. Bernardin. 
Ethics in Retail and Wholesale Trade toward competi¬ 
tors.—R. J. Bagby. Discussed by J. W. Mayhew. 
Slow and Poor Transportation of Nursery Stock.— 
Chas. Sizemore. Discussed by E. H. Balco. 
New Express Rates.—C. C. Mayhew. Discussed by 
Geo. Marshall. 
Some of the technicalities of grading and boxing.— 
Harry D. Simpson. Discussed by W. A. Harrison. 
Use of paper boxes for express and parcel post ship¬ 
ments.—AV. P. Stark. Discussed by Carl Sonderegger. 
Condition of orchards; cause of some varieties dying 
when they should be in their prime.—Geo. A. Marshall. 
Discussed by G. W. Holsinger. 
Refrigerator Cars. What ought the minimum be?— 
Chas. Sizemore. Discussed by A. F. i^ake. 
Department Store Competition, and what will be the 
effect on the retail nurseryman.—AV. C. Chandler. Dis¬ 
cussed by J. W. Schuette. 
Business Conditions.—A. Willis. Discussed by Jim. 
Parker. 
Probable Supply and Demand of Standard Varieties 
of Nursery Stock for Spring Delivery.—J. H. Dayton. 
Discussed by E. S. Welch. 
M. McDonald, Orenco, Ore., and Wm. Pitkin, Rochester, 
N. Y., were present in the interest of Law Uniformity. 
At the Annual Aleeting of the American Associa¬ 
tion of Nurserymen held in Portland, Oregon, last 
June a Committee was appointed for the puiqiose of 
Avorking to secure Uniform Inspection Laws, with 
A\Tu. Pitkin, A. AY. AIcDonald and Peter Youngers 
as members of the Committee. This question nat¬ 
urally occnxiied considerable attention at this meet¬ 
ing of the AYestern Association of Nurserymen and 
was thoroughly discussed. It was finally decided 
to ax3X3oint a Committee of two from the AYestern 
Association to work in conjunction with tlie com¬ 
mittee of the National Association. AYm. P. Stark, 
and Peter Youngers were selected for this purpose, 
and it is hoxied that much can be accomplished along 
tliese lines. 
Heretofore only Nurserymen IHing west of the 
AIississix3X3i River Avere eligible to membership in the 
Association, but at this meeting the By-laAvs were 
amended x^erniitting nurserymen who are actual 
growers of nursery stock in any part of the United 
States to become members. Ten new members were 
