THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
2‘^ 
WIDDRINGTONIA WHITEI 
JAMES MacPHERSON 
(The ]\Ilanje Cypress) grows on the iipi)er plateau 
of the ]\Ilaiije iiioiintains in Britisli Central Africa, 
wliere there is frequently white rime frost in the 
mornings and the thermometer as low as 29 degrees 
Eahr. During the nights the temperature is often 
as low as 40 degrees 
Eahr. 
The trees have some¬ 
what the outline of 
J*inKs sijlvcslris but are 
more nearly related to 
Cupres.sufi. 'Idieir stems 
are straight, the wood 
reddish and the bark 
often white on the older 
trees as is yery 
shown in the i)hoto- 
grapli (which is after 
Sir Harry Johnstone’s 
‘OBritish Central Af¬ 
rica”) The foliage be¬ 
comes scanty on old 
trees which appear as 
sprawling white skele¬ 
tons, but the young- 
plants are well clothed 
with foliage of bluish 
green below and dark¬ 
er green above, and like 
so many conifers are 
most ornamental in that 
stage of growth. 
I remember seeing 
the jdant catalogued as 
being in Golden Gate 
Park, San Francisco, 
some years ago, but without any note as to 
its well being. I should think that climate too dry, 
for the Mlanje mountains receive anywhere from GO 
to 75 inches of rain annu.dly and in that respect re¬ 
semble Alabama. 
Good Prospects for Lower Express Rates in Time for 
Spring Business 
Louisiana, Mo., December 9, 1913. 
Air. Geo. A. Marshall, 
Care of Western Association of Nurserymen, 
Coats House, Kansas City, Missouri. 
iVIy Dear Sir:—This acknowledges your letter, De¬ 
cember 5th, in regard to the Kansas City meeting 
and the subject of express rates. 
Desire to advise that the Interstate Commerce, 
Commission has allowed the express companies until 
February first to com])ile aud ])ut into eflect the new 
rates. Tliey were to have been effective Sei)tenib(‘r 
1st., but on account of not being able to get taritfs 
ready the Commission allowed them more time and 
it is my honest oianion that February 1st will still 
lind them not in shai)e to put the rates into effect, as 
what they have been required to do by the commis¬ 
sion means a very large amount of detail work and 
pi-actically new rates all 
over the country. 
From newspaper re¬ 
ports and f]-oni what I 
can learn through ex- 
l)ress and other chan¬ 
nels the new rates a.re 
going to be very much 
lower, throughout the 
country, than the old 
schedule and further¬ 
more, evervthing will 
be at pound rates with 
a terminal charge of ten 
cents added, that is if 
the rate between any 
two i)oints is a dollar, 
and the shiimient 
weighs, say 15 pounds 
the exjmess charges will 
be 15 cents i)lus 10 cents 
terminal charge, or in. 
other words, 25 cents on 
such a shipment. If on 
the above rate the ship¬ 
ment weighs fifty 
l)ounds the express 
charges will be 50 cents, 
plus 10 cents terminal 
charge or total charge 
of 60 cents. 
Under-the old schedule of graduated rates a ship¬ 
ment of fifteen pounds at a dollar rate would be 45 
cents and for fifty pounds it would be 80 cents, so you 
can see what a benefit the new rates and plan will be. 
If the express companies still give the nurserymen 
general special rates when the new rates go into ef¬ 
fect it will mean verv low rates for the nurservmen, 
but until the regular schedule, as required by the 
commission, have been published and gone into ef¬ 
fect, the express companies will not take any action 
on general special rates. 
You can advise the association that as soon as the 
new rates are effective that the Transportation Gom- 
mittee will keej) in touch with the situation and if 
possible endeavor to secure general si)ecial rates on 
nurserv stock, if it is i^ossible to do so. 
Truly, 
CTIAS. SIZE:\fORE. 
