THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
03 
lie is not as (le))Oii(leiit on ])rintor’s ink. Tlio nursory- 
inan, however, is mainly selling- goods that he eannot 
(lis))lay and largely of a i)otential value, that he must 
talk about, either in (aitalogne, magazine or verbally. 
If he does not there is little chance of selling his 
goods, lie must keep them before the ))ossible mai-- 
ket. Sometimes it seems discouraging when you 
s])end several hundred dollars ni advertising and a))- 
])arently not get a i-eply that can be traced to it. Vet 
as one nursei-yman ])ertineiitly remarked “Even if 
we do not get i-e})lies our business falls off if we sto]) 
advei-tising. ” 
It is rather difficidt to make out a 
THE PROFITS case in favor of a ])rofitable brush 
OF THE pile as all connected with it is con- 
BRUSH PILE sidered loss, but profit in its last 
analysis is gain; it may not be in 
available cash or even in stock but gain nevertheless. 
There are two ways of increasing ])rofits—by in¬ 
creasing the amount of business without increasing 
ex])enses ])ro])ortionately and by holding the regulai- 
business while decreasing the expense. The brush 
pile plays a very im])ortant part in the kee])ing down 
of un])roductive expense. 
\Vhat nurseryman has not attempted to carry over 
stock that it would have been more ])rofitable to ])ut 
on the brush ])ile at once instead of piling u]) loss as 
it were. Like a bad investment one is never (piite 
sure just when to sto]) throwing good money after 
bad. 
Arbitrary rules are best in dealing with such mat¬ 
ters. These of course are based on knowledge of the 
market. For instance in ornamental trees, most nur¬ 
serymen know beyond a certain calij^er the ])ossibili- 
ty of selling decreases as the cali])er increases. The 
same with shrubs above a certain age or height and 
this is especially so if they are not perfect s])eciniens. 
It is not so much the left overs in the storage cellar 
or the too optimistic plantings still growing in the 
held, as the neglected odds and ends that cumber the 
gi-ound that cheat the brush pile of its prohtable use. 
Depleted blocks, carrying a high |)ercentage of 
])Oor grade stock that are allowed to stand because a 
few good plants may still be dug out of it, or a plant- 
ing that did not turn out well and is left with the 
ho])e of minimizing the loss. 
It is only prolonging the agony and ])iling u]) trou¬ 
ble to withhold from the brush pile what ))ro]^erly 
belongs there. 
It was a wise move for the Nurserv- 
THE men’s Committee to journey to At- 
NURSERY lanta to meet the Nursery ins])ect- 
INSPECTORS oi-s on the occasion of the Annual 
AT ATLANTA ^Meeting of the Association of Nur¬ 
sery Ins])ectors. 
While i)erha})s no immediate results will be iu evi¬ 
dence, it is a ])ro])er effort in the right direedion. 
Hitherto there has been unnecessary antagonism 
between the government ins])ectoi‘s and the nursery 
ti-ade, ])erha})s more a])parent than real. There was 
a tendency to look with sus])icion u))on each other. 
The meeting at Atlanta at least gave the Inspectors 
an oj)])ortunity to observe the nui-serymen did not 
have cloven hoofs or horns, in fact that they were 
merely very fair minded business men. 
The Nurserymen in turn saw that the Nuvsery In¬ 
spectors were conscientious and earnest in their 
work, and that there was no real reason they should 
not work together in ijerfect harmony. 
It is hardly to be expected that the pro{)osed bill 
for uniform ins])ection will be accejjted just as draft¬ 
ed by all the States, but its influence will be towards 
uniformity. 
States that have no inspection law will no doubt be 
influenced in framing them and future changes in 
the various states by having a model that has the a])- 
])roval of both inspectors and nurserymen. 
It needs both to make a i)ractical working law, and 
uniformity between the various states is measurably 
nearer through the efforts of this committee. 
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PENINSULAR 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
The annual meeting of the Peninsular Horticultur¬ 
al Society was held in Easton, Maryland, and the ex¬ 
hibit of apples grown on the Peninsula was a wonder. 
Although I am a native of Grand Old Western New 
York, (Dansville), I am also ])roud of my adopted 
(‘ountry, the good old “Eastern Sho’ ” with its mild 
climate, long seasons, good land and pretty girls. 
Horticulture is going with leaps and bounds and 
other sections will have to look to their laurels or we 
will have them surpassed. Our nearness to markets 
puts us in the front rank, being within easy ship])ing 
distance to over 25,000,000 people who have to buy. 
Our varieties of apples are quite different from those 
shown at the W'estern New York shows. Leading- 
varieties shown on ))lates, by the box and by the bar¬ 
rel were: Grimes (lolden, Staymaii’s Winesap, M. It. 
Twig, York Imperial, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, \\ ine- 
sa]), Nero, yes, and Ben Davis, too. Pome beautiful 
Delicious a})])les were shown by the Starks. 
Great interest was evinced in Nut Culture and ex¬ 
tensive exhibits were shown, including English \\ al- 
nut, Jai)an Walnut, Butternut, Shellbark Hickory, 
various Pecans and Chestnuts, including- improved 
varieties. 
D. W. Babcock, Manager, 
Atlantic Nursery Co., Inc., Berlin, Md. 
