dbe national Hurseri^maii 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., Incorporated 
Vol. XXII. ROCHESTER, N. Y.. MARCH. 1914. No. 3. 
ARE THE PARCELS POST RATES ON NURSERY 
STOCK SATISEACTORY? 
By H. S. DAY, Fremont, Ohio. 
Read before the Ohio Nurserymen’s Association. 
It might ap].)ear from the subject assigned to 
me, ‘‘Are the parcels post rates on nursery stock sat- 
isfacory” that the subject was not quite complete in 
that it does not inquire to whom the rates are satis¬ 
factory. 
If this (piestion were asked of tlie Express com- 
])anies, I [ini sure that they would reply, that al¬ 
though the ])arcels ])ost as a system is not to their 
liking, yet that the rates on nursery stock are quite 
satisfactory to them. 
This o])inion is further confirmed by the statement 
made to me by the agent of the American Ex])ress Co. 
at our i)lace, last Satui-day to the effect that if I did 
not send my stock back from the Apple Show till af¬ 
ter February 1st, when this “sweeping reduction” in 
express rates goes into effect, that I would have to 
])ay 50 ])er cent, more to get it ])ack home than I did 
to get it down here. 
By this I do not wish to infer that ex])ress rates are 
going to be raised instead of lowered, because it is 
true that there will be a general reduction, but the re¬ 
ductions are largely on the long hauls, and in many 
instances the rate will be higher on the short hauls. 
But to return to the sulq’ect, I think we are safe in 
assuming that its intent was, are the parcels post 
rates on nursery stock satisfactory to the nursery in¬ 
terests of the vState and the country in general? 
Again, unless some of the members of this associa¬ 
tion have experienced a change of heart since the 
meeting of a year ago this question would l)e answer¬ 
ed in both the affirmative and the negative. 
You Avill remember that it was exifiained to us last 
year that at the time the parcels post bill was up be¬ 
fore congress, that the seedsmen and florists of the 
country asked that the old rate on “seeds, bulbs, 
plants” etc., l)e left unchanged. 
It was also ex])lained that they feared that if the 
]iarcels ])ost was made to apply to all third class mat¬ 
ter that their heavy catalogues would come under the 
})arcels post. 
I am willing to admit that there was reason and 
justice in tlieir recpiest as far as it pi-otected the rate 
on catalogues, l)ut it has never l)een satisfactorily ex¬ 
plained to me wliy the seedsmen and florists of the 
country had to o])i)ose tlie i)arcels i^ose rate on nur 
sery stock in order to retain the old rate on cat¬ 
alogues. 
Of course you all understand that books, etc., liave 
always been dassed as fird class matter with a flat 
rate of 1 cent for each two ounces or fraction thereof. 
Some twenty-five or more years ago, realizing tlie 
im])ortance of the encouragement of the dissemina¬ 
tion and ])lanting of seeds, bulbs, yfiants, etc., a 
special dis]iensation was made in regard to these ar¬ 
ticles, making them fird class matter instead of 4th 
class, and gave them the s]iecial rate of ] cent for 
eacli 2 oz. or just half the rate on all other kinds of 
merchandise, exceyit ])ooks and printed matter. 
As a matter of fact the congress that estalilished 
the ]iarcels post a little over a year ago, did not in¬ 
clude 8rd class matter as ])arcels ]iost matter, but left 
the classification of such things entirely within the 
discretion of tlie ])ostmaster general. The only ex- 
ceiition was in regard to seeds, etc., or nursery stock, 
which were once more made 4th class matter, or par¬ 
cels iiost matter, but with the S])ecific ruling that no 
change in the old rate should be made. 
It would look to the average nurseryman, as if the 
action of the seedsmen and florists of the country was 
a little selfish in the matter, yet I am not saying that 
if this action were of bemlit to them, and if they 
“could imt it over” as tlie saying is, that we should 
unreservedly blame them, but yet on the other hand, 
if the ])arceis ])ost rate, if applied to nursery stock 
would benefit the great majority of the nurserymen 
of the country and not only them but their customers 
as well then I believe tliat it is the duty of every nur¬ 
seryman to do all he can to get that rate. 
I notice just now that the florists of at least one 
section of the State are asking the aid of all the nur¬ 
serymen of the State, if not the entire country, to 
