THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
UG 
;ni(l (•()iisi(lernl)le inoiiey lias l)een eoiitributed to the 
s])ecial fiiiul for the use of tlie committee. 
Awaitiui*' the siil)S('ri])tioiis, tlie Oommittee took no 
action until about December lOth, when i\Ir. young- 
ers and myself met at Kansas City, during the ses" 
sions of the AVestern Wholesale Association, and 
there had the ojiportunity of conferring with some of 
the Western people, ])articularly Mr. Stark, Air. Stan- 
nard. Prof. Hunter, of Kansas, and also with Air. Alee- 
han and Air. Dayton, of the East. A^our Committee 
learned that tlie National vVssociation of Horticultur¬ 
al Ins])ectors, being the insiiectors in charge in the 
various states, had at their last annual meeting in 
January, DIM, a])])ointed a committee on this same 
snliject, of whi(*h Prof. J. G. Sanders, of AVisconsin, 
was chairman, and that JTof. Sanders was tlien at 
work on the bill. Prof. Hunter informed ns that the 
Ins])ectors’ Asociation would meet at Atlanta, Ga., on 
December Mist, and your Committee was invited to be 
present at the meeting, and discuss the bill to be pres¬ 
ented l)y Prof. Sanders. 
The Atlanta meeting was attended by yonr Chair¬ 
man, and Alessrs. AJeehan, Dayton, Stark, Youngers 
and Berckmans. During a long session. Prof. San¬ 
ders’ bill was thoroughly considered by his commit¬ 
tee and ours, and we found that our ideas, in the 
main, were not very far a])art. Prof. Sanders took 
the various suggestions under consideration, and ex- 
pects to revise his bill and within a short time to snli- 
niit a c()])y to yonr Committee, when it Avill then have 
onr further careful consideration. 
We found the sentiment of the Inspectors very 
strongly in favor of uniform state laws, and believe 
that they are thoroughly in earnest in the idea of 
harmonizing their own differences, if ]iossible, and 
harmonizing any differences with the Nnrserynien, 
and thus formulating a. law which can be heartily 
su])i)orted by the Ins])ectors, the Nurserymen and the 
fruit-growing interests. 
Your Committee feels that a great step forward 
has been taken in this matter and that very much 
more can be accom])lished if the two organizations 
work together than we could ho|)e to accomplish 
alone. It is going to l)e a long and slow job anyway; 
it cannot be acconpJished quickly, but the work is 
going forward in the right direction and so far with 
reasonable and satisfactory speed. 
It is ex])ected that Prof. Handers will send a co])y 
of his revised bill within a short time, and you will l)e 
ke])t informed from time to time as to the work of 
your Committee. 
AVilliam Pitkin, Chairman, Committee on Uniform 
State Legislation. 
NURSERYMEN RESPONSIBLE. 
’riie su])reme (*ourt of AYashington has handed 
down a decisioji whereby it declares that nurserymen. 
who sell trees that are not true to name, are res])on- 
sible for any damage suffered by the purchaser. The 
decision is a jnst one, for there can be no greater 
wrong than to snbstitnte some worthless, or other 
variety u])on a ])urchaser when he pays for a special 
kind. 
ACe question whether there is any one so ex})ert in 
fruit trees as to be able to distinguish one variety of 
any kind of fruit from another, when brought from 
the nursery, or until it bears. It is true that there are 
some kinds so well marked as to indicate the class or 
grou]) to which they belong, bnt it is not until they 
bear that their variety can be definitely settled. The 
average planter is, therefore, wholly at the dealer’s 
mercy. He relies n])on his honor, and when beti-ayed, 
he suffers much more than the loss of the imrchase 
])rice. 
It costs a great deal in money, labor and time to 
bring an orchard into bearing. Four years on an 
average, at least. If the planter has been deceived in 
his purchase he has lost not alone what he ])aid for 
his trees, but all his labor, the use of his land and four- 
years of his life. 
It is for this reason that we have always ui-ged onr 
readers to ]Jace all their orders for stock with some 
well established, well known nurseryman, one who 
will be in business when the trees come into bearing 
and who can be field to account. Hucli are careful, 
and wliile even liere mistakes may be made, owing to 
carelessness on tlie part of employees, an occasional 
wrong tree may be found witli tlie lot, still tlie great¬ 
est care is taken, and tliey will not, like tlie irre.s]ion- 
sible tree peddler, substitute sometliing tliey liapiien 
to liave—take all varieties out of one lot—witli tlie 
full knowledge tliat, rvlien tlie bearing time conies, 
tliey will be well out of reacli.— Jose, (Uil. 
SUBJECTS SUGGESTED FOR DISCUSSION AT 
THE COMING CONVENTION. 
Tlie National Nurseryman mailed a form letter to 
a number of tlie leading nurserymen, to draw out 
o])inions as to wliat subjects slioiild be brouglit up for 
discussion at tlie coming convention in June, witli tlie 
idea tliat many minds on tlie same prolilem will un¬ 
doubtedly lielp to solve tliem. 
Alany re])lies were received from wliicfi we give tlie 
following extracts, arranged in tlie order of their im- 
])ortance as indicated by the number of times they 
were suggested. 
1. Uniformity in retail jirices and grades. 
2. To what extent should a nurseryman guarantee 
his stock to grow? 
M. Prevention of sur])lus and low prices. 
4. Creation of wider markets. 
5. Hhoiild nurserymen combine to advertise and 
demonstrate their goods? 
G. How can we obtain more skilled help? 
