188 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
SOOK 
'^riie first voliiiiiQ of the Standard Cyclo[)edia of 
IForticadtnre by Prof. L. H. Pjailey is being issued. 
To those familiar with the old one it will be a sur¬ 
prise that a new work along these lines could contain 
so ninch new material or that an entirely new work 
of this magnitude was really needed, bnt it is evident 
even on casual examination that Professor Bailey 
was warranted in its production. 
It begins with a synopsis of the ])lant kingdom 
from ])acteria to the natural order compositae, which 
is followed by a key to the families, genera, etc. 
Name list giving English ecpiivalents of Batin 
names of species and a glossary of Botanical and 
llorticnltiiral Technical terms. 
In the words of the author:—The method in the en¬ 
cyclopedia turns about two ])nr])oses, the identifica¬ 
tion of species and the cnltivation of plants. 
Hitherto the student, nurseryman or florist that 
desired to identify an unknown plant got little assis¬ 
tance from the old works of this nature and if the 
])lant were a cultivated one of foreign origin there 
was no help for him outside the large botanical li¬ 
braries. 
It may l)e truly said that nowadays the young gen¬ 
eration may begin with knowledge where the old one 
'leaves off and it is due to such men as Professor Bail¬ 
ey that this is possible. By organizing, systematiz¬ 
ing and recording of horticultural knowledge we 
have the science of Horticulture and the present vol¬ 
ume has even gone a step further and brought in bot¬ 
any, a knowledge of which is so essential to good hor¬ 
ticultural practice. 
The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture is a coni- 
l)lete Horticultural library and should he constantly 
in the hands of all those interested in its jjractice. 
The MacMillan Go., 66 Fifth avenue. New York, 
are the ])ublishers. The price of the work is $6.00 
per volume. 
\"olume 1 has 602 pages and 700 cuts. The print¬ 
ing and binding all that could he desired for a good 
serviceable work of reference or study. 
SUBJECTS FOR DISCUSSION AT THE CON¬ 
VENTION. 
Uniformity in retail prices and grades. 
I have been thinking that there should he some 
way to protect the retail business l)ut it would first 
have to come through the wholesale men. I have 
in mind a party that solicits business, has no nursery 
and sells goods less than a living ])rice, as he does all 
the work himself, then he has his trade to come to his 
cellar that he rents on a prominent street and he 
Avatclies anything that is low and a glut on the mar¬ 
ket. As he has been there for several years he knows 
every farmer and in fact all; it is a town of 65 to 50,- 
000. I have known him to sell trees as follows: 
A])ple ()c. Retail Good trees 
Cherry 12c. “ “ 
Plum lOc. “ “ 
Pear 10c. “ ‘‘ 
Peach 10c. “ 
Carolina Poplar 10 to 12 feet 1 to 2 in. 15c. 
Strawberry i)lants 25c. a hundred 
Concord Grape $2.00 per 100. 
Raspberry plants $1.00 per 100. 
Clematis, large flowering, 25c. 
Roses 10c. to 15c., Hybrid or climl)ers. 
He will likely have apples this year less, as they 
can he bought wholesale very cheap. I have sold 
him some evergreens hut I get the price or he does 
not get them. This year I have a few thousand ap¬ 
ples that are 5 to 6 feet hut under the 11-16th caliper 
and some 4 to 5 feet and there seems to he no outlet 
for them. One of these low-priced dealers offered 
me IV 2 cents for all. I told him I Avould burn them 
first. It is the only way I know of keeping prices up. 
Two years ago, I was offered 6 cents for No. 1 cherry. 
I had seven thousand. Would not let them go and 
so burnt them. 
It is the only way of preventing low prices or in¬ 
ferior grades. It costs me about $10 per day to keep 
my men out and at the prices some sell at the}" would 
have to retail about one car per day. There has 
been hut few trees sold the last five or six years at 
growing ])rices. If the price was kept at living 
profits there would he no wild market. 
I sell 40,000 to 60,000 dollars per year and grow 
most of it, in fact nearly all except apple, pear, plum 
and stock for grafting and budding. I was offered 
Catalpa seedling 12-15 in this year at 40 cents per 
thousand. We grow about two million per year but 
we can’t grade and tie them 100 in a hunch for that, 
let alone growing them. We have several thousand I 
have not offered but will burn them as our time is 
worth more. IVhat will you do with 40 cent men! 
A nurseryman should only guarantee his stock to 
be No. 1 trees, plants or vines in a healthy condition 
when delivered and then liis obligations should cease. 
To obtain more skilled labor would be in my mind 
a very hard job as it is most inipossi])le to hold a 
good man. I have three good skilled men and ])ay 
foreman $25 per week, the next two $20 per week the 
vear around. The vounger men now-a-davs do not 
want to stay long enough in one i)lace to learn the 
business. Their minds seem to be set on ball games 
and other amusements rather than their work. All 
they talk is how much they will get Saturday night. 
If any man has a remedy for these things I would 
