246 
THE NATIONAL NUESERYMAN 
President’s Address 
J. B. PilJdngton, Portland, Oregon. 
A year ago a small but representative membership of 
the American Association of Nurserymen journeyed 
across the Continent, to the Pacific Coast, to hold their 
38tli Annual Convention in joint session with the Pacific 
Coast Association of Nurserymen, at Portland, Oregon. 
This was the lirst convention of the American Associa¬ 
tion west of the Rocky Mountains; and though the at¬ 
tendance was small the combined attendance of the two 
Associations was large, and the Convention, judging by 
the enthusiasm and report, a pronounced success. 
Today, the 39th Annual Convention of the American 
Association of Nurserymen, the conditions are reversed, 
and it is regrettable that the Pacific Coast does not re¬ 
turn a delegation equally as strong as those who came to 
us last June. But the few of us who are here, make up 
in loyalty to the parent organization what we lack in 
nundiers. We have left the land of three cent apple 
To hold this Convention in this beautiful city of Cleve¬ 
land,—a city supreme in its commercial activity, proud 
of her civic - improvements, her boulevards, parks and 
avenues, and in these latter glories you nurserymen have 
had no little part,—a city within reasonable distance of 
East, West, North and South; with such conditions and 
such a program, second to none, in importance and inter¬ 
est, why should this Convention not spell success, just as 
for a number of years each convention has been more 
successful than its predecessor. 
It is not my intention to weary you w ith a long drawn 
address, nor to encroach upon the work and reports of 
your committees. In the committees, you have the 
working men of the Association, and w hen you honored 
me by electing me to the Presidency, it did not take me 
long to realize that the years work dejiended, not upon 
myself but upon these same committees. 
Take, for instance, the Program which is to follow: 
wdiich has been entirely in the hands of the indomitable 
Reading from left to right W. C. Harrison, President Storrs Harrison Co., J. B. Pilkington, Portland, Oregon, Mil- 
ton Moss, Hunlsville Wholesale Nurseries, Huntsville, Ala., “Will'’ Ilgenfritz is just in v'lew over 
the shoulder of Mr. Pilkington. 
trees and slow eollections, temporarily only, and are 
glad to intermingle with our fortunate Eastern brethern, 
—you wTio, if reports are true—are happy, satisfied and 
prosperous, having had the best clean-up for years, and 
no brush piles. We Pacific Coasters have had no brush 
piles either, following the Coast custom of keeping our 
trees another year or two, and have been enjoying the 
pleasures of monthly fire sales and deceiving ourselves 
with the fallacy that cheap prices stimulate demand and 
planting. No orchardist plants trees because they are 
cheap, but it is a condition that periodically confronts 
us all. East and West, and we are bound to have slumps 
in apple trees just as we have had in cherries, pears and 
other stock. Curiously, these conditions seem to go 
hand in hand with other calamities, and for want of a 
better reason we are willing to attribute the cause to a 
Democratic year. 
But we are not discouraged, and are glad to be here to 
share in your satisfaction and success; to imbibe and as¬ 
similate some of your optimism. 
John Watson, and to those only who have had similar 
work in previous conventions, is realization possible of 
the responsibility he has shouldered, and our obligation 
to him. 
In compliment to Mr. Watson, permit me to say that his 
views be submitted in this assembly to future commit¬ 
tees :—that no papers be read before the Convention ex¬ 
cept by the authors of same; that discussion, whether on 
reports of committees or the various subjects on the pro¬ 
gram, is necessary to bring out ideas, and members are 
earnestly requested to present their view^s in these mat¬ 
ters. 
The work of such committees as those on Legislation, 
both the Eastern and Western Committees, the newly 
created committee on Uniform Horticultural Laws, 
Transportation, Publicity and other equally important 
matters, has imposed no little task upon its members, and 
this work has been faithfully and generously given to the 
Association. 
