402 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
FRENCH NUF^ERY TRADE AND THE WAR 
Since the deehiratioii of the war, 1 have been much in¬ 
terested in reading the notes inserted on this subject in 
the American horticultural trade papers, 
being exempt from serving in the army on account of 
age, 1 consider that it is my duty to explain to your read- 
ej's, in the name of my countrymen, for our mutual bene- 
lit, how the situation stands in France, and how we ex¬ 
pect it will be later on. 
Concerning the Fruit, Ornamental, Forest, Hoses, and 
other young stocks, also Plants, Hoses, etc., which are 
generally groxMi in France for export, despite the mobili¬ 
zation which has taken oil about sixty to seventy per cent, 
of the chiefs, stalls and workmen in our nurseries, 1 
think that there remains sullicient management and labor 
in every linn to be in a position to ship the goods already 
ordered or to be ordered by U. S. A., the English Colonies, 
etc., etc. The labor will be sullicient this season because 
our sales in France and on the European Continent will 
be probably small. 
Our principal places of exportation. Angers, Orleans, 
Lyon, Ussy, the Paris district, etc., have not been alfected 
by the war, not having been in the lines of action of the 
armies. Tlie railways and seaports in connection with 
your countries being also without harm, will probably be 
in a position to accept our goods at time of shipping, be¬ 
ginning generally at the end of October. 
In conclusion, we are in as good a position as any 
country to do our export trade this season, and as widely 
as it can be done. 
E. Tuubat^ General Secretary 
of the Federation of French Nursery men. 
New York, October 5th, 1914. 
The National Nurseryman, 
Centlemen:— 
1 happened to notice in your September issue, a letter 
from our friends, JMcHutchison & Co., of this city, to the 
National Nurseryman, of Flourtown, Pa., on “The Elfect 
of the War on Imports.” 
I believe that the writers are taking a pessimistic view 
of the situation, at least as far as the nurseries in France 
are concerned. 
Of all the houses in Angers, exporting nursery stock to 
America, none has had its manager called to the front 
and only two sons of managers are with the colors, so 
that the management of the French nurseries is, so to 
speak, intact. The correspondence is taken care of in An¬ 
gers as well as in Orleans by young lady stenographers, 
who, fortunately have not yet been called to the front. 
In regard to packing the plants, there are any quantity 
of men above 48 years, left in the nurseries, and in suf¬ 
ficient number to attend to two or three times the orders 
which have been placed. 
As to shipping, if the railroads were not in position to 
take merchandise in November and December, which is 
not likely to be the case, it still would be possible to ship 
by boat from Angers to Nantes, and from Nantes via Eng¬ 
land to the States. The control of the seas being abso¬ 
lutely in the hands of the allied nations. 
The expense for War Hisk, which is covered by the 
French (Jovernment, will be only trilling, the Govern¬ 
ment taking the place of the Insurance. Companies. 
The only extra, charge this comingvse-ason will be on 
steamer freight, which^ will bh^Ingher than in preceding 
seasons, owing to the withdraw al of German steamers. 
In 1870-71, Orleans had be|hypNGciipied by the Ger¬ 
mans from early in Noveniber u^..t6;March, but they ditl 
not adNance as far as Angers, wherefrom plants, were 
shipped to America as usual. ThbTe is very little likli- 
hood this w inter to see the^German army w est of Paris, 
and judging from present ap])earanee's, they might not 
be on French territory at all.. ‘> 
Youi’s- very truly, 
Andre L. Gausse, 
Ayent for the Andre Leroy Nurseries ^Angers, France. 
A PHOTEST FHOiVI FHANCE 
An Answer to the Article '‘Effect of the War on Imports" 
A group of French nurserymen have been justly 
alarmed by the pessimistic statements published in “The 
National Nurseryman” of September under the signature 
of Mr. Mcllutchison concerning the presumed impos¬ 
sibility for the U. S. A.—owing to the elfects of war— 
of importing this fall nursery stock irom France. They 
emphatically protest against these assertions which they 
look upon as biased and positively assert that not only 
on account of the geographical situation of French nur¬ 
series but also because of the fresh start of transports 
by rail and w ater w hich the French Government has just 
reorganized in those parts of the country unoccupied by 
lighting armies. The transport of nursery stock intended 
for exportation w ill take place as under normal condi¬ 
tions at fall shipping time, thanks to the fact that the 
naval and allied armies hold complete mastery of the 
seas. 
They maintain besides that the French exporting nur¬ 
serymen still have more than the required number of 
clerks and workmen to do the digging, packing, etc., of 
the stocks and w ill therefore be quite able to send them 
over (as usual) by fall shipping time. 
The transport by rail as well as by water will be the 
same as usual for the reasons above mentioned. 
Moreover the war risk Insurance can, if desired by the 
importers, be applied by the French Government at the 
cost of 5 per cent of the value of transported goods. 
With regard to Germany, the state of things is quite 
dilferent, owing to the fact that the country is blocked in 
on all sides and utterly unable of exporting anything 
whatever, though oddly enough, the article in “The Na¬ 
tional Nurseryman” makes no mention of it. 
To conclude, the French exporting nurserymen wish 
to guard their customers of the U. S. A. from the pessi¬ 
mistic assertions of people whose opinion is founded 
upon the temporary disturbance of things at the begin¬ 
ning of hostilities. 
Let our customers trust in the well-grounded asser- 
