438 
TM NATIONAL NUitSI'.RYMAN 
plant them, liis action would be educational for the entire 
section in which the planting was done. The feeling was 
that the more general educational work of this kind 
started by the State the better it would be for private 
nurserymen and for firms of landscape gardeners, con¬ 
sulting foresters, etc. It w^as understood by all private 
nurserymen in the State at the time this work began that 
it was not only educational work but that it w^as work in 
which they could not compete and that there was prac¬ 
tically no opposition to the development of this work by 
the Conservation Commission. 
When the State College of Forestry was organized at 
Syracuse we began at once general educational work 
throughout the State of New York. The Charter of the 
College obligates it to do this work. Splendid work in 
agriculture has been carried on in the State of New York 
but it is now recognized generally that agricluture alone 
will not solve our land problems but that agriculture and 
forestry together will make it possible to utilize our land 
most effectively. The forester will be able to do for the 
lumberman and for the manufacturer of pulp and acid 
and other products of the forest, what the agriculturist is 
doing for the farmer, for the cheese factory and other 
manufacturers of products from the farm. As no sys¬ 
tematic and State wide educational work was being done 
in the State of New York this College took hold of the 
matter of public lectures and demonstrations in high 
schools, granges, men’s and women’s clubs, etc. This 
sort of work has met with a very hearty reception, and 
last winter foresters from this College went into over 235 
communities in the State talking to some 65,000 people. 
While on this state-wide educational work so much 
interest has been taken in general reforestation of our 
idle lands and in the planting up of our streets and parks, 
that beginning this year, we have put a graduate land¬ 
scape engineer into our forest extension work and he is 
drawing up planting plans for communities in different 
parts of the State. He is just now preparing such plans 
for New Rochelle and Newburg and recently carried on 
such work in Glean and Binghamton. We have told the 
Chambers of Commerce and other agencies with which 
we have been co-operating in this work in these com¬ 
munities that our purpose was to do a general educa¬ 
tional work only; that we would make verbal or written 
suggesions and follow this up with illustrated lectures, 
but under no circumstances would we carry out the plans 
because we do not care to compete in any way with pri¬ 
vate industry. I am sure that you will agree with me 
that the more of such general educational work which we 
may do in this State the better it will be for every nur¬ 
seryman and every private gardener and forester. That 
is, we are talking to the people and creating a demand for 
the kind of work that will mean the use of vast numbers 
of ornamental trees and shrubs and a vast amount of 
work for gardeners and foresters in the putting out of 
this stock. 
Of course, there is a big question involved when one 
brings up the proposition of the State or Government be¬ 
coming a producer. I am not at all sure but there may be 
cases where some of the States or the Government may 
go into the production of a certain product with good rea¬ 
son and great equity, especially when this product is pro¬ 
duced in a way by private industry that makes it two or 
three times as expensive to the consumer as it ought to be. 
Many of the Agricultural Experiment Stations in dif- 
erenl parts of the country are selling their products. It is 
lar from reason or conservation if the stations are to be 
prohibited from selling material that is produced as a re¬ 
sult of experimental work. For instance, in the State 
Forest Experiment Station south of this city we are pro¬ 
ducing a million trees a year in our experiments with 
seeds, seedlings and transplants. Isn’t it a reasonable 
question to ask whether we should destroy this stock or 
give it away when the citizens of the State are paying 
their taxes that we may maintain the experiment station 
in which the stock is produced? However, it is not our 
purpose to bring up this matter as an argument at all be¬ 
cause we have taken a delinite stand against the compe¬ 
tition of this College with private industry. There has 
been some little opposition to the carrying on of this work 
by the Conservation Commission. Some of the chief op¬ 
position has come from commission firms who are hand¬ 
ling stock as middlemen only and are not producing in 
this country. Some of these linns seek large orders of 
stock for reforestation and before the war placed these 
orders in Germany and France. It would seem that in a 
sense this is as unfair competition with legitimate nur¬ 
sery firms who are trying to produce nursery stock in 
this country as competition coming from agencies work¬ 
ing in different states for the development of forestry and 
the general education of people along forestry lines. 
Very truly yours, 
Hugh P. Baker,, Dean. 
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN 
We are now able to report that the Hotel Cadillac, De¬ 
troit, Mich., has been chosen by the committee on ar¬ 
rangements, Mr. Thomas I. Ilgenfritz and Secretary Hall, 
as convention headquarters for the fortieth anniversary 
of this association. The accommodations for meetings, 
exhibits, committees, and for social purposes are unex¬ 
celled, and have been generously placed at our command 
by the management. 
It will be our aim from time to time to keep members 
posted regarding progress made in the development of all 
efforts to have the program, general arrangements and 
entertainment of the very highest quality. What we now 
ask of members is that they shall become so enthused 
that they will importune nurserymen who are at present 
in the cold to become members before the cold storage 
doors shut them up beyond the possibility of thawing. 
The convention of June 23-25, 1915, will go down in 
American history as a phenomenal event. 
Very truly yours, 
John Hall^, Secretary. 
204 Chamber of Commerce Building, Rochester, N. Y. 
SOOK 
“The Three Sisters”—By May Sinclair, author of “The Divine 
Fire”—Price $1.35 net. Publishers, The MacMillan Co., 5th 
avenue, N. Y. This novel is the best work of Miss Sinclair and 
holds one’s interest in more ways than one. 
