The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
„ Copyrighted 1902 by The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., Incorporated. 
To give satisfaction in every detail should be the nurseryman’s unremitting endeavor. 
Vol. XI. ROCHESTER, N. Y., JANUARY. 1903. No. 1. 
IIS HONOR OF HR. ELLWANGER. 
Eighty-sixth Birthday of the Venerable Head of the Firm of 
Ellwanger Barry—Distinguished Guests Present—loseph 
O’Connor Toastmaster—Air. EUwanger’s Brief Greet . 
ing—Remarks by His Son, George H. Ellwanger. 
The eighty-sixth birthday of George Ellwanger, of Ell¬ 
wanger & Barry, was observed, according to custom, at a 
banquet at the Genesee Valley club in Rochester, N. Y., on 
the evening of December 2d. The host was the venerable 
citizen whose name has become so closely connected with the 
interests and life of Rochester. The occasion was also the 
birthday of the Hon. Frederick Cook, who sat at the left of 
Mr. Ellwanger, and who claims with the host Germany as his 
native land. 
The guests were representative of all that is best in the life 
of the city in its religious, educational, business and social 
phases. The menu contained these two stanzas across the 
branches of a grand old oak, written by Samuel Walter Foss : 
Who loves a tree he loves the life 
That springs in star and clod ; 
He loves the love that gilds the clouds 
And greens the April sod. 
He loves the wide beneficence, 
His soul takes hold on God. 
Ah ! bare must be the shadeless ways, 
And bleak the path must be, 
Of him who, having open eyes, 
Has never learned to see, 
And so has never learned to love 
The beauty of a tree. 
While the dinner was in progress the orchestra played a new 
waltz, entitled “ A Wind from Off the Sea,” composed by the 
granddaughter of the host, Miss Laura B. Ellwanger 
The toastmaster was Joseph O’Connor. In the course of 
his brief introductory remarks he read a communication of 
thanks from the heads and sub-heads of the department of 
the Ellwanger & Barry nurseries, who at the same hour were 
enjoying a banquet, at which thirty-two of them were guests, 
set by the kindness and friendship of the same host. Some 
of these men have been in the employ of the company for 
more than thirty years, and their communication, said the 
toastmaster, was such that “ nothing could be said about this 
board that could constitute a nobler tribute.” The communi¬ 
cation was as follows : 
We, your employees, extend our most hearty thanks to you for the 
fine dinner we are now enjoying as your guests. Accept our congratu¬ 
lations on this, your eighty-sixth birthday, a day which we shall all 
remember with great pleasure. Our wish is that you may be spared 
in perfect health to further enjoy the fruits of your good work. 
In concluding his opening address, Mr. O’Connor proposed 
a toast to Mr. Ellwanger, “ and may the pledge express our 
lasting respect, our constant friendship and our buoyant hope 
for the future.” 
In responding, Mr. Ellwanger said, in brief: “ My friends, 
I give you my most hearty thanks, and wish you a very en¬ 
joyable evening.” 
Hon. Walter S. Hubbell said : 
In the presence of this body of men representative of the city, it is 
not necessary for me to detail what the growth of Rochester has 
been. I am asked to weave the life of our host into the growth of the 
city. It is not alone with trepidation but with great joy that I 
assume the task. 
I have heard some of the gentlemen now sitting about this table say 
that promiscuous immigration should be restrained. Not alone our 
host, but other gentlemen at this table, immigrants from Germany, 
from Ireland, from Scotland, and from other countries, demonstrate 
the fact that there is another side to this question. What would the 
city have done without the immigrants we have here to-night ? 
• Our host was born at about the same time the village of Rochester 
was born. He came here about the time the city of Rochester was 
born. The young man from the Black Forest and the young man 
from Ireland, as the firm of Ellwanger & Barry, have made the city of 
Rochester known all over the world as the Flower City. 
As much as Mr. Ellwanger has done for Rochester in the way of 
hoiticulture, am I mistaken when I say that the life of this pure- 
minded, even-dispositioned, great-hearted man has done more for the 
youth and the young people of this city than it ever did for horticul¬ 
ture ? The best thing a city can have is a man of this character. May 
he tarry with us long, but when his time for departure comes his great-, 
est legacy will be the character he has built up. 
George H. Ellwanger, one of the sons of George Ell¬ 
wanger, said : 
I have but a word. I rise to thank you, not only on behalf of my 
father, but also of his partner, Patrick Barry, for the many express¬ 
ions of good will, sincerity and good fellowship. To these I add my 
own personal thanks, and with my brother’s consent, I enjoy his 
accord. May never a sense wane and never a heart yield up its golden 
store before every one here to-night has become “ a fallen leaf.” 
SUGGESTION AS TO A NOVELTY. 
E. E. Miller, of Hamblen County, Tenn., says in the Country 
Gentleman : 
I wish to call attention to one of our common wild fruits which 
would seem to offer an engaging field for the plant breeder to work in. 
I refer to the papaw. This tree grows freely on a variety of soils, is 
quite hardy, soou teaches bearing age, and yields remarkably. I do 
not know that any use has yet been found for the fruit, except eating 
it as it grows ; but I do not see why it could not be prepared in a 
variety of ways, and possibly be made to serve a distinct purpose in 
the distribution of our fruits and their products. Whether or not the 
papaw is at present a good thing is a matter of individual taste. If 
some of the seeds were bred out of it, however, and the flavor modified 
a little, it might become a really useful plant. I commend it to some 
enterprising nurseryman who wants a real novelty to offer the public. 
The Hawks Nursery Co., Rochester, N. Y., has opened a branch 
office at Wauwatosa, Wis. T. J. Ferguson is the manager, assisted by 
Albert Hanson of Milwaukee. Business started off with a rush. 
