2 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
FREE SEEDS AJSD TREES . 
Secretary of Agriculture Outlines the Purposes of the Depart¬ 
ment for the New Year—Will Distribute Seedling Trees to 
Schools Throughout the Country—Will Have More or 
Less Historic Interest—Publication Work. 
The annual report of the Secretary of Agriculture for 1902 
shows marked progress in many of the lines covered by this 
very active department. The Secretary declares his wish has 
been to carry out the will of Congress in the distribution of 
seeds, so as to result in the most -good to the country. The 
Congressional distribution last year was the largest in the his¬ 
tory of the Department, and particular attention was given to 
forage crop seed, cotton seed, tobacco seed and seed of other 
special crops. To still further increase the efficiency of the 
seed work, several new plans have been put into operation. 
Under the present system, the Department secures its own seed 
in the open market, contracting only for the mechanical work 
of packing and mailing the seed. Seedsmen are now co-oper¬ 
ating with the Department in furnishing specialties and novel¬ 
ties. These will be distributed only so long as to make 
them thoroughly known, leaving the demand then to be met 
by the regular trade. 
An effort will be made to secure and distribute seedling trees 
which have more or less historic interest, the seedlings when 
grown to be sent to schools throughout the country, each one 
accompanied by a concise statement setting forth the historic 
events connected with it. 
With regard to forestry, tree planting, the Bureau has sought 
to enlist the interest of the private land owner. Up to the 
close of the last fiscal year 262 applications for assistance had 
been received, nearly 200,000 acres examined, and 224 plans 
made. Not only does example set by each plantation affect 
the neighborhood, but in many cases it has led to a public agi¬ 
tation of the question of tree planting, and extensive planting 
on other land has frequently followed. 
The publication work of the Department has been unprece¬ 
dentedly active. The total number of publications issued was 
757. The total number of pages of new matter edited for 
publication was 18,184. The aggregate number of copies of 
all publications issued was 10,586,580. Of this number 
6,150,000 were Farmers’ Bulletins, and of these the Con¬ 
gressional distribution took 4,289,126. Including the Year¬ 
book and other reports paid for by special appropriations, the 
cost of the publication work amounts to about $800,000, but 
the number of publications is still inadequate to supply the 
demand. 
LICENSED IN WASHINGTON. 
On December 10th consignments of fruit trees from the east 
were confiscated by Fruit Inspector W. H. Brown, of King 
County, Washington, on the ground that they were badly in¬ 
fested with wooly aphis, crown or root gall, blight, etc. The 
stock was condemned and burned. The number of trees was 
i,5°o. 
The laws of Washington are very strict. Following are the 
nursery firms licensed by the commissioner of horticulture, at 
Tacoma, Wash., to sell trees in that state (other than Washing¬ 
ton firms): 
Perry Nursery Co., Brown Brothers, Rochester, N. Y.; Miss' 
ing Link Apple Co., Clayton, Ill.; Charles P. Hartley, Cald¬ 
well, Idaho ; F. L. White, Moscow, Idaho ; Stark Brothers 
Nursery and Orchard Co., Louisiana, Mo.; L. O. Berry, Troy, 
O ; H I. Cauvel, Albert Brownell, A. Miller & Son, Milton, 
Ore.; W. H. Weber, The Dalles, Ore.; Buell, Lamberson & 
Sons, J. B. Pilkington, Portland, Ore.; H. W. Settlemire, Pa¬ 
cific Nursery Co., Tangent, Ore.; J. W. Borsch, Hillsdale, Ore.; 
Oregon Nursery Co., C. F. Lansing, Salem, Ore.; A. Holaday, 
Scappoose, Ore.; Russelville Nursery Co., Russelville, Ore.; 
T. V. Sluman, Mount Tabor, Ore. Fifty-four firms in Wash¬ 
ington are licensed. 
AMERICAN APPLE GROWERS’ CONGRESS. 
At this congress in St. Louis there was a remarkably fine 
display of Ben Davis, Mammoth Twig and Arkansas Black 
apples by Arkansas. These officers were elected: President, 
Senator H. M. Dunlap, Savoy, Ill.; vice-President, W. R. 
Wilkinson, St. Louis; secretary, T. C. Wilson, Hannibal, Mo.; 
treasurer, Wesley Green, Des Moines, la.; official statistician, 
Prof. J. T. Stinson, Mountain Grove, Mo., with ten state vice- 
presidents. 
President Dunlap makes this statement regarding the pur¬ 
pose of the congress : 
“ The objects of the congress are to furnish reliable crop 
statistics to the members, based on actual amounts in number 
of barrels, and not on percentages. It will discuss business 
methods of harvesting, handling, shipping, and disposing of 
the crop and its products. It will endeavor to secure legisla¬ 
tion necessary for the protection of the grower that will be uni¬ 
form in the several states. It is also for the purpose of consid¬ 
ering matters of transportation car service and of securing 
better methods in handling and reporting on consignments, 
and ultimately in investigating and reporting upon complaints, 
with a view of exposing dishonest methods and dishonest deal¬ 
ers. 
“ As a matter-of-fact, this organization is for the purpose of 
taking up the business end of fruit growing as it relates to the 
disposal of the apple crop and its products, much more than it 
is for the purpose of discussing methods of growing orchards, 
and such related subjects. This latter field is well covered by 
the state and local horticultural societies. 
The second annual meeting of the congress will be held in 
St. Louis in November, 1903. 
ORIGIN OF FAMOUS APPLES. 
At the recent Shaw banquet in St. Louis, Albert Blair, re¬ 
sponding to a toast said : 
I am glad that the first Congress of American Apple Growers has 
been held in this city, in the State of Missouri. We owe much to 
other states for their achievements in apple culture. Massachusetts 
gave us the Baldwin, the apple so much prized by our friends in the 
east. New York gave us the Northern Spy and the Newtown Pippin, 
the latter said to be the king of apples. New Jersey gave us the Belle - 
flower and the Maiden Blush. Virginia, the Albermarle Pippin and 
Grimes’ Golden. Kentucky, the Ben Davis, unequalled for profit. 
Missouri has produced the Missouri Pippin and the Huntsman’s Favor¬ 
ite, and is herself first in rank as the land of the big red apples and of 
the big yielding orchards that produce them. 
