THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
stimulate the greatest amount of buying. Nurserymen have 
spent a great deal of money trying to induce people to buy 
trees and plants who did not want them, and if a part of this 
money and energy had been first devoted to stimulating a 
desire for trees, sales could have been more readily made.” 
All of which we earnestly commend to those who would 
know the secret of increasing sales. 
NEW FRUIT SELLING METHODS. 
At the meeting of the Kansas Horticultural Society, Prof. 
F. A. Waugh urged diversification instead of consolidation. 
He thought some men could grow other fruit than apples. 
He cited instances of success with quinces, plums and other 
secondary fruit. New markets can also be reached. Local 
markets are often or even generally neglected. New pack¬ 
ages should be introduced. New ways of marketing should 
be devised. The old scheme of selling through the com¬ 
mission men is sometimes good, but often bad. Selling fruit 
direct by means of newspaper advertisements has proved 
successful. 
RELATIONSJVITH^AGENTS. 
To J. W. Schuette, of St. Louis, was ascribed the discussion 
of the following question at the semi-annual meeting of the 
Western Association of Wholesale Nurserymen: "Is not 
the system of such large advances to dealers and salesmen 
wrong and unbusinesslike and what can we do to remedy it?” 
In connection with this subject the question of providing 
a fund to punish dishonest dealers and salesmen was con¬ 
sidered. Among those who discussed it was A. Willis, of 
Ottawa, Kan. In a great majority of cases the delinquency 
of salesmen and dealers that could be proved in court to be 
criminal is small. Most of these delinquencies come along 
lines of shabby work or neglect of business and it does not 
seem that these could be regarded as strictly criminal. Often 
salesmen that were delinquent in their returns of the amounts 
that should have been paid are in that situation because of 
carelessness and sometimes the agent will claim a misunder¬ 
standing and sometimes will plead poverty. A nurseryman 
may loan an agent too much money; but all these things 
are not criminal. Then when criminal matter comes up, 
it is generally of such an amount and the agent is at a dis¬ 
tance, and sometimes before the crime is known he is gone 
altogether,‘that difficulties of prosecution are very serious. 
With these matters in view and with the uncertainty as to 
what one nurseryman would feel of the opinions of another 
nurseryman as to the criminality of a particular case it seemed 
that, while losses were serious and sometimes criminally 
gross, on the whole the difficulties would be too great to at¬ 
tempt the forming of an association to punish dishonest 
dealers and salesmen. This seems to have been the view 
generallv of the members of the Association, as after the dis¬ 
cussion no move towards such an organization was under¬ 
taken and since then no desire on the part of anyone to make 
such a move has been expressed. - 
The American Breeders Association, including both plant and ani¬ 
mal breeders, was formed at St. Louis, December 29, 1903. Secretary 
James Wilson, of the Department of Agriculture, is president. Prof. 
N. E. Hansen, of South Dakota, is secretary of the plant section. 
21 
NO SPECIAL TAGS AUTHORIZED. 
Editor National Nurseryman : 
Dear Sir: In the January issue of the National Nurs¬ 
eryman there appeared an article under the caption, "In¬ 
spectors favor Lair Laws,” in which come incorrect state¬ 
ments are made in regard to shipments of nursery stock in 
Virginia. In order to correct any misapprehension that 
may have arisen from these statements I wish to state that no 
tags have been issued from this office, except the regular 
official tag authorized by the Crop Pest Commission, and no 
exceptions have been made, the requirements being uniform 
for all nurserymen. Consequently, the statement that a 
special red tag was issued or offered from this office on which 
stock might be shipped into Virginia is incorrect. 
No issue of special tags has been under contemplation, and 
if red tags or any tags other than the above-mentioned official 
tag have been used to cover shipments of nursery stock to 
Virginia, it was done without the knowledge of this office. 
Blacksburg, Va. J. L. Phillips, State Entomologist. 
Obituary. 
Josiah Hoopes, the senior member of the firm of Hoopes, Bro. & 
Thomas, died of pneumonia at his home in West Chester, Pa., January 
16th, aged 71 years. Of him the West Chester News says: “Josiah 
Hoopes was a man of fine business ability and of varied attainments. 
His almost unrivaled success as a nurseryman was the result of life¬ 
long application in the line of his natural bent. He was a botanist 
by nature, by choice and by systematic practical study. His fame 
both as a botanist and a business man of integrity and reliability is 
well known throughout this country and Europe. He was regarded 
as an authority on many lines, but particularly on evergreen trees, 
which he made the subject of diligent and exhaustive study. In 1868 
he published the principal work on that subject. It is entitled 'Book 
of Evergreens,’ and a practical treatise on the conifera or cone-bearing 
plants of the world. It has since been recognized as an authority on 
this class of trees. Hoopes, Bro. & Thomas have 600 acres of land in 
trees. Probably no other firm in the United States does a larger bus¬ 
iness in the general nursery line. Some specialists excel them in a 
particular line, but in the nurseries of Hoopes, Bro. & Thomas is grown 
almost every form of plant and tree indigenous to the United States 
and an almost endless variety of tropical plants. The grounds about 
the office, so beautifully and attractively laid out and planted, have 
been the special Care of Josiah Hoopes for many years, and are a credit 
to his skill and artistic taste. Many West Chester properties have 
been laid out and planted with ornamental trees under his direction. 
Possessed of a liberal education himself, he always manifested a lively 
interest in the education of others. For a number of years he served 
as a trustee of the West Chester Normal School’ He traveled in 
Europe and contributed many articles to publications. He was a 
patron of base ball and athletics. On March 17, 1898, he married 
Helen A. Morgan who survives him, with a son. He also leaves a 
brother, Abner Hoopes, who with George B. Thomas constitute the 
firm. Josiah Hoopes was a life member of the Society of Iriends. 
The February issue of Country Life in America contains articles 
of interest to nurserymen and horticulturists including a description 
of rose-growing under glass, by Prot. L. H. Bailey; an account of a 
2,000-acre estate in California where 20 diffierent fruits are grown the 
year around, how home-grown grapes may be had in winter and an 
article of unusual practical interest to gardeners, “ Transplanting a 
Million-Dollar Industry,” suggesting how Americans may save the 
money sent abroad each year for Dutch and other bulbs. 
