THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
101 
that the nurseryman does not reap the just rewards to which 
he is properly entitled. 
RETROSPECTIVE. 
What have we achieved? We have planted millions of trees 
in the great commercial orchards of the south where are pro¬ 
duced and marketed millions of dollars worth of fruit, e;ivin<>- 
employment to thousands of people, adding to the wealth 
of the country in a material way by making business for the 
merchant, the banker, the railroads and in fact giving a vital¬ 
izing influence to all branches of trade. We have also planted 
a million small orchards or fruit gardens around the homes 
of as many families throughout this southland; trees that are 
growing broad and healthful and yielding delightful shade 
and refreshing fruits for the home, thus adding to the charms 
of suburban and country life. These are monuments to the 
energy and enterprise of the nurseryman, but there is a 
greater work yet before us. There are more orchards to be 
planted in the years to come than ever before us. Finer 
fruits are to be produced than we have yet seen and im¬ 
provements are to be made in all lines of orchard work. The 
nurseryman is the pioneer in that great work and will in 
future make himself felt even more than he has in past by 
marching in the front ranks of our industrial army. 
LEADING NURSERYMEN. 
This paper would be incomplete without a few words in 
regard to the men whose brains and judgment helped to place 
Georgia in the front ranks as a fruit growing and nursery 
state. (The magnificent progress of the great fruit industry 
of the state during the pasl score of years comes as the direct 
result of the capable generalship of a quartette of our most 
progressive nurserymen. These four pioneers might well be 
named here as G. LI. Miller for the northern part of the state. 
Philip Smith in the middle part, S. H. Rumph in the southern 
part and P. J. Berckinans in the eastern part. Take out the 
efforts of this quartette of leaders and the fruit industry,of 
the state would be set back twenty years, j What nurserymen 
have done in the past, they will do again in the future and 
we always expect to see the names of nurserymen written 
high on the tirumphant banner of the foremost regiments of 
the army of industrial progress. 
THE DELAWARE FRUIT CROP. 
The special agent of the Delaware railroad has just com¬ 
pleted the estimate of the peach and pear crop from which it 
appears that the yield of peaches will be fair, about equal 
to the crop of 1902, and that of pears about half of that of 
1902. ■ Everything is estimated by baskets of about five- 
eighths bushels each. The yield of peaches in 1902 was 
1,772,233 baskets, while the estimate for 1904 is 1,788,395. 
This is considerably larger than the crop for 1903. The pear 
crop is estimated at 300,550 baskets and is about half that 
of 1902, but larger than that of 1903. There has been no 
official estimate of the apple crop, but it will probably be a 
full average and about as large as the pear crop. 
“In individual cases peaches have brought very much larger 
fortunes than any other crop, but the profits are not uniform. 
Previous to 1880, for several years, New Castle county was 
almost an unbroken peach orchard and the profits from the 
business were fabulous, but the disease known as the “ yellows” 
swept many of these orchards out of existence. This disease 
has, however, nearly disappeared and under a well inforced 
law which compels owners to dig up and burn infected trees, 
there is no longer fear of any serious destruction from this 
malady. The planting of peach trees is now steadily increas- 
ing, and while the orchards are smaller than they were twentv 
or thirty years ago, they are better tilled and pruned and may 
become as profitable. Apple growing is also increasing. 
The crop is much more regular and certain than that of the 
Peach orchrd and will open the average yield as much money.” 
This report is optimistic to say the least. Time was when 
Delaware did more to advertise peach growing in the United 
States than any other region in the Union. Yellows and 
carelessness practically wiped out the industry. It has been 
gradually reviving itself of late years, but in the meantime 
other regions have come to the front and the states to the 
south hold the supremacy, although peaches are not now 
regarded as a crop peculiar to any one section. Texas and 
Connecticut, Georgia and New York, vie with New Jersey, 
Michigan and Deleware in filling the great market of the 
country.— Ed. 
DWARF VS. STANDARD PEAR TREES. 
On private estates, wffiere the question of superior quality 
is really the only serious factor to be considered in the pro¬ 
duction of fruit, we cannot see that there is any argument to 
be made in favor of the standard tree as against the dwarf 
or low head, says American Gardening. Speaking to an 
audience composed of those who were not concerned in com¬ 
mercial fruit growing, George T. Powell urged the planting of 
dwarf trees upon every consideration. He gave it as his 
opinion that the pear orchards of the entire Hudson valley 
from New York City up to Albany were absolutely ruined as 
a result of the continued attacks of the pear psylla, all of 
which could have been saved, if the trees had been low headed. 
Hitherto, there has been considerable difficulty in procur¬ 
ing low-headed fruit trees in quantity, but the nurseryman 
will ever make it his business to supply what is demanded. A 
welcome change is noticeable in the fact that the leading 
nursery firms are prepared to fill orders for dwarf trees, and 
it is reasonable to expect that within a few years the dwarf 
headed fruit tree will be the ordinary thing in all first class 
country places, and in all probability, in commercial orchards, 
in the east, as well. 
This strikes us as a very optimistic view of the situation. 
We are of the opinion that the day of the dwarf apple in 
America is a long way off.— Ed. 
STOLE A WHOLE ORCHARD. 
It is reported that at Lynnville, Penn., last month thieves 
made a wholesale raid and carried away all the young trees 
from an orchard on the farm of Etlar Davis, a well known 
farmer. Mr. Davis planted the orchard last spring and sus¬ 
tains considerable loss. No clue to the identity of the parties 
has been obtained. This is the second time that this kind 
of robbery has been perpetrated in that section. 
R. T. O. 
