THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
131 
THE NURSERY TREE A CROP. 
Continued from page 130 
MISSOURI.—AN INTERESTING CONTRIBUTION. 
Ans. 1—Our experience is that a crop of nursery stock, in fact we 
may say several crops of nursery stock, will not exhaust land to such 
an extent as almost any other farm crop. The crop of nursery stock 
is a rest in a way and a benefit to land for any and all farm crops. The 
ground is shaded. Foliage remains upon the land, the roots penetrate 
the earth and in digging, many of the rootlets are left which decay 
and which improve drainage. The nurseryman’s preparation of the 
land is deep plowing sub-soiling and a thorough system of clean cult ure. 
This rids the land of insects and weed seeds, making it almost like virgin 
new ground. We have observed that nursery lands have produced 
the heaviest crops of wheat, oats, corn and hay here that have ever 
been grown. Similar land on adjoining farms has been a failure in 
wheat when wheat on the nursery land has been an ideal crop. 
In dry years as well as wet years, we have seen magnificent 
corn crops grown. One year of great drought, one corn field following 
nursery stock, produced a splendid crop, the corn was of a most luxur¬ 
iant growth, when the adjoining fields were yellowing and drying up. 
The contrast was so great that even the farmers were convinced that 
nursery stock does not ruin land as they had been talking. The 
improvement is marked, not only in the first crop but other crops 
following. We used one field for a crop, which a near-by neighbor stated 
had never produced a good crop before, but after the tree crops it pro¬ 
duced splendid crops of oats, etc. Lands we have used here off and 
on for years are to-day in a higher state of fertility than any adjacent 
lands and will produce heavier farm crops. 
Ans. 2—Yes. We also know of some splendid orchards being grown 
after nursery cropped land. 
Ans. 3—Cow peas and Crimson Clover can be used as a cover crop, 
but with clover there is some danger of attracting field mice; further 
north, oats make a very good crop as a winter protection. 
Ans. 4—-This is a question in which fairness is too seldom a consider¬ 
ation. It is one also in which supply and demand figure. For years 
the rental values in the vicinity of Louisiana, Mo., and Rock port, Ill., have 
ranged from $8 to $10 per acre, sometimes more, occasionally less. 
The cost usually being too high as compared to value and about double 
the price charged when rented for farm crop. Land rentals in Dans- 
ville have been running $15 to $20 per acre and higher, so that we 
found it economy to buy rather than lease. In the grape belt Port¬ 
land, N. Y., where grape vine land is rather scarce and valuable, 
land rents for $20 and $22 per acre. Occasionally more, sometimes 
little less. In our Arkansas planting they are leasing some land 
at $4.00 per acre. Such land is worth $40.00 to $50.00 per acre. 
We do considerable leasing so as to always have plenty of 
fresh land for apple as we never care to grow more than one crop of 
apple on the same land. Generally speaking nurserymen are over¬ 
charged on land rents,—50 to 100 per cent, higher than some land 
will bring for any farm crop; therefore, we have found it a good in¬ 
vestment and a saving to own most of our land. 
To arrive at a fair rental price one should take the value of the land 
into consideration, in order to net the owner a good fair per cent, on the 
investment, or make such crops as the land had been producing a con¬ 
sideration for an average period; and when so considered the average 
nurseryman will pay 50 to 100 per cent, less than he is now paying. 
We offered a farmer $8.00 per acre for a large field and instead he 
sowed the land to wheat and the gross crop will not bring him near the 
money we offered. Some years he may do better. We remember 
using a piece of land for a crop of apple trees and during the lease, part 
of the same field remained in clover. In the several crops following, 
th tree land out-yielded the clover land. Another large field was used 
for two crops of nursery stock and while it had never produced as much 
wheat as the adjoining farms, yet the crop of wheat'following the trees 
out-yielded by far any farm in the neighborhood a contrast which 
was so great that it attracted general attention. And the thrashing 
machine man reported it as the banner crop of the county. 
Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co., Louisiana, Mo. 
NOTES ON FOREIGN EXCHANGES. 
By R. S. Northup. 
An editorial in the Gardener’s Chronicle of July 16 calls attention 
to the recent reprint in facsimile anil thp republication of John Park¬ 
inson’s celebrated work, by Messrs. Methuen & Co. Our debt to him 
as a herbalist and one of the earliest lovers of hardy flowers who left 
us a record of what they grew, is emphasized. 
I his excellent reprint deserves all praise and will enable many, 
who could not expect to secure in original copy, to add this fine old 
book to their libraries. The publishers are to be congratulated in 
having placed the classical old work before many modem readers 
interested in hardy flowers and the history of gardening in England. 
The Temple Rose Show.—The National Rose Society just held 
one of the most successful rose shows in the history of the organiza¬ 
tion. Taking one class with another the quality of the roses as to size, 
texture, color and luminosity, was superb. If we had to pick out the 
best roses in the show, we should select Mildred Grant, Kaiserin Aug¬ 
usta Victoria, Frou Karl Druschki, White Maman Crochet and Sus- 
anne Rodocanachi. 
It is seldom that the National Rose Society awards two gold medals 
to new varieties exhibited at the Metropolitan Exhibition, but at 
this exhibition the varieties “Dean Hole” and “Mrs. O. G. Orpet” 
were thus distinguished. 
Gardeners’ Chronicle, July 9, 1904. 
Gardening Illustrated, June 6, publishes an illustration and description 
of the new clematis, Nellie Moser, belonging to the patens section. The 
ground color is white, but this is flushed with pink and down the center 
of each petal is a broad bar of deep carmine, making it very effective. 
A new double flowered lilac, Belle de Nancy, is pictured and favor¬ 
ably commented upon in Gardening Illustrated of July 16. Many of 
the newer double flowered lilacs are remarkable for their large massive 
clusters and the size of the individual flowers. The latter feature is 
particularly noticeable in the above named variety. 
Plums as Bushes.—The growing of plums as bushes is recommended 
by Alger Petts in The Garden .July 16, as one of the most satisfactory 
methods of culture. The advantages claimed for this method are, that 
the fruit is not blown off by the wind, insect pests are easily held in check, 
protection from frost more easily given, a crop can be reckoned upon 
each year, they are easily pruned insuring a finer quality and in small 
gardens, four bushes can take the place of one tree thus giving a suc¬ 
cession. In addition to these advantages, some varieties make really 
handsome shrubs for the lawn or border and might thus be utilized 
to replace many shrubs of little or ordinary beauty. 
Full directions for treatment and varieties are included in the ar¬ 
ticle. 
The Gardeners’ Chronicle for July 23 gives an illustration and des¬ 
cription of the new strawberry “Alake,” exhibited by Messrs Jas. 
Veitch and Sons at the Royal Horticultural Societies’ meeting on 
June 28. The variety was raised from a cross between Frogmore, 
Late Pine and Veitch’s Perfection and was recommended for an award 
of merit by the fruit and vegetable committee. The fruits are very 
large and are frequently very irregular in outline, possess rich flavor 
and color and the variety is a prodigious cropper. 
The Gardeners’ Magazine for July 16, contains an interesting article 
on some of the new seedling strawberries bred by Laxton Brothers. 
Illustrations and descriptions of the leading varieties are gi\en and 
it is evident that the Laxtons are doing some good work with the small 
fruits. 
The Cinematograph and Plants.—At a meeting of The Royal So¬ 
ciety July 22, Mrs. D. H. Scott had an exhibit of plants, showing 
their movements by means of the cinematograph. Under the eyes 
the buds seemed to swell and develop into perfect flowers, straight¬ 
ening on the stalk. With nightfall many of them closed as if in the 
act of going to sleep for the night and this phenomenon in its various 
stages was shown. 
The Gardening World, July 2, 1904. 
