^The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyright, 1900, by the National Nurseryman Publishing Co. 
“ The nurseryman must do the think ng for the great mass of planters.”— Prof, N. E Hansen. 
Vol. IX. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y., JANUARY, 1901. 
No. 1. 
PATRONS OF NURSERYMEN. 
Brief Resume of Proceedings of State Horticultural Societies — 
Nurserymen Prominent in the Councils of the Orthardlsts — 
Wide Range of Subjects In a Correspondingly Wide 
Range of Territory—From Vermont to Cali¬ 
fornia and from Minnesota to Maryland. 
Central Illinois— Twenty-eighth annual meeting, at Canton, last 
month. George J. Foster, Evanston, discussed the relation of the hor¬ 
ticulturist to the nurseryman. The nurseryman must live in thought 
and deed at least five years in advance of the fruit grower. He is 
always on the lookout for improvement and develops new varieties. 
The nurserymen have done more for the horticultural interests of Illi¬ 
nois than all others put together. They conducted experiment stations 
20 years ago and made it possible for the public to have such stations 
now at the state’s expense. A more cordial feeling should exist be¬ 
tween the fruit grower and the nurseryman. They are brothers in a 
common cause and each needs the others aid. While the planter will 
usually find it very much to his profit and satisfaction to buy his stock 
direct from some reliable nurseryman, yet the tree peddler, in spite of 
his shortcomings, is not all bad. He has, by means of his smooth 
tongue and colored plates, induced many farmers to beautify and enrich 
their homes by the planting of trees. 
Virginia State —At Roanoke. Nov. 20-21. President Wood said 
that there is no region where choice winter apples may be grown more 
cheaply or in greater perfection than in the Piedmont and mountain 
sectuns. Peaches, pears, cherries, grapes and berries are excellent in 
quality and abundant wherever reasonable effort is made. Even the fig 
and pomegranate are found in the most sheltered places. The great 
markets of the world are about as near to Virginia as to any other state. 
Richmond is about the same distance from New York as Buffalo and 
Rochester, and the transportation facilities good on both rail and water. 
Wesley Webb discussing peach-growing on the Delaware and Chesa¬ 
peake Peninsula said that while orchards of native and seedling peaches 
flourished in the state 200 years ago, the budded varieties were intro¬ 
duced in 1832, by Clement Reeve, who moved to Delaware City, Del., 
from New Jersey. Peach yellows was brought with these trees and 
destroyed the first orchards in the course of twelve years. The business 
extended until in 1875 it reached its height, more than six million 
f-bushel baskets being shipped in that year. As many as 35 carloads 
were shipped daily from Middleton, Del. But the yellows has so 
devastated the region that very little is now done in peach growing 
north of Dover. South of that point there is little yellows, owing to 
more vigorous measures in burning the diseased trees. 
The orchards of the Diamond Orchard Company at Salem, seven 
miles from Roanoke, consisting of 22,000 apple trees and an equal 
number of peach trees, covering 450 acres, were visited. This land is 
about 1400 feet above sea level, and the tract has been purchased, 
cleaned, planted and cared for to date at a cost of $50,000. The trees 
were set three years ago. 
The San Jose scale has been found in 88 new places this year, and is 
now known to exist in 406 places in 45 counties. To make up these 
406 cases, every lot or garden, as well as every farm, is counted as a 
separate case. 
Minnesota State— At Minneapolis, Dec. 4-7. Charles G. Patten. 
Charles City, la., discussing “Propagation of New Varieties of Tree 
Fruits from Seed,” showed that the horticulturist has peculiar difficult¬ 
ies in propagating new varieties of tree fruits, but he considered that 
new varieties could be produced only by selecting parent plants that 
are distinct variations. This is but a practical application of the prin¬ 
ciple set forth by Darwin and others regarding the origin of the species. 
The paper was discussed at some length by C. L. Watrous of Des 
Moines, la., who urged that members of the association do everything 
possible to lead common fruit growers to take up the work where it is 
left by the specialists. 
J. T. Grimes, of Minneapolis, protested against the action of the 
society a few years ago in condemning the cultivation of the Trans¬ 
cendent apple. The movement against this variety of apple, he said, 
originated among unscrupulous nurserymen who wished to see a hardy 
and marketable apple supplanted by more tender varieties which would 
help them to fill their coffers. He called attention to the large number 
of fruit raisers who had cut down their trees and now regretted their 
action. 
Iowa State —At Des Moines, Dec. 11-13. President C. F Gardner, 
Osage, in his annual address, referring to the society’s experimental 
woik, said: “ We know that Iowa has in stock rich resources for the 
future that if rightly handled would cause a revolution in fruit grow¬ 
ing. It is the aim and object of this society so to develop these resources 
by cross-fertilization and the judicious selection of varieties that we 
may be able to say that we have a group of fruits originating here that 
are all our own.” Professor Summers, of Ames College, read a paper 
on the nature of the San Jose scale. It seems like a paradox to speak 
of the value of the insect. But Professor Summers believes that the 
presence of the pest does good, just as the potato bug did, in arousing 
investigation to devise means to combat the insect pests—both classes, 
those that eat and those that suck—and in inducing cleaner nursery 
stock in and out of the state. The scale will succumb to science just 
as the potato beetle did. 
C. L. Watrous, Des Moines, believed that he observed during 1900 
many reasons for abandoning the plum Americanus. It suffered from 
dry rot. He told picturesquely and with interest and value to the soc¬ 
iety of a visit to a Nebraska horticulturist who is making crosses in 
fruits by the thousands, who maintains his secret for marketable pur¬ 
poses, and whose fruit should be patronized by the state society. The 
nursery of this gentleman was visited by Mr. Watrous and Prof. Craig, 
of Ames, together, and the visit was very enjoyable and profitable. 
President M. J. Wragg, of Waukee, vigorously defended the Iowa 
plum. No better exists. He does not except Japanese, Russian or 
others. He believes the Iowa plum stands second in the fruit list, sec¬ 
ond only to the apple. Mr. Wragg gave some valuable pointers to 
plum growers. 
Ohio State— At Troy, Dec. 5-7. The report of the meeting, in the 
Country Gentleman, is introduced with the following pertinent re¬ 
marks: “ Troy is a large nursery center, the region disputing with 
Bloomington, Ill., the honor of being the second largest nursery point 
in the country—Roches'er, N. Y. being first. As the society is con¬ 
trolled by the nursery interests, it was supposed that the tree-growers 
and sellers would tumble over themselves in the attempt to make the 
meeting a glorious record-breaker; but this was not the case. The at¬ 
tendance was largely from a distance, the local attendance at no session 
reaching beyond 100. Outside the small exhibit of a Troy florist (ent¬ 
ered for premiums), not a plant was brought by the local horticultural 
society; not a spray of evergreen or even a paper flower was to be seen 
in the way of a decoration. The time will come when things will be 
different and a gathering of leading horticulturists will demand some¬ 
thing more in the way of welcome than the erection of half a dozen 
bare tables. I am not finding fault with the Miami Valley horticultur. 
ists especially, as they have but followed precedent long established. 
But a few loads of evergreens, a few bushels of artificial flowers, a few 
dollars’ worth of genuine flowers and a couple of days’ work by a dozen 
