the national nurseryman. 
179 
Ifn IRurserip IRows. 
Notes on Plums. —A Kansas Experiment Station bulletin says: 
The conclusion by the Kansas Experiment Station from their observa¬ 
tion on the Japanese plum is that they rank with the peach in hardi¬ 
ness. They bead the list for table and market qualities. Their habit 
of early blooming makes the crop uncertain. Burbank is. perhaps, 
hardier than Abundance, and they are nearly equal in quality. Ogon 
is hardier than either, but not nearly so good in quality of fruit. 
Sequoia Gigantea. —Inquiries often come to nurserymen for the 
mammoth tree, Sequoia gigantea, and as these requests are usually 
fruitless, it has led to the common belief that this beautiful tree 
is not hardy here, says Joseph Meehan, Germantown, Pa , in 
Florists’ Exchange. This supposition is incorrect. At least, speaking 
for this vicinity, Eastern Pennsylvania, and also for Rochester, N. Y., 
it is perfectly hardy. The trouble has not been from lack of being 
able to stand the climate in winter, but a fungus attacks the lower 
branches of the tree, destroying them, and leaving but a tuft of green 
branches at the tops. At least, this has been our difficulty. Occasion¬ 
ally a tree would be exempt from it and would flourish, such as one, a 
notable sxception, on the battle ground of Germantown. This rare 
and gigantic growing evergreen would be planted on all fair sized 
estates, were it known that it is but a question of spraying and not of 
hardiness. It has the reputation of being rather difficult to transplant, 
but there have been so few attempts at cultivation on account of the 
difficulty of obtaining the trees, that there can be but little practical 
knowledge bn the subject in the East. All the California nurseries 
keep this sequoia, and a few plants procured and grown in pots, so as 
to insure their transplanting in safety, would doubtless find a ready 
sale. 
Buffalo Berry. —C. S. Harrison, Nebraska, says in the Orange 
Judd Farmer: This attractive shrub belongs to the olive family. It 
blossoms early, has a foliage of satiny silver and besides bears enormous 
crops of fruit fully equal to the currant. It is sometimes called the 
winter currant, as the berries often remain on the bushes until January. 
The shrubs are of two sexes, consequently should be planted in clumps 
or hedges, so that all the blossoms will be properly fertilized. They 
grow freely along the Missouri river, and are doing well in the valleys 
of such rivers as the Platte and Republican. They are often seen on 
the high bluffs. They flourish in the dry West and mature beyond the 
100 th meridian. Where the common currant fails because of lack of 
moisture they frequently succeed. The blossoms and fruit of this 
handsome plant make it very attractive. It is suitable for decorative 
purposes about the home, and as it is very thorny, it can be used for 
fences. I have seen it more than 12 feet high, growing in its wild 
state, but when cultivated it is usually only 6 to 8 feet high. When 
the fruit is wanted the plant should not be trimmed too severely. This 
is one of the shrubs that is frequently overlooked, in spite of the fact 
that it is much more valuable than many which have been introduced. 
I am preparing to test this plant on a large scale and I am gathering 
the seed from an island in the Platte river, where the shrubs grow wild. 
J. Blaauw, Boskoop, Holland, sailed for New York on March 21 st. 
The California Cured Fruit Association, it is reported, has entered 
into a contract with a St. Louis advertising agency, by which, at an 
expenditure of $ 100 , 000 , the surplus prune stock of California is to be 
advertised throughout the country. 
P. J. Berckmans, Sr., who has a summer home at Upper Montclair 
N. J., is not a permanent resident there. He mostly spends the sum’ 
mer months in New Jersey, and is still a citizen of Augusta, Ga. 
PRICE NOTHING COMPARED WITH YALTJE. 
Michigan Central Nurseries, C. A. Maxson, Mgr.— “Enclosed 
please find New York draft for $ 1.00 in payment of our renewal for 
the coming year. It is a pleasure to us to make this remittance, and 
we say that in our opinion, no nurseryman or any one dealing in nur¬ 
sery stock, can afford to be without a monthly copy of your excellent 
journal. Indeed, we are frank to say that were the price considerably 
higher we should just as cheerfully renew our subscription, as the 
amount paid is practically nothing compared with the value received.” 
NEEDS OF FRUIT INDUSTRY. 
G. b. Powell, New York, says in American Agriculturist : 
The great bulk of our fruit is sold on the same old plan of 40 years 
ago, which would bankrupt any other trade or industry that carried on 
business in the same manner. Cereals and other foods are placed before 
consumers with a full description of their preparation, uses, value, etc., 
and their consumption has increased manyfold as a result. 
This principle could be applied to the green, evaporated and canned 
fruit trade with great advantage. In shipping the choicest apples like 
the Esopus Spitzenburg, for illustration, the grower or packer can paste 
on each package a printed description of the variety as follows: “ This 
variety, the Spitzenburg, represents one of the best of all apples Is 
rich in flavor, crisp and juicy, very fine for stewing, none better for 
baking or for pies and dumplings, while for dessert it ranks among the 
best. The free use of fruit aids digestion and promotes health.” 
CHASE NURSERY COMPANY. 
In a general article upon Riverside, Cal., the Riverside 
Daily Press says : 
One of the most potent factors in the growth and develop¬ 
ment of Riverside into the most famous orange growing dis¬ 
trict in the world is the Chase Nursery Company. The com¬ 
pany is composed of E. A. Chase and his sons, Frank, F. H. B. 
and Martin Chase. Mr. Chase and his family came to River¬ 
side about ten years ago, bringing with him a thorough 
knowledge of the nursery business, and immediately upon their 
arrival they established an extensive nursery at Riverside, 
with results that have been gratifying to themselves and to the 
valley. 
The Chase Nursery Company does business on a large scale. 
They are independent of the general market, because they 
make their own market. Realizing the special value of foot, 
hill over valley lands for orange growing, the company has 
invested largely in lands that lie along the hills north and east 
of Highgrove, and southwest of Victoria hill, near Pachappa 
mountain. This land, consisting of several hundred acres, has 
furnished and is furnishing a market for many thousands of 
trees, all of which the company itself supplies. Last season 
there were sold to outside parties 60,000 navel orange trees 
2 5 > 000 g°i n g to the Trust company alone. This season the 
company will plant 60,000 trees on its own lands, and will 
have 40,000 to sell, most of which have already been con¬ 
tracted for. The price of these trees is one dollar each. 
Lying just below the Hermosa tract are ninety acres of 
navels and thirty of Valencias, all of which have been planted 
and sold by the Chase Nursery Company. The average price 
received was $450 per acre for what was sold immediately 
after planting. One year later most of this land was sold for 
$700 an acre. The company has no more land for sale in this 
section at present. 
The company has about 600 acres of land, almost half of 
which is in nursery stock. An industry of large proportions 
in which they are engaged, is the raising of rose bushes for the 
market. The company has five hot-houses in which the plants 
are grown after being taken from the seed beds. Six acres of 
land are required to mature the slips, which must have new 
land every two years. This necessity makes the raising of 
roses in Riverside, where land is so valuable, an expensive 
luxury. E. A. Chase is President of the Alabama Nursery 
Company of Huntsville, Alabama, to which most of the roses 
are shipped. The company will ship this season 200,000 slips 
or two carloads. 
