THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
216 
low, Massachusetts; William Pitkin, New York; J. H. Skinner, 
Kansas. 
The annual report on transportation, by the standing com¬ 
mittee, was presented by N. W. Hale, as follows: 
Mr. President—Your committee on transportation begs to submit the 
following report: 
As a rule we find but little to say or recommend in reference to the 
transportation of nursery stock within the bounds of the United States. 
Until recently we have had a very poor and high classification of 
nursery stock throughout the South, but through the efforts of the 
committee appointed by the Southern Nurserymen’s Association we 
were able to get everything for w r hich we asked, when we appeared 
before the Southern classification committee, viz: Minimum car was 
reduced from 24,000 to 20,000 pounds, and by releasing nursery stock 
to the value of 3 cents per pound, we procured a reduction in freight 
running from 25 to 100 per cent, owing to the amount shipped. 
We recommended that the various Nurserymen’s Associations try 
and procure a uniform release rate on the shipment of nursery stock, 
either made it all 3 cents per pound or 5 cents per pound. 
We also recommended that an effort be made through Nurserymen’s 
Association covering all the territory to more definitely and plainly 
make known the items which we call nursery stock, in order to get the 
benefit of the classification given the transportation of such stock. 
We notice in many instances grape vines, seedlings, cuttings, roses, 
etc., are shipped at a much higher rate than other nursery stock, which 
should not be the case. However, the Eastern Nurserymen’s Associa¬ 
tion have taken this matter up with the railroads, and expect a favor¬ 
able adjustment of the same. 
In our judgment the greatest demand by the nurserymen of this 
country is that a more rapid and careful movement of nursery stock is 
needed, and we feel like suggesting that the nurserymen of the coun¬ 
try, especially the nurserymen’s associations take this matter up and 
demand rapid transportation of nursery stock. We find that owing to 
the very large heavy boxes, railroad hands are inclined to lay them 
aside at transfer points until the very last chance before transferring or 
moving them, and on this account shipments often are two weeks en 
route, when the same help and the same railroad should get such ship¬ 
ments through in one week or less time, and with the same work and 
expense, they can do all this, provided the railroads of our country 
knew it to be a uniform and urgent demand upon the part of the nur¬ 
serymen. In our opinion more losses come to the nurserymen from 
this one cause than all others combined, so far as transportation is con¬ 
cerned. 
We beg to say in this connection that we believe the railroads of 
this country are willing and anxious to concede every demand that is 
honorable and legitimate upon our part. We have found this to be the 
case by closely inquiring into the success of the varions nurserymen’s 
associations who have gone before transportation committees and asked 
for favors. Hence we fully believe that a full, uniform and plain 
statement of the urgent demand of the nurserymen of this country 
upon the railroads along this line, they will procure what they ask, 
Respectfully submitted. 
N. W. Hale, Chairman, Wm. Pitkin, 
Peter Youngers, A. L. Brooke. 
SHIPPING RATES; 
A. L. Brooke—“ There are some excellent suggestions in 
that report. I move that it be received and referred to the 
new committee on transportation.” Carried. 
President Smith — “In connection with the report, I will 
read the following question handed to me by T. C. Thurlow: 
‘ Would it not be economy for nurserymen to pay higher rates 
on perishable nursery stock ?’ ” 
In response to N. W. Hale’s query as to the point in the 
question, Mr. Thurlow said: 
“ We have been working to get rates on nursery stock down 
to a low point and have succeeded — they are about the same 
as those on grain. I believe that in the case of perishable 
stock we can get better results by paying a higher rate. I find 
jt so in Massachusetts. I ask for a special way bill—on the 
Boston and Maine railway it is a blue way bill, while the com* 
mon one is buff colored. When the railway employees along 
the line see that blue way bill they push along the stock; it 
goes by fast freight, and my stock is delivered within a week 
instead of dragging along the road for nearly two weeks. 
When I get valuable evergreens from the West I am willing to 
pay the extra rate, and my customers, in turn, never complain 
regarding the added cost of shipping.” 
Mr. Watrous—“ How much is the added cost?” 
Mr. Thurlow—“About one-third more.” 
TARIFF REPORT. 
Chairman Irving Rouse, of the committee on tariff, stated 
that he had no formal report. 
“You all know,” said he, “the trouble and loss occasioned 
by the decisions of the appraiser at the port of New York dur¬ 
ing the last two years. The result has been to send most goods 
through the port of New York and enter them at an inland 
port of entry. 
“ Information has come to your committee that another 
year the government proposes to make the figures at the New 
York port apply to all inland points. So it is highly necessary 
to take action; and it is probable that expense will be attached 
to such action. I would like to see the new committee on 
tariff authorized to spend whatever is necessary to carry the 
matter through.” 
REPORT ON LEGISLATION. 
The following report on legislation was presented by the 
chairman of the standing committee, C. L. Watrous: 
At our Chicago meeting last year there was some discussion over the 
amount of money spent by the committee on legislation. It was stated 
that the amount expended had been twelve hundred eighty-nine dol¬ 
lars and seventy-eight cents, which seemed a great deal of money; but 
further and more careful examination showed the amount to be only 
seven hundred nine dollars and seventy-two cents, as shown by the 
figures published in our last report. In the course of the discussion of 
the question whether it was needful to have a committee and spend 
money, the chairman of the committee made the following statements: 
“ Four years ago a committee of fruit growers and entomologists 
from various states met in Washington and drafted a bill which would 
have almost paralyzed the nursery trade of the United States—made 
by entomologists and made in the interests of the fruit growing inter¬ 
ests and entirely disregarding the nursery interests. We had that bill 
before this association in St. Louis and agreed that there was not one 
section of it that did not bear hardly upon our trade and we appointed 
this committee, not because we ourselves were anxious to secure legis¬ 
lation, but solely to protect our business, We have continued in the 
same work, not because we wanted to have a law, but because we 
needed to protect ourselves and must oppose any bill which would, if 
enacted into law, unfairly injure our business. The result of the dis¬ 
cussion was that the committee was continued with instructions from 
the president and executive committee to keep close watch of the 
movements in the National Congress but to be prudent to spend no 
money unnecessarily. In pursuance of such instructions the commit¬ 
tee began correspondence with the committees of agriculture of the 
House and Senate and kept close watch upon all movements likely to 
lead to a consideration of our bill which remained upon the calendar 
for the second session of the same Congress. As the session progressed 
it became more and more doubtful whether the bill could be considered 
because so much very important legislation was up for consideration 
and the time was short. 
“Finally, a letter came from Mr. Haugen, of the House committee 
on agriculture, saying that there was talk that the measure, amended to 
suit the Californians, would be offered in the Senate as a rider upon 
the agricultural appropriation bill. I immediately wrote to Mr. Wads¬ 
worth of the House and to Senators Proctor and Dolliver of the Senate 
committee on agriculture, asking to be informed by wire, at my 
expense, if any plan of that sort was contemplated and when the mat- 
