222 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
PROFESSOR BAILEY'S ADDRESS . 
The Question Asked and Answered : What Becomes of the Nursery 
Tree?—The Fact of the Loss—The Cause of the Loss—What 
Will the Nurseryman Do About It?—A Practical Subject 
Concisely Treated by Acknowledged Authority. 
Following is the address delivered by L. H. Bailey of Cor¬ 
nell University before the American association of Nursery¬ 
men at the convention at Niagara Falls last month: 
According to the eleventh census. 240,570,666 apple trees were grow¬ 
ing in the nurseries ot the United States in 1890. It is estimated that 
150,000,000 apple trees are now standing in orchards in the United 
Stales. 
I. THE FACT OF THE LOSS 
In other words, the number of trees standing in the nursery rows in 
any one year is nearly twice as great as the whole number owned by 
fruit growers. Moreover, the nursery trees represent the accumulations 
of but five years, whereas the orchard trees represent forty years or 
more. Or, the orchard trees' may be considered as representing eight 
generations of nursery trees. This means that about one in sixteen of 
the apple trees grown by nurserymen find their way into permanent 
orchard plantations. It is safe to assume that not more than one in five 
of the trees actually planted in orchards ever return their owners either 
profit or satisfaction. A full crop of apples in the United States is 
about 100,000,000 barrels, or two-thirds of a barrel to a tree ; and this 
crop occurs not oftener than once in five years. It is probable that not 
more than one in a hundred of the apple trees grown by the nursery* 
men ever produce the final result for which he grows them ; and this 
disproportion is probably greater in other fruits than in the apple, 
since the apple is one of the easiest fruits to grow. 
In Kansas in the census year, there were about 27,000,000 apple 
trees growing in the nurseries, yet ten years later there were less than 
12 ,000.000 apple trees growing in orchards in that state ; and yet 
Kansas does not ship an unusual proportion of her apple trees outside 
the state. 
This remarkable loss is not peculiar to the nursery business. On 
another occasion (“Survival of the Unlike,” Essay 1) I made an 
estimate of the loss in seeds. In 1890, according to the census, enough 
cabbage seeds were grown in this country to raise 1.014,400 acres of 
cabbages, yet the acreage of cabbages was approximately only 806,376 
acres, being 706 024 acres less than the area which the seed would 
supply. The tomato seed grown in that year was sufficient to afford 
plants for 1,473.920 acres, yet only 91,802 acres seem to have been 
raised, leaving seeds sufficient to stock 1,362,713 acres. 
Great as these losses are. they are small as compared with those that 
normally occur in nature. We like to think of the forces of nature as 
working with economy and exactness, yet the fact is that nature’s 
methods, as measured by human ideals, are wanton and wasteful. The 
robin that last year built her nest on my porch, reared five fledge¬ 
lings. If only two were females, this year the progeny should be ten • 
if half were females, next year the progeny should be fifty ; in ten 
years the progeny of the females would be more than 30,000, not 
counting all the males and saying nothing about the birds that live 
from year to year. If any single pair could gather all its progeny at 
the end of ten years, it should have a family of about 50,000 ; yet I 
doubt if all the robins from here to Rochester are as many as that. 
Not one in ten thousand of the seeds of elm trees ever produce trees. 
Not one in twenty of the blossoms on an apple tree ever set fruit- 
Very few of the buds and branches in a tree top persist long. Not one 
one hundreth of the fish eggs ever produce mature fishes, else the 
rivers would be so full that they could not flow, and the lakes would 
be stiff. All this represents loss when considered with reference to 
specific means working towards specific ends ; but in the long run, 
nature knows no loss, for all things return to her bosom to be worked 
over again. She uses all her wastes. 
II. THE CAUSE OF THE LOSS. 
You are now asking why the loss of nursery trees occurs. It is 
plainly not the fault of the nurseryman, for his plants are capable of 
growing, else they will not sell. A small percentage of the loss is due 
to the inability of the nurserymen to find market for all that he raises. 
Most of the loss occurs after the stock leaves the nurserymen’s hands. 
(1.) Lack of definite ideals on the part of the buyer. The man who 
has no definite purpose in view when he sets his plantation, is likely 
to set more trees than he needs, or to set the wrong kinds ; then neglect 
follows. Neglect always means loss. There is great contrast between 
the nurseryman and the fruit-grower in the care that is given the trees. 
With the nurseryman, every tree is an item in his inventory. It is an 
entity. Every tree is worth a definite sum. With the planter, the 
case is different. The trees are distinct and individual items when 
they are planted, but soon thereafter they lose their identity in the 
orchard. Too often the fruit-grower thinks of his orchard with trees 
in it, rather than of his trees in the orchard. That is, he loses track of 
each individual tree and thereby he cannot give it the special care and 
attention that it may need. It is probably not too much to say that 
nine-tenths of all tree plantings are neglected. With all our modern 
teaching, we have probably not rescued from neglect more than one- 
tenth of the tree plantings of New York State. We are still in need of 
the teacher. 
Cheapness of trees is perhaps a factor in their loss. Cheap trees tend 
to stimulate overplanting. The planter buys more trees than he needs, 
and then neglects results. High priced trees, within reasonable limits, 
mean better trees, better care, and better fruit-growing. With trees of 
high enough price to afford the nurseryman a fair living, the planter 
may buy less, but he is likely to make the trees produce more. 
The influence of the large planters has been disastrous to many 
persons who are not fitted to care for a large and complicated business. 
Only few people can plant very large orchards and make them yield a 
profit. Few of us are generals. Few men have motive power ; most 
men are trailers. I still believe that nine-tenths of those who grow 
fruit must plant on a modest scale. Those who succeed in a large area 
are, I believe, the few, rather than the many. 
(2.) Inability to market the produce is a cause of a loss of trees 
because neglect follows. Note the let-down after one failure to market 
a crop. Few people have definite commercial ideals when they plant a 
commercial orchard. One should begin to market the produce when 
the tree is set. He should know what he wants to do with it. It 
is no unusual thing for a fruit-grower to discover a crop of fruit 
some years after he has planted an orchard, and not to know what to 
do with it. Having no grasp on the situation the fruit brings no com¬ 
mercial retnrn, discouragement results, and the plantation goes into 
decline. 
(3.) There are specific difficulties that cause the loss of trees, such as 
droughts and cold winters, and the depredations of insects and dis¬ 
eases. Any or all of these things may be serious, but they are incidents 
and they do not defeat the man who has the ability and the determina¬ 
tion to succeed. It is not to be expected that all men will succeed in 
fruit-growing or other lines of horticulture any more than in manu¬ 
facturing or other business. The horticulturist has definite and serious 
problems to confront. All horticulturists run a gauntlet, and the San 
Jose scale takes the hindermost. 
III. WHAT WILL THE NURSERYMAN DO ABOUT IT ? 
If there are so many losses, what will the nurseryman do about it ? 
First of all he will accept the situation. There is no use of kicking 
against a fact. 
In the second place, the maintenance of the nurseryman’s business 
depends in large measure on this perennial loss of stock. It may be 
thought that this represents loss of effort, but it is not so. Effort is its 
own reward. It is worth while to grow a good tree just for the sake 
of growing it,—and of getting tliejnoney for it. It is worth the while 
to plant a tree just for the sake of planting it. I like the retort of the 
old man who was told that he was planting for posterity. “ I am 
planting for myself,” he replied, “ for I am having the fun of planting.” 
My father, at eighty-one, is still planting trees, and he enjoys it. 
Always are we hoping for happiness and thereby do we fail to find it. 
The planting of trees is an educational process. It betters the com. 
munity. When trees begin to be planted, fences are repaired and 
buildings are painted. It is too much to expect definite success from 
every effort in any undertaking. If one tree in a hundred comes to 
full fruition, it is worth while to have planted the ninety and nine. 
