76 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
STATE OF ARKANSAS. 
Report of Nursery Prospects by G. A. Gamble, State Vice-Presi¬ 
dent—Nurseries Have Doubled Their Plants—Excellent 
Stand of Grafts Obtained—Flattering Prospects 
In Apple and Peach Orchards—How Fruit 
Trees Increase Farm Values. 
Fort Smith, Ark., May 17 —Most of the nurseries in North 
Arkansas have about doubled their plants this spring. The 
season has been fine and as far as we have observed or been 
able to ascertain an excellent stand of grafts has been obtained, 
many reporting one hundred per cent. 
The prospect continues very flattering in the apple and 
peach orchards. The Elberta peach crop will not be as heavy 
as that of last season, but there will be several hundred car¬ 
loads to ship from this state. 
We have established a business at Oklahoma City, having 
purchased the plant of W. R. Caldwell, proprietor of the 
Oklahoma Nursery. Hereafter the firm name will be The 
Gamble Wholesale Nurseries. 
The past season furnishes one of the strongest object lessons 
ever presented to the farmer and fruit raiser. The drought in 
North Arkansas and Southern Missouri practically ruined all 
farm crops except orchard products. Thousands Of farmers 
who were entirely dependent on grain crops and were rendered 
destitute and were forced to resort to day labor in order to 
support their families. Those who had orchards were able to 
meet their obligations and had larger bank accounts at the 
end of the year than usual. Now, the man without an orchard 
can look back over the past and see where he slighted many 
opportunities. 
There are few sections of the United States so highly 
favored for growing fruit, especially “ the big red apple, ” as 
North Arkansas. The opportunities are so tempting, yea, I 
will say so alluring that business men and professional men of 
all classes are neglecting their chosen occupations and are 
putting out large commercial orchards. 
Every loyal citizen who is interested in the advancement 
and development of the country should realize that he is 
responsible to a certain extent, for the social and commercial 
condition of his locality and if it is not up to the standard, 
and should outsiders criticise, he should never murmur. The 
opportunities and possibilities open to each citizen in this 
favored land are so great that there is left absolutely no ex¬ 
cuse, and to complain is to cast reflection upon one’s own 
ability to appropriate the vast wealth of unclaimed blessings 
that are ours for the taking. 
G. A. Gamble, 
State Vice-President American Association. 
INDIANA CONDITIONS. 
Vincennes, Ind., May 19 —The past season has been the 
best in volume of trade and the most satisfactory in prices in 
general way that we have had for ten years. While some 
items were not as high as they should have been considering 
the shortage in supply, the average was good. I do not think 
there was as much stock planted this spring as last in the state. 
1 do not know of any new firms starting up the past season 
and do not think there are any that have quit. The stand of 
buds seems to be very good and I never have known them to 
start off as well as this spring. It is very dry and unless we 
get rain soon it will be very hard on the grafts. They are 
looking well at present. 
I think the supply of apple will be shorter than usual for 
fall, but as for myself have rather more than usual. I see no 
reason why the business should not continue to be good for 
some time to come, as all stock that was large enough has been 
cleaned up very close. 
I would like to see a more general discussion in the conven¬ 
tion as to methods of growing, cultivating, etc. 
W. G. Reed, 
State Vice-President American Association. 
MAYOR ORLANDO HARRISON. 
Orlando Harrison, of the firm of J. G. Harrison & Sons, 
Berlin, Md., has been re-elected mayor of that town. This is 
his second term. His first administration was so satisfactory 
that there was a general desire to keep him in the office. He 
had never held political office before, having several times 
refused to allow his name to be placed upon a ticket. 
Mayor.Harrison takes an active interest in all that goes to 
improve his town. He is vice-president of the Exchange 
Savings Bank and director in the Berlin Building and Loan 
Association. He is a member of several fraternal organiza¬ 
tions and is in close touch with the Methodist Episcopal 
church. The firm has nine farms near the town devoted to 
the growing of nursery stock under Mr. Harrison’s direction. 
jforeion IRotes. 
A large number of trees will be planted as mementoes of the corona¬ 
tion of King Edward VII. 
At the Royal Horticultural Society meeting in London on May 6th, 
John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill Nurseries, London, S. E., exhibited 
some hardy rhododendrons in pots, also Pieris (Andromeda) speciosa, 
with much larger flowers than P. floribunda, several clematis, etc. 
Among the rhododendrons were Rosamund, bright rose colored, and 
Catawbiense, lilac colored. John Waterer & Son, Ltd., American Nur¬ 
series, Bagshot, Surrey, showed a prettily arranged group of Japanese 
maples as bushes and low standards, set off with Ghent azaleas, hardy 
rhododendrons; the plants being thrifty and well grown. They received 
the silver flora medal. 
Fruit in the Transvaal.— Beginning with cherries early in 
November, we next have superb apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, 
grapes, figs, apples, pears and quinces, says R. W. Adam, curator, at 
Joubert Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, in Gardner’s Chronicle. 
And from Barberton, on the way to Delagoa Bay, come very good 
pine-apples, bananas, mangos, oranges and guaves. Thisjseason Japan 
plums have appeared on the market in quantity for the first time, and 
the more we see of this class of fruit the better they impress us ; Sat- 
suma, Kelsey, Boton, Oton, Burbank, we have fruited them all. The 
crop of Green-Gage plums is a very good one this year; so also is 
Standard of England plum, Damsons, and Agen, French or Californian 
prune. The peach stock is the best for nearly all plums in our light 
soils. This is pre-eminently the country for the peach, for it is the only 
introduced fruit which springs up self-sown, therefore we may assume 
that it is perfectly at home here. The varieties grown are European, 
American and selected seedlings raised locally. The price of fruit in 
the shops is still much too high. Two shillings a dozen for peaches 
and sixpence each for Bon Chretien pears seems exorbitant. Alto¬ 
gether, the prospects for fruit-growing in the Transvaal are very 
promising. 
