THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
27 
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS 
At meeting of Western Association of Nurserymen, held at the 
Coates House, Kansas City, Mo., December nth and 12th, 1912. 
As this is our twenty-third anniversary, a short history 
of our Assoeiation might be of interest to our members. 
A movement was started to form the Western Associa¬ 
tion of Nurserymen in 1890. The organization was com¬ 
pleted at the meeting held January 6th, 1891, at Kansas 
City, Missouri. H. T. Kelsey was elected president, R. H. 
Blair, vice-president, and Frank Worcester, Ft. Scott, 
Kansas, secretary and trea.surer. Col. Pearsall was elected 
secretary and treasurer at the Topeka meeting in January 
1892, and served in this capacity until 1900, after which our 
present worthy secretary has served for a period of twelve 
years. 
Membership at the time of Kansas City meeting, as shown 
by Secretary’s minutes, at meeting held Ju^y 14th, 1891, 
was as follows: Hart Pioneer Nurseries, Kelsey & Co., 
A. C. Griesa & Bro., D. S. Lake, J. A. Bayless, Blair & Kauf¬ 
man, G. J. Carpenter Co., Taylor Bros., Omaha, Nebraska, 
Youngers & Co., Blair & Tippie, Bush Son & Meissner, 
Lewis Williams, A. H. Griesa, John Mentch, William Cut¬ 
ter & Son, L. R. Taylor of the firm of Taylor, Peter & Skin¬ 
ner, became members at this meeting, making the sixteenth 
firm represented. At the present time, we have sixty-three 
firms represented, a good, healthy growth. 
Our presidents have been as follows: H. T. Kelsey, 
elected in 1891, continuing as president until the time of 
his death in 1895; D. S. Lake succeeding him, being elected 
December 17th, 1895, followed by A. L. Brooke, elected at 
the summer meeting 1896, serving until 1903; followed by 
F. H. Stannard, Peter Youngers, A. Willis, E. P. Bernardin, 
J. H. Skinner, and George A. Marshall. 
There are but few of the charter members left, although 
many of the same firms are represented by their successors. 
Twenty years brings many changes. During this period, 
death has invaded our ranks and removed a number of our 
most faithful members. I think that the good accomplished 
by the organization fully justifies the wisdom of its organizers, 
and that it has a greater opportunity for future work. 
You are all familiar with the action of this Association 
at our last meeting with reference to a federal law, govern¬ 
ing important shipments, and the able efforts of our legisla¬ 
tive committee, composed of W. P. Stark and Prof. S. J. 
Hunter, towards securing the enactment by Congress of a 
federal inspection and quarantine law. There are, of course, 
differences of opinion among nurserymen throughout the 
United States, as to the wisdom of our action; but I believe 
the law will be wisely and sanely administered by the Federal 
Horticultural Board, and that good results will follow its 
administration. The nurserymen should co-operate with 
the inspectors in securing thorough inspection of all import 
stock, at destination, and in keeping their own premises 
free from dangerous insects and disease. 
There will be many state legislatures in session during 
the ensuing winter, and no doubt, many new laws will be 
proposed. Our members in the various states should take 
an active interest in all legislation, working to secure uniform 
state laws, and against the enactment of laws that will 
prevent the free movement of nursery products between the 
various states. 
In some states, the inspection laws do not protect the 
nurseryman’s premises from infectious diseases that spread 
from neglected orchard trees. This condition should be 
remedied, and such neglected trees should not be permitted 
to stand as a menace to horticultural interests generally. 
Tariff revision will be taken u]) by Congress during the 
ensuing year; as president-elect Wilson has announced that 
he intends to call Congress in extraordinary session next 
April, to revise the tariff. This is a question of vital interest 
to the membership of our Association, and one that should 
be given attention. 
It is possible an effort will be made to have the duty 
removed from apple seedlings and other fruit tree stocks. 
This would practically destroy the business of growing 
apple seedlings in the United States, com-m.ercially. 
Our American nurserymen, with high priced labor, land, 
and seed, could not compete with the foreign growers. This 
is especially true because the foreign stocks are quite gener¬ 
ally grown by small farmers, the family doing most of the 
work. Judging by the cost of other fruit tree stocks, after 
American competition was eliminated, there would be no 
saving to the consumer, as the foreign nurserym.en seem 
to be able to regulate or control prices. I would recommend 
the appointment of a tariff committee by this Association, 
to co-operate with the tariff committee of the American 
Association. 
There are but few callings where competitors m,eet in 
friendly council and exchange ideas and experiences so freely . 
as do the nurserymen. However, there should be more 
uniformity in both wholesale and retail prices, so that each 
may receive the full benefit of his labor and investmient. 
There is too much of a tendency among nurserym.en, where 
there appears to be a surplus in any line of stock, to de¬ 
moralize prices. Many of us are overlooking the fact that 
such unbusiness-like methods frequently keep prices below 
cost of production; until there is an actual shortage, when 
prices advance to an excessive rate. Such conditions are 
detrimental to all branches of the business, creating an 
unstable market and tempting many inexperienced men 
to embark into growing nursery stock, who in turn help to 
bring about the condition we should strive to avoid. 
In other words, we, as nurserymen, are operating along 
crude lines in this respect, and are not keeping pace with the 
progress made in most other lines of business. 
I think nurserymen will generally agree with me, that in 
selling stock at retail through agents, more honorable busi¬ 
ness methods are being followed, and that our patrons have 
more confidence than formerly in the nursery salesman. 
There is still room for improvement. We should all dis¬ 
courage disreputable methods of securing business, and 
exert our influence towards bringing the business to a higher 
plane. Crooked methods of agents or others m securing 
business reacts against us all, discouraging planting, and 
bringing the nursery business in disrepute. 
The ever-changing and shifting business conditions 
makes it a difficult problem for the nurserymen to decide 
what to plant. For several years there has been a boom 
