THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
103 
The Department of Agriculture is getting ready to fill 
requests for the basket willow cuttings grown last year on 
its experimental farm at Arlington, Va. Distribution of 
these cuttings takes place early in March each spring, to 
farmers and others who wish to make trials of basket willow 
on lands too wet for other crops. From 50 to 100 cuttings 
are given each person. 
The distribution is not a mere giving away of Govern¬ 
ment material to persons who desire to get something free; 
because it is required that each recipient of cuttings shall 
make a report of the treatment given and the results ob¬ 
tained. Several select varieties are included in each set 
that is distributed, and the aim is to secure information as to 
the best variety for each locality, since no one kind can 
be relied upon to yield maximum results over a wide range 
of territory. 
In the basket willow investigations carried on at the 
Arlington Farm, Arlington, Va., and at Ames, Iowa, by the 
Forest Service, particular attention has been given to the 
development of American species for basket making purposes. 
The European species now commonly used have never proved 
themselves entirely adapted to American conditions and are 
as a rule less thrifty than the native species. At present 
there is at Arlington a willow garden containing nearly 500 
lots gathered from all parts of the country and representing 
practically every species and variety found in the United 
States and Canada. 
A system of selection which has been carried on for 
several years is already indicating which strains show the 
best basket willow characteristics for Americn conditions. 
GOVERNMENT FREE SEED DISTRIBUTION 
The annual fight to abolish the Government free distribu¬ 
tion of seeds is on again and something of interest may 
develop this time. Two resolutions offered by Senator 
Kenyon have passed the Senate, calling on the Agricultural 
Department for information as to the cost of the seed distri¬ 
bution, and on the Post Office Department for information 
as to the cost of the government of franking out free seeds. 
It is the intention of the opponents of free seeds to use 
the data thus obtained to have an amendment put on the 
agricultural bill abolishing the distribution. 
The Federal Government has been active in prosecuting 
Trust and combinations said to be in restraint of trade. 
Certain of the states have passed laws making it a criminal 
offense to give commissions or “rake offs,” yet here is the 
government itself practicing the most petty form of “graft,” 
a cheap method of influencing votes for congressmen from 
rural districts. 
When the Suffragettes secure the right to vote, it will be 
up to some congressman to propose a bill for the free distri¬ 
bution of sun bonnets, aprons or patent dishwashers to his 
female constituents. 
It is to be hoped that the efforts of Senator Kenyon may 
be productive of good results and this rank injustice may be 
abolished. 
Shipments of French fruit stocks are about all in for this 
season. The stocks are unusually fine, due to the swelling 
fall rains. During the siunmer it looked as if the stocks in 
the beds would produce a good percentage of small .sizes, 
but later rains swelled these into larger grades. All stocks 
have been pretty well cleaned up, except a few small grades. 
The specific duty of $2 per 1000 upon Apples, Pears and 
Quinces and $i per 1000 on Mahalebs, Mazzards and Myro- 
bolans induces orders for the large sizes and is apt to leave 
small stocks in surplus. February shipments of ornamentals 
will now soon arrive. 
Early shipments from Holland are now beginning to 
arrive, there will be no shortages except on minor items 
such as Baby Rambler Roses, then only on orders booked 
late. Roses generally and Tree Roses are in surplus. There 
are about 700 growers around Boskoop and 50 around 
Oudenbosch, though America takes only a small percentage 
of their products. 
The new Quarantine law, which went into effect Oct. ist, 
is being rigidly enforced, but thanks to the business-like 
co-operation between the Federal Horticultmal Board and 
the importers is disturbing the import business very little. 
Of course minor difficulties will continue to arise, but with 
mutual confidence and good-will they will be overcome. 
The Act prohibits importations of Pinus cembra, strobus, 
monticola and Lambertiana from every source. The last 
two varieties are not largely grown; Pinus strobus can be 
grown here, but Pinus cembra is usually imported only in 
large sizes 3 to 6 feet then mostly from Holland where the 
nurseries are admittedly the cleanest on earth. It seems 
hard that the Dutch grower, who also has a good block of 
say 5 to 6 foot Pinus cembra, which are pronounced free 
of any trace of Blister Rust by his entomologist and which 
he has spent money in this country to sell here, should be 
prevented from shipping them, even though he is willing to 
have them reinspected here at his risk. It is to be hoped 
that the Federal Horticultural Board will later lift the bars 
against this useful variety, otherwise it will go out of com¬ 
merce as it is too slow growing for American growers to 
bother trying to grow it from seed. 
Though I am not an ornithologist, I believe a Federal 
law to prevent the ruthless killing of native birds and en¬ 
courage their propagation (such as the Indigo bird) which 
lives on Brown Tail grub and other insect pests, will do 
more to prevent the spread of insect life on trees than all the 
money that has been spent and all the inspection laws that 
have been passed from Pentecost to the last election. 
J. G. Hatch. 
