THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
150 
NICHOLS & LORTON NURSERY LEASED 
Bu}Sng the stock and leasing the fine acreage long famous 
as the Nichols & Lorton nursery, two new men have come to 
Davenport to operate the Davenport Nursery, which was 
operated so successfully, by Nichols & Lorton for 40 years. 
Messrs. Mast and Duppert, the gentlemen who have come 
here, are graduates of two of the best forestry courses in the 
country, and come here after a varied and interesting ex¬ 
perience in the forestry service. 
Wm. H. Mast graduated from Ames agricultural college in 
1900, and took the full course in forestry at Yale. He has 
been connected with the United States Forestry ser\dce for 13 
years, has been supervisor of the Nebraska national forest 
and conducted an extensive nursery and planting work for 
the government for seven years. For the last two years he 
has been in Colorado. 
W. J. Duppert was graduated from the forestry course at 
Ann Arbor, Mich., and has also been connected with the 
forestr}^ service. For the last two years has been adjunct 
professor of forestry at Nebraska university at Lincoln, Neb. 
He is a professional landscape gardener. He was reared on a 
farm in northern New York, while Mr. Mast was reared on a 
farm near Ottumwa, la. Sam Lorton says they are safe to 
make a grand success of the business. 
MENERAY NURSERY ORDERED SOLD 
The nursery owned by F. W. Meneray, Council Bluffs, la., 
and which has been in the hands of a receiver for several 
months, has been ordered sold to satisfy a judgment of nearly 
$60,000 against the company in favor of the First National 
Bank of that city. The judgment is based on promissory 
notes given by the nursery company for loans made by the 
bank from December 27, 1911, to August 15, 1912. The 
stock and real estate will be sold as a unit. The property 
includes 46 city lots on which the offices and a part of the 
nursery arc located, nearly 50 acres of growing stock and 
500,000 apple grafts being grown on contract by a Missouri 
firm .—American Florist. 
E. S. WELCH WINS SUIT 
After being out over three hours the jury in the case of 
E. S. Welch of Shenandoah, la., against B. E. Fields & Son 
to recover payment on a shipment of nursery stock returned 
a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. 
Mr. Welch was suing for the balance due, amounting to 
$316.80, on a shipment of trees made in November, 1911. 
The defendant claimed that the trees failed to grow the 
following spring and that they were dead when shipped. 
The plaintiff produced evidence to show that on the date 
the trees were unloaded the thermometer registered 20 degrees 
above zero and it was claimed that the trees died as a result 
of being exposed to the freezing temperature. Nurserymen 
from over the state testified as to the condition of nursery 
stock that has been affected by cold. The weather records 
from the Lincoln government bureau figured in the evidence. 
All of Saturday forenoon was given to taking testimony, 
about twenty witnesses in all being examined. 
The case went to the jury about 2:15 Saturday afternoon 
and a verdict in favor of the plaintiff was returned at 5130. 
The defendants will appeal the case to a higher court. 
The jury was composed of George B. Eddy, John D. 
Markey, Henry Carroll and J. H. Scott. 
[Extract of Clipping from Buffalo paper sent by W. J. Palmer & Son, 
Buffalo, New York.] 
PALMER WINS AGAIN 
Buffalo Florist Awarded of Plants Destroyed by the State. 
A Gipsy Moth Case 
Justice Pound Holds That Destruction Without Appraisement was 
Unwarranted by Facts. 
In the case of William J. H. Palmer, Florist, against the 
state department of agriculture to recover the value of 2,260 
Azaleas and Rhododendrons destroyed by order of Calvin J. 
Huson, commissioner of agriculture, because Gipsy moth egg 
masses were found on two of the plants. Justice Pound this 
morning handed down his decision directing that an ap¬ 
praisal be had of the value of the plants destroyed and that 
Mr. Palmer be paid for the same. 
Some time ago the case was tried before Justice Marcus 
and a jury on the issue raised and the court directed the jury 
to find a verdict that Mr. Palmer was entitled to the peremp¬ 
tory writ of mandamus. The matter then came before 
Justice Pound on an application for the appraisement. In 
his decision he says: 
“The commissioner had no facts before him upon which he 
could decide that every plant was infected with gipsy moth. 
He could, on the facts, only decide that there was reasonable 
ground to believe that they were so infected. Destruction 
without compensation is the rule where the facts may be 
shown with certainty. In other cases an appraisal should 
be had. So ordered. ’ ’ 
Sometime prior to October i6th, 1911, Mr. Palmer had 
received a shipment of Azaleas and Rhododendrons from 
Belgium and they were at his greenhouses in Lancaster. On 
October i6th, two inspectors from the state department of 
agriculture visited the greenhouses and found an egg-mass of 
the gipsy moth on one plant and evidence that another plant 
had been similarly infected. They telegraphed to the depart¬ 
ment asking for instructions and some days later got tele¬ 
graphic instructions to destroy the whole shipment. 
Notice was served on Mr. Palmer and the inspectors then 
went to Lancaster and carried out their instructions from the 
department, destroying all the plants and the containers that 
came with the shipment. Mr. Palmer then demanded an 
appraisement, which was refused. 
Under the statute the matter had to take the peculiar 
course it took, going first into trial term and then into special 
term. 
Rebadow & Ladd represented Mr. Palmer and Henry W. 
Killeen the State Department of Agriculture. 
