272 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
In view of the difficulty experienced in securing the 
transfer of the funds of the late treasurer to the treasurer 
pro tern, I strongly urge the appointment of a eommittee of 
throe, whose duty it shall be to revise our Constitution and 
By-Laws and that this committee shall be appointed prompt¬ 
ly, with instructions to report to the Association before the 
close of this Convention, so that should they make any 
recommendations, they may be promptly acted upon. 
This committee might also consider and act upon the sug¬ 
gestions with reference to the amount of the treasurer’s 
bond, and the advisability of electing one person to act as 
both secretary and treasurer. 
Last June when expressing my appreciation of the honor 
you had conferred upon me by electing me as your presi¬ 
dent, I expressed my surprise that our membership was but 
about four hundred while the Pacific Coast Nurserymen’s 
Association embraced a membership of upwards of two 
hundred and fifty, or more than half as many as this, our 
National organization. I determined that .the question 
of membership was a very important one and should receive 
attention, and after canvassing the field, I selected Mr. 
James McHutchison as chairman of a membership com¬ 
mittee and clothed him with authority to make an active 
campaign for new members. 
Mr. McHutchison entered upon this work with all the 
zeal and energy for which he is noted. I do not want to 
steal his thunder, and will therefore let his report, which he 
will present at a later session, speak for itself. 
The results he has secured from this campaign point to 
the necessity of a permanent committee on membership 
with a chairman who will continue the work so success¬ 
fully started by Mr. McHutchison. 
I wish here to express my appreciation and thanks to 
the chairman of all the committees, who have been inde¬ 
fatigable in their efforts to protect and advance the interests 
of the nurserymen of this country and to make our associa¬ 
tion a success. I sometimes feel that the members individ¬ 
ually do not sufficiently appreciate how much time these 
gentlemen are giving and the work they are doing. We are 
surely fortunate in having among us such public spirited 
men who are willing to give so much of their valuable time 
to the Association. 
As an illustration of what my be accomplished by 
united action I refer to the successful ending of the case of 
E. W. Reed against the State Inspectors of Colorado. The 
case was financed jointly by the Western Association of 
Nurserymen and the American Association of Nurserymen, 
as it was considered a test case, the outcome of which would 
be of lasting benefit to every member of our Association. 
Only recently the inspectors of the State of Massachusetts 
destroyed an entire shipment of imported Rhododendrons, 
because they claimed that some of the plants had crown gall. 
It seems to me that this is another case which should be 
investigated by our Legislative Committee and if the evi¬ 
dence warrants it, the Association should financially back 
a case to recover damages. 
At a meeting of the Ornamental Growers Association, 
held in New York City in January last, a sugggestion was 
made that there should be prepared a directory of nursery¬ 
men who were actually engaged in the growing of nursery 
stock, or if dealers or others should be included in the list, 
they should be so arranged or classified, that those who con¬ 
sulted the directory should have accurate and up to date 
information. It was decided that this was a work which 
could be undertaken only by a Nurser^mien’s Association, 
but that it was too great for the Ornamental Growers Asso¬ 
ciation alone. A committee consisting of J. Edward Moon, 
John H. Dayton and Thomas B. Meehan was appointed 
to investigate the matter and report at the next meeting, and 
in the meantime to bring the matter to your attention in the 
hopes that you would appoint a similar committee to act 
in conjunction with them, for the purpose of determining 
the feasibility of such an undertaking. A communication 
from Mr. Moon, the Chairman of the Ornamental Growers 
Committee will be read at the proper time, and I trust you 
will give it your due consideration. 
There appears to be a growing tendency by the Forestry 
Departments of some of our States, to distribute forest trees 
at what they claim to be the cost of production. We have 
at last succeeded in getting rid of the free seed distribution 
incubus of the United States Government, but State Forestry 
Nurseries seem to be growing rapidly, and are as great 
or a greater menace to our business and I feel that 
.some action on this question should be taken by our 
Association. 
The State of New York, for instance, is offering White 
Pine transplants, four years old at $4.00 per 1000. Two 
year seedlings at $1.50 per 1000. White Ash Seedlings at 
$3.00 per 1000. Black Locust at $2.50 per 1000. Carolina 
Poplar cuttings at |i.5o*per 1000 and other coniferous and 
deciduous forest trees at similar prices. 
There is no doubt that the question of re-foresting is one 
requiring. .important consideration, and every reasonable 
inducement should be offered to land owners to plant trees 
for forestry purposes, but why should any state government 
furnish trees at cost any more than that they should supply 
fruit trees at cost to the orchardist. 
There are many large nurseries which' are making a 
specialty of raising trees for forestry planting, and it does 
not seem right that the National or any State government 
should step in and compete in this business, with all the 
odds against the nurserymen, who, perforce, must conduct 
his business for a profit and not for his health or pleasure 
alone. 
This matter is a serious one, and sooner or later must be 
met by some action of our Association. 
Some years since, at a meeting of our vice-presidents, I 
suggested that some regular or systematic plan should be 
adopted for the selection of the place of meeting of our 
annual convention. Last year we met in Boston, almost an 
extreme eastern point,—this year we have come to almost 
an extreme western city in the United States, and next year, 
under our present method of choosing a meeting place, we 
are just as likely as not to go to an extreme southern 
point, all depending upon the eloquence or personal 
magnetism of those who champion some beautiful or 
attractive location. 
