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THK N AIK )N y\ L NURSE RYI\I AN 
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praclical way, and siiua^ tln^ Wasliinjjton Hoard in cliargo 
tliouglil of ours as growers of trees. 
If we in this coun- 
of iinj)orts will not peiinil Fi’(Mieli nurseiynuMi to ship 
trees or seedlings to this (*onnlry aft('r (In* j)resent month, 
and as the })res('nl llortienltural Hoard hav(‘ called a 
inecding foi’ the 2nd of May at whicdi nni'S(‘ryin(Mi, oi- 
ehardists, fruit gi'owei's and others may a|)|)ear, and 
show eans(5 \\hy the importation of nnrs(My stock and 
stock from France and els('^^ hei’(‘ should not l)e ahsolutedy 
and permanently prohihited and as this will depiave the 
French nui'seiymen of a niarket in this country for tln^ 
millions of seedlings that we in the ])ast have dej)ended 
on them to sup{)ly for the l)cnent of the mirseryiiKMi and 
fruit growers in this country, it would ])e entirely proper 
under the eireumstanees for the proposed finid to be sent 
to the French nurseiymen. The logical thing would he to 
huy French fruit trees in France for French planters. It 
would create in a small measure a market in Fi’anee for 
the French stocks that ar(^ to he prohihited shipment to" 
this country. 
Mrs. Itay’s suggestion is too fine to cloak any selfish 
try wish to give new" orchards to the French people wo | 
can make our generosity serve a double purpose by spend- ■ 
ing the proposed fund with the French nurserymen, i 
w hose market in Europe has been destroyed by the w"ar i* 
and whose only remaining market, that of this counlry, is | 
apparently to be denied tbein in the future.” 
At the Philadelphia convention a connnitlee was ap- i‘ 
Iiointed, F. L. Atkins, chairman, Hutherford, N. J., to con¬ 
sider the possibilities of sending fruit trees from this 
country to replace the orchards destroyed by tbe Ger¬ 
mans. The idea did not prove practical on account of 
the difliculties of transportation and the inability of ’ 
American nurserymen to supply varieties that w ould be i 
adaptable to that region. Mrs. Hay’s suggestion will ap- ' 
peal as entirely feasible and a most practical way of car¬ 
rying out tbe original proposition. 
Some Definite Suggestions for Fruit Nurserymen Having 
Stock for Sale 
By Joseph J. Lane of Garden Magazine and Country Life 
Are fruit nurserymen slackers? Do they intend to 
ignore means that lie within their pow er to help America 
w in this w"ar? Do they intend to allow" themselves to be 
j)ut out of business? Or w ill they get busy and s(Mze the 
present crisis to awaken America to the realization of a 
neghicted source of food supply? Thus they will help . 
th('ms('lves to the higg(‘st scdling argument ever ])r('sent(Ml 
ail industry and by so doing gain for themselves the dis- - 
tinction of being patriotic in the highest degri'c. 
That’s a long pai'agraph—a lot to digest at one reading. 
You’d better read it again to gain the full force of the 
(piestions. Tin* situation is one of utmost seriousness. 
Will the nurseiymen having fruit stock grow ing in their 
nurseries aw"akc to a full realization of the crisis our 
counlry faces and in which they can be of so great a 
help? 
President Wilson in his memorahle message to the 
American jieople a year ago, sounded this keynote; 
“The world’s food reserves are low". Not only dur¬ 
ing the ])resenl emergimcy but for some time after 
piNice shall have comi', both our own people and a huge 
projiortion of the ])eople of Europe must rely upon the 
harvests in America.” 
This is the condition. What are wo doing to nu'ct it? 
During the past twelve months the American peoph' 
have had directed to them the greatest cannonade of jiuh- 
licity on the subject of food production and food conser¬ 
vation in the memory of mankind. War gardims have 
sprung up everywheri'. Canning clubs have gaiiu'd 
miMiibers w"lth gri'atest rapidity, and ('ducation to new" 
jirocesses has been complete and extraordinarily protit- 
ahle to the Food Administration. 
As facts stand now', no concerted effort has been di¬ 
rected to the subject of food production through the me¬ 
dium of fruit planting. This fact is regrettable. We are 
already mourning the lack of initiative that allow"ed such 
a condition to be possible. 
Ihis will be a long war. Conditions of food supply 
become more important every day. Every day that passes 
without our determined action to capitalize upon condi¬ 
tions, means just so much more accumulated criticism we 
wdll either receive or give ourselves in years to come. 
I tie devastation of the orchards of France are delinitel^y 
a call to us to greater activities to take up the slackened 
source of supply and render it more prolific. 
first we should help the public to an appreciation ol 
the benefit of planting small Iruits—for immediate pro¬ 
duction of foodstuffs: Raspberries, strawberries, black- 
beiiies, currants, gooseberries and grapes. 
II we neglect this, we will place ourselves liable to the 
criticism of being unpatriotic—and will deseiwe the title. 
Next w"e must in our advertising and sales methods, 
( on\incc the people of the present need of jilanting fruit 
tiees for the lood they will bear in years to come.' Past 
metliods are gone and forgotten. We are facing a new 
era in the history of life in this country, and the wmrld 
over. 
X t ^ icllHJ J.IU ct 
I . J J X ouli 111 <i iiiuixii 
mi l do assert that if fruit nurserymen do grasp thf 
a( s as leic piesented and as their thoughts w"ill le 
thein to realize, and act to achieve the ideal in fri 
p an mg in their country, they w ill draw to themselv 
one 0 le ^eatest sources of constant revenue that h 
ever been offered the industry. 
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