188 
THE NATIONAL NUESERYMAN 
up to the nurserymen and florists to use these new introductions 
and our native plants rather than the products of foreign coun¬ 
tries. It would be necessary for the Departmet to enlarge the 
productions of these new introductions so that every nurseryman 
can get the stock he needs but the government must help. If we 
are discussing only certain areas in Europe, where general nurs¬ 
ery stock is cultivated, then perhaps the Federal Horticultural 
Board might be able to make some arrangements for inspections 
on the grounds but could not do so in widely separate or little 
known countries. 
A. B. Hastings:—The White Pine Blister Rust could not be 
kept out by inspection. 
.Mr. Norgood, Wisconsin:—The White Pine Blister Rust came 
to Wisconsin from direct imimrtations and could have been pre¬ 
vented by competent inspection at the coast. He finds the great¬ 
est difficulty with foreign shipment but Wisconsin Nurserymen 
are very willing to assist the inspector in every possible manner. 
Wisconsin believes now it is too expensive to leave the door 
open, and that now, when little importations can be made on 
account of the war it is a good time to see if we cannot get 
along without foreign stock. He wants the United States to 
uphold all restrictions necessary to prevent the introduction of 
foreign insects and diseases. 
:Mr. Lupton:—Chairman Legislative committee, Virginia Horti¬ 
cultural Society. In favor of excluding everything except stock 
brought in by the Department of Agriculture. 
William Pitkin:—^Representing the American Association of 
.Nurserymen. His committee came to the meeting with an open 
mind excepting in one respect. The Nurserymen are for America 
first, they want to join with the Federal Horticultural Board to 
l)roperly safeguard the interest of the country. We may differ in 
details but we are working on the same lines, and to get results. 
America today does not produce suffiicient material to supply the 
American Trade, and must rely on Europe for the balance need¬ 
ed. We should carefully take up several questions and decide if 
certain articles should be excluded now, or at some later date, 
and determine if it is possible to increase production in this 
country of necessary stock now grown for us in Europe. The 
Board should also bear in mind that the nursery business should 
not be inflicted at this time with additonal burdens. .Just now it 
is announced that freight rates are to be advanced twenty-five 
per cent,—slow and difficult movements of freight this spring 
and the general depression in the nursery trade has already put 
the nurseryman in an unenviable position. There is perhaps only 
one thing that the nurseryman does not have to worry about. 
He does not have to think of the Excess Profit tax. A lot of these 
problems now under consideration, the nurseryman has been try¬ 
ing to work out for the last half century or more and without 
success, and we now feel that they should be taken up by the 
Department of Agriculture and its experts. The successful 
methods of propagation of a lot of things are unknown in this 
country, we have been trying for many years to grow fruit seed¬ 
lings, but with the exception of Apple seedlings none of these 
efforts have been successful. Native grown stock, in the minds 
of many experienced nurserymen, do not produce as good a tree 
as when grown on French Stocks. One nurseryman checked up 
a block of 50,000 Apple trees grown on Native stocks with an 
equal number of trees grown on French stocks. The yield of first 
class tree was only forty per cent on the native stock, while 
there were seventy per cent on the French stocks. Almost every 
nurseryman finds the same results. We do not want to say that 
these plants can not be produced in this country,—we have tried 
and have failed, now we feel that the Department of Agriculture 
should spend the necessary money, no matter how great the 
amount, to show us and prove to us how to produce this stock in 
commercial quantities, and when they have succeeded where we 
have failed, we will only be too glad to give up the foreign stock. 
Recently a nurseryman said he had been looking over a block of 
100,000 American grown Mahalebs. Not over twenty-five to 
thirty per cent were showing satisfactory growth, and probably 
.not over ten per cent of these will have sufficient vitality to 
permit budding when the proper season arrives. These stocks 
were grown in Kansas. The apparent cause of the poor growth 
is the lack of maturity of the stock when the time comes to dig 
them in the fall. The Department of Agriculture spends 
enormous sums annually in helping the farmer, and it seems only 
proper and right that some of this money should be spent in solv¬ 
ing these problems for the nurseryman, but until they do solve 
them it is not fair to take away the material we now must pro¬ 
cure from Europe, and seriously cripple the nursery and orchard 
industry of this country. The question of total exclusion is not 
all one sided. At a meeting of the New York Horticultural So¬ 
ciety held in Rochester, N. Y., last winter, a resolution was passed 
in opposition to the Weeks Bill which at that time was being ser¬ 
iously considered in Congress. If the matter of exclusion is not 
wisely handled it means a large increase in the cost of producing 
fruit trees, which increase must naturally be passed on to the 
farmer and orchardist. The whole question should be thoroughly 
sifted, and some efforts made to determine if adequate inspec¬ 
tion can not be made rather than total exclusion and certainly 
until it can be determined that this stock can be commercially pro¬ 
duced in this country present conditions should remain undis¬ 
turbed. Is the danger going to be a very great element if the 
matter is given rest until such time as matters can be arranged? 
It is going to be a serious proposition to our Allies who are fight¬ 
ing our battles for us, if we shut down on their products. As to 
immediate danger of insects in balled plants, a letter from Pro¬ 
fessor Phelps of Massachusetts does not appeear to reflect any 
great worry about introduction of pests in that manner. In con¬ 
clusion we say, we want to be educated, we want thorough in¬ 
spection, and Federal aid in educating us in what we need to do 
to produce all the stock we require in our business. 
Wallace Pierson, Connecticut;—He is one of the larges users 
of Manetti stock in America for growing roses under glass. 
Native grown stocks are a failure on account of crown gall and 
canker. In one propogation of Manetti stocks he had 100 per 
cent of crown gall. 
J. H. Dayton,—Cannot add much to what has already been said. 
For many years he has been growing nursery stock and has 
traveled thoroughly through the country visiting nurseries and 
looking into production and particularly along the lines of 
material now imported from Europe. A hundred years ago, 
pioneer nurserymen o n Long Island tried to grow the raw 
material required in the nursery, and later as the march of 
progress was westward, this effort followed, but we are today in 
this respect almost where they were at the start. He has planted 
Mahaleb seeds but could not produce suitable stocks. Western 
stock three seasons out of five does not ripen. He recalls one 
block of 350,000 Native grown IMahaleb seedlings in Kansas 
which had to be plowed up, while 50,000 French seedlings grow¬ 
ing immediately along side were in good condition. If foreign 
nursery stock is to be prohibited the price of nursery stock in 
the country will have to go up, and fault will be found with 
somebody. After the war is over, there will be a big demand and 
people will want these things. Some seedlings are grown in 
Washington and Oregon, but they can not be produced in suf¬ 
ficient quantities to supply the trade. If the European stock is 
cut off where are we to get our supplies? 
F. R. Pierson:—Had 25,000 Mannetti stocks, Florida grown. 
The roots were so brittle that they broke off square when he 
attempted to pot them up. This never occurred in foreign grown 
stock. 
Dr. Galloway:—The Department of Agriculture recognizes that 
if any conditions are created to interfere with the present con¬ 
ditions, there should also be some constructive work. Such are 
now under way but are more or less of an experimental nature. 
There is in preparation a project to replace these imported 
articles with stock grown in this country, but it all takes time, 
and in the meanwhile they ask for the co-operation of nursery¬ 
men. The Department has no intention of injuring any industry, 
now, or in the future. The nature and details of the plan now be 
ing considered by the department will largely depend upon the 
conclusions reached from a review of the testimony presented at 
this meeting. 
F. R. Pierson:—It seems unfortunate, at this time, to take 
what may seem to our allies as an unfriendly act if it should be 
decided to exclude all nursery stock from Europe. Holland, 
England and France are so well explored that there seems to be 
no further chances of getting any injurious insects or diseases 
from there. He strongly advocates inspection at the source. 
Prof. J. G. Sanders:—He believed that he voiced the senti¬ 
ment of the Horticultural Inspectors. They have two things in 
mind. Friendly relations between inspectors and nurserymen. 
Now the Entomologists and the Plant Pathologists stand in the 
light of physicians to nurserymen. Inspectors at large have 
done their best work in inspection lines. He wondered if nur¬ 
serymen and fiorists realized the danger in affecting every agri¬ 
cultural item. Untold millions have been lost. In the inspec¬ 
tion of evergreens, etc,, with large balls of earth they frequently 
find insects which have no relation to the plant, in the ball of 
which the insect is secreted. The vaccuum system of fumigating 
such plants has been tried without satisfactory results. Num¬ 
erous insects have been discovered in the balls of earth on im¬ 
ported nursery stock. Another group of plants which cannot be 
properly inspected are those which come from little known parts. 
The inspectors are helpless in this respect. He grants that we 
are short in the production of fruit stocks and that time should 
be allowed to adjust this matter. 
State Forester of Massachusetts:—The Federal Board and the 
nurserymen should work together, and the government should 
spend a million dollars if necessary in experimenting. The nur¬ 
serymen are business men, while the others only work on theory. 
He believes that all nursery stock can be grown in this country, 
but the government must conduct the experiments and deter¬ 
mine where and how it can be grown economically and commer¬ 
cially successful. 
