TIIE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
brand by wholesale and retail trade throughout the country, im¬ 
pressed the message of Skookum quality upon the consumer, 
causing a quite active demand, and easily provided for the ready 
sale of the Exchange’s entire supply of extra-fancy apples. 
The Exchange has been actively preparing to increase its out¬ 
put of extra-fancy fruit, to meet a bigger demand this year, and 
lias increased its advertising appropriation. In short, the indica¬ 
tions are that Skookum has become a fixture in the fruit markets 
of the country, and that Skookum advertising, like Sunkist, will 
show growth with every year. 
i:mhaii(1()i<:s 
Much coiilrovci’sy is hcing carri(‘(l on in the antipodes 
in eoniH'clion with crown ^all on fruit trei'S according to 
lh(‘ “.\nslralasian Init'rnational Nurseryman.” 
It s(‘('ins that prior to 191G thousands of fruit trees 
w (Ml' iiuport(‘d ijito New Zealand fi‘oin Victoria, Australia, 
thus cnahling tin' New^ Zealanders to build up a large ex- 
poi't trade' in fruit from tree's pro[)agated in Victoria. 
Neiw tin' business is well establisheel tln'y have jilaced 
an e'ndtai'ge) eui fruit tree's from Victe)ria eisteiisibly be- 
e*ause' the' tre'e's are afiee'te'el w ith creiw n gall, and may be 
be'eatise'. by shutting eeut the Victeirian trees tln^y can get 
be'tte'r prie*e's feu" the'ii’ eiwn. 
If it were' einly peissibh' lei e'liminale the selfish element 
frenn e'lnhargeie's we' sheiuhl all leieik eui them as frienels in- 
sle'ael eif seimelhing that is e'slablisheel for the benefit of 
the eetber fellow. 
BUSINESS STILL LIVLS! 
The sujue'ine', facteir in Ame'iiean busine'ss teielay is the' 
geive'i'iuue'nl. Through its jiower tee regulate the^ elistribu- 
liem e)f fue'l anel mate'i’ials it ceentreils ])raetically all the' in- 
elusti’ial aelivity eif the ceuinti'y. Thieuigh its military anel 
ineiustrial peewe'/’s it afle'cls all labeir. By price-fixing it 
cemireels mining anel imjieu'laid agi‘ie*ultural e)[)crations. 
By/lie'e'iising anel prieuitie's it e*e)idreels Iraflie een both land 
anel se'a. It eepei'ate's railways, shipyarels, munitieen 
plants. It eewns navy yarels, armeeiaes, gun faeteeries, 
peeweh'r jelanls, a se'Ciirity-issuing coi'jeeeration. 
.\n unpre'ceelenteel elegree eef the pow er of industry has, 
he'eause of a peeeple’s passieen for victory, been willingly 
give'll up lee those in autliority eever us. Yet business lives. 
The geevernment desires it to live. The government calls 
ujeeen it tee preserve, tee strengthen its eewn organizations. 
The geevernment urges it, not eiiily to make its veeicc heard 
mew, but tee take serieeus counsel re'gareling the future. 
This weerk has he'gun. Parliaments of business are 
gathering elaily at Washington. Upon the calendar of 
the'ir eh'libe'ratieens is written: First, heew' can we hel}) wdn 
the' war? Seceenellv, what is eeur {ereegram, once the day 
eef victeery has ceeme?— Ilarrij ^1. Wheeler in the Nation’s 
Itnsiness fur Anf/nst. 
Leeuis Be're'kmans, Augusta, (la., whose marriage we 
had the ph'asure eef anneeuncing last summer is now’ the 
preeud falhe'r eef a fine young laely. 
The' ne'w Miss Berckmans is alre'ady receiving calls 
Ireem the yeeung eellice'is from (lamp llanceeck anel there is 
met the' slightest eleeulet she w ill gain in popularity as she 
ge'ts older. 
TIIE YEAB-BOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
AGRICULTURE 
The year heeok of the Department of Agriculture leer 
1917 is being distributed. Naturally it is largely eleveeteel 
to subjects of especial interest to the farmer, but there 
are a numher it would pay the nursei'yman to read. 
Tfie Sources of Our Nitrogenous Fertilizers by Fred¬ 
erick W. Broivn, tells of the only important natural ele- 
peesits in Chile, and the great demands on this source 
made by the manufacture of munitions. 
Aneetlier grow ing source is the production lef Anumenia 
Sulphate from improved methods of [iroducing coke. 
The ammonia is saved in a retort instead of escaping into 
the air as formerly, and treated with sul})huric acid. 
Cotton seed meal is another source w hich contains 5 to 8 
per emit, of available nitrogen and enters largely into the 
manufacturing indiistry. 
Slaughterhouse waste, and fish are also a source of 
supply. 
The extraction of nitrogen from the air is still in a 
more or less experimental stage but is promising as a 
source w here pow er is cheap. 
Production of Drug Plants Crops in the United. States 
by W. W. Slockberger, speaks of the drug crisis jire- 
cijiitated by the wmr. Contrary to the popular magazine 
writings it is not a get-rich-quick proposition. 
The nurseryman, however, may get suggestions of a 
crop that he could handle profitably. 
Phosphnte Pock our Greatest Fertilizer Asset, by Wm. 
II. Wag german. 
Until recently Stassfurt deposit in Germany was con¬ 
sidered the only source. Now there are very encouraging 
signs that this country will he able to supply the w’orld 
as there are enormous deposits of ])hosphate rock in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the United States. 
Danger of Introducing Fruit Flies into thr United 
States, by E. A. Back. 
This article points out the danger of introducing these 
pests into this country and what steps have been taken 
to prevent them getting a foot-hold. The danger of their 
being introduced on nursery stock is not so great as on 
imported fmit, especially that brought in by returning 
travelers, wdiich is liable to escajie inspection. 
The Weed Problem in American Agriculture, by II. B. 
Cates. 
A w ell kept nursery is not supposed to have any w eeds 
hut they do come. 
The article states that “Crop rotation is a foe to weeds” 
and also suggests that “An important reijuirement is to 
keep on the lookout for new weeds that may he intro¬ 
duced into the locality” 
Nurserymen will appreciate this; for there are fewf 
nurseries of any age that have not had at some time in 
their history some pest introduced which, if prompt ac¬ 
tion to eradicate had been taken it would have saved 
much time and money. 
Conservation of Fertilizer Materials from Minor 
Sources, by C. C. Fletcher, includes a table giving fertili¬ 
zer values of various materials expressed in percentage 
of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash content. 
The list of over 150 items is veiy diversified and not 
only includes some of the standard fertilizers but such 
