99 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
Are we a little more nervous— 
A little less confident each day— 
Have we lost poise, foresight and staying power— 
Are we “bears instead of bulls”—* 
Are we going or coming? 
Let us strip for action. Let us dry-dock our business 
and scrape off the barnacles by developing our resources 
to the nth power—co-operation, publicity, faith in our 
business, each other and the future. 
Let us—well— 
FULL STEAM AHEAD. 
ILLINOIS STATE NURSERYMEN S ASSOCIATION 
The Executive Committee of the Illinois State Nursery¬ 
men’s Association held an important meeting in Chicago, 
on December 10th. The convention of this association 
will be held in Chicago, on January 19th and 20th. The 
hotel will be decided a little later. The Executive Com¬ 
mittee is increasing the effort of putting into effect a 
Standard Practice Service as outlined at the last conven¬ 
tion. Any nurseryman outside of the Illinois Association 
who is interested or who desires to co-operate can obtain 
full information by writing the secretary, J. A. Young, 
Aurora, Illinois. 
The Executive Committee formulated a plan of co¬ 
operation with the Planting Service Rureau now being 
conducted by Mr. F. F. Rockwell. The secretary was 
directed to secure from members of the Illinois Nursery¬ 
men’s Association the names of the newspapers and for¬ 
ward to Mr. Rockwell; also, that Mr. Rockwell is to for¬ 
ward to the association advanced copies of the articles 
and the members of the association will undertake to see 
that they are published in the various papers. 
CONTROLLING DAMPING-OFF 
IN FOREST NURSERY STOCK 
The best method of controlling damping-off in forest 
nursery stock appears to be the disinfectant treatment 
of the seed bed, say specialists of the United States De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, who have recently completed 
a series of investgations to work out control measures. A 
report of their investigations has just been published as 
Department bulletin 934, Damping-Off in Forest Nur¬ 
series. Sulphuric acid, they say, has been found very 
useful for conifers, as they are apparently especially 
tolerant of acid treatment. 
In most nurseries, if the minimum effective quantity 
of acid is used, there is no need of any special precau¬ 
tions to prevent injury to the seedlings. The minimum 
quantity must be determined for each locality, for the 
specialists say that no single treatment can be found that 
can be universally applied without change in details. 
The most serious losses in conifers, according to the 
bulletin, are from the root-rot type of damping-off, which 
occurs after the seedlings appear above the ground. This 
type of the disease is most serious under exteremely 
moist atmospheric conditions. The type of damping-off 
which appears later when the stems become too rigid to 
decay easily is ordinarily less important than the earlier 
type. Seedlings more than two months old are, as a 
rule, able to recover from infections. The specialists be¬ 
lieve that thick sowing favors the disease, and that soil 
acidity is in general unfavorable to it. 
PREVENTION OF PLANT DISEASES 
New orders have been issued in Great Britain looking 
to the prevention of plant diseases in that country. They 
are evidently having the same trouble in regard to impor¬ 
tations as are we in this country. The establishment of 
quarantine stations at which all plants arrive in the coun¬ 
try is not considered favorable as it would necessarily 
involve the employment of a highly trained and expen¬ 
sive staff besides hampering trade. 
They have come to the conclusion that the proper pro¬ 
cedure is to put the costs and responsibility on the coun¬ 
try from which the stock is imported. 
The Ministry accordingly have supplemented the previ¬ 
ous Order by “The Sale of Diseased Plants Order,” which 
makes it an offence for plants which are substantially 
attacked with certain specified pests to be sold within the 
country. 
It will be seen that the first Order establishes a system 
of defence which is mainly worked by, and at the ex¬ 
pense of countries desiring to export plants, etc. to this 
country, and that the record offers an encouragement to 
nurserymen to aim at a condition of healthiness and 
cleanliness among their trees and plants by stopping the 
circulation of diseased and unsatisfactory stocks. 
WHITE PINE BLISTER RUST 
The Federal Horticultural Board, United States De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, will hold a public hearing on 
January 23, 1922, to consider the advisability of extend¬ 
ing the present Federal quarantine on the white pine 
blister rust to include the State of Washington. Any per¬ 
son interested in the proposed action may appear and be 
heard either in person or by attorney. 
The white pine blister rust was recently found on 
planted white pine at Vancouver, British Columbia, and 
on cultivated black currants at several other points in 
that vicinity. It has apparently extended its range from 
British Columbia into the northwestern corner of Wash¬ 
ington, as it has been found at Sumas City and Mount 
Vernon. 
DEHYDRATING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 
An interesting pamphlet has just come to hand from 
the Domestic-Dehydrator Corporation, 489 Fifth Avenue, 
New York City, explaining a new method of preserving 
fruits, vegetables in the home. While we do not pretend 
to know much about the process it seems to be logical, 
clear and simple. It is easy to see what a tremendous 
value and interest this will be to fruit growers, in fact 
every one who has a garden or fruit trees. When by a 
simple process the fruit and vegetables may be preserved. 
Dehydration in the home should be of extreme interest 
to the nurserymen as it suggests tremendous possibilities 
in encouraging increased plantings by the home growers 
of these products. Apart from the elimination of the tre¬ 
mendous waste of food products throughout the country 
for lack of a simple inexpensive method of preserving 
them. 
