168 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
AS I SEE IT 
By M. T. Nutt 
Well, the “Conference” on Quarantine 37 is over, and 
it was some “Conference.” We were there in full force, 
and so was every one else. Some with great expecta¬ 
tions, others were skeptical of any results. Some wanted 
the doors thrown wide open as of yore, others wanted 
the door not only kept shut, hut bolted. 
Most of the “lights” in the horticultural trade were 
there, and some who are not. 
Holland, Belgium and England sent special represen¬ 
tatives to plead for the open door, and our own “Mike 
Caslnnan.” president of the A. A of N. had a special 
“invite” from the Secretary of Agriculture. Orlando 
Harrison, chairman of our Legislative Committee, “Bill” 
Pitkin, John Dayton and even the far off state of Wash¬ 
ington was represented by Mr. Magill of the Washing¬ 
ton Nursery Company, Toppenish, and Florida by .1. 
Harold Hume, and there were many others too numer¬ 
ous to mention. 
It was a great session, and ran into two days. Every 
one was given opportunity to let off steam, and through 
it all Dr. Marlatt snt serene and with his usual enigmat¬ 
ical smile, calm and unperturbed by the fireworks going 
on around him. 
And why should he be otherwise? lie knew he held 
the four aces in the deck, and that after the smoke blew 
away his position would be stronger than ever. And it 
was. 
When it comes down to brass tacks, what do the nur¬ 
serymen want? The old open door? Not by any means. 
What then? It simmered down to the priviledge of im¬ 
porting seedling Norway Maples. Think of it! Norway 
Maples!—when there were dozens of ornamental 
“stocks” needed for propagating purposes, which are as 
unobtainable in this country as Norway Maples. 
As to the florists and amateurs, well you can best tell 
what they wanted by reading a full report of the “Con¬ 
ference.” 
The way I figure it, the day is done, twilight is here 
and tomorrow the sun will rise in the east as usual and 
we will go along in the same old way just as we have 
since Quarantine 37 was sprung on us. 
Early in the winter, indications pointed to a heavy 
spring trade, and evidently there was. Nurserymen, in 
general, report a clearing out of all standard lines of 
nursery stock, and at profitable prices, as it should be. 
A few days ago I visited a prominent eastern nursery¬ 
man who has storage capacity for about thirty cars of 
ornamentals and what he had left would not fill a re¬ 
spectable order. 
This is as it should be, and in spite of the fact that w 
hear “rumbling” of over plantings and prospects o 
ruinious prices in the near future, I am convinced tha 
nurserymen have several “fat” years ahead of them am 
there is no reason to be pessimistic. 
I don’t mean to encourage “wild” plantings, on th 
contrary, use discretion, and confine your plantings t 
what you feel reasonably sure you can sell, and all wil 
be well. 
Shortly we will be gathered in annual Convention at 
Detroit. I look, with interest, to what may be accom¬ 
plished. Last year much of the ‘’idealistic ’ notion ol 
previous years was abandoned and a new and saner 
policy outlined. Was it a wise or a foolish move? We 
should be able to determine this when we hear the re¬ 
ports of the several committees. At any rate, we have 
heard less “grumbling” throughout the year, which may 
be taken as an indication that the members as a whole 
are more satisfied than they were in the previous year 
or two. 
I am told that Paul Lindley will go to Detroit with 
some recommendations that will be really worth while. 
Paul is wise, and I do not think he will offer any radical 
propositions. On the contrary, he has made a careful 
study of trade conditions and I am sure that anything 
he may propose will be worth careful consideration. 
Separating the sheep from the goats, making active 
and associate members of the A. A. of N. may have been 
a wise move, but it has certainly deprived us of the com¬ 
pany of some good fellows. John C. Chase, “Derry” 
label fame, than whom a finer gentleman does not exist, 
and Marsden Fox, of the Rochester Lithographing Com¬ 
pany, always a “hale fellow well met.” We always ex¬ 
pected Uncle John Chase to act as chairman of the Vice 
Presidents’ meeting to nominate officers, and “Foxey” to 
tell us jokes, vintage of 1776. But then, we have had to 
sacrifice a lot of good things to these progressive and 
uplifting ideas which have taken the country by storm. 
The days of the “round table” are but a memory. “Quoth 
the raven, ‘Never More’.” 
National Planting Service 
A TO MAKE. m 
\>| T7 1 T") T (~\ f\ MORE 
iWCvFClLy^ BEAUTIFUL 
CONDUCTED BY AMERICAN ASS'N OF NURSERYMEN 
F.F. ROCKWELL, Mgr. 
BRIDGETON, N. J. 
For many months, there have been appearing in news¬ 
papers all over the country, the articles on planting 
fruit trees and ornamentals—trees, shrubs, and peren¬ 
nials—which have been sent out by the National Plant¬ 
ing Service. 
The newspapers have used more of this material than 
ever before—many of them have been actually hungry 
for it. Some of the newspapers, put on the list this 
year, have not only used all of this year’s articles, but 
have printed in addition all those sent out last year. 
It is evident, from the correspondence we have had, 
that there has been a decided change in the attitude of 
the average Editor toward “garden stuff.” He is begin¬ 
ning to realize that home gardening in its various 
phases, is a subject in which many of his readers are 
vitally interested, just as they are in “sports,” or the 
“movies,” or “Radio News.” There seems every indi¬ 
cation that during the coming year, the newspapers will 
be more interested than ever in “garden” material, and 
more ready to use it. 
Since this year’s campaign started, more than one 
hundred thousand copies of the articles have been dis¬ 
tributed. 
