188 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
bankers reasonably content. History repeats itself you know, and 
I am wondering just how far around the corner will we find 
ourselves up against those same conditions? The nurserymen 
of this country are as industrious a lot of business men as can 
be found. They put in more hours of exacting, honest-to-good- 
ness hard labor than is the case in many other lines of en¬ 
deavor. 
To put it bluntly, they work like the dickens and the story 
of the Old Black Hen exactly fits ninety per cent, of the success¬ 
ful nurserymen of this country. Listen: 
Said the little red rooster, “Gosh all hemlock, things are tough, 
Seems that worms are getting scarcer, and I cannot find enough. 
What’s become of all those fat ones is a mystery to me; 
There were thousands through that rainy spell, but now where 
can they be?” 
The old black hen who heard him didn’t grumble or complain, 
She had gone thru lots of dry spells, she had lived thru floods of 
rain, 
So she flew up on the grindstone, and she gave her clews a whet, 
As she said, “I’ve never seen the time there weren’t worms 
to get.” 
She picked a new and undug spot; the earth was hard and firm, 
The little rooster jeered, “New ground, that’s no place for a 
worm.” 
The old black hen just spread her feet, she dug both fast and free, 
“I must go to the worms,” said she, “the worms won’t come to 
me.” 
The rooster vainly spent the day, thru habit, by the ways 
Where fat round worms had passed in squads back in the rainy 
days. 
When nightfall found him supperless, he growled in accents 
rough, 
“I’m hungry as a fowl can be—conditions sure are tough.” 
He turned then to the old black hen, and said, “It’s worse for 
you, 
For you’re not only hungry but you must be tired too. 
I rested while I watched for worms, so I feel fairly perk, 
But how are you without worms too, and after all that work?” 
The old black hen hopped to her perch and dropped her eyes 
to sleep, 
And murmured in a drowsey tone, “Young man, hear this and 
weep: 
I’m full of worms and happy, for I’ve dined both long and well, 
The worms are there as always, but I had to dig like hell.” 
There may be other things around the corner but I shall 
touch on only one more, and that is a proposed Standard Form 
of Uniform Nursery Inspection Laws brought out by the Cotton 
States Entomologists last January. They invited representatives 
of the Southern Nurserymen’s Association to meet with them in 
conference in Atlanta and discuss with them the report of their 
committee who had this matter in charge. At this January con¬ 
ference five nurserymen were present. Their committee pre¬ 
sented for our consideration a proposed “Ideal Standard of Rules 
and Regulations toward which all states could move as opportun¬ 
ity offered,” an idea that has been present in the minds of the 
nurserymen for many years and the nurserymen were delighted 
over the invitation to be present and co-operate with the ento¬ 
mologists in working out a standard form of Uniform Nursery 
Inspection Laws to be operated in all states alike. 
The “Ideal Standard” presented embraces 29 sections and 
time forbids stating them all but some of the important features, 
briefly stated, are as follows. First, a serially numbered certi¬ 
ficate tag to be issued each nurseryman by his State Entomolo¬ 
gist, said nurseryman to account for each of these numbered 
tags by duplicate invoice, without price, to be mailed his State 
Entomologist, said duplicate invoice to show the number of the 
tag used on that particular shipment and to be mailed to the En¬ 
tomologist promptly after shipment was made. Second, a nur¬ 
seryman doing business beyond the borders of his own State must 
secure from each and every State in which he operates a serially 
numbered Permit tag which must be attached to each shipment 
destined to the state issuing same and a duplicate invoice, with¬ 
out price, showing number of the permit tag used, must be 
mailed promptly to the Entomologist issuing the permit tag. 
Think for a moment just what this will mean to the large agency 
nurserymen and mail order firms in this country, many of 
whom are doing business in practically every state in the Union. 
Third, all shipments of nursery stock shall not only be inspected 
at the nursery before shipping, but they must also be again in¬ 
spected by a competent inspector after shipment and before 
planting. The nurserymen present tried to convey their feeling 
over this provision, that it was utterly impractical and impossible 
of carrying out, pointing out the fact that in the cotton states 
alone there are probably 600,000 to 1,000,000 orders filled annually 
and the utter impossibility of inspecting “after shipment and be¬ 
fore planting” even one-tenth of these orders. The nurserymen 
asked that the Entomologists earnestly attempt to work out some 
plan whereby one inspection tag will carry a shipment anywhere 
in the United States. This suggestion was taken under advise¬ 
ment and a second conference was called by the Entomologists 
to meet in Atlanta in May. At this second conference twenty- 
one nurserymen were present. 
The Entomologists reported that they had not been able to 
evolve a plan as suggested at the first conference and again 
submitted the “Ideal Standard” without change or modification 
and it was discussed fully and frankly section by section. We 
could not get together. Some concessions were made by the 
Entomologists, the most important one being the elimination of 
a section which provided that “All shipments of nursery stock 
coming into a state should be routed by receiving stations for 
inspection and forwarding to destinaton.” 
The serially numbered permit tag is now in use by four of the 
citrus growing states and you who ship into Florida, Mississippi, 
Louisiana and South Carolina are familiar with the duplicate 
invoice required under these permit tags. Conditions in the 
citrus states are difficult and entirely different than in other sec¬ 
tions of this country and the nurserymen feel that the use of 
this serially numbered tag should be confined to the citrus 
states. The Entomologists want this plan adopted by all the 
states and a serially numbered certificate tag as well. Therefore, 
I suggest that you large operators who are doing business in 
thirty or forty states should look to the future very carefully 
and do everything that you possibly can to avoid Over Produc¬ 
tion in order that you may keep your prices at a reasonable point 
so that you can build a wing or add an extra story to your office 
or house, and have funds to pay the additional force necessary 
to comply with these “Ideal Rules and Regulations” when uni¬ 
versally adopted. Cheer up. 
ARE WE FOOLING OURSELVES? 
Address by Mr. A. F. Lake, Shenandoah, Iowa, Before the Nur¬ 
serymen's Convention, Detroit, June, 1922 
Mr. President and members of the American Association of 
Nurserymen: 
A friend of mine read the subject on which I am going to speak 
today, and he said: “Lake, what are you going to talk about?” 
“Why,” I said, “not much of anything,” and he looked at me in 
rather a pitying way, as if he thought that I would be badly 
rattled to get up before this great American Association of Nur¬ 
serymen with nothing to say, but, gentlemen, I have been attend¬ 
ing these meetings during twenty-five years and during that 
time fifty per cent of the men that have been attending here 
have not had anything to say. (laughter). So I am not at all em¬ 
barrassed. 
I am very sorry that I lost my elaborate notes. I expected to 
try to make you a nice talk, so now I will have to fall back on 
just what I remember of it, and I may disappoint you and un¬ 
doubtedly will be disappointed myself. 
A nurseryman told me the history of his life—a man that you 
all know, a very prominent man in the nursery business—and I 
am going to give you today one chapter and then I will wind up. 
I am going to say a few words to young men. I am young yet, 
but not as young as a lot of the fellows that are here, or ought 
to be here in this room. 
This man, I will call him Mr. Nurseryman, it would be rather 
embarrassing for me to mention his name—Mr. Nursery¬ 
man had been in the business a great many years and he 
finally formed a desire to make a fine plant. He knew of a 
piece of land nearby that he thought was especially adapted to 
the purpose of growing nursery stock. He bought that piece of 
land. A great deal of it was in clover and he started in in the 
Fall and plowed it under, blocked it all off and planned what he 
would plant. Over here was a dandy place for cherry, over here 
was a place suitable for roses, over here was good ornamental 
ground, and he mapped it all out and made a record of it in his 
office. 
As Fall drew on he began to gather propagating stock and 
during the winter he had his grafts made up and he personally 
left his office and looked after the grafts. He watched his orna¬ 
mental stock, he watched everything that was going into this 
new block, because he was going to make it a wonderful block, 
it was going to be a banner block, one of the best he had ever 
had; it was going to be a plant that visiting nurserymen would 
be proud of. 
