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FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., Incorporated. 
Vol. XIX. ROCHESTER, N. Y., JULY, 1911 No. 7 
THE ST. L OUIS CO NVENTION 
An Excellent Meeting. Important Legislative Action. President Stark’s 
Address a Notable Paper. 
John H. Dayton Elected President. 
President Stark called the meeting to order at ten o’clock, 
on Wednesday, the 14th, and presented Mayor Kreismann 
to the convention, who, without preamble, straightway 
welcomed the nurserymen to the city, told them to behave 
themselves, and have a good time. The Mayor evidently 
recognized the character of the nursery¬ 
man’s business; for he paid a tribute to 
his ability as an intensive cultivator, and 
he was certainly right there, for the nur¬ 
seryman is the most intensive farmer we 
have, the florist alone excepted. He con¬ 
gratulated the nurseryman also in bring¬ 
ing rain to the parched land of the 
Middle West. Fortunate it was too for 
the nurserymen that the rain had come, 
according to reports of high tempera¬ 
tures of previous days which were freely 
circulated in the corridors. 
.tc"' 
RESPONSE BY J. W. HILL 
SWith his usual facility of vocabulary 
^ arid voice, assisted by his six feet two of 
.9 height and 250 pounds of avoirdupois, 
MrHill proceeded to acknowledge the 
felicitations of the Mayor. He returned 
compliments in his usual graceful fash- 
^ ion, and congratulated the Mayor in pre- 
■ siding over such a progressive city, a city noted as a world’s 
fair maker, as the home of such public spirited men as Henry 
Shaw, Messrs. Anheuser-Busch, and others. 
Mr. Hill drew attention to the fact that this was truly a 
national convention, and that solid delegations were to be 
found representing the plains of Kansas, the hills of New 
England, and the fertile valleys of New York. He further 
emphasized the fact that in the ranks of the nurserymen were 
veteran plant growers, whose names would always be linked 
with the progress of horticulture in the country at large. 
These were men who in former days had placed their best 
■ services and best energies at the disposal of the government 
in the days when there was striving for the unity of the 
nation. Among these were Captains Watrous and Kirk¬ 
patrick of Iowa and Texas, Van Lindley of North Carolina, 
and many others who had grown grey in the great cause of 
plant industry. 
Mr. Hill took further occasion to emphasize the impor¬ 
tance of the nursery interests of the country by citing that 
there were over 2300 nurseries in the United States aggregat¬ 
ing a capital of $30,000,000, turning out 
an annual product valued at, at least 
$15,000,000, and employing labor to the 
amount of three or four million dollars 
per annum. He closed with a strong 
statement of the place of the nurserymen 
in the economy of the country, as affect¬ 
ing its material, esthetic, and moral 
welfare. 
PRESIDENT STARK’S ADDRESS 
The address of President Stark was 
truly a notable one. It was analytic, 
and at the same time comprehensive. 
It was practical, but also inspiring and 
suggestive. Above all it was a temper¬ 
ate consideration of the nurseryman in 
his local relations, as well as in his rela¬ 
tions with state officials and govern¬ 
mental institutions. 
Among the subjects treated by Presi¬ 
dent Stark were the burning questions of 
grades and grading, the importance of which was recognized 
by the Association to the extent of appointing a special 
committee to report upon it another season. Among 
other topics was the whole question of state and federal 
inspection laws. He impressed upon the nurserymen the 
desirability, nay, the necessity, of improving the standards 
of quality in the production of stock. Let the ideal be 
constantly to produce better grades, not forgetting that 
with the improvement in quality there should be correspond¬ 
ing increase in price. He pointed out that our standards at 
the present time governing grades and quality were very 
elastic. They were not uniformly recognized. Indeed, our 
standards themselves were not well established, and 
therefore, it was not surprising that they were not lived 
up to. 
J. H. Dayton, Pres. American Association of 
Nurserymen. 
