460 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
after the great agrostologist and botanist of the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture. Coupled with this plant was a 
harmoniously beautiful partner, one of the handsomest 
of our American evergreens, Carolina Hemlock Tsuga 
Caroliniana. These two with half a dozen or more native 
trees and shrubs formed the offering of this juvenile nursery¬ 
man. This half acre has extended year by year until there 
are now over one hundred acres in the north Carolina 
nursery exclusively devoted to the cultivation and propaga¬ 
tion of wild flowers and plants. These half dozen species 
have been multiplied by one hundred until at the present 
time there are over six hundred species of plants native to 
the Appalachians and Northeastern United States. This 
growth has been made possible by intelligent study of the 
splendid assortment of the trees and shrubs which nature has 
distributed over this interesting region. The elevation of 
the Highlands Nursery is 3800 feet. In plain sight from the 
grounds are Grandfather Mountain, 6000 feet, and Mitchell 
Mountain, 6600 feet, the latter holding the distinction of 
being the highest point east of the Rockies. This region is 
the home of Rhododendron catawbiense, called by Mr. Kel¬ 
sey the finest of all the broad leaved evergreens. In this 
section also abound R. maximum and R. punctatum. Here 
it is that seeds and small plants collected are grown and 
cultivated under systematic management for the purpose 
of developing good root system and symmetrical form of 
top. These plantings occupy an area of 100 acres and com¬ 
prise over 600 species. 
A View of the Salem Branch of the Highlands Nursery. 
qualities, uses and adaptations of the plants themselves. 
Not only is the most solicitous consideration given to the 
selection of the best types and varieties but much thought 
is given to the growing of the plants, to the end that only 
the best quality of stock is produced. The story of the 
growth of the business would in effect largely be the story of 
the popularization of such noted plants as the hardy azalias, 
the magnificent rhododendrons, together with many other 
broad-leaved and coniferous evergreens, graceful climbers, 
handsome ferns and attractive flowering herbaceous plants. 
NURSERY HEADQUARTERS 
1. Mountains of North Carolina —The headquarters of 
the Highlands Nursery is established in the region where the 
natural flora is the richest in Northeastern America. It lies 
in the Allegheny regions of North Carolina, and although 
somewhat remote is not inaccessible. The varying eleva¬ 
tions furnish conditions which permit of the cultivation of a 
2. The Salem Branch .—After the establishment of the 
Highlands Carolina Nursery the proprietor of the Nursery 
found that it was desirable to maintain an establishment 
from which shipments of mature plants might be made on 
short notice. This was done by acquiring a tract of land in 
the historic town of Salem and equipping it with such an 
assortment as were most in demand by Eastern planters. 
Many of the rarer rhododendron hybrids are grown at 
Salem, which is now also the business headquarters of the 
Highlands Nursery. 
IMPORTANT SPECIALTIES 
Isn’t it curious how often people willingly spend money in 
purchasing plants simply for the purpose of securing the 
unusual ? The really important features of intrinsic beauty 
and innate value as measured by adaptability are frequently 
quite overlooked. This is the case with scores of worthy 
American plants. What discriminating plant grower, we 
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