726 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
THE SHAKESPEARIAN VIEW OF THE ROOT GALL 
QUESTION 
JAMES PARKER at Denver Meeting 
I have been thinking that if our friend, Shakespeare, 
had lived in this age he would not have built a halo of 
immortal gloom about the precious head of poor Hamlet. 
He would have seen that the perplexing griefs of the ages 
are borne by the heroes we call nurserymen. “To be, or 
not to be,” would not have been written. We nurserymen 
would much rather build up the country in which we live 
than explore that unknown country. If Billy Shakespeare 
could have heard this discussion about root gall I believe 
he would have been convinced that the uneasy paths of 
royalty which drove the noble Prince of Denmark to 
meditate suicide, are nothing as compared with the mo¬ 
mentous problems we daily meet and are bravely trying 
to conquer. 
Root gall or no root gall! That’s the question 
Which makes us doubt, like Denmark’s gloomy Prince, 
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer 
The loss and toil that nurserymen are heir to, 
Or to throw the whole caboodle up and quit 
The risky business. To quit. To take it easy. 
To rest. And by our resting say we end 
The everlasting scramble and nightmare of dread, 
Anxiety and labor. ’Tis a consummation 
Devoutly to be wished. To quit. To loaf around. 
Perchance to go a fishing. Ay, there’s the rub! 
For who can tell when fish will bite, or when, 
Cold-footed, homeward we may plod our weary way 
With naught to cheer the wifey. There’s the respect 
Which gives us pause and keeps us plodding on. 
For who would bear this rush to be on time, 
Railroad delays, the blizzard’s icy touch, 
The south wind’s scorching heat, and the thousand 
Petty hindrances inspection laws place on him, 
When he might his quietus take with pole 
And minnow hook? Who would in patience bear 
To sweat and grunt with weary plow and hoe, 
Even though his toil may help to feed the world 
And clothe in blooming beauty many a home, 
Were it not that the fear of being short on cash 
Puzzles him still and keeps him plodding on! 
Whether root gall is or is not an injurious disease, most 
of the nurserymen here will continue to grow trees. It is 
the part of wisdom to meet conditions as they are, not as 
we would like to have them be. There is much difference 
of opinion even among nurserymen upon this question. 
Until we ourselves can agree it seems hardly fitting that 
we should pass a resolution condemning the position taken 
by men who are making the study of diseases of this 
character their life work. Admitting as true all the proofs 
offered here to-day that trees badly infected have lived 
and done well, we are not necessarily forced to the con¬ 
clusions that root gall is not injurious. We nurserymen are 
a husky-looking crew and yet we have had the measles. 
Before making too much noise I think it would be a good 
idea to learn the size and position of the enemy’s guns. It 
looks to me like the inspectors are behind the breastworks 
of public opinion and have got a dead bead on us. If we 
are to sell trees in the West it is up to us to learn to grow 
the sort of trees they want and not the sort we want them 
to want. If the inspectors continue to insist that a grafted 
apple tree should be perfectly smooth at the union, it is 
our business to learn how to put corsets on these unions 
and make them grow so they will look like the inspectors 
want them to look (Laughter). The most successful 
fighting small boy I ever knew took no chances on getting 
licked. He reasoned that one good stomach blow and a 
safe get-away was better than taking chances on a fight in 
which he might get the worst of it. I believe that the 
ultimate solution of this perplexing question will be that 
we nurserymen will learn to lessen the number of rough 
trees that are now thrown out as root gall by at least one- 
half, and that the inspectors on their part will learn to 
discriminate between root gall that is real trouble and the 
slight enlargements which are common in the healing of all 
wounds, to such an extent that many trees that are now 
thrown out will be passed as healthy trees. I believe 
when this matter is fully understood we will agree that 
there is such a thing as root gall that is injurious, but that 
the losses from this source will be so small that we can 
begin to try to love the inspectors as we should and we can 
then all be happy. I thank you. (Laughter and applause) 
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE GROWER 
Keep the cultivator moving if growth is desired. If it is 
not a question of saving moisture, it is to kill weeds. 
It is not too late to stimulate a weak growth by using 
small doses of soluble fertilizer. 
How about the mildew or the spots on the rose stocks? 
Have the spray gun loaded with Bordeaux. 
Keep a sharp eye on the cherry and plum buds. Timely 
pruning is to be given as required. 
Red rust on blackberry and black raspberry began to 
show last month. Plants so affected must be pulled out 
and burned. Spraying is of little value. 
Apple and cherry stocks began to show mildew last 
month which will check growth and interfere with budding 
if allowed to run. Use Bordeaux mixture. 
Keep a sharp look-out for aphis on one-year-olds. 
Dipping tips in whale oil soap diluted 1 to 5 is a somewhat 
slow but sure method of destroying the enemy. 
Aphis on young orchards have been very troublesome 
in recent years. They are always worse during the dry sea¬ 
sons. Whale oil or summer wash of lime sulphur is effective. 
Small infestations of San Jose scale may be eradicated 
by frequent applications of whale oil or kerosine emulsions. 
It is simply a question of persistence and thoroughness. 
