THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
! U 
at the Grand Junction end of the valley. Heaters were 
used during a two day cold wave in April and again for 
two nights near the middle of May. Ten percent is a 
heavy toll to pay for frost protection, but not to be con¬ 
sidered when it means a crop or nothing. The best or¬ 
chards have electric alarms attached to thermographs 
which warn the grower when the temperature falls to the 
danger point at night. 
INSECTS AND FUNGI 
The Grand Valley fruit grower has much to be thankful 
for, in that he enjoys practical immunity from the scab 
and spot types of fungus diseases. Pear blight has ap¬ 
peared here and there but growers are fighting it vigorously 
and it should be eradicated. San Jose' scale is kept out, or 
promptly destroyed by the operation of stringent inspec¬ 
tion laws. On the whole the Valley fruit grower is very 
favorably situated. He 
has one enemy, however, 
which seems to enjoy nat¬ 
ural conditions and to take 
full advantage of them. 
This is the codling moth. 
The breeding season is a 
long one. It is not proved 
that the first brood enters 
by way of the calyx exclu¬ 
sively. I was told that 
eggs were deposited any¬ 
where on the apple over a 
period of three weeks dur¬ 
ing the time the apple was 
growing rapidly so that 
complete protection was 
difficult, if not impossible. 
These men are good spray¬ 
ers, however. They use 
the best materials and im¬ 
plements and put up a vigorous fight during the long 
period of the moth’s activity. With lime sulphur and 
Bordeaux spray as a remote or only occasional necessity 
the fruit grower should remember his blessings and be 
devoutly thankful. 
ORGANIZATION 
Grand Junction fruit growers are organized. They 
put up a uniform pack. This pack is inspected at home 
and sold on its brand and reputation. No fruit is sold 
on consignment. These men have passed this stage. 
They are not at the mercy of the dealer or commissionman. 
Their product has standing and does not need to hunt 
for a buyer. The buyer comes to the Association. Perish¬ 
able summer fruit is sometimes sold at auction, but the 
consignment plan is tabooed. 
It should be stated that all the fruit growers of the val¬ 
ley are not members of the association. This condition is 
almost inevitable but rather to be deplored. Different 
points of view and varying interests are the separating 
factors. 
SOUTHERN NURSERYMEN’S MEETING 
The twelfth Annual convention of the Southern Nursery¬ 
men’s Association at Knoxville, Tenn., late in August, was 
successful and interesting.' The sessions were presided 
over by President R. C. Berckmans of Augusta. Among 
the speakers were W. T. Hood, Richmond, Va., O. J. 
Howard, Pomona, N. C., Chas. T. Smith, Concord, Ga., 
and W. A. Easterly, Cleveland, Tenn. 
The Association was entertained by the Peters Nursery 
at Bearden, and the Country Club of Knoxville. The 
sessions were held in the State College of Agriculture. 
The local papers give special mention as follows to 
prominent members of the Association in attendance: 
“John C. Miller is a prominent figure in the meeting, at 
the head of Miller & Sons, Rome, Ga. His firm is one of 
the largest retail nursery houses in the south. 
One of the younger and most successful nurserymen 
present is O. Joe Howard, 
office manager of the J. 
Van Bindley nurseries of 
Pomona, N. C. He de¬ 
livered an interesting ad¬ 
dress Thursday morning. 
Possibly but one nur¬ 
seryman in attendance is a 
politician, Attorney - Gen¬ 
eral A. J. Fletcher, of 
Cleveland represents the 
Fletcher-Harrison nurser¬ 
ies of Cleveland and is one 
of the best informed men 
in the South on peaches. 
Charles T. Smith is at 
the head of the Smith Nur¬ 
series of Concord, Ga., 
which possibly has one of 
the largest general nursery 
concerns in the south. 
W. T. Hood of W. T. Hood Nursery Co., Richmond, Va. 
There is possibly no better known nurseryman in the 
south or in the United States than R. C. Berckmans, of 
Augusta, Ga., president of the association. He is associated 
with the P. J. Berckmans Nursery company, of Augusta. 
W. F. Heikes, of Huntsville, Ala., owner and manager 
of the Huntsville Wholesale Nursery Company, is another 
nurseryman present whose trade extends over the entire 
world, and principally Europe. He has just returned from 
a tour of Europe and the orient. 
Another nurseryman from Huntsville is Robert Chase, 
president of the Chase Nursery Company of that place. 
Representing the Winchester Nursery Company is 
Aubrey Frink, of Winchester. This concern is owned by 
Nathan W. Hale, A. I. Smith, H. N. Camp and J. L. 
Deaver, of this city, and bears the distinction of being the 
largest peach nursery in the world. 
Bruce Howell represents the Howell Nursery, east of the 
city: Peters Gettys, the Peters Nursery, at Bearden; A. I. 
Smith the Knoxville Nursery Company.” 
See Frontispiece for newly-elected officers. 
