THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
831 
COLLEGE MEN 
FOR NURSERY 
POSITIONS 
A prominent nursery firm in the East 
writes The National Nurseryman as 
follows: 
“Are you acquainted with a young 
man who is sufficiently qualified in the 
nursery business to come into our office 
to take charge of the correspondence department? We 
would like a man who has been thoroughly trained by a 
college course in the theoretical side of horticulture, who 
has a general idea of creating business, who is industrious, 
a man of ideas, interested in this line of work, and who 
would be willing to start on a low salary with the oppor¬ 
tunity of working himself up to a thoroughly responsible 
position.” 
Now, this is a particularly hard order to fill. The 
college man, after investing four years of time and a good 
deal of money in education, is usually not willing to start 
on the apprenticeship footing. This attitude may be 
mistaken, but it is also wrong for the nurserymen to think 
that this type of man ought to start on the same plane as 
the man who has given no extra time or made no special 
effort to qualify himself along theoretic and academic lines. 
The old idea of the apprentice in office or greenhouse is not 
agreeable to men who have served an apprenticeship in 
the class room and laboratory. On the other hand, there 
is no doubt that certain apprenticeship is necessary before 
these men, however well qualified from the college stand¬ 
point they may be, can take an efficient part in active and 
effective business enterprises. There ought to be some 
consideration on both sides, on the part of the employer 
and the employed. 
Many applications come to departments of horti¬ 
culture in colleges of agriculture for young men to 
take positions on private estates and in nurseries, 
offering salaries such as are paid to uneducated labor. 
This is hardly reasonable. Yet in cases where the position 
demands little or no executive ability, but a maximum of 
brawn, there is no doubt that college training is practically 
a useless investment, and the employer need not feel that 
he must pay for it. In the larger position, such as the one 
described above, there is no doubt that given two men of 
equal native ability, the man who has had the college train¬ 
ing will forge ahead much more rapidly and be able to 
handle larger enterprises in a much shorter time than the 
man who is obliged to bank on the information gained 
from his own observation and experience, and who is 
without the mind training which class work ought to bring. 
The National Nurseryman is quite as pleased to give any 
assistance it can in bringing to the unemployed in college 
circles notice of opportunity for advancement, as it is to aid 
nurserymen in securing an efficient type of labor. 
\ _. 
One day I saw a copy of The National Nurseryman 
and thinking it a very good monthly paper, the best for 
my trade I have ever yet seen in this country, I want to 
subscribe to it. I enclose herewith one dollar. I should 
be very much obliged to you if you will send me a copy 
for this month. 
Springfield, Mass. C. Schuller. 
Doings of Societies 
REPORT OF AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
The report of the thirty-first session of the American 
Pomological Society, held at St. Catharines, Ontario, at the 
invitation ofjdie Provincial Fruit Growers’ Association, is 
now being distributed to its members. This national 
society numbers in its membership about six hundred 
persons, having horticultural interests, either as amateurs 
or professional fruit growers. 
The report, as usual, contains a large amount of in¬ 
formation of the greatest value to present or future or- 
chardists and gardeners. In its 350 odd pages, there are 
chapters on the following subjects: Orchard management; 
the latest on lime-sulphur sprays, being a symposium on 
this subject; a discussion of the adaptation of varieties to 
soils and climates by experts on soil and pomology; the 
pecan and chestnut by pioneers in these industries; goose¬ 
berry culture, with special relation to methods of growing 
the English varieties; grape varieties of the East and the 
West; and a very important chapter on co-operation in the 
marketing of horticultural products. 
In addition to these live topics, the volume contains a 
report of the General Fruit Committee, which is,,in effect, 
a summary and statement of the developmental condition 
of fruit growing in different parts of the country. This 
gives the status of fruit-growing projects, the trend of the 
industry, in different sections, and the outlook. To the 
person considering the question of engaging in horticulture 
in some of its forms as a life work, this part of the volume 
will be of great service. 
This society is non-sectional, non-partisan, working only 
for the advancement of the fruit-growing interests of the 
country at large. The president of the society is L. A. 
Goodman, Kansas City, Missouri; secretary, John Craig, 
Ithaca, New York; treasurer, L. R. Taft, East Lansing, 
Michigan. 
VERMONT STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
The 16th annual meeting and exhibition of the Vermont 
State Horticultural Society took place at Grange Hall, 
Brattleboro, November 7, 8, and 9, 1910. Addresses on 
important topics in connection with fruit growing were 
presented by well known men from several of the New Eng¬ 
land colleges, as well as others versed in horticultural affairs. 
The premium list includes: Class 1, Apples (with several 
special premiums); class 2, Pears; class 3, Flowers; class 4, 
Vegetables. 
GULF COAST NURSERYMEN’S ASSOCIATION 
This Association met on October 4, at Houston, with Mr. 
R. H. Bushway in the chair and fifteen members present. 
Plans for systematizing work were considered. The 
members were found to be strictly against the taxing of 
nurserymen’s stock, that is fruit trees in the field. The 
Association agreed to co-operate with the State Nursery¬ 
men’s Association in testing a case enforcing the taxation. 
