42 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
vinces. Even our own country increased its demands 
100% over any of the previous four seasons, though we 
will probably not receive over 15% of our requirements. 
As to the future. Since men are now available, and a 
good crop of seeds and a fair supply of labor was avail¬ 
able this fall, with an average growing season the crop 
for 1920 should be almost double that of 1919, and 
though I hate to make predictions, I think we would be 
safe in figuring that prices in 1920 will be less than half 
what they are this season. As production increases and 
conditions become gradually normal, prices will continue 
to come down—though I question if they will ever again 
be as low as in pre-war years. Ten years ago I sold 
Myrobolan plum 5-9 m|m at $1.10 per 1000, today I can¬ 
not buy them for less than $60.00 net cash in advance. I 
don’t think we will ever see those extremes again for the 
same reason that we will never see such a war again. 
ONE OF THE RESULTS OF A QUARANTINE 
The famous Paragon Sober Chestnut Nurseries and 
Orchards. Irish Valley, Lewisburg, Pa., have been sold 
to a group of capitalists for $50,000. 
Most nurserymen will be more or less familiar with 
the enterprise conducted by Captain Coleman K. Sober 
in growing and exploiting the Paragon Chestnut. From 
a small beginning he developed a nursery of a million 
trees and a bearing orchard of 50,000 trees producing 
annually thousands of bushels of chestnuts. 
Just about the time the dreams of Captain Sober be¬ 
gan to be realized, a thriving industry that would have 
benefited the whole world, as through the Captain’s 
methods waste forest lands were to have been planted 
and made productive, a quarantine was put into effect, 
on account of the chestnut blight, which effectively 
ruined the business. 
The Chestnut Blight Commission spent over a quarter 
of a million dollars accomplished nothing in the way 
of preventing the spread of the disease, but prevented 
the distribution of perfectly healthy trees by its quaran¬ 
tine and incidentally ruined an industry. 
WAKING UP 
Order 37 of the Federal Horticultural Roard, placing 
a quarantine on the importation of nursery stock, incited 
much criticism, but it was confined mainly to nursery¬ 
men, florists, and Trade papers. When the Board goes 
further, however, and proposes to quarantine certain 
New Jersey counties in which large quantities of vege¬ 
tables and fruits are produced, the people begin to wake 
up to the activities of the Roard. The following editorial 
from the Philadelnbia Evening Bulletin of January 21st 
• s interesting. Peril an 41 had it been possible to interest 
Mio dailv nre«s in order No. 37 the auarantine on foreign 
nursery stock might pot Inva been as tight as it is now. 
A DRASTIC MEASURE 
The Philadelphia consumer has a joint interest with the New 
Jersey farmer in the intimation from the Federal Department of 
Agriculture that an embargo may be placed upon the shipment of 
all fruit and vegetables from a considerable part of Burlington 
and Camden counties in New Jersey in an attempt to wipe out the 
Japanese beetle, a pest which has been increasing in that terri¬ 
tory for the past three years, in spite of all efforts at extinction. 
Even if the annihilation of this beetle is as important as the 
Federal entomologists declare, these public interests have a com¬ 
parative value and are to be considered. Such a measure as is 
proposed would seem to be a last resort, to be applied only after 
all means of inspection of outgoing produce had been utilized 
and partial or conditional restriction had been tried. 
The beetle is supposed originally to have found its way into 
this country in an importation of iris, and although multiplying 
in numbers, has not spread beyond what might be called local 
limits, its presence on this side of the Delaware not having been 
reported. The plan of the Federal authorities is to keep it within 
local confines, as much as possible, and gradually to fight it out 
of existence. But a complete embargo on garden stuff would not 
prevent the transportation of the beetle in some of its various 
stages of development by other means which are daily afforded, 
and which are not capable of the inspection and precaution that 
might be exercised in the shipment of such produce and actually 
prove more ellective than an embargo. 
BABY RAMBLERS 
An organization of young nurserymen, founded at 
the annual convention held at Milwaukee, Wis., June 
28, 1916. 
Their object is to perpetuate the best ideals and prac¬ 
tices of the nursery business. 
Baby Rambler Louis R. Bryant, Princeton, III. 
Baby Rambler Miles W. Bryant, Princeton, III. 
