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THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
The N ational Nurseryman 
Established 1893 by C. L. YATES. Incorporated 1902 
Published monthly by 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN PUBLISHING CO., Inc. 
Hatboro, Pa. 
Editor .ERNEST HEMMING, Flourtown, Pa. 
The leading trade journal issued for Growers and Dealers in 
Nursery Stocks of all kinds. It circulates throughout the 
United States, Canada and Europe. 
AWARDED THE GRAND ERIZE AT PARIS EXPOSITION, 1900 
SUBSCRIPTION RATES 
One Year in Advance .$1.50 
Foreign Subscriptions, in advance .$2.00 
Six Months .$1.00 
Advertising rates will he sent upon application. Advertisements 
should reach this office by the 20th of the month previous to the date 
of issue. 
Payment in advance required for foreign advertisements. Drafts 
on Hew York or postal orders, instead of checks, are requested by the 
Business Manager, Hatboro, Pa. 
Correspondence from all points and articles of interest to nursery¬ 
men and horticulturists are cordially solicited. 
Photographs and news notes of interest to nurserymen should be 
addressed. Editor, Flourtown, Fa., and should be mailed to arrive not 
later than the 25tli of the month. 
Entered as second-class matter June 22, 1916, at the post office at 
Hatboro, Pennsylvania, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
Hatboro, Pa., May 1920 
The information that govern- 
THE SENSATIONAL ment experts are accused of giv¬ 
ing out, as a result of experi¬ 
ments by them, “That plant life depends more on light 
than temperature” and the discovery of this law will 
revolutionize the culture of plants especially under 
glass, is not likely to cause greenhouse men to scrap 
their heating plants or even ease their minds about their 
future coal bills. 
Possibly the Government experts have discovered 
something hitherto unknown, but in presenting it to the 
unscientific public have not guarded against the sensa¬ 
tional presentation of their discoveries. 
As a cub at Kew Gardens the writer well recalls the 
damage done to the tender exotics in the stove house by 
two continuous weeks of London fog. Each morning 
more leaves came off or turned yellow until pot and 
stems seemed more conspicuous than foliage, lie also 
recalls the controversy about tinted glass. The scien¬ 
tific men decided glass of a green tint was the right 
thing with which to glaze the large Palm house to pre¬ 
vent the summer sun from scorching the plants. Later 
science proved it was the worst color they could have 
used, and that clear glass was the best. 
Nature seems to have a fair idea what she wants and 
the limits or laws governing her needs are fairly well 
known. It does not take a very experienced greenhouse 
man to know when the temperature has fallen too low 
in the houses under his care during the night, and it is 
just as obvious by the effect on the plants when it gets 
too high. 
Light, heat, moisture and food are all necessary to the 
growth of plants. The proportion must necessarily vaiy 
with each kind of plant. 
A brief study of Geographical Botany will reveal the 
type of plant nature has produced under different con¬ 
ditions. The cactus or that type plant that presents the 
least surface to the sun will be found to dominate in the 
localities of intense sunlight and little moisture. In the 
more humid or cloudy portions of the earth, the type 
iollows along that of presenting the greatest surface to 
the light, but moisture and temperature seem to be the 
great dominating factors in the growth of plants, pro¬ 
viding there is enough light for them to function. 
My observations have not been made scientifically, 
hut sad experience has taught what absence of sufficient 
light will do to growing plants and I have failed to note 
any appreciable difference in the growth of plants grow¬ 
ing in the vicinity of electric arc lights. Until we get 
more information we shall have to follow old practices 
to enable us to pay the taxes to carry on the experiments. 
• Whatever may be the results of scientific experiments 
made by experts, the practical grower who has lived 
with his plants night and day, year in and year out, 
comes pretty near knowing to a nicety the effects of 
light and heat on the various plants under his care. 
The long, severe dragging winter, 
REAL WORK very late spring and shortage of 
BY SECRETARY help combined to make conditions of 
JOHN WATSON spring business very unpromising 
for the nurserymen. To add to his 
troubles spring business had no sooner began, before 
everything shut down tight. The Railroads and Express 
Companies refused to accept shipments. 
At this writing, the strike has practically been broken 
and conditions are fast becoming normal but there being 
such an accumulation of freight, it will naturally he some 
time before transportation will arrive at that condition 
that is essential to successfully carry perishable goods. 
The value of the American Association of Nurserymen 
under such conditions will begin to be appreciated when 
it is known that the executive secretary, John Watson 
immediately got busy, went to Washington to see what 
could be done to relieve the situation. He sent out calls 
for assistance to numbers of the members of the associa¬ 
tion, asking them to write their senators and representa¬ 
tives, interviewed government officials, Bureau of Mar¬ 
kets, Bureau of Plant Industry, Interstate Commission, 
and any other power that might help to relieve the em¬ 
bargo and hasten the handling of the Nurserymen’s ship¬ 
ments. The results of this work may be seen on separate 
page. When through the efforts of Mr. Watson, he suc¬ 
ceeded in having nursery stock given preference over all 
other shipments next to food and fuel. Anyone who is at 
all familiar with the way things are done in Washington, 
will realize it takes a man of very exceptional ability to 
locate the men, obtain interviews with them, to say noth¬ 
ing of marshalling the forces and have them act upon his 
plea. It is one of the many proofs that show how inval¬ 
uable a man of Mr. Watson’s calibre is to the association 
and how deserving of support from all nurserymen are 
the efforts of the National Association as the results of its 
work benefit all. 
