146 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
The National Nurseryman 
Established 1893 by C. L. YATES. Incorporated 1902 
Published monthly by 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN PUBLISHING CO., Inc. 
Hatboro, Pa. 
Editor .ERNEST HEMMING, Flourtown, Pai 
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 T1IE GRAND PRIZE 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 be 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 New York or postal orders, instead of checks, are requested by the 
Business Manager, Hatboro, Fa. 
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 25th of the month. 
Entered as second-class matter June 22, 1916, at the post office at 
Hatboro, Pennsylvania, under the Act of March S, 1879. 
Hatboro, Pa., June 1920 
DOES A 
NURSERYMAN 
VALUE HIS OWN 
PRODUCTS? 
It is very doubtful if the aver¬ 
age nurseryman properly values 
the plants he raises. The pres¬ 
ent shifting of values on all com¬ 
modities and the shutting off of 
the foreign supply maybe, will 
help to make him stop, look and listen, and compare 
values. He produces goods that take from one to twenty 
years to manufacture, if we may use the term. What 
would he have to pay for a hat that took ten years or 
even one, to manufacture? Would it he $10.00 or 
'$100.00 or over. 
If in the manufacture of an article the liability of 
failure in production was from 10 to 100 per cent, is it 
likely the article would he low priced? If it were next 
to impossible to arrive at actual cost data, would the 
manufacturer he likely to underbid job lots and sur¬ 
pluses offered by others. The nurseryman has too long 
been influenced by the crop idea of the farmer in the 
production and distribution of his stock when he 
should really associate his products with the live stock 
of the farmer when putting a value on them. A bushel 
of potatoes, ton of hay, bushel of wheat and such like 
field crops have arrived at their value when they are 
marketable. 
The nurseryman’s trees and plants, like the farmers 
live stock have also arrived at a saleable value hut also 
have a potential value. The apple tree may eventually 
pioduce an annual income many times the original price 
to the purchaser, and the small grafted ornamental tree 
grow into a specimen that will add hundreds of dollars 
to the property upon which it is planted. 
It is not intended to suggest tthat foolish and fictitious 
values should he placed on nursery stock, hut that ac¬ 
tual cost of production, skill, should he covered by its 
selling price. In no line of manufacture or production 
are there so many unprofitable side lines that have to 
he carried at a loss by the business. The groceryman 
used to have one, sugar, and everyone knew about it. 
The nurseryman has many and does not even know 
which I hey are himself. One year he makes money on 
his peach trees, hut loses on his roses and the next year 
it is reversed, hut the failures are never added to the 
cost of the successes. He thus is forced to offer low 
wages, poor culture and instead of a constant improve¬ 
ment and a process of building up he does business along 
the lines of a gambler, hoping each year for a killing 
which seldom comes. The present high cost of labor 
will teach the nurseryman better than any other thing, 
the value of his products, because labor enters so largely 
in the production and he will likely begin to do a little 
figuring and compare his turnover with other lines of 
merchandise. 
If he figures long enough he may come to the conclu¬ 
sion those trees lie grew for eight years and sold for 
two dollars or less were raised at the expense of some 
other item, or paid for by income from some other 
source. 
PREVENTION OF WASTE 
When a big man expresses an opinion it is listened to 
because he can take an involved problem analyze it and 
come to a synthetical conclusion that is more than likely 
to he a sensible one. 
One of the strongest points made by Secretary Mere¬ 
dith speaking before the Chamber of Commerce at At¬ 
lantic City on the work of the U. S. Department of Agri¬ 
culture was on the subject of Prevention of Waste. 
The nursery business is so closely connected with ag¬ 
riculture every word Secretary Meredith spoke applies 
with equal force to the nurseryman as well as farmer 
and after reading his address one cannot help hut come 
to the conclusion that homely remedies are the cure for 
the present state of affairs. 
Mr. Meredith pointed out the valuable work the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture was doing to prevent the huge, 
actual losses in fruit, vegetables, cotton and other pro¬ 
ducts of the farms from various causes. 
II' waste could be eliminated entirely there would he 
enough of everything lor everybody. Even to bring about 
a possible reduction or in other words if Americans 
piacticed thrift to a similar degree that is common to 
some of the older countries that have not such a wealth 
of national resources, the results would he astounding. 
For nurserymen to grow less stock, grow it better, sell 
if all and get a better price for it would he one way of 
practicing thrift by preventing waste. 
John Rice, of Rice Bros. Go., Geneva, N. Y., made a 
hasty trip through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Dela¬ 
ware, this month, visiting nurseymen. 
Mr. Rice reports exceptionally good business this 
spring and sees no surplus of nursery stock in sight next 
year. 
