148 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
No. 319 
UNITED STATES CIVIL-SERVICE EXAMINATION. 
PLANT BREEDER 
june 22, 1920. 
The United States Civil Service Commission announces an 
open competitive examination for plant breeder. A vacancy in 
the Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, for 
duty at Blissfield, Mich., at $2,000 to $2,400 a year, and vacan¬ 
cies in positions requiring similar qualifications, at these or 
higher or lower salaries, will be filled from this examination, un¬ 
less it is found in the interest of the service to fill any vacancy 
by reinstatement, transfer, or promotion. 
The entrance salary within the range stated will depend upon 
the qualifications of the appointee as shown in the examination. 
Appointees whose services are satisfactory may be allowed the 
temporary increase granted by Congress of $20 a month. 
All citizens of the United States who meet the requirements, 
both men and women, may enter this examination; appointing 
officers, however, have the legal right to specify the sex desired 
in requesting certification of eligibles. 
The duties of the appointee will be to carry on experiments in 
the growing of sugar-beet seed and in the production of im¬ 
proved strains of sugar-beet seed secured by various methods of 
breeding, with special reference to correlated characters; and to 
determine the best means of keeping sugar-beet roots over win¬ 
ter for seed production, the best time and method of planting 
the roots, harvesting the seed, and other points in connection 
with experimental and commercial sugar-beet seed. 
Competitors will not be required to report for examination at 
any place, but will be rated on the following subjects, which will 
have the relative weights indicated: 
Subjects Weights 
1. Education, training, and experience . 70 
2. Thesis (to be filed with application) . 30 
Total .100 
Under the first subject competitors will be rated upon the 
sworn statements in their applications and upon corroborative 
evidence. 
Applicants must have graduated from a college or university 
of recognized standing in a course embracing the subject of 
botany with special reference to plant breeding, together with 
thorough training in plant physiology, and a course or courses 
in chemisty and plant pathology. In addition, the applicant 
must have had some experience in plant breeding. Additional 
credit will be given for advanced work leading to a master’s or 
doctor’s degree and for experience in the growing and breeding 
of sugar beets. 
Unuer the second subject applicants must submit with their 
applications a thesis containing 3,000 to 5,000 words on some sub¬ 
ject bearing upon plant breeding or plant physiology, showing 
the writer’s ability to do independent investigational work. 
Applicants must have reached their twenty-fifth but not their 
forty-fifth birthday on the date of the examination. Age limits 
do not apply to persons entitled to preference because of military 
or naval service. 
Applicants must submit with their applications their un¬ 
mounted photographs, taken within two years, with their names 
written thereon. Proofs or group photographs will not be ac¬ 
cepted. Photographs will not be returned to applicants. 
Applicants will be admitted to this examination regardless of 
their residence and domicile; but only those who have been ac¬ 
tually domiciled in the State or territory in which they reside 
for at least one year previous to the examination, and who have 
the county officer’s certificate in the application form executed, 
may become eligible for permanent appointment to the appor¬ 
tioned service in Washington, D. C. 
Applicants should at once apply for Form 2118, stating the 
title of the examination desired, to the Civil Service Commis¬ 
sion, Washington, D. C.; the Secretary of the United States Civil 
Service Board, Customhouse, Boston, Mass., New York, N. Y., 
New Orleans, La., Honolulu, Hawaii; Post Office Philadelphia, 
Pa., Atlanta, Ga., Cincinnati, Ohio, Chicago, Ill., St. Paul, Minn., 
Seattle, Wash., San Francisco Calif.; Old Customhouse, St. 
Louis, Mo.; Administration Building, Balboa Heights, Canal 
Zone; or to the Chairman of the Porto Rican Civil Service Com¬ 
mission, San Juan, P. R. 
Applications should be properly executed, excluding the med¬ 
ical certificate, and must be filed with the Civil Service Com¬ 
mission, Washington, D. C., with the material required, prior to 
the hour of closing business on June 22, 1920. 
An act of Congress approved July 11, 1919, provides: 
“That hereafter in making appointments to clerical and other 
positions in the Executive branch of the Government in the Dis¬ 
trict of Columbia or elsewhere preference shall be given to hon¬ 
orably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, and widows of 
such, and to the wives of injured soldiers, sailors, and marines 
who themselves are not qualified but whose wives are qualified 
to hold such positions.” 
Applicants entitled to preference should attach to their appli¬ 
cations their original discharge, or a photostat or certified copy 
thereof, or their official record of service, which will be returned 
after inspection by the Commission. 
Issued May 1, 1920. 
Obituary. * 
JOSEPH A. DAVIS 
Just as we go to press we are advised of the death of 
Joseph A. Davis, of the Franklin Davis Nurseries, Balti¬ 
more, Maryland. He was ill but one week. 
Mr. Davis held the respect and esteem of nurserymen 
throughout the country. He was loved for his kind and 
genial disposition, and will be sadly missed in the gath¬ 
erings of nurserymen. 
The National Nurseryman extends its sympathy to his 
family. 
E. W. REID 
Word has just been received that Mr. E. W. Reid, man¬ 
ager of the Nursery Department of Holm & Olson, St. 
Paul, Minn., died May 26 after an illness of about a week. 
CALIFORNIA NURSERYMEN ARE PROGRESSIVE 
The California Nurserymen and Fruit Growers are 
planning to try and measure up to the gigantic fruit in¬ 
dustry of their State. 
It is estimated the economic value of the fruit and or¬ 
namental plants of California represent an annual turn¬ 
over of $176,000,000. 
For a long time it has been realized pedigreed trees 
were just as essential as good breeds of cattle and other 
animals if the best results are to he expected. 
Fruit trees of a given variety are known to vary greatly 
in quality and production even under the same conditions, 
to say nothing of worthless and unprofitable kinds that 
are often planted because nothing better is available. 
The establishment of a mother orchard under the care 
and management of a thoroughly experienced man who 
will have the cooperation of all the leading growers and 
who will be able to put to use the knowledge that has 
been gained by specialists on the subject, will be a long 
step towards standardizing the industry, and put to pro¬ 
fitable use the scientific knowledge gained in the past. 
Definite plans have been made to negotiate for the lo¬ 
cation and purchase of a prominent farm upon which will 
be planted the most approved types from which buds and 
grafts may be obtained for propagating purposes so as to 
bring up the standard of producing trees. 
The California Nurseryman’s Bud Selection Associa¬ 
tion has been formed with a Board of Directors consisting 
of Win, T. Kirkman, Jr., Fresno; J. E. Bergtholdt, New¬ 
castle; IJ. A. Hyde, Watsonville; J. S. Armstrong, On¬ 
tario; J. W. Barnicott, Newcastle; George C. Roeding, 
Fresno, The manager who has been selected to take 
