THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
203 
I should appreciate it very much if you have any sug¬ 
gestions to make concerning our catalogue, any criti¬ 
cism will he most welcome. 
Yours truly, 
American Forestry Company. 
The catalogue of the stock growing on the Little Tree 
Farms, Framingham, Massachusetts, gives a pleasing 
impression when it is first opened. 
It is generous in size. This may cause annoyance to 
the filing clerk where they are kept for future reference, 
but being too good for the waste basket, it is always in 
the way, unless the filing clerk happens to think about 
folding it. 
The numerous cuts illustrate exactly what is offered 
for sale, not like so many catalogues, what a certain 
plant may possibly look like when it reaches maturity. 
The quotation on the 100 and 1000 give assurance of 
a large stock and the purchaser can get what he orders. 
Stating the number of times transplanted unfortun¬ 
ately conveys little information to the average retail pur¬ 
chaser, but is a true indication of value to the horticul¬ 
turist. 
To summarize the catalogue should prove a success 
with the big buyer, the nurseryman, the landscape man 
and the true plantsman but is likely to be ignored by Mr. 
Suburbs with less than an acre in favor of a catalogue 
with more “imagination.” 
i 
UNITED STATES CIVIL-SERVICE EXAMINATION 
SUPERINTENDENT OF FIELD SEED DISTRIBUTION 
August 24, 1920. 
The United States Civil Service Commission announces an¬ 
other competitive examination for superintendent of field seed 
distribution. A vacancy in the Bureau of Plant Industry, De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., at $2,160 a year, 
and vacancies in positions requiring similar qualifications, at 
this or higher or lower salaries, will be filled from this examina¬ 
tion, unless it is found in the interest of the service to fill any 
vacancy by reinstatement, transfer, or promotion. 
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. For the present vacancy 
male eligibles are desired. 
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: 
1. Education .20 
2. Practical experience .. 50 
3. Thesis of not less than 3,000 nor more than 
5,000 words on the subject “The Conducting 
of a Distribution of Seed on New and Im¬ 
proved Field Crops, and the Results to 
he Accomplished” (to he filed with appli¬ 
cation) ..;.^.30 
I i !'( | 'H - 
Total ..100 
Under the first two subjects competitors will be rated upon 
the sworn statements in their applications and upon corrobora¬ 
tive evidence. 
The duties of this position will be to superintend the placing 
of field seed growing contracts, purchasing field seed in the mar¬ 
ket, transportation of the seed, the preparation and distribution 
of the seed, and the handling of correspondence, records, and re¬ 
ports incident to the distribution of such field seeds. 
A FERTILIZER EXPERIMENT WITH ASPARAGUS 
The following is a summary of a fertilizer experiment 
with asparagus planned and supervised by Dr. W. P. 
Rrooks, of the Massachusetts Experiment Station pub¬ 
lished in detail in Bulletin 194. 
SUMMARY. 
A fertilizer experiment with asparagus was conducted 
for a period of nine years in the town of Concord on 
coarse, sandy loam, which was typical of the soils used 
for asparagus culture. Seven crops of young stalks 
were produced during the experiment, and the yield 
steadily increased each year until the sixth, which was 
the crop of maximum size on nearly every plot. 
Of the chemical fertilizers used, a mixture of 466 
pounds nitrate of soda, 300 pounds acid phosphate, and 
260 pounds muriate of potash per acre produced the best 
yields. 
Manure at the rate of 10 tons per acre produced nearly 
as good results as the chemicals, while combinations of 
manure with chemicals and with nitrate of soda were no 
better than manure or chemicals used separately. 
There was no apparent cumulative effect produced by 
the annual use of manure, and the asparagus tops har¬ 
rowed into the soil each year seemed to supply sufficient 
organic matter for the efficient use of chemicals. 
When nitrate of soda was added to manure it was most 
efficient when applied in two portions, one in the spring 
and one in the summer. Nitrate of soda applied with acid 
phosphate and muriate of potash was slightly more ef¬ 
fective when applied in summer in four years out of 
seven. 
Muriate of potash was, on the whole, the most satis¬ 
factory potash compound used. 
Following the second crop an attack of rust from an 
adjacent field swept over about half of the plots. The 
plots nearest the source of the attack were reduced in 
yield the next season nearly 20 per cent, and were per¬ 
manently injured. The remainder of the plots appar¬ 
ently recovered before the maximum yield of the sixth 
crop. 
The sixth or maximum crop averaged about 80 per 
cent greater than the second crop, which was the first 
full cutting. The seventh crop was less than 10 per cent 
smaller than the maximum sixth crop. 
NEW AGRICULTURAL HEAD 
After careful and mature deliberation, a director of 
the Agricultural Bureau of the Pennsylvania State 
Chamber of Commerce has been secured in the person of 
W. C. Byers who, it is believed, will efficiently fill this 
post in its many intricate dealings. In selecting a di¬ 
rector for this bureau the officials of the State Chamber 
found it necessary to look at the"inattei* from many 
angles, as care had to be exercised to get the services of 
a man who would command the respect of both farmers 
and consumers in the great problem of producing and 
distributing food products at this critical time. 
