THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
248 
correct practice in matters of Landscape Art, or what is a 
hotter term “Good Gardening.” 
* 
John Frazer, Sr., one of the best known nurserymen 
in the South and a pioneer nurseryman ol Alabama, died 
at the home of his son, John Frazer, Jr., last month. Mr. 
Frazer was 78 years old and had been in failing health 
for more than a year. Mr. Frazer was born in Edinburgh, 
Scotland, hut came to America while a youth and en¬ 
gaged in the nursery business, having been associated 
with Major W. F. Heikes in the original Huntsville Nur¬ 
sery. but later he went into business for himself and 
was for many years the head of the Frazer Nursery Co. 
is survived by his widow, three sons and three daugh¬ 
ters: Mrs. George McLaughlin, Mrs. E. L. Leatherwood, 
Mrs. Robert S. Harrison, James W. Frazer and John 
Frazer, Jr., all of Huntsville ,and 0. W. Frazer, of Bir¬ 
mingham. 
HORTICULTURAL TRADE COMMITTEES OF 
ANGERS, ORLEANS AND USSY (FRANCE) 
Tlie National Nurseryman of August, 1920 and the American 
Nurseryman of the same month, have published the contents of 
a letter from Mr. Lloyd C. Stark to Mr. Aug. Rolker. 
The contents of this letter are not exactly the same in both 
papers because the beginning of it has not been published in the 
National Nursery'man. It reads as follows: 
“We have your favour of July 6th advising that the Holland 
firms have withdrawn their quotations, evidently because they 
are influenced by the extra high French quotations.” 
Nor has it published another chapter which reads as follows: 
“We note that you expect to hear from Italy and Germany in 
regard to stock soon; also from Holland. If the Frenchmen in¬ 
sist on sticking to their exorbitant prices, we, and most other 
American Nurserymen, will certainly feel like letting the French 
Syndicate keep their high-priced fruit stocks.” 
Our eminent and gallant colleague has examined the situation 
at the American point of view without considering at the French 
side. We beg him to examine it with us. 
At first, when he says: 
“Of course, we realize that last year seedlings of all kinds 
were scarce, almost no crop on account of the war and bad sea¬ 
son but this year’s crop is a good one. We have confidential in¬ 
formation from reliable French sources that there is a big crop, 
practically all lines, except plum and there are more plum than 
there were last year.” 
We must rectify these reports concerning the French situation, 
which have been sent by someone who does not know how this 
situation stands exactly and which is as follows: 
Cherry (Mazzard )as scarce as last year. 
Cherry Mahaleb, about the same quantity as last year. 
Quince, rarer than last year. 
Pear, about the same quantity as last year with a larger de¬ 
mand in France than last year. 
Apple (common) about the same quantity as last year with a 
larger demand in France than last year. 
Apple (English Paradise )quantity smaller than that of last 
year. 
Plum Myrobolan, about the fifth part of the quantity which 
was available last year, the prices established by our committees 
are not sufficient to cover all the expenses, as the seeds have been 
bought at a very high price and not 10 per cent of them have 
grown. 
Plum St. Julien, same situation as Myrobolan Plum. 
Rose stocks, Canina and Manetti are available about the same 
quantities as last year. 
All prices have been established taking into consideration the 
situation of the crop. If some French nurserymen have quoted 
higher prices than those fixed this is due to their special situa¬ 
tion: either they were very poor of an article, being themselves 
buyers of it or as it is the case with several of the laigest buyeis 
of Myrobolan seed last season; the seeds were so bad that most 
of the lot had to be thrown away and are used actually as pave¬ 
ment for the foot ways of their nurseries. They may sell the 
stock at any price, it will be impossible for them to recover the 
money paid for the seeds. . 
Mr. Lloyd C. Stark has expressed the opinion that the high 
prices of this season have been fixed by us as recompense of the 
assistance rendered to France by America during the war. 
Our American friend of whom we highly appreciate the gallant 
part he took in the war, has certainly not retained his thought 
long enough to examine the question on its exact situation and he 
is far from the question when he compares the Holland situation 
with the French one. 
We will let the question of the quality of the Holland fruit 
tree stocks aside and consider only the economical situation of 
both nations Holland and France. 
At first our American friend has been wrongly informed for 
saying that France was able last autumn and this Spring to work 
normally, this was the situation of the Hollanders and other 
neutrals who have not suffered from the war, but not of the 
Frenchmen, who had at first to clean their nurseries when com¬ 
ing back, whereas the Hollanders who had been at home during 
the war and have made profits of it, were ready to work and to 
compete in all markets. 
Our situation is now the following one: 
Owing to the high rates of exchange demanded by our Amer¬ 
ican and British allies and by the neutrals, all the articles we 
are obliged to buy abroad are paid by us at two or three times 
their value. The coal paid by us about five times its value, is an 
example. If Frenchmen sell to their allies or to neutrals who 
make high profits by exchanging French money they will soon be 
out of business and conducted to bankrupt or to leave their bus¬ 
iness. After having won the war they will be totally beaten on 
the economical struggle. 
We could return to our American friends the opinion said by 
Mr. Stark: are their high rates of exchange, and their high 
prices for coal, raw materials, and all manufactured articles a 
recompense for France who has supported the heaviest burden of 
the war and is still supporting it. 
Is it a recompense that at the actual date, France has paid 
about 200 milliards of francs as difference of exchange since the 
armistice, difference amounting nearly to her expenses of war. 
This situation being not at end because our devastated areas 
are still wanting enormous quantities of materials and labour 
that we pay at very high rates and, as you know, without having 
the assurance that Germany will pay. 
The letter of Mr. Lloyd C. Stark confirms us what we had 
learned that numerous Dutch offers have been withdrawn. Our 
American friend said that this has happened on account of the 
publication of the high French prices. This is not quite the 
true reason. 
The Hollanders have removed their offers because the French 
decision to sell to them the goods in florins and not in francs, so 
to place them on the same level as our allies, has destroyed their 
hope to profit of the French nurserymen s work as they have pro¬ 
fited during the war and since too. 
Since April, nearly all the important Dutch firms visited the 
French ones or wrote them and asked their prices. They tried 
to buy the French products in francs, with the intention to sell 
them to our American friends in dollars and get the profit of the 
exchange. 
It should be a pity, after having been the most affected in the 
war, to be the commercial drudge of the world wide horticulture. 
We want to sell our products ourselves on the markets where 
those products are wanted at a price permitting us to live. 
As to our American Trade, we have not altered our methods, 
for we have always established our prices in the money of this 
country, and we have used the same basis to establish prices for 
the neutral countries. 
We hope that our American and British friends will recon¬ 
sider the situation and conceive that we can stand and continue 
our business only if we get a return sufficient to cover our ex¬ 
penses and that the goods we have to sell this season have been 
grown by people who have been the last discharged of their mil¬ 
itary duty and that no comparison can be done between them and 
the Hollanders who have not had to take their part in the war. 
We could still say more, but esteem this to be sufficient. 
We are working hard and we hope next season to be in a better 
financial position, we ask our friends and our allies, not to con¬ 
sider the situation only on their angle, but to examine it in a 
friendly way as it stands on both sides. 
On behalf of the Horticultural Trade Committees 
of Angers, Orleans and Ussy 
Angers Orleans Ussy 
A. BRAULT R. BARBIER N. LEVAYASSEUR 
President President President 
JOHN FRAZER, SR. 
