THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
i59 
Every year sees a considerable advance 
in the improvement of implements 
NURSERY adapted to the varied and rather spe- 
IMPLEMENTS. cialized uses of the nurseryman. No 
one type of cultivator is suitable in all 
parts of the country. Every cultivator must be chosen for 
the particular kind of soil, in which it is to work, and for the 
particular type of stock it is to till. The nurseryman 
desires an implement that will thoroughly and efficiently 
pulverize the soil with as little draft as possible upon the 
team, and with the least friction upon the operator. The 
points to study in a good implement are efficiency, dur¬ 
ability, and ease of draft. 
Unfortunately, there is a tendency among manufacturers 
at the present time to turn out cheap implements. The 
wood-work is covered with glowing coats of paint, the 
iron work is similarly protected, and one does not know 
whether he is buying pine or oak in the one case, cast or 
wrought iron in the other. Cheap implements are dear 
at any price, and nothing is more vexatious than the halts 
necessitated by the breaking of parts of field implements 
The criticism which is offered applies with probably more 
force to spray machinery than it does to cultivating 
implements. This is due perhaps to the demand for a 
cheap type of spray machinery. What we have said above 
applies with special force to many of the modern spray 
pumps. 
There have been in recent years some notable advances 
in the styles of tillage implements. We now have trenchers 
planters-, firmers and fertilizer distributors that do the 
work they are designed for in satisfactory manner on 
suitable soils. But each implement should be studied 
by the would-be purchaser in the light of his own conditions. 
We think it is fair to say that some nurserymen have a fad 
for buying the latest kind of implement which appears. 
Very often it is neglected in the field and simply adds so 
much to the junk pile at the end of the season. Again, 
very often the best implements are those which have been 
devised by the nursery proprietor or the nursery foreman 
himself. An ingenious man will modify a cultivator or a 
spray cart so that it will serve his needs better than any 
he can purchase. It is needless to say that a man of this 
ability is a very valuable adjunct to an up-to-date nursery. 
EDITORIAL WANDERINGS. 
A Start for Oriental Countries; Notes on the Voyage. 
Gentle Reader, did you ever take part in a district 
l school debate having for settlement the classic question 
of whether or not the pleasures of realization are greater 
than those of anticipation? If so, in you the old feelings 
will survive whenever you contemplate a foray into a new 
country or an experience expected to be entirely novel. 
Well does the writer remember the joys (and the sorrows) 
of the first circus that passed his way in the good old Fore- 
paugh days, when the cavalcade marched overland from 
town to town. Well does he' recall the fever of excitement 
that possessed him for days before the passage of the vans 
and the fear that they would pass in the night. 
But we are wandering from our subject. Happy, 
however, is the man who retains his power of anticipation, 
who, travel he ever so much, can always look forward with 
pleasure to the new surroundings, customs, climates and 
profits from all the lessons they bring. 
An Oriental Tour Projected. 
It has long been our dream to visit those older civiliza¬ 
tions where one may see the milestones marking the evolu¬ 
tion of our race and where contrasts between the individuals, 
education, social standing and influence stand out so 
sharply. The opportunity came with the second half of 
the University year through the operation of the sabbathieal 
rule. February first found the madame, the editor and 
our two children on board the White Star Steamer “Ro¬ 
manic,” booked for Naples with Cairo, Egypt, as the im¬ 
mediate objective point. 
Our steamer left the dock in a fine blizzard following 
one of the coldest days of the winter. It was pleasant to 
receive a “bon voyage” and a hearty handshake from the 
sage of Derry Village, Mr. John C. Chase—always kind 
and thoughtful, equally capable either in pronouncing a 
benediction, responding to a toast or acting as moderator 
of an assembly of nurserymen. The generous man is 
always in demand. 
The pleasures of a sea voyage are largely a personal 
question and one highly colored by the character of the 
weather. In our case we had just one variety—the boister¬ 
ous kind. Very amusing it is to note how one’s interest, 
keen at first in the small things affecting steamer life, soon 
departs from the man struck with the familiar qualms. 
His particular place at the dining table at first very im¬ 
portant soon sinks into insignificance. The young lady 
forgets her steamer letters and neglects her flowers; the 
dining room is not a place of joyful retirement—and so it 
goes. Five days from Boston the Azores are sighted— 
then Gibraltar, Algeria, Genoa and Naples. Of these in 
our next. 
OUR BOOK TABLE. 
“How to Do Business by Letter.” By Sherwin Cody, 
System, New York City. 
This is an extremely valuable book in many respects. 
It Can only be procured as a premium in connection with 
the well known and useful magazine, System. 
There are four general lines of information developed, 
(1) forms of letters, (2) comment upon the same, (3) rules 
of grammar and correct use of words and (4) facts about 
post office regulations, etc. The beauty and value of the 
model letters can only be in the opportunity given to 
acquire good phrases and pat terms. If a business man 
has anything to say he will say it, model letters to the 
contrary as regards form. In our opinion these model 
letters are of doubtful value. In the comments upon the 
models there is much sound advice given. 
The book will, however, be of use to the average business 
men because of its rules of grammar, etc., and facts about 
regulations. In other words, it is more successful as a 
book of reference than as a book of instruction. Every 
office will find it a helpful little volume. 
