THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
57 
ituary. 
MAJOR FRANK HOLSINGER. 
In the death of Major Frank Holsinger, at Rosedale, 
Kansas, January 2nd, 1916, the middle west loses one of 
its most prominent horticulturists, a man of sterling in¬ 
tegrity, and one who has spent his life mainly in the ser¬ 
vice of others. 
Major Ilolsinger was horn in Bedford County, Pa., 
April 4th, 1836, where he lived until at the age of nine¬ 
teen, when he went to Ohio, there securing his first em¬ 
ployment away from home, a carpenter’s assistant at a 
salary of $4.00 per month. From Ohio, he went to Ill¬ 
inois, thence to Kansas in 1857, taking up a claim in 
Osage County, Kansas, where he went through the bor¬ 
der troubles, and being an ardent “frec-stater,” fre¬ 
quently met John Brown, Jim Lane and others of the 
Free State men. 
When the Civil War broke out, he returned to Penn¬ 
sylvania and enlisted in the Eighth Pennsylvania Re¬ 
serves and later was commissioned Captain in the 19th 
U. S. Colored Troops, having raised a company of men 
on the east shore of Maryland, lie was severely wounded 
at Bermuda Hundred, and on recovery again went to the 
front, and was brevetted Major lor “Gallantry in Ac¬ 
tion.” At the close of Civil War, he was stationed in 
Texas, as an agent in the “Freedmen’s Bureau” and was 
finally discharged in January, 1867. 
He was married in Maryland, in 1867, and the follow¬ 
ing year came to Kansas City, soon after purchasing 
160 acres in Wyandotte County, Kansas, and since that 
has been a resident of that county. He cleared the 
ground, and almost immediately began fruit-growing. 
With a few others, he organized the Missouri Valley 
Horticultural Society, and has ever been one of the most 
active and helpful members of same. Believing always 
in fruit-growing as a business, he with several other 
growers in the vicinity of Kansas City, organized the 
Olden Fruit Company, and planted immense orchards at 
Olden, Mo., he being one of the charter members of this 
company. In later years, Major Ilolsinger has served 
as Treasurer and President of the Kansas State Horti¬ 
cultural Society, and though in recent years he has not 
actively engaged in horticultural pursuits, he has main¬ 
tained his connection with the different societies in 
which he had formerly been so actively a member. His 
two sons, Gerald L. Ilolsinger and George W. Holsinger, 
continue the nursery business at Rosedale, Kansas. 
Major Holsinger was highly esteemed by all who had 
the privilege of knowing him, and his passing away is a 
severe loss to nursery fraternity. 
MISS H. B. WILLIAMS 
Miss II. B. Williams, Danville, N. Y., whose death oc¬ 
curred at her home on Main street, December 4th, 1915, 
after an illness covering more than a period of three 
years. She was born and had always lived here, and 
was the oldest daughter of the late Samuel P. Williams, 
one of the oldest nurserymen in Dansville. Miss Wil¬ 
liams took care ol her father’s business for several years, 
he having had to give up on account of failing health, 
and alter that had conducted very successfully a busi¬ 
ness ol her own, until a few years ago. when she merged 
interests with the Stark Bros., of Missouri, and had since 
then had the management of their office at Dansville. 
Miss Williams was a woman of excellent business abil¬ 
ity, and had an extensive acquaintance. She is sur¬ 
vived by one sister, Miss F. E. Williams, of Dansville. 
THE PROPER USE OF EVERGREENS 
A LL plants have certain associations or harmonies 
that should be understood by the planter if he 
expects to get pleasing results from his planting. 
Anyone that works among plants and is interested in 
them, unconsciously absorbs this knowledge and inverse¬ 
ly it does not matter how clever an artist he may he if he 
lacks this intimacy with plants his work will always be 
deficient. 
He must not only know where a plant will look well 
but also where it is likely to do well and develop true to 
its nature. 
A common illustration of questionable fitness is the use 
of Norway Spruce in porch beds. This plant is a rapid 
growing evergreen tree of symmetrical habit. To close 
group it in a small space where it can only possibly de¬ 
velop on one side is wrong. The same may be said of all 
the spruces and firs, with perhaps the exception of the 
dwarf varieties, such as Picea excelsa, Maxwelli P. ex- 
celsa nana compacta and such like. 
It is very common to use the Colorado Blue Spruce in 
such groupings, presumably to give color, but a good 
plantsman knows the final results will be poor and show 
either a lack of knowledge or proper material to carry out 
his ideas. 
How much better for such plantings are the Junipers, 
Betinisporas and Arbor Vitaes, and even still better are 
the English Laurel. Yews, Rhododendron, Kalmia Ilex 
crenata, Mahonia, and such like plants that are more or 
less informal in their habit of growth. 
The choice large growing formal evergreens of the 
Nordman’s Fir type look better as solitaires. Landscape 
gardeners sometimes do group them with good effect, but 
it is an open question whether several spoilt trees on a 
lawn are better than one perfect specimen. It is always 
pretty safe to group trees native to the locality if desired, 
but unless the landscape scheme is a very pretentious one 
those of exotic nature should be emphasized as such, and 
to do this their surroundings should he artificial rather 
than natural. 
Red Cedar, Hemlock, most of the pines and Arbor \ itae 
may be grouped at will where they have plenty ol room 
to develop, without much danger of a discord. 
It is very rare that a mixed planting of evergreens snd 
deciduous shrubs is satisfactory, and it is usually safer 
and more satisfactory to avoid it. 
The planter will find that to know the individual plant 
well and to plant with the object of having each plant to 
do its best will produce more satisfactory results than 
mere group effects, especially on grounds ol limited area. 
