384 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
received we note a letter from The Coe, Converse & Ed¬ 
wards Co., relating to the plea entered at the “National 
Nurserymens’ Convention in regard to wholesale nur¬ 
series sending out trade lists to people all over the coun¬ 
try not in the trade. We want to say we are also right 
with Mr. M. R. Cashman in this matter and think some¬ 
thing should be done soon. We are often confronted 
with wholesale lists from some of our largest wholesale 
nurserymen in the hands of customers only wanting 
enough stock to plant a lawn less than a half acre. 
A prominent business man (a furniture dealer) in 
conversation with one of our firm recently, laughed at the 
way the nurserymen carried on their business and said 
he could not see that the A. N. A. was doing any good or 
in other words what was the use of having an association. 
We hope some of the wholesalers will look into the 
future and see what it means. 
Very truly yours. 
West Brothers. 
We are very much interested in the contents and wel¬ 
fare of your paper and feel greatly repaid by its abun¬ 
dance of valuable information. 
Mr. M. P. Cashman deserves great credit for his coura¬ 
geous writing on pages 308 and 309 in the September 
issue. It touches phases often thought but never spoken 
or written for fear of harsh criticism. Now the ques¬ 
tion is “What has been published since by way of argu¬ 
ment or debate on so serious a problem?” 
C. S. 
COSMOS 
The sight of a bunch of double Cosmos brought to 
mind the great improvement that has been made in this 
flower in recent years, and judging by the new double 
forms, the end is not yet. The best of the double flowers 
were quite equal to the flowers of the double Pyrethrum 
roseum which they very much resemble, in fact, if it 
were not that the Pyrethrum blooms in spring, it would 
be very easy to mistake a vase of one for the other. 
The introduction of cosmos to American gardens was 
due to the enterprise of Mr. J. Louis Loose, a florist of 
Alexandria, Virginia. 
About twenty-five years ago Mr. Loose secured seed 
from Vilmorin Andrieux & Co., France, thinking it 
would be good for the cut flower trade. It proved pop¬ 
ular from the start. The first consignment sent to 
Thorley, New York, resulted in a standing order as long 
as the crop lasted, and brought as high as two cents a 
bloom, counting the buds. 
It jumped into immediate popularity, and it was not 
long before the seedsmen begun to feature it in their cat¬ 
alogues, and being so easily grown, soon became a gen¬ 
eral favorite. 
When first introduced, it did not have a great range of 
color, there were whites and one or two shades of pink¬ 
ish purple and if I remember rightly an occasional sug¬ 
gestion of crimson. 
The average size of the flower was about as large as 
a silver dollar. 
In time we shall no doubt get as great a range of form 
and variety as in the Aster or Dahlia. 
CO-OPERATION 
The old idea that “competition is the life of trade” is 
just giving way to the belief that co-operation is a sure 
winner. The writer to-day was much impressed by 
the statement of a large hosiery manufacturer, that he 
willingly gave his competitor figures of costs under his 
system of paying by piece work. Such a thing would 
not have been dreamt of a few years ago. 
There is a broader spirit of toleration and helpfulness 
very noticeable among progressive businesses and what 
is more it is being recognized as a sound business policy. 
Charles P. Steinmetz writing in “Collier’s” points out 
the fact that “The limitation of price, forced by free 
competition, is below the cost of production.” 
In no other line is this truer than in the nursery bus¬ 
iness. There has been absolutely no restraining forces 
at work to check the downward course, not even an 
actual knowledge of costs. 
There is every reason to believe that nurserymen are 
beginning to realize these facts, certainly the leaders do 
as proved by the aim of the National Association of Nur¬ 
serymen to spend $25,000 a year, for a period of five 
years, to advertise and develope a market for nursery 
products. Such an effort will have the endorsement of 
every nurseryman in the United States but what is really 
needed is the active co-operation, not only in the support 
of the Association but in accepting the principle of co¬ 
operation. 
The effort of the individual should be to develope new 
business rather than compete by cutting prices. As 
John Watson. President of the National Association says: 
“To my mind, the biggest and most practical thing we 
have taken up is this matter of publicity for educating 
and cultivating the public taste in plants and trees, to 
increase by every legitimate means, the use of our pro¬ 
ducts in the old fields, and to develop new fields. Isn’t 
that something worth doing? What if I do have to 
spend $100 a year and Rill Smith gets an order or two 
and isn’t a contributor? I may sell him something to 
help him take care of his increased business. Every 
Rose bush advertises Roses and sells Roses. Maybe 
from being too tight-fisted in this advertising matter, we 
are looking too far the other way; but there’s a middle 
course that few can steer and with a moderate sum, try 
it out and see what can be done. Look at the Red Gum 
people; the White Pine men; the cement campaign. A 
few men pay the bill and the supply is great. It isn’t 
like the Raisin combination, nor the “Sunkist” Orange 
people, who represent small areas and a closely controlled 
supply. Those broader campaigns wouldn’t continue 
except for results and returns. 
“Something that greatly interested me was the report 
from St, Louis of the action taken by the Board of Aider- 
men, providing that the City Forester could designate 
certain streets for tree planting, select the trees, buy 
them and plant them, and assess the cost against the 
abutting property! ‘The world do move.’ Yet, when 
you stop to consider the comfort and convenience of 
shaded streets, why shouldn’t trees be provided by muni¬ 
cipalities just the same as sidewalks and pavements and 
lights and sewers? Why not? Whether this action 
will stand a legal test I have no way of knowing, not 
