THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
255 
on the work of this Association; but I assure you I will do 
everything possible to further the interests of the association, 
and in that endeavor I shall certainly hope to have the full 
sympathy and assistance of every one of its members. We 
should be a united body; and when I say that, I mean that we 
want to work together to further the nursery interests 
throughout the United States. We can only do that by 
working together and working for the association. 
Mr. Dix, President of the Pacific Coast Nurserymen’s 
Association, tells us that there are upwards of two hundred 
fifty members in that Western organization, and we have 
only about four hundred. It seems to me that our members 
have been lax in looking after the interests of this national 
organization. Every member should make it a point to bring 
in at least three or four members during the next year. I 
hope that each one of you will make it your personal duty to 
see that some nearby nurseryman is brought into the associa¬ 
tion next year. The work of the association is not done at 
the convention—it is done by your committees during the 
year. To carry on that work, we must have not only the 
cooperation, but also a good bank account. 
I am more than pleased that the convention voted to go to 
Portland. I had the great pleasure of visiting the Coast three 
years ago in company with our President, and I assure you we 
were received with open arms. We were shown everything, 
and we found it a particularly interesting country, especially 
for nurserymen. The nursery business is entirely different 
from that of the East and Middle West. It will pay every 
one of you to go out there. Let us join together, and take a 
good big crowd out, and show the Pacific Coast Nurserymen’s 
Association that the American Association of Nurserymen 
amounts to something. 
I very greatly appreciate the honor you have done me, and 
shall do everything pos.sible to further the legitimate work of 
the association. 
Vice-President-elect Pilkington, on being escorted to the 
platform, spoke as follows: 
I don’t know how to take this honor that has been shown 
me. I am not a speaker. I believe when you find a railroad 
man that is a vice-president, he is usually general manager. 
When you come to Portland, I want to be general manager, so 
far as receiving you and providing for your entertainment is 
concerned. 
I am grateful, and appreciate this honor. I believe it is 
the first time it has been conferred upon a man from the ex¬ 
treme West. We will all be glad to see you. There will cer¬ 
tainly be nothing left undone to make your coming pleasant. 
Secretary Hall announced the receipt of telegrams from 
the governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland, inviting 
the Association to hold its next meeting in that city. 
THE QUESTION BOX 
President Dayton: The chairman of the Program Com¬ 
mittee wanted to introduce an innovation in the form of a 
question box. I am going to ask Mr. J. M. Pitkin to con¬ 
sider one or two of the most important questions. 
Mr. Pitkin: “What are the best materials to use for 
packing, moss,, excelsior or shavings?’’ I’d like to ask if 
there is any other material that is used extensively. 
, Mr. H. P. Kelsey: For bulbs, charcoal and .sawdust are 
used, and for some kinds you have to use these materials. 
Some things are shipped in sand, some in dry dirt, and some 
in absolutely dry sphagnum. I think sphagnum moss is the 
best packing material for long distance shipments. I heard 
Mr. Wilson, the explorer, say yesterday that he sent to this 
country some little evergreens pulled from the rocks in distant 
Thibet. They were ten weeks in transit, and arrived in such 
condition that we saw several hundred of them growing at 
the Arnold Arboretum. They were packed in sphagnum 
moss quite thoroughly dry. That is the most important 
point of it, for some stock will heat, and some will start 
growth, if moist. 
Mr. Pitkin: Is that material dry when you get it in the 
bale? 
Mr. Kelsey: We get it extremely wet right out of the 
swamps. I understand commercial sphagnum moss is 
usually dry. We put ours out in large piles and let the water 
drain out. Rotted sphagnum is sometimes used but I don’t 
think it is worth much in packing. In about two seasons, if 
piled outside, it will begin to rot. 
Mr. Meehan: I think if Mr. Kelsey had to buy his 
sphagnum by the carload, he would look for something 
cheaper. It is very true that for small evergreens moss is 
preferable. We use shingletoe and baled shavings. We 
took that up after considerable experimenting with different 
mosses, and find it the best. We use half of shavings and 
half of shingletoe. The stock will come out moist if shipped 
from Boston to the Pacific Coast. It must, however, be 
thoroughly soaked in the first place. 
Mr. Cashman: I would like to ask if the gentleman has 
found that moss will hold moisture longer than shingletoe. 
In speaking of excelsior, does he mean long excelsior ? Does he 
find that moss holds moisture longer than the wood shavings ? 
Mr. Kelsey: From the looks of some shipments I get 
packed in that toe, I should say yes. It is largely a question 
of proper packing. I think American nurserymen do mighty 
poor packing. The foreign shippers know how to pack much 
better. Good packing pays. I think it is the good packers 
who are going to get the business in the future. 
Mr. Pitkin: We use mainly waste excelsior. We have 
mixed it with shavings. But one point we are very careful 
about is to put our packing material between the bundles of 
trees and the sides of the box, and also between the ends of the 
roots and the end of the box. I think a great deal of trouble 
comes from the fact that you do not give protection between 
the roots and the box. We have good success with waste 
excelsior. 
Mr. Reed: Two years ago I sent a shipment to Michigan, 
which was lost on the road, and was nine weeks in transit. 
When it arrived the stock was still in good shape. This was 
all packed in shingletoe. 
Mr. Fleming: In what season of the year was this? 
Mr. Reed: It was shipped about the fifth of October. 
Mr. Cashman: I think the matter of packing very 
important, and have been experimentmg with both moss and 
shingletoe. We have never shipped very long distances, but 
we find that the wood packing will retain moisture longer 
than moss, and for that reason I believe it preferable. Trees 
