' THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
333 
for the truth, and for this from every point of view. His 
publications will ever remain as a monument to his memory. 
Ithaca, N. Y. C. S. Wilson. 
North Manitou Island, Mich., August 22, 1912. 
National Nurseryman, 
Rochester, N. Y. 
My Dear Yates: 
I am profoundly shocked to learn of the passing on of our 
mutual friend and your editor. Professor John Craig. I 
feel that a great man has fallen. 
For some weeks I have been here on the island with my 
family, out of the world, so to speak, and yet in the fruit 
grower’s paradise, so that I have not been in touch with the 
current news. Yesterday afternoon Professor Hedrick, of 
the Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y., was here with Mr. 
Dow and Mr. Merritt, prominent Michigan orchardists, and 
he told me the sad news. 
Prof. John Craig was truly the nurseryman’s friend, one 
of Nature’s noblemen. His work, his thought was for the 
uplift to the higher plane; a practical man of science who was 
not only doing a splendid work in the training and develop¬ 
ing of young men at Cornell, but his work reached out into 
the nursery and the orchard world. Who will take his place? 
One by one our nursery fraternity has been losing not only 
pioneers but landmarks and men who were blazing the way, 
leading on. His work will live after him. I realized in 
my talk with Professor Craig at Boston that he was doomed. 
The fatal malady had seized him in its death grip, and yet 
I could not realize that the end was so near. The nursery¬ 
men, the pomologists and the scientific men, everyone of 
whom knew him, deeply sympathize with his family, friends 
and the institutions he represented so ably. 
For many years I enjoyed the acquaintance of Professor 
Craig. I appreciated what he was doing for pomology in 
general, and then I felt all the closer as he was one of the 
professors at Cornell of my son, William H. Stark, and only 
recently William had several letters from Professor Craig, 
who was keeping in touch with his work and the William 
Stark Nursery Company, showing a deep interest in the 
practical working out of problems they had worked over 
together in the class room. It was that friendly interest, 
the follow-up, which kept him young and buoyant and 
made him the friend of the young men. He traveled gen¬ 
erously, keeping in close personal touch with the progress 
and. development of all that was horticultural, and his 
knowledge was the wisdom of ages. His character was 
that of the conservative, progressive, honest, sincere and 
great in his simplicity. 
I think it was about one year ago that Professor Craig 
visited the Girard grape plant which William located, and 
he discussed the location and soil on a scientific basis. His 
exhaustive analysis was not only interesting but deeply 
valued by me as it proved the judgment and wisdom of my 
son in making the selection of what Professor Craig and I 
considered from the two viewpoints, science and practical 
experience, as the ideal grape nursery soil and location. 
I am Yours sincerely, 
W. P. Stark. 
Professor John Craig was a prince socially. In his choSen 
life work his success was notable and his reputation more 
than national. The relations of the writer with John Craig, 
however, were largely that of a business associate. 
He was the pioneer among horticulturists of national 
repute in seeing the great promise of the Paper Shell Pecan. 
Under his guiding hand and watchful eye the largest and 
most promising Paper Shell Pecan groves in the world were 
established in southwest Georgia and Northern Florida. 
Aside from his duties as a teacher, this was his hobby; 
he devoted to it his time and energies and store of knowledge 
and experience for the past five years, and that he was not 
permitted to live to see the full development and fruition of 
this latest and most promising field of nut-culture is the 
profound regret of all his business associates. Had his life 
been devoted to business enterprises, he doubtless would 
have made an eminent success. 
He possessed a large measure of business sense. In 
business he was keen and absolutely “on the square.’’ 
It has been a privilege to be associated with him, and his 
business associates feel his taking ofi: as a distinct personal 
as well as business loss. 
Chicago, Ill. J. M. Patterson. 
I knew Professor John Craig personally and intimately 
during the past fifteen years, and now feel deeply shocked 
and grieved at the loss of a fine, true friend. His dominant 
qualities seemed to me to be vigor of mind and body, alert¬ 
ness, great determination and tenacity of will, and unusual 
social powers. He was a most active and aggressive propa¬ 
gandist of improved horticulture in Canada, Iowa, New 
York, and the country at large, at a time when such a forceful 
personality was worth the most. 
Amherst, Mass. Frank A. Waugh. 
The death of * Professor Craig comes to me as a great 
personal loss as he was more than a business associate. 
When a close friend and co-worker is suddenly taken away 
by death, it makes us all realize how frail is the tenure of the 
things of this life and how trifling are the things we fume, 
fret and worry about. Professor Craig was one of those 
natures who seemed to realize this to the fullest extent, 
and through our eight years of association there was never a 
word of discontent, for he was always kindly, courteous and 
obliging, with heart and soul in his work. 
I know that all the nurserymen and friends with myself 
sincerely regret his death and feel we have lost a true friend 
and worker in Horticulture. Our heartfelt sympathy goes 
out to his bereaved wife and family. 
C. L. Yates, 
Rochester, N. Y. Business Manager. 
It was my great privilege during periods covering about 
five years altogether to work with Professor Craig as his 
stenographer. It was indeed a privilege, as those who 
knew Professor Craig can readily understand. His un¬ 
failing good humor, his thought for others, his habit of 
accepting conditions as they were and seeing the amusing 
side of a situation, instead of taking some one to task regard- 
