456 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
UNITED EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS 
NURSERYMEN AND FRUIT GROWERS 
By F. W. Power, Principal Horticultural Correspondence School, Portland, Ore., 
before Nurserymen’s Association 
Up to the present most nurserymen have been too busy 
trying to grow and sell trees to spend any time in trying to 
educate the public, or even their own selling and propagating 
forces, along horticultural lines. The field forces have been 
given a few practical points on growing nursery stock, but 
nothing along general or scientific lines in most nurseries. 
The salesmen have been entirely neglected except what they 
could pick up from the catalogue, or by writing to the com¬ 
pany asking special questions. 
Much less time has the average nurseryman spent in 
. trying to educate the fruit grower along such lines, except to 
induce him to plant more trees, with the expectation of reap¬ 
ing large profits, but has failed entirely in giving the grower 
any assistance as to how this was to be accomplished. 
True, there are a few exceptions, where the busy nursery¬ 
man has taken time to write on scientific subjects and several 
valuable books and pamphlets have been published on differ¬ 
ent horticultural subjects, and numerous valuable magazine 
and newspaper articles written. 
While a certain amount of good has been done by these 
few nurserymen in times past, how much more could have 
been accomplished if all nurserymen had used their time and 
influence in an educative work along these lines during the 
past twenty years, and how much further would the science of 
horticulture be advanced? 
The address by E. J. Wickson, dean of the College of 
Agriculture of the University of California, before the nur¬ 
serymen last year, and a short editorial in the Oregonian of 
January 15, 1912. well illustrated what the public is demand¬ 
ing of the nurserymen. 
The Oregonian, in an editorial regarding the formation of a 
Horticultural Study Club, said; “In forming a Horticultural 
Study Club for scientific study of the Industry, Mr. McDon¬ 
ald, head of the big nursery at Orenco, has begun spread of 
the leaven that will stimulate fruit culture throughout the 
state. There can be no better starting point than where the 
trees begin their career, and results of the work will be vital 
and immediate.” 
As stated by Dean Wickson, if every nurseryman will see 
to it that every employee and salesman takes some kind of a 
course in horticulture, including plant diseases and pests, so 
that they can give to the planters the proper information, 
they would be doing their community and state a valuable 
seiAoce. 
Just how far they should urge or compel their employees 
to go in the pirrsuit of horticultural knowledge is a question I 
am not prepared to answer, but personally I do not think that 
any of us can learn too much about the business. The more 
expert assistants we have around us, the better advice we 
can give to planters and the better trees we can place on the 
market. As far as time will permit, I read every bulletin 
possible pertaining to horticulture and you will find the up-to- 
date profes.sors in our agricultural colleges doing the same. 
As an instance of what a nurseryman can do with scientific 
knowledge, I might cite the following: Growing the Sm5rma 
fig in the United States was made possible through the efforts 
of one nurseryman working in conjunction with U. S. Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture. Many thousand dollars and much 
time was spent by Mr. Roeding before he was able to prove 
that the propagation of the Smyrna fig was not all in climate, 
and whatever the industry amounts to in California or else¬ 
where in the United States is, in the main, due to the educa¬ 
tive campaign of Mr. Roeding. It is very doubtful if even 
the Asiatic growers knew the scientific reason for doing what 
they did in propagating this fruit. 
Other instances could be cited where nurserymen have 
rendered a valuable service to horticulture along other educa¬ 
tive lines. What we should strive for is more such educative 
and scientific work. 
Nursery conventions and meetings of Horticultural 
Societies are valuable sources for acquiring and disseminating 
horticultural knowledge. No nurseryman or fruit grower 
should miss them when held in his vicinity. Winter short 
courses at the agricultural colleges, experiment station bulle¬ 
tins, etc., are other lines in which this education is being 
carried on. All these are good, but every nurseryman should 
in the future see that his employees and especially his sales¬ 
men are better posted in horticulture. I also advocate 
having horticulture taught in our public schools. 
The Pacific Horticultural Correspondence school was 
started simply to enable those who could not spare the time 
or were unable to attend a regular agricultural college and 
take a four years’ course to increase their knowledge of horti¬ 
culture. As secretary of the Oregon Horticultural Society I 
had many callers and much correspondence from just such 
parties, especially newcomers. They wished to secure all 
information possible on fruit growing, but could not attend a 
regular college. From past experience in the nursery business 
I knew how much the salesmen needed all information possi¬ 
ble. While it will probably be several years before it will pay 
running expenses, from an educative standpoint it cannot fail 
to be of great service to the grower and salesman who con¬ 
scientiously studies the course. 
The life of the nursery business depends upon the fruit 
grower being able to make a profit. A great future is open to 
the Pacific Coast states, the natural home of most varieties of 
fruit. If the newcomer is properly educated as to what and 
when to plant and how to successfully grow and ship after 
planting, the success of our business is assured. 
Are the Pacific Coast nurserymen wide enough awake to 
meet the demand made upon them by the incoming fruit 
growers, and not leave them wholly to the mercy of the 
designing real estate man and unprincipled tree peddler? 
The nursery business is legitimate and fruit growing is one of 
the most profitable businesses when properly conducted and 
when the proper trees are planted in suitable locations and 
carefully cultivated. It is just as profitable now for you to 
sell the tree adapted to the soil and district as to sell some¬ 
thing else, and in the future will find it much more so .—The 
North West Horticulturist. 
