88 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
shipments. An out-of-town producer may take a chance 
of disposing of a surplus stock by sending shipments to 
city dealers or other wholesale concerns by C. 0. D., and 
delivery by the express carrier is prevented when the 
consignees in such cases decline to take them on ap¬ 
proval. 
When this happens, the express driver simply returns 
the shipment to the local On Hand bureau, where it is 
held while the express company communicates with the 
shipper for orders to return the shipment or to make dis¬ 
position of it elsewhere. As nursery stock is usually 
perishable, and in winter freezes easily, the express car¬ 
rier is in a’difficult position, because it is required by law 
to hold such shipments at least 30 days. 
In instances of this sort, a great number of correspon¬ 
dence and delay results, seldom of any benefit to nursery¬ 
men who make such shipment, while the carrier is handi¬ 
capped in its effort to make prompt and clean deliveries 
of shipments previously ordered by dealers. 
Preventing Express Shipments From Going On Hand 
A campaign has been started in the express business, 
to keep down the number of shipments which find their 
way to “On Hand” departments, because the addresses 
are inaccurate, or incomplete, or because of cancella¬ 
tion of orders or some other disagreement between ship¬ 
per and consignee. An energetic effort is being made to 
clear up the undeliverable matter found in the “On 
Hand” rooms of the express company and at the Right 
Way meetings of the express employes, throughout the 
country, the subject is receiving special attention. 
It is the opinion of operating heads in the express bus¬ 
iness that the growth of “On Hand” freight is a handicap 
to improvement in the express service. Practically every 
industry is interested in prompt delivery of goods and the 
carrier is seeking the cooperation of the shipping public 
to remove the heavy burden which the storing and care 
of “On Hand” freight involve. It is found that a large 
number of claims and annoying controversies are directly 
chargeable to the abuse of the “On Hand” privilege. 
While it is a decided advantage to the transient shipper 
to have the express carrier hold his goods for him until 
he arrives, and to do this without added expense, it was 
not intended that regular express patrons would ask or 
expect the carrier to store their goods while some argu¬ 
ment between shipper and consignee was being settled. 
The express company does not generally charge for stor¬ 
ing shipments, but some such step may be taken unless 
the situation improves. 
In seeking the cooperation of the shippers, the trans¬ 
portation company lays emphasis upon the importance of 
every shipper having the consignee’s full name and ad¬ 
dress, street and number, plainly stencilled or otherwise 
marked, on each piece he sends by express. It is equally 
important, the carrier points out, that each shipper shows 
his name and address clearly on each piece of a shipment. 
That consignee should accept delivery of shipments 
tendered and not leave them on the carrier’s hands is the 
contention of the express company in this campaign. 
This should be done even if shipments are offered in bad 
order for then the consignee can dispose of them to the 
best advantage and thereby reduce the loss to the lowest 
possible figure. Shippers and consignees are urged to 
give special attention to postal notices sent out by the car¬ 
riers to both of them, when a shipment cannot be deliv¬ 
ered by an express driver, for any reason. 
When a shipper is informed by the express company, 
through the usual postal notices that the consignee to 
whom he sent his goods has refused to accept them, it 
will facilitate matters if he will give prompt and defin¬ 
ite instructions for the disposal of the shipment in ques¬ 
tion. 
MY DREAM 
Sitting at my battered desk one evening, weary and 
disheartened by the arduous but futile efforts of the 
day, in trying to find, with a magnifying glass, the pro¬ 
fits of my business during the past year, I relaxed for a 
few moments, lighted my pipe, leaned back in my chair, 
and put my feet on the desk. It seemed to me that I was 
at once transported to a strange but wonderful country. 
As I wandered along thru this Enchanted Land, a 
cheery voice hailed me: “Welcome! Rrother! where are 
you from?” “Rochester, N. Y.,” I said. “Will you kindly 
tell me what country this is?” “This,” he said, “is the 
United States of America. In this direction;—waving 
his hand toward the right—extend the grounds of the 
great distributing point for trees and plants belonging to 
the American Association of Nurserymen.” What, I 
asked, is that vast, imposing building, with marble fa¬ 
cade, and roof of burnished gold? “That,” he said, “is the 
palace of the Association. Those palatial residences, 
with large, well kept grounds, which you see dotting the 
landscape for miles in every direction, are the residences 
of the members of the Association, where they dwell in 
luxury.” 
He led me to the Palace. At one end of a very large 
room, with tiled floors, marble wainscoting, ceiling or¬ 
namented with gold and silver, walls decorated with 
representations of various fruits, each separate fruit 
represented by a precious stone of suitable color and 
fabulous value, stood a massive golden throne, on which 
sat an imposing personage, with a diamond studded 
crown on his head, and a scepter in his hand. Directing 
his stern eagle gaze to a group waiting, with bowed 
heads, at the entrance, he beckoned them forward and 
they kneeled before him. 
Who, I asked, is the person on the throne? “He is 
the Moses who led us out of bondage,” my guide replied. 
And who are those kneeling before him? “They are the 
Public, beseeching him for permits to buy American As¬ 
sociation trees and plants.” 
Such a vast distribution must require a vast produc¬ 
tion, I remarked. I should like to see some of their nur¬ 
series, where this immense output is produced. “Oh,” 
he said, “they have no nurseries. ‘They toil not, neither 
do they spin.’ Their trees and plants are grown by 
poorer people, who are obliged to labor for their daily 
bread. Yonder lie their lands—waving his hand toward 
the left.—These people are of a lower order of intelli¬ 
gence, have no genius for organization, and therefore 
are compelled to grow the trees and sell them to the As- 
