176 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSERYMEN 
Report of the Committee on Standardization, June 1921 
So far as I am aware, I am the only member of this 
committee to be appointed. Thru some misunderstand¬ 
ing this committee was overlooked, and only a few weeks 
before the date fixed for this convention the undersigned 
was asked by President Stark to make some sort of re¬ 
port. It was with great reluctance that I at last con¬ 
sented to do so, but I felt the matter of Standardization 
of Nursery Trade Practice was of transcendent impor¬ 
tance to this organization, and that a few recommenda¬ 
tions made at this time might serve as a basis or start¬ 
ing point for a live committee the coming year. 
The standardization of Plant Names has at last reached 
a satisfactory stage of progress, and this is good so far as 
it goes, but is only one phase of standardizing our bus¬ 
iness. 
With the ever increasing tendency of Legislative bodies 
to prescribe business rules of conduct, would it not be 
the part of wisdom to beat them to it and establish uni¬ 
form rules and methods for ourselves, at least tending to 
make legislative action appear more unnecessary? 
Rut we need standardization for greater reasons—to 
make buying and selling easier and minimize business 
misunderstandings; to enable us to grow stock of stan¬ 
dard sizes and grades; to ensure receiving and delivering 
stock that will be according to written order, thus pro¬ 
tecting both buyer and seller; to print readable and un¬ 
derstandable catalogs; and in general as an aid to better 
and more profitable business. 
A Los Angeles jury has recently awarded a local 
trucker $4000 damages against a well known California 
seed house for delivering $48 worth of celery seed untrue 
to name, the usual non-warranty clause failing to protect 
the seedsmen for this large amount in excess of the cost 
of the seeds. 
Is a non-warranty clause advisable and is it possible 
to devise one that protects? This is one important ques¬ 
tion for a standardization committee to consider. 
The nurserymen of Illinois are making a worthy at¬ 
tempt to standardize cost and accounting methods. We 
wish them success but to me there are many other 
phases of standardization that need attention before com¬ 
parative costs can be intelligently considered; and chief 
of these is stock grading. 
The Chicago Rulb Forcers Association have adopted a 
uniform order blank or agreement for use in its dealings 
with Holland bulb growers. They not only stipulate 
terms of purchase and payment, but attempt to standar¬ 
dize the quality of bulbs to be supplied, as well as 
methods of shipment and delivery. 
A large southern nursery firm recently protested to 
Secretary Watson the practice of a certain nurseyman 
in quoting “oversize” on fruit trees, such as 
Peaches 2 ft. 10 in. 
3 ft. 6 in. 
4 ft. 1 in. 
4 ft. 8 in. 
Apples 2 ft. 6 in. 
etc. 
Peaches 1 ft. 10 in. 
etc. 
“while still another western concern are grading trees, 
1 to 2i/ 2 ft.; 2 to 31/2 ft.; 2 to 4 ft.; 4M> to 6 ft. etc.” 
They further say, “as you know, there is no nursery 
scale which justifies grading in such a manner. Such 
grading confuses the purchaser of nursery stock. We 
believe that if each and every catalog house would use 
the same grade in selling it would greatly facilitate mat¬ 
ters.” 
Well why don’t we? Probably because we are too 
much like the devil thought Ben Butler was when he re¬ 
fused him admission to hell and handing him a shovel 
full of coals told him to go away and have a little hell of 
his own. Cooperation even in Hell seems to be very 
desirable. 
In a recent number of the magazine called “Business” 
there is an article entitled “The National Shell Game- 
Let us standardize on a few honest Containers.” A typ¬ 
ical statement reads, “There are as many varieties of cab¬ 
bage crates as there are varieties of cabbage.” The hor¬ 
ticulturist again gets a black eye and it is little consola¬ 
tion to learn that the merchant gets his black eye too. 
Some specific things in Nursery trade and Horticul¬ 
tural Practice that need Standardizing. 
1. Standard rules and methods lor growing and 
grading nursery stock, including calipre, balling, 
height of limbs from ground, etc., etc. 
2. Meaning of all trade terms and words describing 
nursery stock, such as clumps, whip, field grown, 
R. & B., 1 year, buds, etc., etc. 
3. Methods of packing and shipping. 
4. Color chart. 
3. List of General Terms and abbreviations used in 
catalogs, shipping, etc. 
6 . Sales and Collection methods, etc., etc. 
Iruit trees, ornamental trees, shrubs, roses, herbaceous 
perennials, bulbs, greenhouse plants, florist plants, each 
need carefully to be considered by those specializing in 
them, and so a committee should represent the leading 
horticultural lines and certainly different sections of the 
country. It may or may not be possible to agree on a 
iruit tree standard for East and West owing to climatic 
or soil conditions, but if not it will at least be feasable to 
agree on different standards to be adopted and published 
in parallel. 
« 
Considerable material has been compiled by the writer 
on this subject and this is available for use by next year’s 
committee. 
I recommend that a Committee on Standardization and 
Abbreviations of not less than 3 or more than 5 be ap¬ 
pointed for the coming year and that an amount of not 
less than $1000 be made available for the use of such 
committee for expenses. That such committee be in¬ 
structed to prepare and print a preliminary report, to be 
sent in proof form to each member of the American As¬ 
sociation of Nurserymen, not later than February 1, 1922 
with a request for suggestions. 
1 hat thereafter a revised report be prepared and 
printed to be submitted at the next annual convention for 
discussion, revision, and adoption. 
(Signed) Harlan P. Kelsey, Chairman. 
