268 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
supposed to be $1.46 or more. All nurserymen are 
thought to be millionaires and profiteers. 
A customer was talking to me one day along these 
lines, and I foolishly tried to explain to him what it 
cost to grow a tree. I thought I went into it with con¬ 
vincing detail—but all I got was, “Why all you have to 
do is to plant a “slip” and when it grows up you sell it 
for a dollar and a half.” , 
I decided to let it go at that, and let him think my box 
at the safe deposit vault was “dirty” with Liberty Bonds. 
But I don’t like to said under false colors. That man 
still thinks I could buy out the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago, 
and Lord knows I am wondering how I am going to 
scrape up enough to meet my next note at bank. 
Recently a department of the Federal Government sent 
out lists and specifications for bids on certain nursery 
stock. There was a I'ong list of items totalling many 
hundreds of trees and shrubs. The specifications re¬ 
quired that where fifty or more of any item was speci¬ 
fied, samples must be submitted, charges prepaid!! 
Think of it, some of the items were heavy calliper trees 
and quantities of 3 to 4 feet shrubs. If many bids were 
submitted “with samples” the government would have 
enough “free” nursery stock to plant the whole of Ar¬ 
lington Cemetery. 
But that’s the way it goes, nursery stock is supposed 
to have no value. 
If a friend asked you to send him a rose bush or a 
peach tree for his front yard, he would think you a “rob¬ 
ber” if you sent him a bill for one dollar for it, but if you 
went into his store and bought a silk shirt, and we do 
wear them when we go to New York, he would think 
nothing of charging you five “bucks” for it. Would not 
even give you five off for cash. 
It’s a funny world, I’ll say. 
I was told the other day that Orlando Harrison was 
offered and has accepted the chairmanship of the Legis¬ 
lative Committee of the National organization. The job 
has fallen into competent hands. Orlando does not shirk 
his work, and the Association may well feel that he will 
take care of any Legislative matters which may develop. 
President Cashman has judiciously selected the mem¬ 
bers of his “cabinet” and I feel sure that when he lays 
down the gavel at the close of the June convention, he 
will receive the commendation of all the members. 
So “Jim” Pitkin has temporarily shaken the cares of 
his business from his feet, or his head, and is on a six 
weeks' or six months’ automobile trip to the Pacific 
Coast. That’s fine, Jim, and may luck be with you, and 
your tires hold out. 
PRACTICAL COURSE FOR NURSERYMAN 
Last winter the New England Association of Nur¬ 
serymen appointed a standing committee on education 
with Mr. Richard Wyman of Framingham, Massachu¬ 
setts as chairman. Other members of the committee are 
Theodore I. Borst of Framingham, Mass, and W. E. 
Campbell of New Haven, Conn. This committee has tak¬ 
en up with Professor Frank A. Waugh of the Massa¬ 
chusetts Agricultural College at Amherst a proposition 
for a special course for nurserymen. 
Arrangements have now been made whereby such a 
course will be given by the Massachusetts Agricultural 
College the present winter, beginning January 2. 1922, 
and continuing for a period of ten weeks. The follow¬ 
ing subjects will be offered: 
1. Horticultural botany, the identification of 
plants, their correct names, the science of nomencla¬ 
ture, etc. by Professor C. H. Thompson. 
2. Soils and fertilizers, a fundamental course. 
3. Propagation and nursery practice. 
4. Landscape construction,—how landscape plans 
are made and carried out, including grading planting, 
road-making etc., direction of F. A. Waugh. 
6. Special lectures by practical nurserymen. 
This course is designed to meet the needs especially 
of craftsmen—those actually at work in the nursery 
rows. No entrance examinations will be required, but 
it is expected that every applicant will have had more 
or less practical nursery experience as a foundation for 
his work at the college. 
No tuition charge will be made. There will be a reg¬ 
istration fee of $6 and each man will be obliged to buy 
his own books which will cost about $6 more. Board 
and room will cost about the same in Amherst as else¬ 
where, say $9 to $10 a week. 
Those who desire further information regarding this 
course should communicate with Mr. Richard Wyman, 
chairman of the committee, Framingham, Mass, or with 
Professor Frank A. Waugh, Amherst, Mass. The class 
will be limited to 26 members, so that early application 
is desirable. 
DISTANCE NO RARRIER 
In a fancy fruit store in Philadelphia the writer saw 
a very fine display of hot-house grapes from Belgium, in 
perfect condition. Along side of them were baskets of 
fine yellow plums from Japan, looking as if they had just 
been picked off the trees. 
Doubtless the same displays may be seen in all the 
larger cities. 
The words “perishable” and “distance” are beginning 
to have a very modified meaning when applied to fruits. 
QUARANTINE RESULTS 
In the National Nurseryman, Mr. M. T. Nutt says that Quaran¬ 
tine 37 has precipitated a craze for propagating evergreens, and 
that nurserymen who never grew any evergreens before are now 
propagating them at the rate of from 100,000 to 200,000 and look 
upon them as war brides. He predicts that in five years salable 
sizes will be as plentiful as mosquitoes in Jersey. 
We think that Mr. Nutt exaggerates a little. At the same time 
it is true that evergreens are being propagated on a very exten¬ 
sive scale. As a result the nursery trade finds itself in a very 
different position as regards quarantine 37 from that which pre¬ 
vailed a few years ago. They have staked everything on the 
assumption that the quarantine will stand. Some of the nur¬ 
serymen who formerly were loud in their condemnation of the 
quarantine are now trusting that it will last, because if it does 
not, they stand to lose a large amount of money. It seems to 
be a situation where the Federal Horticultural Board is winning 
out on an economic basis.—Horticulture. 
