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THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
iii . . ^ 
The National Nurseryman 
Established 1893 by C. L. YATES. Incorporated 1902 
Published monthly by 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN PUBLISHING CO., Inc. 
Hatboro, Pa. 
Editor .ERNEST HEMMING, Flourtown, Pa. 
The leading- trade journal issued for Growers and Dealers in 
Nursery Stocks of all kinds. It circulates throughout the 
United States, Canada and Europe. 
AWARDED THE GRAND PRIZE AT PARIS EXPOSITION, 1900 
SUBSCRIPTION RATES 
One Year in Advance .$1.50 
Foreign Subscriptions, in advance .$2.00 
Six Months .$1.00 
Advertising rates will he sent upon application. Advertisements 
should reach this office by the 20th of the month previous to the 
date cf issue. 
Payment in advance required for foreign advertisements. Drafts 
on New York or postal orders, instead of checks, are requested by 
the Business Manager, Hatboro, Pa. 
Correspondence from all points and articles of interest to nursery¬ 
men and horticulturists are cordially solicited. 
Photographs and news notes of interest to nurserymen should be 
addressed, Editor, Plourtown, Pa., and should be mailed to arrive 
not later than the 25th of the month. 
Entered as second-class matter June 22, 1916, at the post office at 
Hatboro, Pennsylvania, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
Hatboro, Pa., November 1921 
INCREASING The most vital problem before Nur- 
CONSUMPTION serymen and those interested in the 
sale is “How to awaken the interest 
of people and encourage them to plant.” The National 
Association of Nurserymen realized this as evidenced by 
the market development movement. There are numerous 
ways in which it may he done. The Nurerymen’s catalog 
and the horticultural publications are no mean effort 
along this line. They are, however, not effective with 
the people that should be reached; because as a rule 
only those already interested in planting are likely to 
read or study these publications. Exhibitions no doubt 
add their quota in inspiring efforts to buy and grow. 
Garden Clubs and Horticultural Societies are other media 
of the desired propaganda. One of the most potent influ¬ 
ences to encourage planting is the example set by some 
person who may be a plant enthusiast and gathers 
around him an interesting collection artistically arranged 
around his home or a profitable orchard. The nursery 
salesman in drumming up business instinctively goes to 
those localities that show some pride in the appearance 
of their grounds. He knows that those who have already 
purchased are likely to be the best prospects. It is much 
easier to interest them in some plants they may not have 
or in further improvements. 
A plant lover in a community, fixing up his own gar¬ 
dens, will do more to start his neighbors doing the same 
than any amount of preaching or propaganda. From a 
nurseryman’s point of view there are two classes of peo¬ 
ple—those who buy plants and those who don’t. It is 
the latter that should receive the most attention. While 
a certain proportion of them are not interested and per¬ 
haps never will be, there is a large proportion that only 
need to have their interest aroused and receive a little 
encouragement to become enthusiastic and genuine sup¬ 
porters of the nursery business to a greater or lesser de¬ 
gree. It is often said that love of growing things is in¬ 
stinctive in most of us if it is only awaiting an oppor¬ 
tunity to develop. From time to time we hear suggestions 
of the value of public parks, botanical gardens and even 
of display nurseries as a means of educating the public 
of the value of nursery products; but none of these quite 
hit the mark. The average person is more interested in 
himself and his own. As the nurseryman cannot have 
a show window like the ordinary merchant, would not 
some nicely laid out home planted and properly kept up 
for advertising purposes be worth while? 
In many localities there would be little need for this, 
because the communities as a whole are a standing ad¬ 
vertisement for the nureryman and all that is needed is 
to keep the name of his nursery before the residents ; but 
in other localities there is need of a demonstration that 
will encourage the neighbors to do likewise. 
Some day we perhaps shall develop a master mind 
with sufficient capital and enterprise to carry out some 
advertising scheme that will put the merchandising of 
nursery products alongside that of products for which 
millions are spent to show their value. 
Is it not up to the nurseryman to place his plants at 
his own expense where they will best advertise and 
preach the gospel of beauty in barren places ? 
HELP TO TELL J. M. Ramsey, in his address before 
THE WORLD the Southwestern Association of Nur¬ 
serymen, made some interesting com¬ 
parisons between the florist and nursery businesses, 
somewhat to the disadvantage of the latter. There is no 
question that as a class the florists have been more pro¬ 
gressive, more co-operative with each other in educating 
and encouraging the public to use their products. They 
have been more alive to what the public needs and have 
catered to the natural love of flowers that is instinctive 
to most people. It may be true there is little comparison 
between the two businesses. The florist supplies a fin¬ 
ished product at its best when he delivers it. It is in the 
stage when it creates admiration and gives the most sat¬ 
isfaction to the purchaser. 
On the contrary the stock in trade of the nursery¬ 
man in the majority of cases only has potential 
beauty and value. Nevertheless it has qualities 
that make it superior to any merchandise that is 
sold, in its appeal to the best in human nature. Plants 
are to the grounds what furniture and interior decoration 
are to the inside of the home. Fruit trees, vines and 
plants are the source of the greater part of our food and 
luxuries to say nothing about the universal interest in 
growing things. In other words, to the real 1'ive pub¬ 
licity man the appeal is so great and in so many ways 
that he hardly knows which phase of it to drive home 
in the public mind. We see products that have a limited 
appeal forced on the public by skillful advertising and 
propaganda, and a univeral need almost entirely neglect¬ 
ed. It is perhaps because the nurseryman’s products are 
so fundamentally necessary to our existence and the nur¬ 
seryman has not awakened to the fact that a large pro¬ 
portion of people have to be told that nursery products are 
an essential to even a middle standard of living. 
In these days of hourly papers, wireless, automobiles 
and flying machines, individual effort amounts to little. 
It requires a mass action to get a hearing or even slight 
notice. These are the days when it requires hundreds of 
thousands of dollars in publicity to get your message be- 
