THE national nurseryman 
3*3 
prices quite effectively during the last two seasons; so much 
so that there really has been no competition in prices among 
the different houses. The competition now lies in good 
grading and careful packing which, so long as prices are 
within reason, is certainly a very good thing for the Ameri¬ 
can purchasers. 
One of the French Nurserymen asked me whether I 
thought there would continue to be a market for fruit tree 
stocks in the United States. “What do you do,” he said, 
“with all the millions of seedlings that we have been sending 
you every season, for the last 
50 years or more? I should 
think that America would be 
filled up with fruit trees by 
this time?” By expatiating 
on the size of our country and 
the immense new tracts of 
land that are being developed 
for fruit growing, I convinced 
him that the United States, 
would still be a good market 
for some years to come, though 
I also had to admit that only 
a small percentage of the 
seedlings purchased and 
planted by American Nursery¬ 
men, ever developed into 
fruiting trees. If both the 
Nurseryman and his custom¬ 
ers in America, were as pains¬ 
taking as they are in Europe, 
the fears of my French friend 
might not have been so ground¬ 
less. 
I felt quite ashamed of my 
ignorance of varieties, while 
going about among the French 
Nurseries. They all grow so 
much larger assortment of 
varieties than are kept in 
most American establish¬ 
ments. This is true of both 
fruits and ornamentals. On 
the other hand, the quantities 
grown of each variety, are 
much smaller than in our 
country. For example, one 
nurseryman told me that he had (68) sixty-eight 
varieties of Pears, and grew from 25 to 500 tiees of 
each. In the United States, it would more likely be. 12 to 
There are many beautiful flowering and decorative plants 
seen all over Europe, which are almost unknown in our 
country, and surely they would succeed well in at least some 
sections. I especially admired Polygonum Baldschuani- 
cum, a climbing plant with bronzy white flowers, produced 
in great abundance all through the late spring and the entire 
summer. When I was across last year, I saw it in full bloom 
in May, and this year, during the latter part of August, it 
was still a mass of flowers. I have seen this variety offered 
in only one American catalogue. • I am told that it is very 
hardy, it plainly is of strong 
vigorous growflh, and it seem¬ 
ingly would make a valuable 
addition to our climbing 
flowering plants. 
The growing of seedlings 
and young plants, either of 
fruit or ornamentals, is a bus¬ 
iness quite distinct from that 
of the nurseryman who culti¬ 
vates specimen stock of 
greater size and age. Few of 
the French Nurseries, attempt 
to combine the two lines. 
The man who grows the 
young stock is a specialist 
and usually confines his activi¬ 
ties to that particular work. 
His land is mostly cleared and 
replanted every year, scarcely 
any of it being occupied 
over two years. An Ameri¬ 
can always wonders where a 
market can be found for the 
millions and millions of young 
plants of deciduous trees and 
coniferous trees that are annu¬ 
ally grown by the nurserymen 
of Angers, Orleans and Ussy, 
such as Maple, Horse Chest¬ 
nut, Beech, Birch, Chest¬ 
nut, Thorn, Ash, Plane, Oak, 
Linden, Spruce, Firs, Pines, 
Cypress, Larch, etc., etc. 
These are varieties which are 
sent to America in only very 
moderate quantities. The 
market for them is in Europe, and it is provided 
largely by the public and private forestry plantings 
in the various European countries. This is a work of 
NURSERIES OF CHAS. DETRICHF, Sr., ANGERS, FRANCE. 
Special Manner op Packing Plants with Balls. 
This box was shipped to the Pacific Coast and it was en route more than 
three months, but the stock arrived in perfect condition. 
1, varieties and 2,000 to 40,000 of a sort. Certainly the practical commercial importance through-out Europe. 
American way is vastly easier for the nurserymen, and I Let us hope that in the near future he, ques .on 
question whether the planter is benefited by a multiplication o artdic.al -s ry wfil be -“-'l ot tori Jfil thus be 
of varieties so great as obtains in most European establish¬ 
ments. 
ORNAMENTALS 
However, I think we could advantageously widen out- 
assortments of ornamental plants to a certain extent. 
States and that a new and wide field of work, will thus be 
opened to American Nurserymen. 
Of the fruit tree stocks, the greater portion comes to the 
United States, although moderate quantities of Pear, Apple, 
Ouince and Mazzard are sold in Europe; also some M\ro- 
bolan, for use as a hedge plant. It is hardly e\er used as a 
