178 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
j)ro(hu*ts. May I (jiiote a tolograin 1 received last week 
ii'oiii tlieir seeredary, Mr. L. F. Jkirrow. 
“Registration does not work as Plant Patent from legal sense, 
but having support Dominion Department of Agriculture and 
our eighty-five thousand membership made up of nurserymen, 
florists, fruit growers, and amateur horticulturists, who form 
the large percentage of purchasers of horticultural products. 
Registration we expect will be effective, it provides unquestion¬ 
able evidence as to priority of ownership in cases where legal 
action is found necessary. Forty-six applications received and 
being dealt with.” 
N.VTIONAL HOHTIGULTUHE COUNCIL 
llori' n^Niin wide co-oiieralioii is necessary and a na¬ 
tional horticultural council or Horticultural Uhainber of 
Fonunerci', to include all hoiticultural interests is pro¬ 
posed and would be necessary to put acioss this all-iin- 
jiortaid matter. Is it worth while? Will you authorize 
your Fxecutive Conunittee to take action? 
STORAGE 
One of the most important needs of the nurseryman is 
to lengthen the shijiping season by better storage meth¬ 
ods, and it is hoped the committee, appointed to investi¬ 
gate this matter, will he able to rejiort substantial prog¬ 
ress. This is well worth any necessary expenditure for 
scientilic research resulting in detailed conclusive reports. 
STANDARDIZATION 
We have adopted a code of Ilorlicultiiral Standards as 
well as Standardized Plant Names, and it will do more 
than many laws to stop unfair business practices and 
stimulate business if all members will loyally adhere to 
both. Standardized trade practice is the ground work 
of ])ro{)er trade ethics. Nurserymen who through care¬ 
lessness or design fail to adhere to uniform business jirac- 
tices and standards that the association adojits, are mak¬ 
ing trouble for themselves and others, and are making 
it easier for the crook to cover up his tracks with plaus¬ 
ible excuses. 
Those who give a trade discount to others than those 
in the trade with intent to steal customers, are not far 
removed from the bribe-giver or taker. The theft of 
names for horticultural varieties which has been quite 
common practice is perhaps almost as vicious or really 
hurls horticulture more than he who buys nursery stock 
without intending to pay for it. For in the first case, 
the public is injured; in the second, the principals only. 
CODE OF ETHICS NOT AAIUSING 
A nurseryman’s code of ethics is laughed at by many 
nurserymen, yet I In' greatest commercial body in Amer¬ 
ica, the United States Fhamher of Gonnnerce, has just 
adopted one. This fact might give pause to those of 
our members whose rlsibles are easily excited. 
BRIBERA' 
In State and Nation we are badly over-legislated, yet 
we should work for a law or modification of existing 
la>\s in every state to make it possible to convict the 
hrihe-giver and taker. May I read you a letter received 
last INIay: 
“Dear Mr. Kelsey: I went up to your nurseries some days 
ago and bought quite a number of your Carolina Hemlocks. 
No doubt you remember me when I was in business at-, 
but I sold out and took a place here and I want to introduce 
the Carolina here. No one around here seems to have it, but 
I hope it will stand good here. I was sorry I did not see you 
there to talk to you. Of course I am not in the trade any more 
commercially, but I would appreciate anything coming to gar¬ 
deners or large estates like this, being as I was in the trade and 
bought of you before. Thanking you in advance, I am. Yours 
truly.” 
UNFAIR COMPETITION 
Fxaggerated or iintiuc dcscrijitions in catalogs or ad¬ 
vertisements arc nothing hut dishonest and unfair com¬ 
petition—the most injurious and hardest kind of compe¬ 
tition for the honest nurseryman to meet. It is right 
here that Mr. McKay’s Committee on Distribution tits in, 
and should co-ojierate with the Standardization Commit¬ 
tee. It is distinctly the duty of this association through 
its Vigilance Committee to stick fast and hard on the trail 
of these and other types of business morons, and either 
kill or cure. The Commercial Standards Council, with 
heaihjuarters in New" York, is made up of the leading 
large groups of business organizations in America, and 
its object is to combat these evils. We are inemhers and 
should remain so and do our share. 
MEMBERSHIP COMAIITTEE NEEDED 
I believe we should have a jiermanent Membership 
Committee. Our “Broadcasters,” the Market Develop¬ 
ment Committee and our ever-alert secretary have all 
done good work w ith the result that our memhership is 
now 500, an increase for the year of 95. This is 
fine hut it is quite possible to have 1000 or more members, 
with all the prestige and powers that numbers bring. 
Organized committee work would accomplish this. 
COMAIITTEE ON TRADE RELATIONS 
May I suggest that the Committee on Relations w ith 
Landscape Architects he hereafter called Committee on 
Trade Relations. The scope of their activities should in- 
mittee has been very active or at least its chairman has, 
and his report is another shining example of w"hat intel¬ 
ligent and earnest co-operation can really accomplish. 
SECRETARA^ SIZEAIORE COULD DO WORSE 
It is no light or easy job to he your president for even 
a year, and many personal and business sacrifices must 
be made. On the other side has been the great pleasure 
of working with a competent and jirogressive Executive 
Committee and Avith a grou]) of chairman of other com¬ 
mittees Avho have not sjiared themselves to give you 
service. 
But perhaps the crowning joy has been my relations 
w itli our only paid officer. Secretary Sizemore. What¬ 
ever we pay him, he is not overpaid. His services far 
outrun his remuneration, and to him directly we must 
attribute largely the increasing success of this organiza¬ 
tion. He is as punctual as my new" Teiechron office 
clock in his duties, and is the best collector of a bad debt 
I have ever known. His detailed reports will confirm 
all I have said and more. No president will have too 
hard a term if Sizemore is there to support him. 
OUR SEMI-CENTENNIAL 
A year hence marks the semi-centennial of the found¬ 
ing of this association. It is an event to he celebrated in 
a fitting and adequate manner and I therefore recom¬ 
mend that the incoming otiicers and Executive Commit¬ 
tee he authorized and instructed to arrange for a suit¬ 
able celebration as may he found proper and feasible 
and that sutlicient funds he apjnopriated for such pur¬ 
pose. 
Our death toll this year has been heavy. I have asked 
Mr. .1. B. Mayhew to serve as chairman of the Besolu- 
