212 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
ni<P()l{T OF COMMITTEE ON NURSERY STOCK AND 
STORACE INVESTIGATION TO THE 49TII ANNUAL 
CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 
OF NURSERYMEN AT ATLANTIC CITY, 
JUNE 25, 1924 
Your coiuniiUee is not in })ositi()ii to make such a re¬ 
port as the im[)ortanee of tlie above subject demands. 
Tlie individual meudjers of tlie committee have each per¬ 
sonally been making sueli observations and investigations 
Ibrougliout the ])ast year as time and o])portunity per¬ 
mitted. It has not, liowever, been possible for the com- 
miltee, as sueb, to carry on any joint investigations of 
('itber common or cold-storage as applied to nursery 
stock. 
Your chairman, following the meeting of the associa¬ 
tion at Chicago in June 1923, visited Washington and in 
(' 0 ]n])any with Dr. Corbett and other members of his 
staff was shown through the Arlington station, where the 
government is carrying on cold-storage investigations in 
a splendidly e(iuipped plant covering most of the fruits, 
]Oot-crops and food products handled commercially in 
our country. 
This cold-storage plant is well manned and splendidly 
e(iuij)ped, not only with the most modern machinery, but 
also with splendidly devised recording controlling instru¬ 
ments so that a given article may be kept indefinitely at 
an absolutely controlled temperature under observation 
as often as desired to see the effect of the temperature, 
the humidity or any other conditions to which the pro¬ 
duct may be subjected. 
Following the chairman’s visit to the Arlington j)lant, 
and after considerable discussion with various nursery- 
inen in line with our conversation with Dr. Corbett, we 
later wrote him for an exj)ression as to wdiat he be¬ 
lieved it might be possible for the government to do for 
the nursery and ])lant interests of the country in line 
with the cold-storage experiments now being carried on 
with other j)roducts at the Arlington plant. 
The committee has a l)ricf, comprehensive letter from 
Dr. Corbett in this connection, which we feel sure will 
lead to a joint effort along above-suggested lines which 
will in due time be of (mormous value to the nursery and 
plant industry of the country (this letter will be read if 
time permits and if you so desire). 
In considering the storage of nursery stock, it is of 
course obvious to all that the very bulk of the nursery¬ 
men’s product and its comparatively moderate value ne¬ 
cessitates keeping storage and handling costs down to 
the minimum, conse(|ueidly the industry must depend on 
common storage for most of the stock during the winter 
and earlier spring shipping period. However, our fre¬ 
quent late and short spring seasons crowd into a few 
weeks the handling of practically our entire season’s out- 
])ut, necessilatiug working over time with a consider¬ 
able j)ercentage of ijiexperienced help and the consequent 
errors, delays, dissatisfactions and loss incident thereto. 
These conditions have for years forced to the attention 
of practical nurserymen the need of developing safe 
methods of storage which will permit the holding in a 
healthful and dormant condition until late in the sj)ring, 
particularly those items so necessary in ornamental land¬ 
scape planting, thus lengthening the season, increasing 
sales and making for more successful results both to the 
nuisery and planter. It is obvious that no nurseryman 
can alone carry on a sufficient series of tests and ex[)eri- 
ments to reach satisfactory conclusions for general dis- 
semijiation. The nurserymen of the country have spent 
much moiu'y in storage buildings of various sorts, in¬ 
cluding in many cases artificial ventilation and occasion- 
illy cold-sloi'age units. Each in his own locality has of 
eourse attemjjted to im])rove on previous methods and to 
])rofit by the experience of himself and others. Some 
])rogress has been made but the time is now" at band 
wdien the character and standing of our business and 
the increasing demand for a lengthened j)lanting season 
and better service require that w e so equip ourselves that 
we can store, pack and deliver our product wdth cer¬ 
tainty and safety over a longer period than is now" pos¬ 
sible so as to enable us not only to increase the sale and 
improve the service to aw aiting customers, but to add to 
our much-needed profits by reducing the enormous losses 
found every season in our brush piles. 
Human nature is so constituted that a large number 
of potential customers fail to acquire the planting bug 
each spring until the season is far advanced. How"ever, 
once the desire on their part to jilant is aroused, it is a 
pity indeed to lose the opportunity of supplying the need. 
x\s w e see it the chief problems in storage would be 
about as follows: 
Under the bead of COMMON-STORAGE, upon 
W"hich the great percentage of our stock must depend: 
(a) It w"ould seem wise to attempt to standardize on 
the general type or character of buildings for various lo¬ 
calities. 
(b) To deternune as nearly as possible the average 
standard temperature wdiich may, in a measure, be con¬ 
trolled and bow controlled. 
(c) Packing material used for various stock and how 
the stock may be best heeled or piled. 
(d) The moisture content of packing material and best 
fuetbod of maintaining same. 
(e) The average bumidity of air best suited to the dif- 
lerent nursery stock and how humidity is best main¬ 
tained. 
(f) Ventilation--natural or forced, and bow". 
Second —Similar investigations, under the bead of 
COLD-S FORAGE which, it may be assumed, are neces¬ 
sary and advisable for: 
(a) That stock which tends to force out early in com¬ 
mon-storage or heeling grounds. 
(b) That stock which has a very well-sustained de¬ 
mand until late in the spring, ])articularly nil ornamen¬ 
tals so necessary in the carrying out of landscape plant- 
ing. 
Of course in the cold-storage investigations there is 
the same necessity for checking carefully, the varying 
conditions of the stock and the character of stock, etc., 
as applies to the common-storage. 
Dr. Vovelle, at the 1920 or 1921 convention of our asso¬ 
ciation, gave a very interesting address in connection with 
storage, wdiich is found iji the report of that convention. 
His exj)eriments there mentioned opened a wide field 
of investigation as to the effect of cold-storage and tem¬ 
perature on plant life. Many nurserymen in an experi¬ 
mental w"ay have made interesting and valuable discov-' 
