66 
THE NATIONAL NUESERYMAN 
general appearance and time of llowering than botanical 
differences. 
Some of the points in their favor that should commend 
them to the landscape gardener are: Tliey arc adaptable 
and vigorous in their growth, sometimes too much so as 
they spread rapidly by means of suckers when the posi¬ 
tion suits them. 
They flower during the summer when there is a dearth 
of bloom on the average shrubbery border. 
A moist, partially shaded position suits them, and it is 
often difficult to select a shrub for such a place that will 
he so much at home. 
The foliage is' rich and handsome and due to the habit 
of growth usually clothes the plant to the ground. 
The one fault, if it he a fault is the unsightly appear¬ 
ance of the dead panicles when the bloom is past. These 
liowever, are easily removed whicli gives the plant a 
longer season of good apearance than most flowering 
plants. 
The different kinds are all much alike in habit hut 
flower at different times. The first to bloom is the So- 
baria sorhifolia which comes in June followed by S. stelli- 
pilla, S. asurgens^ S. arhorea and last of all S. Aitchisonii 
in September, 
THE PLANT EMBARGO 
Mr. Garfield Williamson’s letter in our last issue is a 
very sensible one to say the least. The whole subject is 
confused and the issue involved. Unfortunately the sub¬ 
ject of the Plant Embargo is one that is not easy to pres¬ 
ent in a concrete form. 
The fact that the subject has been jirotested from so 
many angles proves that it should not have been so ar¬ 
bitrarily decided in Washington. 
Mr. Williamson specifically takes the National Nur¬ 
seryman to task for its remarks on the subject in the 
Januaiy issue. 
The imaginary foes referred to are not the San Jose 
scale. Blister Rust or Chestnut Blight. These are real and 
already here. The plant embargo is not put in operation 
to keep them out, but other unknown pests that perhaps 
are comparatively harmless in their own countries. When 
they come here they might find congenial conditions and 
cause incalculable damage. 
Mr. Williamson misapplies the statement that “insect 
and plant life are interdependent, and left to themselves 
the balance is maintained.” 
If the plants and insects were left in their native habi¬ 
tats this is true, but if we bring the Peach from Persia 
and plant it in so many and varied localities, breed it up 
until it has lost resemblance to the original type from 
which it sprang, is it any wonder it has lost its resistant 
qualities, and so liable to attacks of disease or pests. 
The statement was made in an attempt to point out the 
futility of legislating disease and pests. 
Mr. Williamson hit the nail on the head when he said 
the balance cannot he maintained without the help of 
scalecide and lime sulphur. This fact is the opinion of 
gardeners and men who have made growing their life 
study. 
Mr. Williamson also rather sarcastically makes refer¬ 
ence to the Chestnut blight. Here we are dealing with 
theory on both sides of the controversy. The blight was 
first discovered in Bronx Botanic Gardens. There was 
no evidence that it had come to America on nursery stock 
or in any other manner. 
Later, there was discovered a blight on Chestnut trees 
in China. Our entomologists jump to the conclusion that 
here was the source of this scourge. 
Another theory, and just as plausible, is the American 
Chestnut, an indigenous tree which formed such a large 
portion of our native forests when America was first dis¬ 
covered and settled by the white man, and no one knows 
how many centuries before, grew and thrived under the 
conditions that existed before the country was settled. 
Since then vast areas have been denuded of growth. 
Cities, railroads, farms and all those changes that neces¬ 
sarily take place, have changed the trees’ environment 
and created those conditions which made the blight pos¬ 
sible. 
Geologists tell us the flora has changed in past ages. 
In the present instance the change has been sudden due 
to the help of man. Is it any wonder a blight has at¬ 
tacked them? 
Those who doubt this theory might tiy growing the 
same crop on the same ground for a few decades without 
artificial building up of the soil and note the deterior¬ 
ation. 
The nurserymen have cause for protest when their 
business is made to hear the onus of introducing scourges 
in the country that should not be attributed to it without 
better evidence. 
It is a safe statement to make that there are more in¬ 
sect pests and diseases infesting the flora of this country, 
say within a radius of 20 mies of our capital city, than 
there are in all the nurseries in France, Holland, Bel¬ 
gium and England. In fact, nurseries and well cared for 
orchards and gardens are the only places that are coni- 
paratively clean. 
MEMORIAL TREES 
We endorse the movement to plant trees as memorials. 
In a small town in middle Tennessee there is today a 
magnificent pecan tree. The story goes that— 
One of Gen. Andrew Jackson’s men, who died fighting 
the Seminoles, was brought back to his home in Ten¬ 
nessee and buried. They found in his haversack some 
native pecan nuts; douloting that they would live in 
Tennessee, his comrades, however, planted some of them 
and there now stands above the old Indian fighter’s 
humble grave a stately tree, a hundred years old, and a 
fitting monument to a hero. 
We have seen the suggestion that the memorial tree 
for the Southern men of the 30th Division who broke 
the Hindenhurg line at Bellicourt, and fought with such 
distinction in the campaign around St. Quentin, should 
he a hickory, because they officially designate this as the 
Hickory Division, although they later won the sobriquet 
of the Wild-Cat Division. 
Yours very truly, 
E. B. Drake^ 
The Cumberland Nurseries. 
