THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
19 
MR. DOOLEY ON THE PROHIBITION OF IMPORTS 
(With apologies Lo Mr. F. Peter Dunne) 
Me deaar Hinnessy, 
I taake me faithful Oliver in hand ter indite yer these 
few lines iv cheer and cumfut. 
Ye’ll be askin me iv I’ve heaard tell iv the latest non 
j)rohihition? I hev. Tis a era iv prohibition, Hinnessy. 
Twus ter he ixpicted along iv other throubles thet cum 
wid the votes fer wimmin. Wid Congress takin to 
wather and the game iv authors, us min, Hinnessy, must 
rayconcile oorselves ter wearin the shurt the second 
wake while oor wimmin runs the politics and votes us 
prohibition. 
Ye’re fmdin fault wid this noo prohibition iv impoorted 
plants. Ye’re wrong, Hinnessy. Ye’re sayin yer sees 
no more danger iv Dootzies bringin in furrin bugs than 
cherry seedlins; an that’s because ye air only a nursery¬ 
man, Hinnessy, and lacks the scientific mind. Ter the 
scientific mind, tis perfectly clear. Oor intimologists hez 
discovered thet thim furrin bugs thet fattens on Dootzies 
and Spireas, wud staarve ter dith on the forrage af¬ 
forded be fruit-tree seedlins. Tis well-known iv the 
feedin-habits iv furrin bugs, thet ornamintals is fruit to 
em, while fruit-stocks is jist ornamental. Ye don’t un¬ 
derstand thet, ye says? Yer ignorance, Hinnessy, while 
appallin, is shared be ithers. 
This here prohibition iv furrin bugs an plants, Hin- 
essy, is not ividence iv jealousy on the paart iv the intim¬ 
ologists. Ye’re wrong agin. An tis imperlite fer ye to 
repeat thet oor owm depaartmint iv agriculture impoorted 
white pines frum Heinz, in Germany, whin, wid thrue 
German ginerosity, they throw^ed in the hlisther-rust f('r 
good measure. Tis not, as ye suggist, thet oor officials 
suspect thet one iv the 57 varieties is still missin. T\s 
not jealousy at all. 
Ye see, Hinnessy. tis like this: yez an me can stilt im- 
poort oor fruit-tree seedlins, wdiich tis well-know n niver 
bed brown-tail nor ither butterflies secreted on thim; 
but the Dootzies and ornamintals, Hinnessy, hein ex¬ 
tremely susceptible ter bugs, must be impoorted through 
the Fedral Horticulture Bored for thrial at Washinton; 
thin, afther the suspected bugs hez bin interned a soot- 
able lingth iv time under the Espionage Act, they can be 
acquired be me and you and ither nurseiymen in the 
stiickly official wvay iv the pine blisther-rust. 
I’m thinkin, Hinnessy, thet ye’re baarkin up the wu’ong 
three. Me own ipinion is thet this pathriotic and con¬ 
structive wmrruk is doo ter the Waar Departmint en¬ 
tirely, instid iv the Horticulture Bored. Tis like this: 
The waar’s over and the min’s goin hum. But oor greaat 
w^ar strategists an oor stoodents iv military tactics hev 
had but time to git started; they’re inthrested in the 
greaat science iv waar; an mebbe they hev some plans to 
w urruk out wud the bugs, lackin rale sojers. Ez I fig- 
gers it out, Hinnessy, tis mebbe the plan, instid iv lettin 
thim furrin bugs wander in aimless be evadin oor Se¬ 
cret Service men, concealed on ornamintals but not on 
fruit stocks,—to mobilize all thim furrin bugs in Wash¬ 
inton and thin ter arrange a greaat pitched battle be- 
chune thim an oor own bug foorces in the National Bo¬ 
tanic Gaarden, wdiere, under the watchful eyes iv the 
official gardeens iv oor orchards and gardens, the De¬ 
paartmint iv Agriculture hez mobilized sich an assort¬ 
ment! iv bugs ez you an me and ither mere nurserymen, 
Hinnessy, cud niver hope to ekal in oor strickly amatoor 
way. Sich military manoovers hechune the furrin hugs 
an oor “Department iv Agriculture’s Owm,” wud bring 
no misgivins to oor pathriotic buzzums. Twud be a 
greaat sight if arranged he the Ginral Staff an the Bored 
iv Strategy assisted be the Horticulture Bored. I’m 
thinkin, Hinnessy, tis w hut’s in the mind iv the Horticul¬ 
ture Bored. I suspect nawdhin else iv bein there, mind ye. 
Whut do I think iv the freedom iv the seas? ye ast me. 
Well, Hinnessy, I’m thinkin the Prisidint’s gone acrost ter 
presarve the freedom iv the seas, because the seas is 
about the only land thet’s still free, accordin to latest 
noos. 
An, whut do I think iv prohihition? Well, Hinnessy, 
I’m fur it. I sez be all means, let’s prohibit juohibition. 
Yer thrue frind, 
Dooley. 
SPRING BUSINESS 
The question that interests most nurserymen at this 
time is what sort of business are we going to have next 
spring. If the husiness done hy the various shops and 
stores throughout the State is any criterion, this is going 
to be the best on record. From all sources come reports 
that Christmas buying has beaten all records, show ing 
the American public is returning to normal, after the 
long period of saving for war honds, etc. 
There is no doubt that at the advent of spring their 
thoughts wdll begin to turn to outdoors, and the garden, 
lawm and orchard will he uppermost in their thoughts. 
What few" reports have come to hand from nursery¬ 
men in various parts of the country are mostly all favor¬ 
able, a nund)er of them having already hooked more or¬ 
ders than usual. Add to this the fact that labor w"ill be 
much easier, due to the demobilization of w ar w"orkers 
and drafted men, and the j)rospects do seem bright. 
At any rate, it will be a safe provision to be prepared 
for a very busy season. 
We congratulate you on having such a good paper as 
yours is and seems to be growing better all the wiiile, for 
the nursery trade needs just such information and get- 
together spirit as you are trying to boost. 
