THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
253 
ed to commit suicide and was watched closely by the 
men. He was taken to the Marine Hospital upon the 
arrival of the vessel. At times the swarms of insects 
jammed the steering gear and it was necessary to keep 
a stream of water playing about the helmsman so that 
he could remain at his post. The men filled their ears 
and noses with cotton to keep the insects out. 
“They was as big as bedbugs and had a bite like a 
lobster,” declared a negro member of the crew, who said 
that he never more would sail on a vessel with corn from 
* a tropic port. 
The vessel docked at Pier 3, Brooklyn, hut the disposi¬ 
tion of the cargo of corn has not been decided upon.” 
On another page we jirint the form of 
PERMITS TO application for special permit to import 
IMPORT nursery stock and other plants and seeds 
under regulation 14, quarantine 37. It 
will be interesting to see if either the commercial nur¬ 
seryman or florist will take advantage of this permission 
to import novelties and necessary jiropagating stock. 
The rules, regulations, bonds and other restrictions 
thrown around the importation of a few plants must ap¬ 
peal to the average liorticulturist as amusing, if it were 
not so tyrannous. It is evident those who drafted these 
regulations never had much exej)rience in the importa¬ 
tion of novelties, at least from the commercial side of it. 
Even under free entry the novelties were rarely a paying- 
investment. With the added difficulty and restrictions, 
the novelty will have to promise very big returns before 
anyone would attempt to introduce it under the present 
regulations. 
As regards necessary ])ropagating stock, the regula¬ 
tions will certainly act as a deterrent against what is best 
rather than an encouragement to develop the fruit in- 
dustiy. 
The clause “In exceptional cases the importation of 
novelties may be made for i)ersonal use but not for sale” 
leaves an opening for the wealthy politician with a pull, 
to import for his private estate. With such a set of regu¬ 
lations and restrictions it would have been far better to 
have made quarantine 37 llnal and complete. 
OHIO NURSERYMEN’S MEETING 
The summer meeting of the Ohio State Nurserymen’s 
Association was held Monday, August 23th at the Farm¬ 
ers’ Nursery Go., Troy, 0., with the following persons 
present: Wilber G. Siebenthaler, Dayton, 0.; H. N. Scarff, 
New Carlisle, 0.; Peter Rohlender & Sons, Ti])pecanoe 
City, 0.; Rodger Champion, Perry, 0.; Thos. A. McReth, 
Springfield, 0.; Roht. George, Painesville, 0.; T. J. Dins- 
inore, Troy, ().; G. Gordon Hall, Troy, 0.; W. N. Scarff, 
New Carlisle, 0.; A. x\. Dinsmore, Troy, 0.; A. R. Pick¬ 
ett, Clyde, 0.; T. R. Norman, Painesville, 0.; J. S. Burton, 
Casstown, 0.; H. N. Kyle, Tippecanoe City, 0.; H. S. Day, 
Fremont, 0.; W. R. Cole, Painesville, 0.; T. B. West, 
Perry, ().; A. M. Leonard & Sons, Piqua, 0.; A. N. Cham¬ 
pion, Perry, 0.; John D. Siebenthaler, Dayton, 0. 
The forenoon was spent in business session, members 
reporting condition of stock and approximate quantity 
available for fall and spring delivery. 
At the noon hour all were invited guests of Mrs. Dins¬ 
more to a banquet on the beautiful lawn at the ri'sidence 
of T. J. Dinsmore, President of the Farmers’ Nursery Co. 
Much praise was exjnessed and is due Mrs. Dinsmore for 
the success of this part of the program. The table was 
filled to overflowing with the good things to eat and was 
beautifully decorated with flowers and vines. 
The afternoon was spent in inspecting the nursery and 
then touring to the nurseries of Baird & Hall, Peter Roh¬ 
lender & Sons, and W. N. Scarff & Sons, ending with a 6 
o’clock dinner at the New Carlisle Inn as guests of W. N. 
Scarff & Sons. This meeting was a very pleasant oik' 
throughout and enjoyed by all. 
J. Fred Ammann, Retiring President of the Society of 
American Florists, in his address before the Convention, 
recently held in Detroit, speaking of the great changes 
brought about by the war, says : 
“This colossal war is profoundly affecting American thought 
and life. It is safe to say that more men and women are think¬ 
ing, and thinking seriously, than ever before in our history. The 
days of prosperity are not conducive to serious thought. Life is 
too easy. Things come without over much effort. At such times, 
we are prone to skim the surface, and miss the depths. A cer¬ 
tain light-hearted flippancy seems to go hand in hand with pros¬ 
perity. That day is gone. Times have changed. The placid 
depths are broken up. The days in which we live, impose upon 
us the duty of serious thinking and a deeper sense of gravity. 
This war has brought home to a good many men the conscious¬ 
ness that they have somehow missed the path of high endeavor. 
We have been walking in the shadows, instead of breathing the 
free air of the mountains. But today, men are searching for the 
way to the shining tablelands. To And that path and, when 
found, to walk in it, they recognize as a duty to themselves and 
to their country. 
“This discovery means a radical change in the general attitude 
of life. It cannot be accomplished without a new conception of 
the law of attainment. Men are born to achieve. A kindly but 
shrewd observer of American life recently remarked, that its out 
standing characteristic was the passion for attainment. And ft 
is here that the war is teaching the great lesson of life and con¬ 
duct. Before the war, men valued life in proportion to what they 
could get out of it. Not what they could give, but what they 
could get; not how much they could put into life, but how much 
they could extract from it. They laid life under tribute for their 
own ease, enjoyment and comfort. That man had attained most, 
who got most. The one idea was to get, and having got, to keep. 
There was little thought of service rendered, less of sacrifice to 
be made. The imperious demand on life was to give, give. 
“We are slowly, but surely, learning that there is a more ex¬ 
cellent way. The war has come with its^ stern demand for ser¬ 
vice and sacrifice upon the part of every American citizen. In 
its lurid light, we are learning the more excellent way of attain¬ 
ment. It is teaching the old Lent lesson that the man who seeks 
to save his life loses it, and the man who sacrifices his life, 
saves it. Who can tell, said an old Greek philosopher, whether 
to die may not be to live, and to live may not be to die? It was a 
paradox, but all life is a paradox. The man who values life by 
what he gets out of it, does not really live. He exists, but exist¬ 
ence is not the attainment. It defeats its own ends. The great 
need of this critical moment, is that men should think of what 
they can give, not what they can get. The need of the hour is 
the extinction of selfishness.” 
