316 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
THE SECRETARY ON THE JOB 
Mr. Watson addressed the following letter to a number of 
the Oklahoma, newspapers. The tetter is self explana¬ 
tory and speaks for itself of the kind of work he 
is doing for the national Association and the 
good of the trade at large. 
November 19, 1919. 
Dear Sir: 
I have received a newspaper clipping from your city, 
being an article entitled “‘Warning to Fruit Growers,” 
signed by Mr. G. G. Nesbit, Orchard and Nursery Inspec¬ 
tor of the Roard of Agriculture of your State. The warn¬ 
ing purports to be an etfort to protect Oklahoma fruit¬ 
growers against unscrupulous nurserymen who may at¬ 
tempt to deliver seedlings for budded trees. And such 
effort, if based on information and belief is entirely prop¬ 
er and timely. 
Rut may I not suggest that the purpose can be better 
served in a very direct way? I wrote Mr. Nesbit, object¬ 
ing frankly to the broad scope of the charges, pointing 
out the probability that planters would be unable to 
judge for themselves who are the ones aimed at and who 
are the resj)onsible firms of whom they may safely buy 
trees. Recause, as a matter of fact, while all fruit-trees 
are scarce and high in price like everything else, still, 
they are to be had. And I asked Mr. Nesbit to publish 
just such a warning to planters as he has sent out but 
especially to identify the firms of whom he says he has 
information. 
There are many entirely responsible nursery firms sell¬ 
ing trees. This Association, the National trade organiza¬ 
tion, organized in 1875, includes nearly four hundred 
firms of the highest standing, some of them, naturally, 
being in your State. We properly feel that instead of 
vague and loose charges, subject to too general applica¬ 
tion, it would be much better to warn planters against 
the identical firms who are known to be attempting fraud. 
Mr. Nesbit claims to have that information and upon our 
invitation to publish it, he sends out the “Warning to 
Fruit Growers,” without the very information they ought 
to have. And that is information that Mr. Nesbitt says 
he has, from a reliable source; he is able to identify the 
offenders for he says they are operating under pennits 
issued by the Roard of Agriculture. 
We are not at all inclined to suggest how you should 
run your affairs. The conduct of Mr. Nesbit’s office is 
properly of interest only in your State. Rut we are inter¬ 
ested where an unnecessary reflection is cast upon a 
whole industry. We might suggest that permits under 
which known frauds are permitted by official sanction to 
operate,, could be cancelled with service to your fruit¬ 
growers. We might point out that failure to expose 
the firms complained of, and known to your State Nur¬ 
sery Inspector, can serve only to disadvantage 
your planters and to shield guilty parties. Our in¬ 
terest as an Association is involved in this; that we 
should not be put under the ban by loose and gen¬ 
eral charges when your State Inspector claims pos¬ 
session of facts that identify the particular firms he 
has in mind—facts that would enable him to make 
his charges definite and to expose some frauds. We 
have been trying to get Mr. Nesbit to do that. 
Respectfully yours, 
Executive Secretary^ 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
PROTECTING HYRRID TEA ROSES 
Where the winters are liable to be severe, say north of 
the Mason and Dixon’s Line, Hybrid Tea and other tender 
roses are very likely to get winter killed unless protected 
in some way. 
Mulching the rose beds and strawing up the rose plants 
has become a fixed procedure'in the season’s routine of 
work in many gardens. 
The strawing up of the rose bushes often proves a 
somewhat futile operation. A much more satisfactory 
method of protection is to mound the plants up with soil 
12 to 18 inches high according to the size of the plant, 
leaving the ujiper jiart of the plant unprotected. 
Even if the very worst happens and the plants freeze 
back to the top of the mound of soil, the killed portion 
of the plant can be cut away and the plants will only re¬ 
ceive the necessary pruning. 
The rose wood that was covered with soil will invar¬ 
iably be found to be plump and in fine condition to make 
a strong break below the cut and in very much better 
condition than wood which has only had straw to protect 
it from the drying frosty winds of winter. 
PUTTING THE HORSE AHEAD OF THE LOAD 
When we place prices ahead of production we are put¬ 
ting the cart ahead of the horse. Prices is the cart and 
production is the horse that draws the load. If we look 
after the production prices will take care of themselves, 
while if we interfere with prices we may stop production. 
The reason for all this is that high prices stimulate pro¬ 
duction, increase the supply of goods and thus automat¬ 
ically usher in lower prices. That is why an economist 
said that the remedy for high prices is higher prices. On 
the other hand if we force down prices arbitrarily, we 
will discourage production and cause a shortage of goods 
and still higher prices. 
Prices are really only the thermometer that shows the 
condition of business. High prices indicate relatively low 
production to the demand while low prices indicate high 
production. The price thermometer now registers 100 de¬ 
grees in the shade, but we cannot cool the air by breaking 
the thermometer.— Horner Hoyt, Professor of Economics, 
Delaware College, in The Nation’s Business for November. 
The following have been apjiointed on the Arbitration 
Committee of the National Association:—George Mar¬ 
shall, Chairman, Arlington, Neb. 
Henry R. Chase, Chase, Ala. 
Frank Stannard, Ottawa, Kan. 
A. R. Robinson, Lexington, Mass. 
E. W. Reid, St. Paul, Minn. 
