THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
63 
5. This is a question that no man can answer, because the conditions 
are not outlined, and the most important factor in the whole thing is 
the man. With small fruits and quick maturing nursery stock, it is 
quite possible to get a good sized revenue the second year; but in 
gauging the nursery business as in other businesses of the somewhat 
slowly maturing kind, a man should not expect to be able to secure 
definite revenues in so short a time. These revenues can only be 
measured accurately by a careful stock taking, coupled with sales, 
compared with expenses and interest on capital invested. 
SALT FOR QUINCE BORERS. 
Will heavy applications of salt around quinces prevent borers, or 
is this simply a tree agent fake? 
Mt. Kisco, New York. N. R. 
Ans. —Yes, a heavy application of salt around a quince or any other 
tree might prevent borers, for it would be likely to kill the tree. I 
can imagine no other way that the salt might prevent borers. I sup¬ 
pose this fake is worked on the theory that the tree takes up the salt 
and renders the sap distasteful or perhaps poisonous to any insects 
which may try to eat it. Possibly some of the salt might get into the 
sap, but surely not enough to prevent borers or any other insect from 
including the tree in its daily menu. The Quince borer is the same 
insect that bores apple trees. It is a very difficut insect to combat 
and no effective preventive has yet been devised. A wrapper of old 
newspapers or tarred paper closely applied to the base of the trunk 
will prevent as much as anything we have seen. “Hand grubbing" with 
a sharp knife or chisel and a wire to reach the grubs in their burrows 
is the surest method for these borers. 
M. V. Slingerland, in “ Rural New Yorker.” 
MINNESOTA WANTS A NEW HARDY PLUM. 
THE JEWEL NURSERY COMPANY HELPING. 
In the states comprising the upper Mississippi watershed, the plum 
may properly be regarded as the “King fruit,” by reason of the fact 
that it is the only indigenous tree fruit in that region that possesses 
naturally the necessary market qualities. Early settlers found in the 
native thickets plums of good size and flavor; these have been handed 
down and distributed by nurserymen, and many of them have shown 
marked improvement under cultivation. But in the struggle to ac- 
limatize the apple, the plum has received less attention than it deserves, 
a condition perhaps due also in a measure to the human desire for 
something more than we already have. Now, however, the interest 
in plant breeding that has been growing apace in the past decade, 
has renewed the zeal of the plum enthusiasts in the North Central 
States. At the recent Convention of the Wisconsin Horticultural 
Society, Mr. Roy Underwood, Secretary of the Jewell Nursery Company, 
Lake City, Minnesota, stated that his company proposed to offer a 
cash prize of $1,000.00 for a new variety that should possess the proper 
combination of size, quality and hardiness. This offer has subsequently 
appeared in the agricultural press of the Northwest. The late Pro¬ 
fessor E. S. Goff, of the Wisconsin Experimental Station was a well 
known authority on the native plum, having made extensive ex¬ 
periments with it. The veteran pomologist, O. M. Lord, of Minnesota, 
has also given much encouragement from his life study of the subject. 
Leading horticulturists in that section now agree that through judicious 
hybridization, Minnesota and kindred states should in the early pro¬ 
cess of time have a good big plum, of good market quality that will 
stand the rigor of their winters. 
Native Plum Advocate. 
E. G. Mendenhall offers some of the most practical implements for 
nursery use that we know of. See his advertisement. 
The Presidency of the George Junior Republic is as much coveted 
among the citizens of that miniature nation perhaps as the great officers 
are among men engaged in the game of world politics. Billy, after two 
defeats, was at last elected, but in the hour of his triumph he resigned 
rather than go into office with a smirch on his honor. The story 
which appears in the Youth’s Companion for February 23d, is called, 
“The Head of the Republic,” and is by Esther Harlan. 
CUbaUs Going On. 
OUR NEW ENGLAND LETTER. 
The nursery happenings for this month are nothing out of the 
ordinary. The weather conditions are such as to prevent 
digging, and the outlook for commencing such work is not 
satisfactory at this writing. A few days of good warm 
weather however, would open the ground very generally. 
There seems to be a general expectation of a satisfactory 
spring business, providing the frost conditions enable early 
digging. 
Ellwanger and Barry were awarded the contract for sup¬ 
plying about five thousand trees to the Massachusetts Highway 
Commission, their price being nearly 33J% lower than those 
of any other bidders. The bids were confined generally to 
local nursery firms with the exception of the successful parties, 
and one other exception. 
Importations from Europe up to this time, are coming in 
highly satisfactory condition, though freight rates are seem¬ 
ingly needlessly high. 
New England wholesale nurseries seem to be well suppled 
with a general assortment of ornamental shrubs, and their 
quotations compare very favorably with those of the leading 
middle state nurseries. 
The general demand for large and small fruits, other 
than what is controlled by the travelling tree agent seems to 
be very limited in bulk, as is reflected by the comparatively 
small importance of this department in the New England 
nursery catalogues. 
J. Woodward Manning. 
BREEZES FROM KANSAS. 
There is an apple crop due Kansas this year. The oldest 
trees even made a fine growth and are in the finest fruit¬ 
ing condition. Then also Kansas needs a good crop about 
now to boost the apple trade. When the apple fruit trade is 
boosted it at once reflects on the apple tree trade and we all 
stand ready to be reflected. In fact we need it in our business. 
We are about ready to start a guessing contest. Conditions 
were never better than now in the seedling trade, to ‘'guess we 
will” or “guess we wont.” One thing is certain though, the 
fools were not all in the legislature in the West this year. 
Some of them are in the seedling business. 
We venture to guess that there will be more rotten seed 
sown this year than at any previous time in the trade. 
The well known firm of Peters & Skinner will grow out of 
business in a natural way. Mr. Skinner having purchased 
the large cellars will conduct the business in the future. 
We certainly wish the new firm the success which the old firm 
so well merited. 
The volume of trade this spring is not up to normal in Kan¬ 
sas, but there is still time to add to what has already been 
done. 
An early spring seems to be upon us and a jolly good time 
seems to be coming to the former generally. 
Mr. Norris Peters and Charles Peters, both of the old reliable 
George Peters & Co., of Troy, Ohio, paid Topeka a short 
business trip since our last communication. The close prox¬ 
imity of the packing season compelled their quick return. 
