GEO. A. 
MARSHALL, 
SIU 
ACTIVE HEAD 

Cc. C. MARSHALL 
HARVEY W. MARSHALL 
The Story of Three Brothers.. 
Out from an Ohio farm to eastern Nebraska came 
three brothers, one cold, windy February day in 1881. 
And there they settled where a few years later they 
modestly began their lives as nurserymen and fruit grow- 
ers, little dreaming that the superiority of fruits they 
were to grow would win numerous gold medals in 
America and in foreign countries. 
To tell you about Brother George is to relate the com- 
posite story of all three, for his deep interest in trees 
was mainly responsible for the nursery that bears the 
family name, and successfully endured through drouth 
and depression. He still today actively heads this fa- 
mous institution. 
George, at eight years, began to show exceptional in- 
terest in trees, and at ten years he actually planted and 
grew a hundred seedling peaches, with the encourage- 
ment of his mother. He planted these in the offsets of 
an old rail fence around the Ohio barn lots, giving each 
plant loving care, raising from 100 to 200 bushels from 
these young trees before the family pulled up stakes 
and moved westward to Nebraska. 
The lack of trees on the plains, and his study of na- 
tive trees, prompted him with his brother C. C. to start 
a nursery. Afoot and on horseback they began calling 
on neighbors to sell trees. At the end of five years, 
H. W., a younger brother, joined the partnership, in 
charge of the office and sales. 
Jyeorge early joined the Nebraska State Horticultural 
Society and later served as its president for five years. 
As such he established trial plantings throughout Ne- 
braska to test new and untried fruits, trees and shrubs, 
with the local land owners recording results. During 
the “Farmers Institute” period in the early nineteen hun- 
dreds he was retained by the University of Nebraska for 
several seasons to talk on tree planting at these meet- 
ings. He also lent much aid to the establishment of the 
Nebraska National Forest, by President Theodore Roose- 
velt, on a tract of 200,000 acres of Government land, of 
which many thousand acres have been planted to date. 
As a result of his knowledge and accomplishments in 
the field of horticulture he has served as president of 
the American Association of Nurserymen as well as 
numerous state and regional horticultural organizations. 
" <—PSrsmclime< 

LANDSCAPE 
HOMES 
Landscaping of public grounds has kept pace 
with home 
able planting gives the observer a feeling of an un- 
finished job. Now, the landscaping is figured in as 
a part of the building costs, where ground is avail- 
able for planting, and funds are set aside for this 
purpose at 
qualified for service of this kind, having specially 


The Marshalls Nurseries Started . . 
In the spring of 1887 Marshalls Nurseries had its begin- 
ning in the planting of 40,000 apple grafts, 16,000 cherry, 
plum and pear stocks for later budding, small fruits, 
forest tree seed and shrub stocks, by George A. and C .C. 
Marshall, in their early twenties. Their younger brother, 
H. W. Marshall joined them five years later. 
This planting was made on a tract 
of 80 acres, 2 miles east of Arlington, 
which was purchased the previous 
year. 
Their first sales were made by 
calling on the home owners of Wash- 
ington county during the winter 
months, much of the canvass being 
made afoot or on horseback. Each 
year the sales territory was extended 
gradually by employing salesmen, to 
cover several states. 
THREE FARM BOYS 
PLANT THE 
PRAIRIES 
A variety test orchard was planted 
in 1889 and in 1891 after acquiring 
more land, 30 acres of trees were 
planted for commercial fruit produc- 
tion. This orchard was interplanted 
with small fruits including black- 
berries, raspberries, strawberries, 
grapes, currants and gooseberries. 
Under George Marshall’s supervision 
it became a real experiment station. 

PLANT 
ORCHARDS 
The orchard was gradually in- 
creased to 60 acres and finally to 
100 acres. It was successful from its fruit production but 
was probably of most value because of the intimate and 
definite knowledge of hardiness, adaptability, quality and 
productiveness of the many varieties, to the Marshall or- 
ganization. For many years Marshalls made the Wash- 
ington County fruit exhibit at the State Fair, largely from 
this orchard, with George Marshall and several nursery 
boys spending the week looking after the exhibits. The 
entire time was spent comparing this fruit with the same 
varieties from other counties. This pointed the way to 
numerous superior strains and grafting wood was prompt- 
ly secured from such trees for our propagation. 
The early decorative planting of home grounds 
in the West was largely the placing of specimen 
trees and shrubs in a helter-skelter fashion on the 
lawn. Little foundation planting was done. After 
the turn of the century, however, there was a 
growing inclination of the people to give more 
thought to arrangement of the plant materials and 
the art of landscaping began to be applied. In 1916 
Marshalls set up a landscape department and has 
since become the outstanding nursery landscape 
service between Chicago and the Pacific coast. 

landscaping. The omission of a suit- 
the outset. Marshalls are especially 

trained landscape designers. 
Marshalls have played a very important part, LANDSCAPE 
over a half-century period, in dotting the prairies Sanne 

[6] 
SERVE FARMS 
with fruitful and protective 
plantings about the farm homes. In recent years 
drouth and an untimely freeze has reduced tree 
numbers to less than half of ten years ago. This 
is very unfortunate since the home fruit produc- 
tion is especially essential during war. Govern- 
mental agencies now urge planting of fruits as a 
war measure and with the new, hardier varieties 
and better growing conditions it is wise and pa- 
triotic to plant now. 

