Excerpt from 1894 Meehans' Nurseries

In the rush and turmoil of the 19th century, is there any one who takes the time to read the preface of a catalogue? We doubt it, - but yet upon the chance that some one will read it we want to talk, not upon the extent of our nurseries or the many years that we have been actively engaged in nursery work, but upon the quality oi the stock we send out, upon the care we take to produce the finest grade of stock, and the jealous watch we keep to see that our stock 13 true to name.

Of what use is it to buy trees which are of weak, sickly growth and in a low state of vitality? Such trees cannot recover from the effects of transplanting for several years thereafter, and if they are of large size, the time will be even longer. But what of the trees that have had care and attention from the time they were small, - stimulated to growth by yearly applications of manure, and the soil cultivated each. Season as carefully as for a crop of corn, potatoes or other garden vegetables. Such trees will have strong, heavy roots, with plenty of fibres, and will be in a better condition to resist the action of transplanting than those that have not had this care and attention.

A man in poor health, with a low or weak constitution, will not recover from a surg ical operation, which has taken off his leg or arm, as quickly as one who 15 strong, vigorous, and in the highest state of health; and it cannot be expected that a tree in the same con dition would do any better, - yet many people buy such trees, because they are low priced, and expect them to do as well as those in the highest state of health and cultivation, - and which cannot be sold at such figures. The very fact that a tree is low 1n pr: cc should often condemn it to practical planters; Nurserymen who visit the Meehan Nurseries are astounded at the labor and manures used m the growing of trees and shrubs. One nurseryman went so far as to say that it did not pay but when we pointed to the strong, sturdy growth of our trees - Norway and Sugar Maples making from 3 to 4 feet growth in one year - he was forced to admit that we were right, and that it not only paid us to do so, but that we were dealing generously with our customers by furnishing them with such strong and healthy stock.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.