The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1903-10-28
A VERY PROMISING
AND SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
The Washington Nursery Company
In the Throes of Fall Trade
Something of Its Plant

the Washington Nursery company, and
view with great surprise what had been
accomplished in a brief space of time
less than year, by these energetic
people.
Fortunately the company has had the
advantage of ample capital upon which
to build business destined to become
one of the largest and far-reaching up
on the Pacific coast. That the vast
amount of money necessary upon which
to start a business of the magnitude
of the Washington Nursery Co. has
been wisely and iudiciously expended,
none who have visited their plant will
gainsay.
The offices and shipping yards are
located very conveniently to the rail
way at Toppenish, while the nursery
proper is located about a mile distant
upon a plat of ground admirably adapt
ed for the propagation of nursery stock.
The tract comprises about $50 acres,
every known variety of fruit and orna-
mental trees and shrubbery. This with
! in the next year or two will be increased
| to 200 acres. Twenty five acres have
been set to orchard from which the
scions for budding purposes will be OBJ
| tanned in later years. In this orchard
are 60 varieties of apples alone, to say
nothing of the other varieties of fruit
set out and to be planted later. All of
this work has been accomplished in less
than a years time, for it was only last
February that the tract upon which the
nursery stands was in sage brush, and
Mr.. Mcdonald, the president, began the
mighty task of laying out a nursery.
The brush was removed, the ground
broken and leveled up, a system of irri
and the work of planting in long, even
rows the thousands of scions which
were few weeks later to shoot forth
| their stocks and leaves of green and
which now present a sight we'll worth
the seeing, was commenced. This of
course has required big crew of men
and teams, and constant vigilance on
the part of the management, but it is
splendid example of what brains, ener
gy and capital can accomplish.
At this particular time of the year
the shipping yards present most inter
esting spectacle Here small army
of men are employed caring for the or
ders taken during the summer months
The trees are brought in from the nur
sery in huge punches. each variety to
Orders are then taken in hand one at a
time, the trees selected, labeled, tied up
and sent to the packing sheds to be
wrapped in straw ready for shipping
The first carload was sent out from
Toppenish on Saturday last. This sea-
sons orders will require twenty cars to
handle the business which extends well
over the northwest. Seventeen sales
men are responsible for the big accumu-
lation of orders and it is expected that
next season at least 100 men will be
required to cover the territory mapped
out.
That the company is planning big
things will be noted when the fact is
stated that q branch Office is to be open
ed Immediately at Detroit, Mich, and
the territory of the east so long held by
the nurseries of that section will be in
vaded by western house equally well
fitted to cope with them in every sense.
The Washington Nursery company re-
Gently absorbed the interests of the
Oregon Nursery Co., located on Mob Hill
and is rapidly disposing of the stock
there. A few weeks more will see it
entirely sold or removed TO the Top
penish grounds.
The gentlemen at the head of this
concern are practical nurserymen hav-
ing spent many years in the propaga-
ton and sale of nursery stock. They
are building up a business purely on
merit, and propose that every bill of
stock sold be the best possible grown.
They believe the field a big one to
occupy, but they are amply large enough
to fill it and fill it acceptably to the gen.
eral public. Five years will see this
concern the largest on the Pacific coast.
The president, A. w. Mcdonald, and the
secretary, Leon Girod, are pleasant gen.