Annual Meeting — Opening Address. 81 



trict, what trees and fruits it is best adapted to; and then each one 

 have his district thoroughly canvassed by fair and upright men, 

 being very careful to recommend nothing that is not reasonably 

 certain to do well in the district to which it is assigned. I would 

 not prohibit men from selling outside of their districts, but simply 

 for each one to confine himself to his district in canvassing. I know 

 very well that in reply to all I have said, it may be and often is 

 argued that men should only buy of good and reliable parties. 

 They have no business to purchase of an irresponsible and un- 

 known tree peddler, whose colored plates of fruit, and marvelous 

 stories of their quality and value, are almost entirely imaginary; 

 while the trees he delivers are the refuse of some nursery, that can 

 be obtained at a nominal price, and which the real owner, who 

 values his reputation, would not send out in his own name at any 

 price. All this seems reasonable and sensible, and it seems as if 

 men would either go or send direct to the nurseries of good men 

 for their stock. Yet the stubborn fact remains, that a very large 

 proportion of trees are sold by the mere tree peddlers. Shall this 

 state of things continue? Not long since, I heard what was to 

 me an exceedingly interesting discourse from the pulpit, upon the 

 subject of overcoming evil with good. The speaker contended 

 that it was not sufficient to denounce evil, or even to break it up; 

 but it must be replaced by its opposite - — with something good. I 

 have thought of it repeatedly in this connection. We all agree 

 that the manner in which our citizens have been supplied with 

 fruit trees, and' vines and shrubs, has been a great source of 

 evil and loss, continually. We all agree in denouncing it. Can 

 we not break up the system by putting something good in its 

 place? 



I am not positive that the above plan would be the best one that 

 could be devised; but it seems to me that the citizens of our state 

 should be supplied with home grown stock, as far as is possible. 

 We believe that the most of the hard times are over, and that an 

 era of prosperity is in the near future. It is certainly desirable 

 that our members should reap the advantages to which, in their line, 

 they are fairly entitled; but to do this, they cannot sit still and wait 

 for success to come to them. The inveterate and persistent tree 

 peddler can only be driven out and kept out, by a combined and 

 continued effort, and by convincing the people that you can and 

 6 — Hokt. So. 



