Addresses — Humbugs. 155 



If you want practical experience in any department of horticul- 

 ture, go to the man who combines practice, theory, common sense 

 and honesty. Be very cautious when you approach a nurseryman. 

 Believe one half of what you see, one-third what you hear, one- 

 fourth that comes second handed, and nothing you cannot trace to 

 an authentic source. These nurserymen are a set of humbugs. 

 One of the best ones I know of in the state acknowledges this, 

 and wants me to write him up "aisy." If I were to order anything 

 of him, I should examine and see if it was not black-hearted, root- 

 frozen, blighted, stunted, grafted on crab stock, full of the eggs of 

 the canker worm, bark bursted, and frozen to death. All things 

 being right, I should then probably set it out in a poor place, give 

 it no mulch, never hoe it, and then lay all the blame on this poor 

 nurseryman. 



After all, there is a humbug bump in the Yankee's make up, and 

 he rather likes it. You offer him something risky and the more so 

 the better he bites; he wants a chance to beat his neighbors, beat 

 himself, beat the world and all the rest of mankind. If he don't 

 beat, he likes everybody to believe he does, even if he is a humbug. 

 Every man has his hobby, and carried too far this becomes a hum- 

 bug, no matter whether it is crabs or cranberries, grapes or gos- 

 lings, pigs or pickles, fairs or fizzles, men or monkeys, mules or 

 donkeys. I suggest that this joint convention, before it adjourns, 

 do appoint, for each assembly district throughout the state, a "Fool 

 Killer." 



Mr. A. F. Hofer, of Iowa — The gentleman mentions one hum- 

 bug in the high school of Janesville; he said they went so far as to 

 make the children go barefoot. I do not consider that a humbug 

 at all. I believe it would be a great deal better for many of them, 

 if their fathers would keep them at home and let them go barefoot 

 on their farms, so they would learn to earn a living in an honest 

 way instead of studying humbug, and humbugging their neighbors 

 afterwards. If they would go barefoot on the farm, it would de- 

 velop the feet, so when any humbug came on the farm they could 

 give him a good send-off. 



Mr. Plumb — We would all like to talk on this point, but our 

 Horticultural Society had a brief discussion on this subjest, and 

 put their views in the form of a resolution, which I will read, as 

 expressing the Horticultural Society's sentiments on this subject. 



