232 STATE im)M()L0gi(;al society. 



selected varieties underwent was perfectly astonishing. Among other changes 

 I found my Virgalieus turned out to be Stevens' Genesee, my Winter Xelis 

 ■were very good l^nffanis, and my Vicars answered the exact description of 

 Beurre iJicl. Probably this last change was an improvement. My Clapp's 

 Favorite trees, that I had doted on, grew Onondaga fruit. But strange to say 

 with one-half of Bartlett trees there seemed to bo no such remarkable change. 

 I recognized the fruit as tiic Bartlett at once, and I conclude that this particular 

 pear is not so easily inlluenced by change of climate. 



Not a great ^vhile ago a fellow came into our country selling trees that pur- 

 ported to come from a nursery near Adrian. It was astonishing, however, 

 ■what a varii'ty of stock that nursery produced, for the agent could soil any- 

 thing a )ii.iu wanted and deliver it true to name, and I am free to say he lived 

 up to contract if the labels on his trees were any index. But to the sorrow of 

 our people we found that his stock was purchased at wholesale, and consisted 

 of anything he could get for the least money, and his jjrincijial stock in trade 

 was labels and lead pencils, which he employed regardless of expense in billing 

 his trees out to customers. 



I am satisfied from my own experience that it is perfectly fair for us to con- 

 sider tiie average tree agent a swindler. 15nt in the face of this remark I wish 

 to say that we are blessed with a man up in our region who has been selling 

 trees of late, in whom we have a good deal of confidence, lie takes a con- 

 tinuous interest in every orchard of trees he sells, assisting in planting and 

 coming around afterwards to make suggestions as to further management. To 

 be sure none of his trees have been set long enough to test his veracity and 

 honesty, but he seems to be a rare exception to the general run of agents. 



A. G. Gulley. — We need to consider these tree jigents under at least two 

 heads, — 



1. Authorized agents from nurseries ; 



2. Agents sent out by dealers. 



The first class are as reliable as the nursery itself generally. They are paid 

 by the month for selling what is in the nursery and nothing else. 



On the other hand the dealers and tiieir aGfcnts sell anvthins: and evervthinir, 

 running the risk of buying it of some nurseryman. This hist class always sell 

 good trees, but as a rule pay very little attention to the naming of varieties 

 correctly. They till orders with nice thrifty trees because these take well on 

 tlie start, and at tiie same time can be purcliased for the least money at the 

 nursery. To illustrate how little honesty there is in this class: I know a man 

 who in dealing with an agent wanted some small voung ornamental trees to 

 ornament his lot, and not knowing much of such matters, trusted largely to 

 the agent's judgment, who recommended tree peonies as just the tiling, and 

 you who know what tree ])eonies are can well understand his righteous indigna- 

 tion when he found his lot surrounded by these plants. 



Another of these irresi)onsil)le dealers sold a man 30 Tree Hoses, to be deliv- 

 ered in the fall. Now, Tree l\oses are very costly things, — mostly imported, — 

 and no one who knows anything of them would want to risk trying more than 

 one or two. But the agent cracked them u[» to be the finest things ever known ; 

 would grow in any clime, and be a joy forever. In the fall it is dillicult to 

 find these in the hands of anv nurscrvman. This dealer, not finding them on 

 liand, proposed to substitute Double Flowering Thorn, a line slirub, but ([uite 

 common, and costing, perhaps, one-tenth as much as Tree Eoscs. These were 

 dug and furni-hod liini, and he was thinking wliat a neat thing he had done, 



