•94 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



A SAMPLE SWINDLER. 



I have in mind one of these fellows claiming to represent the well-known 

 firm of Elwanger & Barry, with all the equipments. lie took a quite large 

 order of the superintendent of the Kalamazoo Asylum and of many others in 

 our town, at, of couse, about three prices. At least, the bill furnished the 

 asylum at 840 I would have been glad to fill for $12. One of his customers 

 said to me that none of his fruit came true to name. I said I would venture 

 the price of the bill none of it ever came from Rochester, and I asked him to 

 write Elwanger & Barry, asking if they had such an agent. The reply was, 

 they knew no such man. I afterward learned the stock was packed in Ohio. 

 So it is easy to see that the plaater who has none of these inside facts becomes 

 prejudiced against the nurseryman when his fruit is sometimes entirely differ- 

 ent than ordered. 



BUT THERE ARE HONEST NURSERYMEN". 



But I am fully convinced, as far as the practical nurseryman is concerned, 

 in general he desires to know just what the fruit grower is going to want, and 

 to grow that and nothing else. 



This calls to mind a litile experience I had a few years ago, which I think 

 gives an illustration of the point under consideration. I had a block of peach 

 seedlings to bud. I was desirous to bud such varieties as would be wanted by 

 peach growers. This was before I had quite as much experience as now. I 

 wrote several parties whom I knew had considerable experience, asking them 

 to give me a list of what they would plant in planting 1,000 trees. From 

 most of them I received a prompt reply, giving a list of what they would 

 plant. From a few I received no reply. The most of you, I apprehend, will 

 ask why. Of course I am not fully prepared to say, but I will give you my 

 conclusions and my reasons for aiming at these conclusions. I knew my men. 

 They said to themselves: "Now he is a nurseryman and he wants to make 

 something out of my experience, and I am not going to give him a chance." 



Now I hope the discussion of this subject will help to do away with any 

 such feeling, for I know it will be far better that both parties be free to give 

 each other all the information they can, and become better acquainted with 

 each other, and in all cases for the planter to buy directly of the nurseryman 

 and not of the tree dealer. The fruit grower need not look for perfection in 

 the nurseryman, or presume that he never makes a mistake ; for, I speak from 

 experience, there is no business that requires such vigilance in keeping every- 

 thing straight as the nursery business. But I believe if you deal directly with 

 the grower he will try as hard to give you just what you call for, and nothing 

 else, as any class of men in trade, and I say this, though being at the present 

 time more a fruit grower than a nurseryman. 



THE TREE PEDDLER A NUISANCE. 



H. Dale Adams said the keynote of the proper relationship of fruitgrowers 

 and nurserymen, desired by both, was in Mr. Stearns' latter words — do away 

 with the tree dealer, the travehr with samples and pictures, lie told how 

 a friend was swindled by one of those gentry, and how he vowed he would 

 not be "taken in" again; but he was, and even for the third time. We can 



