No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 607 



the Pacific coast pretty well overworked. They are coming back, 

 the western promoter, or a relative of his, the land boomer, the fel- 

 low looking for suckers, the promotor who is out for your money, 

 this back to the land theory, these farm stories that are in all the 

 magazines, and the beautiful yarns being told everywhere, have got 

 the people crazy to go back to the land, but this back to the land idea 

 that is in the minds of the people in the city, going back to get rich 

 out of this business, going to get a piece of land and have an orchard 

 and everything is lovely, I say this boom is coming on here in the 

 east, and you Avill see a lot of yellow literature circulated in Penn- 

 sylvania and all over the northeastern section of the United States, 

 it is started now, and in the next few years you are going to see 

 much more. I say, gentlemen, watch out; hang out the red light, 

 the sign of caution, there's danger ahead to the legitimate industry, 

 danger ahead to the people who go into it unthinkingly, and danger 

 ahead in so manv wavs. I, as one who have been interested in a 

 large plantation, tAvo thousand acres or more of peaches, have watched 

 a lot of the large operations in the south, somewhat in the west, 

 know something of the large plantings that are hinted of, at least, 

 and attempted to be carried on in states south of you, and hinted 

 at in New England. Those large orchard propositions are doomed 

 to fail. 



PEOF. SURFACE: Some of them. 



MR. HALE: Well, all except yours and mine. I say, beware of 

 those things, and yet there is a legitimate field for the investment of 

 capital in oi chard propositions, and Avhile these Avildcat schemes are 

 in the way and bound to be carried on, yet there will be some legiti- 

 mate. Only yesterday morning in my mail was a letter from one of the 

 most reputable and sound bankers in Wall Street, a man whose name 

 is good for millions anywhere, and who can put his hand on it any 

 time, through his association, sending a clipping from a Vermont 

 country weekly, tell of Mr. — I don't know the name — a Mr. Some- 

 body, Smith or Brown or Jones or Surface or Hale — I don't know — 

 but that last year he had 125 apple trees, and they bore seven or 

 eight barrels to the tree, and they had sold for four dollars a barrel 

 at the station — I haven't the exact figures, but the net profit was 

 something like 1^200 an acre, which looked good on paper to the 

 banker, especially as in another column of the same paper the Wil- 

 liam C. Hill farm was for sale, 160 acres, of which 110 acres was 

 clear and leady for immediate planting; the buildings on the place 

 could not be duplicated for $8,000, and the farm was for sale for 

 $5,000. The banker said, "Mr. Hale, isn't there an opportunity in 

 this? See what this 125 trees brought the man. Here is the Hill 

 farm for sale, and not only this, but there are others in that town- 

 ship, and so on through the next county. Won't you call on me 

 next time you are in New York, and let us talk about your going up 

 there and buying eight or ten or a dozen of these farms, or a hun- 

 dred of them, and we will start capitalizing the scheme, and some 

 they have partly xjls^nfed, and we will catch the suckeis, that have 

 been going to the northAvest." Now, there is a proposition from a 

 legitimate banker. He believes he sees a great big opportunity there. 

 Is it there? Yes and No. It is there in the land. It is there in his 



