THE MAN WHO SELLS THE NURSERY STOCK. 195 



to plant and places to plant on ; artistic, to be able to picture 

 out the beauty, comfort and delight of a well arranged orchard, 

 yard or g-arden ; s^entlemanly, well mannered, sympathetic and pleas- 

 ine. This is the ag:ent that stays at it and .srets ,s:ood usajs^e from his 

 patrons, and srenerally has the pleasure and satisfaction of seeins: 

 the .sfood fruit of his labor and commands the respect of the people. 

 Farmers pay more attention to the assent than to the nursery he sells 

 for, so he srets the credit or blame as the trees are s^ood or bad. 



An acent must have the knack of making- a man feel better after 

 he gets there than he is when he goes there. A gloomy agent, or 

 one decrepit or sicklv is not successful. Few people buv trees 

 throueh sympathy. That is the reason why so many robust and 

 substantial men are in the business. Good perception . encrcfv and 

 earnestness are dominant traits in the p'ood tree man. Honesty of 

 purpose and method are essential. Honesty insoires confidence, 

 and people feel it. No man c^n use deception, subterfuge or in- 

 trigue and be a successful order fretter. People feel that. too. 

 Good tree men arc not brazen or full of p-all. as sometimes pictured, 

 but sensitive to a de^-rec, and it takes a eood actor to hide his real 

 feelings at times. There are many disappointments, and he must 

 never lose his temper. A good and successful tree agent has most 

 of the qualifications mentioned, and the poor ones soon quit or run 

 down the price of trees so they are not wanted. A good, fair price 

 must be had for nursery stock, and if the agent creates the proper 

 desire he won't be jewed. It costs money to canvass a country and 

 distribute the stock, and people w^on't send to large nurseries for 

 their trees no more than they will send to large jobbing houses for 

 their goods. So after all, if we have fruit we must have the tree 

 agent. 



Ants Live on Lice — In their migrations from plant to plant the lice 

 are often aided by their foster-mothers, the ants, for many species are 

 carefully cared for and guarded by the ever diligent ants. A peculiar sweetish 

 liquid, called "honey dew," is secreted by the aphides, of which the ants are 

 extremely fond. To secure this they herd the aphides, much as if they were 

 little green cattle Frequently an ant may be seen tapping an aphis with her 

 antennae, upon which a drop of the honey dew is exuded and quickly lapped 

 up. Thus, th'- ants are probably entirely responsible for carn,-ing the young 

 aphides which affect the strawberry roots in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey 

 and elsewhere, from the foliage down to the roots, and for carrying them from 

 l)lant to plant as the plants wither from their injury. The melon louse is 

 similarly carried by the ants from hill to hill. But most remarkable of all is 

 the case of the corn-root aphis, which laA-s its eggs in ants' nests in the fall, 

 where they are carefully guarded all winter, and in the spring the young 

 aphides are carried by the ants to the roots of their favorite food plants. 

 — E. D, Sanderson in April Garden Magazine. 



