ee ee ee 
. 
eee 
ew a 
et se 
-_—_ ee 
> — 
1 . 
| 
ee ey ee eee 
Pe f = ae ns " 
BUYING NURSERY STOCK. yd 
BUYING NURSERY STOCK. 
W. M. NEWMAN, MINNESOTA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 
At first glance one would almost wonder how the subject of buy- 
ing and selling nursery stock could be connected with horticulture 
but when we get down to the real matter of the subject we will find 
that there is perhaps no subject in horticulture of more importance 
to the average farmer of Minnesota than that of buying his nursery 
stock. If every farmer in this state knew how to go to work to buy 
the right kind of stock for planting, then indeed would horticulture 
take a great step in advance of what it is at the present time. 
It has always been the practice of writers on this subject to call 
down the indignation of the people upon the men who are defraud- 
ing the farmers into buying worthless nursery stock, and quite 
rightly, too, so far as they go; but they stop half way and do not 
get at the root of the matter, and instead of stopping the infamous 
work of “tree sharks,’ they only prune off the dead or worthless 
branches, and the old tree brings forth more fruit. 
I would say to some of those men who are forever belittling the 
business of a nursery salesman, that they should not be too harsh 
on those men who defraud others, but should be on their own guard 
lest they also be tempted. 
It is useless to deny that a vast amount of fraud has been per- 
petrated upon the planters of this state, but, l ask, what is the reason 
for it? Has any member of the horticultural society been beguiled 
into buying’“Thornless Gooseberries,” “Evergreen Blackberries” 
and “ Apple trees that grow fruit under ground, so that there will 
be no danger of the blossoms freezing,” etc. No; men who under- 
stand something about the laws of nature and have taken advantage 
of other men’s experience in this matter, do not get duped by so- 
called “tree sharks.” 
So far have the majority of the people of this state remained in 
ignorance of the most common facts about fruit raising that all that 
is necessary in order to dupe them is to learn some new song about 
some wonderful discovery in northwestern fruit raising, and then 
sing itin a pleasant manner, and the fish is caught, the stock is 
bought, and the farmer sold. I used to feel a certain amountof pity 
for those men who were sold for a song, but when I see the oppor- 
tunities they now have for knowing better, I cannot have much 
sympathy for people who willfully neglect the chances. they have 
to know about these things. 
Sometimes their being beaten in this way is good for them, as it 
teaches a lesson not easily forgotten, and they will afterwards 
patronize a nursery which they know is doing a good, honest bus- 
iness; but still there are so few farmers who know of such nursery- 
men, and the more general effect is to cause them to shun every 
agent for nursery stock as they would a plague, and they are apt to 
lose good chances of getting stock that would do well with them 
and, consequently, are twice beaten. 
Now, as a remedy for this state of affairs, we have only to use the 
means already provided and, that is, become members of the State 
