160 ANNUAL REPORT 



paid from ten to fifteen dollars; and I was requested ti> speak 

 about that agent here. 



Mr. Cutler said that a man named Jordan had been through 

 his county stating that he was representing May & Co., of St. 

 Paul; that they had a fruit farm of some 160 acres there near the 

 city; he was making a specialty of tree gooseberries, a thornless 

 olackberry and the Gideon apple. Mr. Gideon had represented 

 this firm as a "fraud" in i)lain words. This agent had photo- 

 graphs of the tree gooseberry with fruit larger in size than a 

 silver half-dollar; said the trees grew about six feet high and the 

 berries had no thorns on them; as to the Gideon apple he stated 

 that Mr. May had purchased the original tree for $200. As Mr. 

 Gideon was present he could answer for himself as to that 

 transaction. I said to him, "Mr. Gideon is advertising that 

 stock; how did he get if?" His reply was that he supposed he 

 propagated it the same way he had the first one — raised it from 

 the seed. Of course I did not bite at his bait but some of my 

 neighbors did — gave him a small order to get rid of him. 



Mr, Gideon. Mr. president, to give a little history. I sold 

 to Chase Bros., of Rochester, N. Y., some stock and I was not to 

 propagate until they got a stock on hand and then they were to 

 let me know; when they had sufificient stock they were to notify 

 me that I could go ahead with it, which they did and I have 

 been propagating it since. I never have sold to May & Co., a 

 tree, vine or plant, in any shape or form ; I never got a cion or 

 bud from them : I have had no dealings with them whatever. 

 Their claim that they got the tree of me and had entire control 

 of it (I have their circulars at home but I forgot to bring them 

 out) was entirely false, not a word of truth in it. I have been 

 told that their agents are selling trees in Iowa at enormous 

 prices, claiming that they have entire control of my seedings of 

 various kinds. I have published them in various papers in 

 Minnesota and Iowa. When I first published them in the Farm, 

 Stock and Some they wrote to me giving me six days to retract 

 and make it as public as what I had said in exposing them. I 

 told them they could drive ahead as quick as they pleased, I had 

 nothing to take back ; that is the last I have heard from them. 

 One editor wrote me they had threatened to sue him, and I 

 wrote back telling him to let them drive ahead, I would be on 

 hand to foot the bill ; that I could prove him a fraud, and told 

 him to j)ublish that in his paper over my signature. 



On motion of Col. Stevens the meeting adjourned till 2 o'clock 

 p. M. 



