STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 85 



simply lost their time and the money advanced. These are what we 

 call "pocketbook emptiers" and "scalpers" in our part of the country, 

 instead of honest nurserymen. We want no tree that has been grown 

 east of the Mississippi river for Iowa planting. When farmers will 

 quit patronizing these traveling agents, take only home-grown stock, 

 receive it when it is alive, and take judicious care of it, then there 

 will be less complaint than there is now-a-days from worthless trees. 



I had a little bit of experience this summer. One of your residents 

 of this State came down our way, and he was introduced to some of 

 my friends. He was no more fit to handle an apple tree than a boy to 

 handle a steamboat. Some of our men in our county bought trees of 

 him at big prices; they threw them into the cellar, never covered 

 them up, never went to the railroad depot to get them until fifteen 

 days after they were brought there. Of course the trees did not 

 start the next season. One neighbor who set out the trees used his 

 lot for a hog pasture, and because the trees would not stand against 

 the hogs and the dry weather, he complained that the trees "went 

 dead," and turned around to the agent and wanted to know if he 

 would refill the order. The agent told him he would, and asked him 

 what he wanted; opening his canvass he asked him to take his 

 choice; he replaced them with Hyslop crabs. Whether he will be 

 able to make a good stock-yard with those or not I don't know, but 

 he is going to try the experiment. When we have such men as 

 those to handle fruit trees it is no wonder we have failures. Until I 

 saw these methods pursued I was a little down on the scalpers, 



Mr. Pearce, I would like the Society to take some action, and 

 place us before the State in a proper light. This whole thing is a 

 slander on this Society. 1 took advice upon that law from a good 

 lawyer, and paid him for it. He told me the law wasn't worth as 

 much as the paper it was written on. It is a mere scarecrow, and I 

 would like to have an expression from this Society in regard to its 

 amendment or repeal. 



Mr. Gould. Mr. President, I supposed this paper was read with 

 the intention of having a general discussion of the subject here. I 

 have not pointed out mv objections, and will not do so if there is no 

 opportunity given for discussion. 



Mr. Underwood. I was about to ask, what are the objections to 

 the law? I have failed so far to catch any particular point, or objec- 

 tion. I never took any part in framing, or assisting to enact the 

 law-; I don't quite see the necessity of it, because I have always been 

 / considerable of a "free trader," although I have always trained 



