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234 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Peddler No. 1 was soon re-enforced by No. 2. This man represented a 
St. Paul nursery establishment. His samples and preserved monster fruit 
by far excelled those of his predecessor. He talked, and talked, and showed 
his beautiful plates, and at last left the country with as many orders in 
his books as there were farmers on his route. When the stock ordered 
arrived, the happy owner had to pay express charges from Missouri. The 
success was about the same as with the former order. They followed 
one another to the brush pile. 
The same swindle was rep23ated over and over again, until people 
got tired of it, and the newest schemes failed to work well. People had 
become discouraged, and, one by one, they stopped buying trees, and the 
tree agents were very lucky when an order could be booked. Then a law 
was enacted by our legislature prohibiting trees from other states being 
peddled out in Minnesota. This put a stop to the nuisance for awhile, 
but I notice the old swindle is taken up again, but without much success. 
This is the situation as I see it. No doubt in the last twenty-five years 
this part of God’s footstool has undergone a great change. Where once 
the wigwams of the Indians stood, now stand fine farm houses, massive 
barns and well filled granaries, prosperous towns and cities, connected 
with railroads over which iron horses draw immense loads with the 
greatest ease and regularity. Telegraphs flash their messages with the 
velocity of thought. Where once the deer, bear and moose had their 
feeding grounds we now find herds of blooded stock and thoroughbred 
horses. Where the Indian youth played their savage games, we have 
erected schoolhouses, to teach our boys and girls those elements which 
they must possess to grow up enlightened men and women. Great are the 
changes that have taken place here. Civilization has worked wonders. 
Only one thing we lack here, good home-grown fruit. 
Are we doomed to forever eat the shipped-in strawberry, apple and 
grapes? Will we ever grow our own fruit? So far we have not had any 
great success; but this does not prove that we shall not succeed in the 
future. In the past we have bought southern grown, unhardy trees and 
plants, and tried to grow them on the southern and eastern plan, and have 
very often failed. 
We must introduce northern grown stock, or we must originate varie- 
ties adapted to our climate, and then we will succeed. 
Now, Iam elected a member of the general fruit committee and am 
supposed to tell you, at the anuual meeting of the society, what varieties 
we grow here, how many bushels, cases, quarts, etc., we raise, etc. Mak- 
ing such a report correctly, giving accurate information, is a very difficult 
undertaking, considering that five-sixths of all trees and plants are hay- 
ing names attached to them which do not exist; for instance, there were 
some apple trees sold at Perham, this county, some ten years ago, under 
the name of Hill’s Northern. These trees turned out to be five or six 
different varieties of crab, some of them undoubtedly Transcendent. I 
know of another lot of crabs sold as Duchess of Oldenburg; and so you see, 
under these circumstances, it is almost impossible to give correct names. 
I never saw a standard apple grown in this county. Before 1885 we had 
quite a number of crab orchards, but since that fatal winter most of them 
have gone to the brush pile; yet, there are some fine orchardsin the towns 
of Maine,Clitherall,and some other places. The crop in 1891 was very good, 
