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268 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
bers of the society, and there is not one of them I hate; there 
is not one of them I want to kick unless he kicks me first, and 
I did not have any heart in my work. Icould notthink of any 
thing I ought to say, so I stopped writing, and I thought I 
would come up here and offer an excuse for not saying any- 
thing, and I don’t know but what I have said enough already, — 
but if you really want me to say something about horticultural 
frauds I will try. I will first make my confession. (Laughter.) 
Pres. Underwood: That will cover the ground. (Laughter.) 
Mr. Dartt: Will that be all I need to say? 
The Owatonna plum is an extra good one, large size and 
good quality. It came from Red Wing, brought to Owatonna 
by Dr. Johnson. I got the sprouts from him. I told himif he 
would dig me up a lot of sprouts I would give him other nur- 
sery stock in exchange, and he brought me a lot of them. I 
cultivated them, sold some of them, gave some of them away, 
and when they got to bearing they bore a very inferior wild 
plum. Consequently, I was instrumental in perpetrating a 
horticultural fraud. I have confessed, own up and plead inno- 
cence; I did not know I was selling a bogus tree, and I am try- 
ing now to get down to the genuine article, but whether I will 
live long enough to compensate the public, long enough to make 
good the fraud I have perpetuated, I do not know, but I am 
afraid not. If I was sure of that, it would be a consolation, —I 
would give them a great lot of them, would grow them for a 
hundred years and peddle them out. I have heard things just 
as bad of other fellows, other members of our society. I heard 
that the agent of a nursery company sold a begonia to a lady, 
and it grew, and after a while it proved to be a pie plant. 
(Laughter.) Of course, the agent came around again and the 
lady showed it to him, and after she showed it to him she told 
him to ‘“‘git,” and I suppose he ‘‘got.” (Laughter.) 
Now, there is a fraud that is perpetrated, and I think it was 
perpetrated at our last state fair. It was the rule at that fair 
that nobody should draw a premium on fruit that he did not 
grow himself: I have evidence that goes to show that there 
were premiums drawn on fruit that was not grown by the ex- 
hibitors. One tall man said in a joking way that he had 
bought out the Rochester fair and that a certain sandy whisk- 
ered man had bought out the La Crosse fair. I have evidence 
in my possession to show that ‘“‘There is many a true word 
spoken in jest.” (Laughter). Now, I concluded that as the 
man who is said to have bought out the La Crosse fair took 
