274 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
frauds out, and for that reason I proposed it here; and [I stated at 
the time that I believed such a law could and would accomplish 
much good; it would give us the same benefits it gave to other states. 
I believe we have had considerable benefit from that law. The law 
might have been stronger, but the legislative committee that was 
appointed to go before the legislature was fooled by the lawyers, ior, 
as I understood it, they submitted it according to the way they paid 
them. I should want a good lawyer to give an honest opinion, and 
we had better pay him a good fee. Lawyers have an interest in hav- 
ing unconstitutional laws passed. That is apart of their business; 
and if there is to be any further legislation on this subject, we had 
better make provision to engage one i the best lawyers we can find 
and pay him for his trouble. 
Mr. Kimball: Mr. Brand brings up the question in regard to the 
punishment of fraud. But suppose a man buys trees in good faith, 
sets them out and finds out two years afterward that he has been de- 
frauded; it is then too late to take steps to punish,and,if he could, 
he would not take the trouble to do so. When they find out they are 
are defrauded, how many farmers are going to spend several hun- 
dred dollars to go to Illinois and prosecute the party who committed 
the fraud? How many are there who, after such a time had elapsed 
could secure the evidence to convict? There is not one manina 
hundred that purchases trees throughout the country, after having 
paid for them, who could offer any evidence that could be used ina 
legal form to show that he had ever purchased trees from the agent 
who defrauded him. 
Mr. Dartt: My friend here seems to want some hook on the agent, 
somewhat inthe same manner they confiscate the game that is 
contraband. Now, I rather think he would have no right to confis- 
cate the stock the agent proposes to sell, Lecause, if he did, he would 
have to prove that it was worthless, and he could not do that. So 
how are you going to get at him? 
Mr. Ferris (of Iowa): I have had considerable experience with the 
budded tree men in our country. They canvassed our county a good 
many years. The state experiment station received the first speci- 
men of the Salome apple. The apple is a trifle larger than the Tran- 
scendent, and the tree in hardiness compares about with the Snow. 
They agreed not to sell the tree for five years, and at the end of that 
time they had quite a stock. I bought the entire stock for four cents 
atree. I sold it for ten cents a tree. The apple that many paida 
dollar for, I sold for ten cents. The tree was not as hardy as the 
Plumb Cider. The trees that were delivered were part Ben Davis, 
part Walbridge, part Snow and part Salome, but as a rule they were 
Walbridge. I did not make any protest on the fraud, as I considered 
one Walbridge worth half a dozen Salome. 
In my town I have run a nursery for twenty-five years. I made it 
a point to attend to my business as well as I would wish any one 
else to attend to his business. I have done the best I could, but I 
have had so many failures that I do not feel like bragging about 
what I have done,myself, at least. There are so many things I have 
been engaged in that have been failures, that I feel more and more 
every year like sticking to the old standby. These budded tree men 
