194 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Look Out for the Tree Peddlers. 



Thb editor of the Illinois Farmer exposes some of the 

 tricks resorted to by the tree peddlers in the West. 



"A hulf a dozen men residing in Illinois or otherwheres, 

 enter into an agreement to sell trees ; they get up a cata- 

 logue headed the ' Kochester Nurseries, by J. Jones & 

 Co.,' or the ' Dayton, Ohio, Nurseries of John Frank & 

 Co.' With these catalogues they travel for orders, in the 

 meantime one of the number looks after the trees to fill 

 the orders. An Iowa nursery is purchased to supply the 

 apple trees and other standard fruits, which are labelled 

 to suit the wishes of customers; a row of Kambo or 

 Sweet June going out under twenty different names. 

 The ornamentals are procured, in most instances, further 

 east, sometimes at Rochester or Syracuse, the orders arc 

 duly packed— marked to destination with the imposing 

 label ' From Rochester Nurseries,' or ' Dayton Nurseries,' 

 as the case may be. Some of these packages go to the 

 next station, some of them to the same village, and 

 others longer distances. Central and Western Iowa thus 

 purchase thousands of dollars worth of Iowa grown 

 trees, while Missouri, Kansas, and the river counties of 

 Illinois, come in for a share. The tree peddler is not 

 confined to the east, for we have a good supply of them 

 here, and we believe that the largest number of this class 

 of petty swindlers are residents of the west, and deal 

 largely in western trees. 



" There is another class of men for whom we have more 

 respect, and those are the agents of reliable nurseries 

 both east and west. These men reeeive a commission in 

 most cases and sell at regular prices, and the principals 

 are responsible for the correctness of the varieties sent 

 out." 



There is no class of scoundrels for whom we have a 

 greater contempt than dishonest tree peddlers. If you 

 buy a galvanized watch, that will go only when it is car- 

 ried, you are cheated by just the price paid for it. But 

 if you buy worthless trees, you are cheated, not only out 

 of the money paid for them, but out of all the labor and 

 expense of cultivating them for years. 



Farmers have it in their power to prevent these frauds. 

 When a tree peddler comes into a town or village, pur- 

 porting to be agent for the " Rochester Nurseries of J. 

 Jones & Co.," let some of our readers drop us a line in- 

 quiring whether there is such a nursery firm, and whether 

 the man is an authorized agent. We will cheerfully do 

 all that we can to aid in exposing these shameful impo- 

 sitions. 



There are many honorable men engaged in selling 

 trees, and these should be encouraged. We are safe in 

 asserting that our leading Rochester nurserymen are too 

 honorable and high-minded to lend themselves for a mo- 

 ment to encourage impositions on the farmers and fruit 

 growers of the country. Mistakes may occur in this 

 business as in all others, but on the whole such firms as 

 Ellwanger & Barry, H. E. Hooker & Co., C. W. Seelyb, 

 Frost & Co., John Donnbllan & Co., Hooker, Farley & 

 Co., and many others, undoubtedly furnish trees true to 

 name and of good quality. Parties purchasing trees and 

 plants from an authorized agent of any of these nurseries 

 may depend on fair and honorable dealing. 



Drain-Tile Machine. — Having witnessed the operati 

 of one of the Drain-TJe Machines manufactured by Id 

 A. Latourette, of Waterloo, Seneca Co., N. Y., we c 

 confidently recommend it. We know of no machine tb 

 turns out tile so rapidly. We could wish that one 

 more drain tile machines were at work in every county 

 the United States and Canada. The advantages of undi 

 draining are now universally admitted, and so far as o 

 experience and observation extend, it is much cheat 

 to underdrain with tile or pipes than with stone. 1 

 labor of digging the drains is much less, and a propel 

 laid tile drain will work much better and last longer tb 

 a stone drain, as commonly constructed. We believe 

 who have used tiles will bear us out in this assertion. 



One of the drawbacks to the general introduction 

 underdraining, is the difficulty in many sections of p 

 curing tiles at sufficiently low rates. They are a hei 

 article, and can not be transported long distances with 

 great expense. It is therefore desirable that the ti 

 should be made in the vicinity where used, and we i 

 not but think it would pay any enterprising man, 

 almost any agricultural region, to purchase a mach 

 and manufacture tiles. A supply will create a dema 

 And when once a farmer begins to underdrain, he rai 

 stops as long as he has a wet spot on the farm. 



The cost of one of Mr. Latourette's large machine 

 $300. It makes all sizes and shapes of tiles and pi] 

 from 1£ inches to 12 inches. We are assured that it * 

 make 100 rods of 2-inch tile per hour, and from what 

 have seen of its operation we do not doubt the f 

 Certainly it turns out tiles faster than any machine 

 have ever seen in this country or in England. The 

 chine is constructed wholly of iron. It grinds the i 

 and turns out the tiles at both ends at one operation, 

 can be worked with one heavy or two light horses. 



Mr. Latourette also manufactures a hand drain 

 machine, that turns out 400 two-inch tile per hour. P 

 $175. 



Those wanting a good machine can not do better 1 

 to put themselves in communication with Mr. La' 

 rette. We feel confident that his machine will give 

 isfaction. Underdraining lies at the very foundatio 

 all agricultural improvement, and we are glad to 1 

 from Mr. Latourette that the demand for machini 

 greatly on the increase. He informs that in some pi 

 a number of enterprising farmers unite together in 

 chasing a machine, and we can not but think that su 

 practice could be extended in many sections with g 

 advantage. 



The Genesee Farmer— Morgan Horse Wanted. - 

 James Stimson, of St. George, C. W., writes us as 

 lows: "My "Farmers" for 1860 and '61 are bouu 

 two vols., half calf, and are among the most valued I 

 of my library. It would be a great pleasure to m 

 possess all the back volumes uniformly bound in half 

 One of the greatest recommendations of your .paper, v. 

 fact that each year makes a book of very convenient 

 worth— well, the worth of it never can be told ; abo 

 ing, as it does, in valuable information, suggestions 

 hints, the knowledge of which saves dollars upon do 

 to such farmers as take the papers. The fact that you 



