192 Hints en Nurstrymen and Tret Buying. 



can call to mind one individual, who disposed of, in a single sea- 

 son, 80,000 trees ; and that in two counties. 



Planting trees of indifferent fruit is a worse evil than entire 

 neglect of planting ; for the reason that in the former case, bad 

 fruit is perpetuated to the rejection of superior kinds. Most 

 planters are loth to destroy a tree after it has commenced bearing, 

 even though the fruit be undesirable. Engrafting in such cases 

 is the only remedy ; but unfortunately, it is either procrastinated 

 from year to year, or another perambulating nurseryman, in the 

 guise of a ruminating " grafter," contracts the job, at a low price. 

 Four or five years more elapse. The trees once more produce 

 fruit ; but what is the astonishment and chagrin of the planter, 

 to discover lat his apples are identically the same as the origi- 

 nal crop, and the horrible suspicion creeps over him, that his 

 " grafting " friend has supplied himself with scions from the very 

 tree he was working. In many instances, bitter experience of 

 this description damps the ardor of the planter, and for all time 

 to come he remains contented with water core apples, astringent 

 pears, acid cherries, and horse plums. Kesponsible nurserymen, 

 occasionally send out traveling agents to contract trees ; but 

 such agents are always provided with abundant evidence that 

 they are bona fide attaches to the establishment they respectively 

 represent. One may possibly purchase of these men without in- 

 curring any risk ; but even under these circumstances, the prefer- 

 able method is to procure a supply directly from the " fountain 

 head," as commissions are saved, and the probability is that more 

 satisfactory trees will be received. 



Instances are recorded, although rare, in which establishments 

 of enviable reputation have had recourse to sending out trees, • 

 differing widely from the names by which they were designated , 

 Deception of this kind, is " sooner or later " discovered ; and its 

 transpiration not unfrequently operates disastrously to the future 

 business of the deceiver, although plausible pretexts may be as- 

 signed for what is termed an error. There is no branch of com- 

 merce which offers such inducements to professional " confidence 

 men " as the tree trade, for the reason that farmers are naturally 

 unsuspicious, and there is no possibility of being detected in sev- 

 eral years. Sometimes people imagine they have purchased spu- 

 rious trees, because the first and second seasons' crops do not 

 perfectly answer to the description as detailed by books ; at the 



