CHAPTER V. 



DIGGING AND HANDLING EVERGREENS. 



One great obstacle In the way of growing these beautiful 

 and profitable trees is the way In which they are too often dug 

 and shipped. A man who grows them should have a tender 

 conscience and do business with the Golden Rule. The great- 

 est deception Is often practiced but there Is no more truthful 

 "tell tale" than the little evergreen. It always speaks the 

 truth. Often the largest growers are at fault. When the rush 

 Is on, there Is so miuch to do that inexperienced help will often 

 be used, the roots will be exposed only for a short time and 

 the tree is killed. A fine, healthy tree, properly set out at the 

 right time, in the right way, will live. If it dies Its death tells 

 the story of misuse and injury. Sometimes, after they are 

 thoroughly ruined the dealer will dip them in mud and pack 

 them carefully in moss. When the purchaser receives them 

 he says, "That man knows his business. I shall know where 

 to buy after this." But the trees all die. They tell the truth, 

 that they were carelessly handled and that a ten minute ex- 

 posure to the hot sun had killed them. And yet I have known 

 men to be just so careless and pack trees they knew were 

 dead, when fifty cents worth of care would have saved 10,000 

 of them. 



I once bought 5,000 Black Hills Spruce. They were beau- 

 tifully packed, and came with plenty of wet moss. But my 

 experience told me they had been badly handled. I had dug 

 trees in the Black Hills myself. However, I planted themi with 

 the greatest care under screen, and all but ten of them died. 

 Just a little care would have saved them when they were dug. 

 One spring I purchased quite a lot from' two nurserymen. The 

 trees were fine and looked much alike. I knew one dealer was 

 a little short on conscience and I implored him to be very care- 

 ful, but ninety-five per cent of his trees died and ninety-five 

 per cent of the other man's lived. Did it pay? One man never 

 sold me or my friends another tree, and orders for thousands on 

 thousands were poured In on the other man. 



Mr. W. is a fair sample of an intelligent and conscientious 

 grower. If a dealer sends him. an order he is sure of good 

 trees, well packed. Several firms, with myself, buy of him and 

 have for years We always know just what to depend on. 



