8 



honest men. "We hare seen these plantB to fruit that were from these same beds, and 

 found fully, two-thirds of them spurious, worthless sorts. Now these men had bought 

 them from another party in good faith for Wilsons, and not being judges ol that 

 variety, sold the fruit and plants for such. We have seen large, fine, family beds, that 

 had been kept in splendid order, and which were purchased for some good bearing sort, 

 prove almost an entire failure; and again, field plantations hardly pay expense of 

 setting and cultivation on account of such a large proportion of spurious, worthless 

 sorts being among them. To illustrate this point more fully : We did not have, when 

 we came here from the West two years ago last Spring, enough Wilsons to set out 

 what we desired to, and therefore purchased 20,000 plants of that sort, which were 

 sold to us for the Wilson by a party whom we knew to be an honest, upright man, (he 

 having obtained them, as he informed us, from a party in an adjoining town, Macedon.) 

 As soon as we saw the little fruit on them, that we allowed to remain the first season, 

 we discovered that fully one-half to two-thirds were spurious, worthless sorts. .The 

 consequence was we averaged the next year about six cents per quart for them, and 

 obtained about forty bushels to the acre ; while from adjoining beds of the pure Wilson, 

 we got fully at the rate of 200 bushels to the acre, and averaged twelve cents per quart 

 —the first bringing us about |80 per acre, the last eight hundred dollars per acre. 

 The spurious sorts in the first named were such prodigious runners, that they nearly 

 choked out and destroyed the Wilsons— hence, the small crop and price, and the 

 necessity of plowing them up, which we did. do immediately after fruiting. But this 

 would have been but a small loss and disappointment in comparison to increasing 

 plants and setting larger plantations from it, which would have been done by those 

 who were not able to detect the difference, or even if it had not have been done and 

 thef could ">ee the difference, all expec* ition rf obtaining a large increase of plants 

 froin them to sell or set, would Lave bebn blasted. 



Now, our expenses of cultivation on both lots were the same, cost of marketing, per 

 bushel, the same, and cost of picking more. In fact it was a tedious job to get them 

 picked at any price. We know of plantations of pure and mixed Triomph de Gands 

 that turned out in the same way. Can any thing be plainer than this to show the 

 great importance of having each kind of fruit by itself ? Do potatoes, apples, or any 

 kind of fruit or vegetables sell as well that are mixed up ? Yet hundreds of, persons 

 will, when they are setting out strawberries, look around to see where they can be got 

 'cheap; and no matter whether the party has any reputation at stake, there is their 

 place, they think, to buy. Probably a difference of $10 to f 20 per acre on cost of 

 plants would prove as bitter as the experience we had two seasons ago. While in New 

 York city, in the early part of the strawberry season the past two Spiings, we could 

 not help but notice the strawberries that were coming in from Norfolk, Delaware 

 and South Jersey. A great share of those we saw, were badly mixed, and we 

 were informed by a reliable fruit commission firm that such was the case with mosl 

 they received. We noticed quart boxes of unmixed selling for fifty cents per quart, 

 while those that were mixed sold for twenty to thirty cents. And not only is care 

 required in setting strawberries, but also raspberries, currants, grapes, blackberries, &c. 

 There are so many irresponsible parties peddling and advertising plants, that we do 

 not wonder at receiving so many complaints as we do. We notice one party in West- 

 ern New York who offers Orange Quince and Cherry and White Grape currants low. 

 We wondered at this, for we knew how scarce genuine stock of these sorts were, and 

 that we could not purchase them by the thousand at the rates he was offering by the 

 hundred, and on inquiry we learned that he had purchased the largest share of his 

 cuttings of an irresponsible person, who had cut them from bushes throughout that 

 town. Now- we simply know that there are scarcely any White Grape and Cherry 

 currants grown there, but that all, or nearly all, are the Red Dutch, and also that door 

 yards have a large number of the old Angers Quince stock, sprouted up from the stock 

 on which dwarf pears had grown and from which a large share of these cuttings were 

 probably taken, as but few persons can tell the difference between Ajngers or Orange 

 Quince. We therefore advise all persons to be certain the plants they buy are pure, 

 and to purchase them of some well known grower, who has had experience. If they 

 do not think our advice of any importance, they will have a chance in learning from 

 experience. Let them set a few of the two dollar per thousand "Wilson's Albany" 

 and twelve dollar per hundred "Orange Quince," and other stock that is offered by 

 the mushroom, irresponsible dealers at proportional low rates, and they will see the 

 force of our advice. We have been so badly taken in ourselves, and lost so much in 

 the past, that we know whereof we speak. 



