1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
51 
A NEW " TREE-AGENT SCHEME 
Word come- from Pennsylvania of a new scheme 
that is used in the nursery-agent business. It is 
outlined in the following letter, which we sent to a 
number of prominent fruit growers: 
Some of our readers in Pennsylvania tell us of a scheme 
which Is being worked by a nursery company in Ohio. 
The plan is about as follows: The agent comes and agrees 
to plant one acre of ground in fruit, such as apples, pears, 
peaches and small fruits, for $110. One-half of this sum 
is to be paid down on delivery, and the balance to be paid 
at the end of five years. They agree then to take one- 
half of the fifth year’s crop as their payment for the re¬ 
maining $55. They agree to send a man to trim the trees 
and superintend the work of caring for them. The buyer 
in the meantime is to sell all the small fruits, and guar¬ 
antees to keep an exact account, so that at the end of five 
years, he can state just how much the acre of ground has 
produced. In brief, this seems to be about the scheme 
on which these people are working. We have no con¬ 
fidence, whatever, in any scheme of this kind, but would 
like to know if you have ever known an instance where 
such work has been successfully carried on. Do you be¬ 
lieve such a plan can be carried out so that the buyer will 
ever get his money back? 
The following letters are from men who know what 
tfliey are talking about: 
jMphe scheme you mention is a profitable one for the 
nurseryman, since the trees, or plants, for one acre 
at $55, wkich is the amount of cash paid, would be 
a good, profitable deal for any nurseryman. An acre 
of apples would contain 50 trees, which could be sold 
for $7.50; an acre of standard pears or plums, 110 
trees, could be sobd for $16.50; an acre of peaches, 110 
trees, could be sold for $11. Therefore, the person 
agreeing to pay $110, would agree to pay at least 
twice as much as the plants or trees should cost him. 
In these days of close competition, the planter of 
orchards and berry fields must buy his trees and 
plants as low as possible, and figure all his expenses 
close in order to make the desirable profit. Gen¬ 
erally, in such a deal as this, a contract has to be 
made out and signed, and this contract is usually in 
favor of the nurseryman, and not in favor of the 
farmer upon whose farm the stock is planted. I 
should not recommend anyone to sign such a con¬ 
tract as this before submitting it to some shrewd 
lawyer.” 
“The plan to wilich you refer perhaps may look very 
well upon the face of it to the average farmer, but I 
imagine the one-half they propose to have paid down 
upon delivery would probably be a good price for the 
stock delivered on the order, so that whatever 
was obtained afterward would be more or less clear 
gain. I think the seller might be somewhat indiffer¬ 
ent as to the future after having pocketed the $55 
cash -on delivery. It would not be at all surprising 
to me if the majority of the stock thus delivered died, 
hence the seller would be put to no expense in caring 
for it in the future.” 
“A case similar to this was brought to my notice 
by a person living near here, and I told him just as 
I would say in regard to this one, that $110 for the 
number of trees to be planted on an acre, is two or 
three times as high as it ought to be; that if the 
agent can get his $55 for the first payment, he will 
be receiving a high price for his trees, and that the 
same number of trees can, most likely, be bought for 
$25 or $30. More than that, the plan of mixing up 
trees and berry bushes of different kinds on the same 
plot of ground is very objectionable, and anyone who 
makes a plantation of this kind will regret it very 
much within a few years. I think it is a plan to 
trap the unwary, and no doubt many are being 
caught. It will be a good thing if you can show up 
the scheme in its true light, but at the same time you 
cannot reach the very men who are most in need of 
information. Such men do not take The R. N.-Y. nor 
other agricultural papers, nor do they bother them¬ 
selves to keep informed of the work that is done by 
experiment stations.” 
“Any fruit grower of experience can buy first-class 
nursery stock sufficient to plant an acre, with straw¬ 
berries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, cur¬ 
rants, cherries (sour and sweet),peaches, plums, pears, 
grapes, and apples, of the best standard varieties (not 
using high-priced novelties); can pay freight on the 
same, and plant them with hired help at a cost not 
exceeding $50 cash. I am sure I could do it for $40, 
so you see there would be very little inducement for 
the supposed nurseryman to come back even the next 
year to look after the trees, even supposing that he 
had furnished the varieties promised—which is not at 
all probable. I think that the scheme bears all the 
earmarks of a fraud, pure and simple, and would not 
hesitate to denounce it as such, should one of their 
agents call on me.” 
* 
I am very much surprised, and very sorry, that 
any farmer should be taken in by anything of the 
kind, if the planter set 40 apples, 40 pears, 40 
peaches and 40 plums on one acre, it would put the 
trees within 15 feet of each other (which I think too 
close), and even in this way wouldn’t cost over $40, 
at 25 cents per tree, which I think a good price, on 
the average. Probably the trees can be bought for 
less direct from any reliable nurseryman. Then, 
possibly, nearly every man will let the agent make 
the selections, both as to trees and kinds, for him, and 
in that case, it would have to be a more honest con¬ 
cern than those that are generally working these 
schemes, or they would put on the farmer just what 
he did not want, and what others would not take. 
As to the last payment, they do not need that to 
make the nurserymen even, for they are even before, 
but what they get out of fruit is really a gift from 
the farmer to a stranger. About a year ago a man 
from Ohio came through this part, selling a certain 
ROOTS OF BOHEMIAN HORSERADISH. FlO. 19. 
See Ruralisms, Paoe 54. 
peach. The stock was from a native pit that grew 
naturally up in the mountains of Tennessee, and 
therefore was more hardy, the trees were more vig¬ 
orous, and were represented as being very much 
larger than the common peach trees. The peach 
(some kind I never heard of before), was such a 
grand, good peach, and the colored plates were grand, 
the story also. The agent would not sell anyone an 
order for less than $50 or $75, at the rate of from 25 
cents to 50 cents per tree, according to the man inter¬ 
viewed. The result was that the agent took several 
orders, and when the trees were deliverd, another 
man did this work, and collected the pay. The stock 
was not what any man would call first class, and the 
severe Winter we had in 1899 killed more than half 
the trees, and left the purchasers sick. 
New York. • t. b. wilson. 
POINTS FOR A ROUND SILO. 
I have thought of building a round silo In this way: 2x5 
uprights, set two feet apart; board inside and out with 14- 
inch boards double, with paper between, making four 
thicknesses of boards and two of paper. Will this do 
AN OUTDOOR ROUND SILO. Fig. 20. 
for an outdoor silo in this climate? I would like to build 
it so as to move it, If desired, in a few years. How shall 
I make the bottom of silo? w. p. 
Malone, N. Y. 
A silo can be built in the manner described, but it 
is not the best way, because it provides opportunity 
for moisture to be retained by the timbers, which 
will hasten decay. It costs too much for material and 
labor. When the silo is moved the siding would 
probably be cracked or misplaced. We recommend 
the round stave silo, because it is easily and cheaply 
constructed. Timbers of the silo will dry out, the 
silage will be perfectly preserved, and the silo can 
be taken down in an hour and moved any distance 
and be set up again. It is not necessary to take any 
extra precaution in this climate to keep silage from 
freezing. Silage is not injured by the frost when 
only a two-inch stave protects it from the weather. 
A silo constructed in the manner shown in Fig. 20 
is doing good service on the bluffs above Cayuga 
Lake, in Tompkins County, N. Y. We visited this 
silo during the extremely cold weather of the Winter 
of 1898-1899, after the thermometer had been 20 de¬ 
grees below zero. The silage was frozen to a depth 
of 12 or 14 inches around the outside. Each day, 
when throwing out the feed, the frozen silage around 
the edge was mixed with the warm silage from the 
center, and at feeding time it was all in good con¬ 
dition. The silage was not all fed out until June, and 
that which had been frozen around the outer edge 
was as good in every way as the rest. With the stave 
silo no sills are necessary. The foundation may be 
constructed as follows: 
An excavation should be made to a depth of three or 
four inches, or to the bottom of the loose surface soil, and 
with a diameter at least two feet greater than the pro¬ 
posed diameter of the silo, and drainage should be pro¬ 
vided if the conditions seem to warrant. Fill in with 
stones, large ones being placed at the bottom and smaller 
ones being worked In and pounded down toward the top. 
Gravel, if well pounded down, may serve as filling between 
the stones. It is important that the pounding be thor¬ 
oughly done, otherwise settling will take place later on 
and the cement finish be made to crack. 
The finishing should be done with cement. First a thin 
mortar made of one part of Portland or Rosendale cement 
and four parts of good sharp sand should be poured over 
the entire stone work. This mortar should be made so 
thin that it will run down into the interstices between 
the stones. After this first coat has thoroughly set a 
finishing coat made of one part cement and three parts 
of sand should be put on and worked down with a trowel. 
Finish off before thoroughly dry by dusting over the top 
some clear cement and working it in with a trowel. This 
will give a hard finish, and will secure a foundation that 
is cheap and efficient. While the cement is still soft it 
is frequently convenient to strike the circle which will 
mark the line upon which the staves are to be set. A 
spike driven in the center will serve as a pivot. Attach 
to this a bit of string or twine, the length of which shall 
be one-half that of the proposed diameter of the silo and 
to the free end of the string fasten some pointed instru¬ 
ment with which to mark the circle. Now strike a circle 
the radius of which shall be equal to the length of the 
string, and there is marked out the circle upon which the 
staves are to be set. 
Somewhat full directions for the construction of 
the round stave silo are given in Cornell University 
Bulletin No. 167. This will be sent on request to the 
Director of the Experiment Station at Ithaca, N. Y. 
L. A. CLINTON. 
It is a strange sight to a northern man to observe the 
buzzards which fly about unmolested In the towns on the 
Delaware peninsula. These buzzards are protected by 
law because they are good scavengers, do no harm, and 
consume large quantities of filth, which might become in¬ 
jurious to health. These birds are protected and consid¬ 
ered good friends. 
We are surprised to notice how many strawberry grow¬ 
ers are giving up the use of stable manure as a mulch. 
They are coming back to the use of wheat straw, often 
paying high prices for it. This seems to be especially 
true of growers who can use irrigation. It is a fact that 
water seems to take the place of humus, and where a 
constant supply of water can be obtained soluble fertili¬ 
zers prove to be about the most satisfactory plant food. 
A few weeks ago a reader In New York State sent us 
a sample of butter which had a very rank and disagree¬ 
able odor. He was at a loss to learn what caused the 
trouble, but attributed it to his feed. He now tells us 
that he thinks the trouble was In ripening the cream. 
He formerly churned twice a week. Since he has changed 
to churning once a week, so that the cream is seven 
days old, he has overcome the difficulty, and thinks that 
formerly the cream was not properly ripened. 
Unwelcome Immigrants.— Several years ago stoats and 
weasels were introduced into New Zealand, in the hope 
that they would diminish the plague of rabbits. No doubt 
they did destroy some rabbits, but after becoming accli¬ 
matized they increased so rapidly, and became so fierce, 
that they are likely to become a greater pest than the 
rabbits. In some districts the stoats and weasels have 
rendered poultry-keeping almost impossible, and they 
have been known to attack children, and even men. 
Native ground birds are being rapidly exterminated by 
them, and their destruction is now a serious matter. 
From James A. Ingram, Piney Point, Md., we have re¬ 
ceived some very fine native chestnuts, gathered from a 
tree growing in St. Mary’s County, Md. He says that 
the tree is probably 50 years old, and the quality is “as 
gold to brass,” when compared to European or Japan 
chestnuts. The nuts are large and fine, and we can en¬ 
dorse fully his estimate of quality. The nuts, however, 
are rather fuzzy and somewhat dull in color, which would 
prejudice their sale in an undiscriminating market. Good 
native chestnuts of attractive appearance are wanted, 
and if early-bearing varieties, combining the necessary 
qualities, can be had, they will be warmly welcomed. 
Strawberry Prospects.— Reports indicate that many 
growers are likely to have a short crop of strawberries. 
There has been a fair growth of vine In some cases, but 
fruit buds have not been made, and it will be impossible 
to supply this deficiency next Spring. The dry season 
has kept back many plants. Those who are able to irri¬ 
gate have obtained a good growth, and have every pros¬ 
pect for a large crop. Experience with irrigation seems 
to indicate that the water is almost as useful to the plant 
as it is to the fruit. That is, it will stimulate the growth 
of the plant, and produce fruit buds for the next year’s 
crop. Unless these fruit buds are made, and unless the 
plant itself is strong and vigorous, the water supplied 
in the fruiting season will not be effective. 
