ldoo 
849 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
PLAIN TALKS ON PLAIN TOPICS. 
Adventure with a Tree Agent. 
“Last year a tree agent came along 
and induced me to order a lot of trees 
and vines.” 
“What did you let him do that for?” 
“I think it must have been done in 
what the scientific men call “a moment 
of mental aberration.’ ” 
“That is probably a polite name for it. 
You ought to have known better; but 
what about it?” 
“I told the agent at that time that 
I might want to countermand the order, 
and he said I could do so, by giving writ¬ 
ten notice before the goods were 
shipped.” 
"That is all very well, but such verbal 
promises bear just about as large a crop 
of fruit as some of the trees purchased 
in that way. Why did you buy the trees 
unless you were sure that you wanted 
them, and would not care to cancel the 
order? Did you sign a contract for the 
trees?” 
“Yes, I did. This contract contained 
a clause which stated that the order 
could not be countermanded. I noticed 
that, but at my request the agent crossed 
this out, and also a similar clause in the 
slip he gave me.” 
“Did he cross it out with ink?” 
“No, with a lead pencil.” 
“Well, what then?” 
“After thinking more about the mat¬ 
ter and learning about the company 1 
decided that I did not want the trees. I 
therefore notified the company in writ¬ 
ing a month before the trees were to be 
set out, and twice after.” 
“What did you tell them?” 
“That I did not want the trees at all, 
but would take the vines. I also said 
tnat if both were sent, I would not re¬ 
ceive any.” 
“You made a mistake in saying too 
much. You should simply have counter¬ 
manded the order and then stopped. Did 
this end the matter?” 
“No, the company shipped those trees 
In spite of all.” 
“Of course you refused to accept 
them?” 
“While I was off the place, and un¬ 
known to me, a man who was hired to 
deliver the goods dumped them on my 
property. Now, what would you do?” 
“We would refuse to pay for the trees, 
if you are perfectly sure that for good 
and fair reasons you really canceled the 
order, and that you had a right to do 
so.” 
“I certainly did so. The contract 
which the agent now presents shows that 
a pencil was used over the clause I have 
mentioned, but an effort has been made 
to erase it with a rubber. I certainly 
wrote as I have stated.” 
“You should have kept a copy of your 
letter, proved by witnesses that you 
mailed it. Now we would notify the 
company in writing that you refused to 
accept the goods. Review the case brief¬ 
ly, just as it is. Do not offer to accept 
part, but simply refuse it all. Certify 
to a copy of this letter, and have it reg- 
gistered.” 
“Would you heel in the trees?” 
“No, personally we would not. If you 
decide to do so, put them if possible on 
some other land than your own, and no¬ 
tify the company that you have done so 
for their benefit, so as to protect their 
property. We do not see that you will 
add to your case by heeling in the trees. 
You probably made a mistake in buying 
the trees in the first place. You ought 
to have waited until you knew just what 
you wanted definitely, and then bought 
so that no countermand of the order 
would be thought of. You must put 
yourself in the nurseryman’s place. Of 
course he does not like to lose the order. 
No one can blame him for wanting to 
make the sale. He may be a jobber who 
bought the stock of some one else. It is 
always annoying when goods are the 
same as sold, to have the order counter¬ 
manded. It is not uncommon for people 
to refuse goods simply in the hope that 
they may make a better bargain, and ob¬ 
tain them finally for less money than 
they agreed to pay. We must look at all 
sides of a matter of this kind. If, how¬ 
ever, what you say is true, in regard to 
the rubbing out of that pencil mark, and 
if you countermanded the order in am¬ 
ple time, there is no excuse for the agent 
or dealer, and we would resist the pay¬ 
ment for that stock to the last as a mat¬ 
ter of principle.” 
“Damping Off" of Lettuce. 
F. P. T., Babylon, N. F.—How can we pre¬ 
vent our lettuce from damping off in our 
forcing house? We have 100 feet in lettuce. 
Big Boston, but it damps off in a most un¬ 
profitable manner. 
Ans.—T he “damping off” of lettuce 
in forcing houses is usually caused by 
the depredations of the fungus, Botrytis 
vulgaris, which normally lives in de¬ 
caying matter in the soil. When the 
soil and air of the houses are kept too 
damp and warm the fungus invades the 
growing plants and quickly causes great 
damage. There is no remedy for an in¬ 
fected plant when once attacked, but 
something can be done to prevent the 
spread of the trouble by removing the 
top layer of soil to the depth of two or 
three inches and replacing it with sand 
or light, porous soil that has been 
sterilized by a heat of 200 degrees or 
more, continued for several hours. At 
any rate, keep the air in the houses as 
fresh and dry as possible, and avoid 
wetting the leaves of the lettuce more 
than is necessary. When watering the 
soil make the application very thor¬ 
ough, and avoid wetting the surface 
again until really needed. Plants 
should always be raised in sterilized 
soil, if possible. Where steam heat is 
used, sterilization is often done in a 
large box with perforated steam pipes 
in the bottom. A potato is placed on 
the soil, which is well covered by a 
lid or blankets, and the steam turned 
on. When the potato is fairly cooked 
it is likely that all destructive germs 
in the soil have been destroyed. If ster¬ 
ilized soil cannot be had, use new soil 
in which no lettuce has been grown. 
The Plight 
of the 
Democracy 
and t/ye fFKgmeda 
By Former President 
GROVER 
CLEVELAND 
The Audience of tHe Diplomats, by Hon. 
John W. Foster. United States Minis¬ 
ters and tHeir amusing struggles witH tHe 
etiquette and customs of Foreign Courts. 
Our Cities in tHe 20tH Century. CHicago 
— Its Present and its Future, by Mayor 
Carter H. Harrison. 
Tales of tHe Banher, by Hon. James H. 
EcKels, former Comptroller of tHe Cur¬ 
rency. THe good and bad tHat banhers do* 
How financiers fall, and why banKs fail. 
In this week’s (December 22) number of 
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