i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
5oi 
Business. 
THE “ TREE AGENT ” IN BUSINESS. 
SHALL HE BE USED AS A TARGET ? 
Mr. Grundy’s article on page 448, with its accompanying 
pictures has stirred up a good deal of discussion among 
the friends and enemies of the “tree agent.” In order to 
give all sides a hearing, The R. N.-Y. Bent the following 
questions to some of our prominent fruit-men. 
1. Is the “ tree agent ” necessary ? 
2. Who is mainly responsible for mistakes in supplying 
trees or vines? 
3. How may such mistakes be best avoided, and what 
is a fair settlement of them ? 
4. In your experience what is the best way of develop¬ 
ing and holding a paying trade for a nurseryman? 
A Necessary Evil. 
1. As people are horticulturally ignorant and inert, tree 
agents are most emphatically a “ necessary evil.” 2. All 
who support the present popular anti horticultural system, 
specifically, 1, the irresponsible go-between drummer or 
dealer, 2, the nurseryman employer, 3, the planter who 
demands first of all smooth, showy stock on delivery. 3. 
By educating planters to order directly from the most reli¬ 
able nurseries, and especially to encourage worthy local 
nurseries. Farmers’ Alliances and Granges might do con¬ 
siderable at this. Why is not a local nursery and garden 
almost as general a necessity as a grocer or dry goods 
store ? But tree peddlers are death to most young local 
nurseries. As to settlement for mistakes, the contract 
should govern. 4. Good stock and packing and thorough 
business methods, including judicious advertising. Be 
yond that employ the best canvassers. F. K. PHOENIX. 
The Tree Agent a Much Abused Personage. 
We would say, “ yes,” both for the maintenance of the 
nurseryman’s business as well as to furnish with fruit and 
ornamental trees many a home that without tl.is means 
would be destitute of these almost necessities of the 
family. We believe that the tree agent is a much-abused 
personage. There are, without doubt, many unreliable 
men selling trees; but that is no reason why the whole 
fraternity should be blamed for their acts. This is true of 
no other business. There are rascals in all kinds of busi¬ 
ness, but the public do not in any other case blame all who 
are engaged in that business on that account. The very 
nature of the business undoubtedly attracts a good many 
dishonest men, for the reason that the trees do not come 
into bearing for several years after they have been sold, so 
that people can see what they are, and it is very easy for 
the agent to dupe the buyer ; still we know a great many 
men who sell trees about the country who are perfectly 
honest and responsible, and who do business as honestly 
as those engaged in any other kind of trade. A large pro¬ 
portion of the stock grown by nurserymen is disseminated 
by means of agents, and if this manner of selling nursery 
stock were abandoned a large proportion of the nursery¬ 
men to-day would have to go out of the business. 
We think both the buyer and the seller are responsible 
for the mistakes in supplying wrong trees and vines. A 
large number of people who buy trees and vines buy them 
of agents, when they have reliable, responsible nurseries 
at their own doors almost, but instead of patronizing 
these, they buy of the first agent that comes along, and 
makes flattering representations in regard to the articles 
he offers. If they would use the same judgment in buying 
trees that they use in buying the other articles used by 
the family, there would not be many complaints that they 
were swindled by tree agents. We think that a large 
number of complaints now made are without any founda¬ 
tion whatever. The dealer or agent takes an order 
for trees, etc. That order plainly states that in case 
he cannot supply the varieties named, he is author¬ 
ized to substitute others. In a great many cases he 
is not able to furnish just those varieties called for, and 
does substitute others to the best ot his judgment, and 
perhaps often gives to the purchaser better varieties than 
he had bought; but, notwithstanding this fact, complaints 
are made. Again, a man starts, we will say, selling trees. 
He is new at the business. He sells a man some R. I. 
Greening apple trees, and he starts with the idea that he 
will deliver just what he sells. He buys R. I. Greening 
apple trees to All the order. These are naturally crooked 
growers, and cannot be made to grow straight by any 
method. He delivers the trees ; the man rejects them and 
refuses to pay for them because they are not straight. If 
he had substituted and labeled some straight, nice-growing 
trees for the R. I. Greening and delivered them to the man, 
the probabilities are that he would have been perfectly 
satisfied and would have paid for them. Ignorance on the 
part of the buyer often causes tree agents, with no very 
strict principles, to consider that they are justified in de¬ 
ceiving him in this respect. We think growers generally 
throughout the country supply their customers with trees 
true to name at all times, and that the leading dealers 
throughout the country endeavor, to the best of their 
ability, to furnish just what they sell, but there is such a 
demand in different parts of the country for so many dif¬ 
ferent varieties—many of which are not grown at all, or if 
so are not in sufficient quantity to supply the demand— 
that it becomes necessary to substitute others. Where 
trees are sold, as they are in many cases—an assortment of 
summer, fall and winter fruit—this can readily be avoided ; 
but where distinct varieties are called for and no substitu¬ 
tion is allowed, we believe the leading dealers try to put in 
something just as good in the place of some sorts and label 
them true to name. We have dealings with very many of 
the largest dealers in this part of the country and know 
that they are all very particular about their varieties, and 
go to a great deal o* extra trouble to secure the varieties 
to fill their orders. We, of course, have no patience with 
the tree agent who offers everything and anything, know¬ 
ing that he cannot obtain it, and makes representations 
that will render him liable as a fraud ; but the rank and 
file of tree agents and dealers, we believe, are as 
honest in their dealings as those in any other business. 
From the nature of the business there are probably more 
rascals engaged in it, but as compared with the thoroughly 
reliable, honest men, we think they are small in number. 
As we said before, the Ignorance of the buyer and the ap¬ 
parent anxiety of the American people to be humbugged, 
are somewhat responsible for the mistakes made in filling 
orders for trees and other plants. The dealers and the 
agents must divide the responsibility with them. The 
contract system in vogue with some nurserymen— i. e .— 
making contracts to supply dealers with all the trees they 
sell, and issuing certificates of agency to the agents over 
whom they have no control, is fruitful of a great deal of 
rascality, the blame for which is laid upon the nursery¬ 
men, when they have no power to control the actions of 
these agents. 
We believe these mistakes may best be avoided by buy¬ 
ers buying their nursery stock of some reliable nursery¬ 
man near home; if this be not done, they should require 
the agent to present his credentials for some reliable house 
which they know, before giving the order. We do think 
that a nurseryman should be held responsible for a mis¬ 
take made, only in so far that he should replace the trees 
furnished by mistake with the variety that is ordered. 
In a well regulated nursery such mistakes are very rarely 
made—the mixing of varieties. Such errors are generally 
made after the trees leave the nurseryman’s hands. We 
have considered in the foregoing mistakes which could 
not be avoided, and mistakes which are made on purpose, 
which we presume you intended. Where a buyer orders 
certain varieties, and allows no substitution in what he 
wants and is swindled by getting something else, he 
should have all the law allows him for damages. Un¬ 
doubtedly at present the best way for developing a more 
paying trade for nurserymen is through the employment 
of agents. At the low price for which trees have been sell¬ 
ing for the past five or six years the grower makes but a 
very small margin. The man who employs agents gets 
about as much for his trees as formerly, when prices were 
higher, and his margin is much larger. To hold his trade, 
we believe the nurserymen should furnish good stock, just 
as represented, true to name. In other words, do an 
honest business, »in a business way. This will not only 
gradually enlarge, but hold his trade. 
SMITHS, POWELL A LAMB. 
Agents Are Necessary to the Trade. 
To our minds, and we have had more than twenty 
years’ experience in handling agents, the nursery busi 
ness cannot be properly run except by the aid of agents. 
1. Yes, briefly, because it is the only way stock can be 
sold to prevent it from becoming overgrown and a direct 
loss, and by the aid of an agent we can better introduce 
new varieties and induce people to go into fruit raising, 
etc., etc. Of course, iu saying this, we refer to the honest 
agent, and our experience in this respect is that there is as 
much honesty among the agents as there is among the 
customers. 2. We think the supplying of wrong varieties 
is mainly caused by jobbers, a number of whom sell with¬ 
out any intention of filling their orders true to name, 
while others again will start out with honest intentions, 
and find that certain stock is sold that cannot be obtained 
in the market, and they are obliged to substitute others or 
not fill the orders ; and then again, there are nurserymen 
who willfully deceive customers in furnishing varieties 
not true to label in order that they may work off surplus 
stock. In some cases mistakes are made in budding and 
grafting ; but as a general rule competent nurserymen can 
detect anything of this kind, and rectify errors of that 
nature if they are so inclined. 3. Mistakes can best be 
avoided by purchasing of responsible firms, and we believe 
that by buying through agents of such firms people will, 
as a rule, be surer of obtaining stock true to name than if 
they placed their orders in any other way. Orders sent by 
mail are usually delayed until the last moment, when 
many of the leading varieties are entirely sold out, and 
dealers who depend upon that class of business, must 
either substitute others or refuse to fill the order. In m an y 
cases such firms reserve to themselves the privilege of sup¬ 
plying other varieties In case they cannot furnish those 
ordered, but such is not as a rule satisfactory to the cus¬ 
tomer. In our experience the best way to develop and hold 
a paying trade is to be perfectly honest. While in many 
cases great injustice is done to nurserymen through ignor¬ 
ance and careles?ness in planting, etc., yet in spite of all 
this men who endeavor to do a straight, honest business 
can develop and increase their trade yearly. 
STONE & WELLINGTON. 
Tree Agents’ Expenses Like a Tariff. 
1. No ! The irresponsible agent is a nuisance, and always 
and only a nuisance ! Even the responsible, properly au¬ 
thorized agent of a reputable establishment is an incubus 
upon the tree-selling business; since his wages and ex¬ 
penses must necessarily be added to the cost of producing 
the stock he may sell. The order of the planter upon the 
nurseryman direct is always preferable for both parties; 
since it saves commissions to agents, while it brings re¬ 
sponsibilities directly home to each. 2. Just as scandal 
grows in passing from party to party, so are errors magni¬ 
fied and multiplied by the intervention of agents or others 
between nurserymen and planters. 3. Mistakes will be 
more rare when the planter sends directly to the nursery 
a list of just what he needs, and prescribes that no substi¬ 
tutes will be accepted. It the person ordering throws the 
responsibility of the selection of varieties upon the nur¬ 
seryman, thus putting him upon his honor, he is, in so 
doing estopped from complaints, no matter how worth¬ 
less the selections may prove to be, A mistake in the 
identity of a variety of fruit, must, in almost any suppos- 
able case, be either the fault or the misfortune of the 
nurseryman, and his reputation as such will largely de¬ 
pend upon the rarity of the occurrence of such errors. 
Their avoidance, as well as the avoidance of errors of 
counting and shipment, must necessarily be mainly a 
matter of system, thoroughness and care in conducting 
affairs of an establishment. From the nature of the case 
there can be no adequate recompense to the planter, for 
the mistakes in the identity of trees supplied, planted and 
fruited; till which latter time such mistaken identity can¬ 
not usually be detected. The real loss to the planter in 
such a case, is a very variable quantity, the amount and 
value of which are practically indeterminable. Nurserymen 
in such a case sometimes offer to replace such trees; but 
such replacement is in no adequate sense a recompense, 
nor do I regard a full recompense in such case as practic¬ 
able or even possible under existing conditions. 4. To de¬ 
velop and hold a paying nursery trade requires such a 
wide range of qualifications, financial, literary, personal 
and otherwise, that a mere statement thereof, I fear, 
might be wearisome to the reader. Among them few, if 
any, are more vitally important to the nurseryman than 
the thorough confidence of the public, and the ability to 
keep them constantly informed as to what he is prepared 
to supply. If to this can be added such thorough acquaint¬ 
ance with the details of the business as will enable him to 
conduct its operations with due efficiency and economy, he 
may be assumed to be well upon the highway to success in 
the business. t. t. lyon. 
The Ideal Trade Impossible at Present. 
1. We should most emphatically say, yes, at least for a 
good many years to come yet. Had it not been for the tree 
agent, there certainly would not have been anywhere near 
the amount of stock planted in the country that there is 
to-day. 2. We think that the responsibility for mistakes 
may be divided between the dealer and nurseryman, as 
both are liable to make them in the hurry of spring pack¬ 
ing; but we think that most of the trees that are delivered 
UDder the wrong labels are delivered without there being 
any mistake about it. We presume by these mistakes, 
stock that is sold for one thing and turns out to be another 
when delivered is meant. Of course, this is mainly the 
work of a class of irresponsible tree dealers who take orders 
for high-priced goods and fill them with the cheapest they 
can buy, and a large majority of customers are, of course, 
unable to distinguish between the varieties ordered and 
delivered and know nothing about it until the stock comes 
into bearing. In spite of this, we doubt if there is a very 
much larger proportion of dishonest tree dealers on the 
road than of men engaged in other kinds of business. We 
believe that out of the 100 to 150 dealers who pack with us 
every season, but a small proportion are engaged in a dis¬ 
honest business. We think most of them try to fill their 
orders just as they have taken them. We have for years 
packed for a good many dealers who have delivered right 
along in the same territory, and are just as honest men to 
deal with as can be found in the nursery business anywhere. 
When mistakes are made by our men in packing or ship¬ 
ping directly, we always stand ready to replace the stock 
when notified, but never make ourselves liable for more 
than the amount paid for the trees ; in case a variety is 
labeled wrong we replace it or refund the amount paid. 
The ideal trade, that of nurserymen engaged in the retail 
business, would be a direct trade with retail customers, the 
nurserymen furnishing catalogues and price lists and fill¬ 
ing and shipping their orders directly, but it is simply im¬ 
possible at present through advertising, etc., to get enough 
orders of this kind to dispose of our stock. The only way 
at present is to sell to dealers who take orders, or place 
one’s own agents on the road. We find that it is impossi¬ 
ble for us to take care of our nursery and superintend a 
large number of men on the road. Although we have 
succeeded in working up a large trade with planters through 
catalogues and advertising, we do not think that it would 
be possible to make any money at our business, expecting 
to dispose of our entire stock in this way, as it would re¬ 
quire more money to invest in catalogues and advertising 
bills than we get out of the trade. 
THE STORKS & HARRISON CO. 
Tree Agents, Ministers, Doctors and Teachers. 
1. Yes! As necessary as the minister, the doctor, and 
the teacher. There must be education as to the value of 
fruit culture, the varieties of soil, the new and valuable 
kinds of trees constantly being introduced. No one but 
the fruit tree agent can convey this information. Books 
will not do it. Hundreds of agriculturists cannot read, 
or will not take the time to read, or are too careless to sub¬ 
scribe for a good agricultural paper. The tree agent is a 
walking encyclopedia on all these subjects. I am speak¬ 
ing, of course, of the experienced and honest agent, whose 
knowledge of tree culture is not superficial, and who 
knows what he is talking about. Thousands of mortals 
would never know that they were immortal if it were not 
for the minister; thousands of human beings would 
perish before their life work was half accomplished, if it 
were not for the doctor, and thousands of “ young ideas” 
would never “shoot ” at all, if that greatest of educators, 
the school teacher, did not exist, and so thousands of trees 
would never be planted, thousands of farmers would 
merely exist instead of becoming wealthy, ana thousands 
of homes would be less delightful, and thousands of yards 
less beautiful were that great apostle of the gospel of fruit 
and shade, the tree agent, blotted from the face of the earth. 
2. Generally the irresponsible dealer who is born dis¬ 
honest and cannot be square if he tries. He secures his 
orders by lying; he buys trees to fill them at the lowest 
rates possible, and he labels them to suit himself and to 
correspond with his orders. There is seldom a mistake 
made by a reputable firm. Honest men, with the care and 
system now used in planting and keeping records, have re¬ 
duced the business to a science, and mistakes are almost 
