15J32 
THE RUre..A.L NEW-YORKER 
December 30, 
FARMERS’ CLUB 
[ Every query must be accompanied by the 
name and address of the writer to insure 
attention. Before asking z. question, please see 
whether it is not answered in our advertising 
columns. Ask only a few questions at one time. 
Pul questions on a separate piece of paper.l 
Commission Men and “ Square Deal.” 
J. 8. P., Sylvan, Wash .—Do you know 
of any State that has passed laws restrict¬ 
ing the commission or brokerage Arms from 
handling competitive products a part on 
commission, and a part on ownership from 
outright purchase? For instance, firms in 
Tacoma handle oiR - products on 10 per cent 
commission, and buy the like product out¬ 
right from Yakima, and in consequence our 
product is given a black eye, that a pre¬ 
mium may be secured on the Yakima goods. 
We want a square deal. Can you help us? 
A ns.— We have thus far been un¬ 
able to find any State law covering just 
this point. We think there are such 
laws. Can any of our readers refer us 
to them? The Interstate Commerce 
Commission has no jurisdiction over 
this business. Under the common law 
a commission merchant has the right to 
sell on commission for customers and 
at the same time-to buy direct from 
other parties and sell in competition 
with his commission goods unless he 
holds himself out as doing a commis-. 
sion business only. Naturally if a com¬ 
mission man deals in both lines he will 
give the preference to his own goods, 
and it is probably true that some States 
by statute law have restricted commis¬ 
sion business to the one line of a 
strictly commission business. 
Virginia Garden Questions. 
J. M. K., Zurich, Ya. —1. What is the 
best early tomato for shipping short dis¬ 
tances—from 25 to 50 miles? I have grown 
Spark’s Earliana, but it is too soft and 
seedy. Is there no early tomato with more 
and firmer meat? The Earliana ships well, 
but I want a fruit of better quality if pos¬ 
sible. 2. I sowed some turnip salad (the 
Seven-top) in August and September and it 
came on in October, running from 12 to 24 
inches high, very fine. I cut it about four 
to six inches from the ground and the 
hearts are green now, December 11. Our 
climate in southwest Virginia is mild, eleva¬ 
tion 1,500 feet, with the mercury rarely 
below eight or 10 degrees, and very rarely 
to zerd. Will this salad come out again in 
l ie Spring with a little nitrate of soda to 
help? 3. I have a little spinach which 
was too late for Fall cutting. Will it come 
through the Winter ? 
<Ans. —1. The best early tomato I have 
tried—and I have tested almost every 
sort—is the strain of Earliana known 
as the Adirondack strain. This is the 
smoothest and most solid Earliana I 
know of. Next, more solid and meaty, 
is Bonny Best. This is slightly later 
than Earliana and is a very fine to¬ 
mato. I think that Bonny Best will suit 
you very well. 
2. There is no difficulty in getting the 
Seven-top turnip or any other turnip 
to winter over here where we are only 
a few feet above the sea level and be¬ 
tween the ocean and the Chesapeake. 
We have no zero weather. But 
whether in Giles County in the moun¬ 
tain country the turnips will winter can 
only be determined by experiment. Bet¬ 
ter cover them over with green pine 
bushes. The same is true of the spinach. 
I have never had any trouble in win¬ 
tering spinach when I was gardening in 
Albemarle County right under the Blue 
Ridge. But the sunny side of the Blue 
Ridge is lower and warmer than the 
west side, and a little protection cf 
brush will do no harm to the spinach. 
I always sow some spinach in August 
for Fall cutting and sow twice after¬ 
wards, in September and October, the 
October sowing being designed to get 
just large enough to wilt and be cut in 
Spring. w. F. MASSEY.^ 
Wicomico Co., Md. 
Nursery Agents and Catalogs. 
I have noticed the article by W. P. 
Massey on page 3 023, the purport of which 
seems to place the method of selling nur¬ 
sery stock through traveling salesmen in 
disrepute. lie says there are two classes of 
agents—the unreliable fellows who buy the 
culls from nurseries and fill their own 
orders, and the men who actually represent 
reliable nurseries. I grant this to be true, 
and that the former should not be patron¬ 
ized. The method of selling nursery stock 
through catalogues is about as expensive 
as selling through agents. The great 
number of catalogues which must be sent 
out to secure a moderate amount of busi¬ 
ness costs a lot of money and it is reason¬ 
able to assume that the purchasers of trees 
have to pay the cost of these catalogues, 
it would seem to me that the agent from 
whom Mr. Massey got a price on a list of 
trees was not well posted, or the firm for 
whom he sold was not up to date, for al¬ 
most all the nurserymen now who sell 
through agents make arrangements so that 
on all orders amounting to $20 and up, 
they can sell the stock at the nurseries the 
same as the catalogue man does. In this 
way the purchaser gets his trees from the 
depot, pays the freight, and remits direct 
to the firm. By thus saving the nursery¬ 
man about one-half of its salesman’s com¬ 
mission. freight charges and about ten per 
cent as the deliveryman's commission, he is 
able to meet prices with honest and reliable 
growers of nursery stock, who sell by cata¬ 
logue. This is legitimate business and 
should be upheld and praised by the hor¬ 
ticultural press. The method usually pur¬ 
sued by the tree salesman is to go into a 
neighborhood and get all the orders he can, 
the wholesale orders to be shipped direct 
to purchasers and the other smaller retail 
orders are delivered to some good reliable 
careful man direct to the door of the pur¬ 
chaser. For the average buyer who usually 
buys only a small amount, this is a great 
convenience and is worth considerable. It 
certainly costs the nurserymen something in 
do this, and most people appreciate it and 
are willing to pay for it. Many of the 
orders are very small and planters would 
not order any other way, as they would 
not care to go to the depot in the busy 
season for a few trees. They would rather 
have them delivered. 
In my opinion the reliable nurserymen 
who sell by agents are fully meeting the 
demands of the people who buy trees. 
They deliver at the door all smali orders, 
and larger planters can buy to meet prices 
of any reliable catalogue man. Reliable 
nurserymen in the agency business are not 
going to try to compete with the unreli¬ 
able fellows who advertise cheap “bargain” 
trees in their catalogues. The writer knew 
of a firm advertising cheap trees, claiming 
to have a big nursery, which positively did 
not grow a single tree, but made a practice 
of buying up all the culls that they could 
get hold of in a nursery center, and grading 
them up as best they could, and offered 
them at one-third the price good reliable 
growers were asking. They sent out a 
catalogue list. They could afford to sell 
cheap, as the stock did not cost one-fifth as 
much as it costs a reliable grower to pro¬ 
duce first-class stock. These trees did not 
prove true to name, and great damage was 
done to the planters who patronized them. 
There are unreliable people selling through 
catalogues, and they should be avoided as 
well as the unreliable traveling “tree job¬ 
ber.” The one tendency that has belittled 
the nursery business is the cheap lots of 
cull trees offered for sale by some of the 
catalogues. The first cost of a tree is 
nothing compared with its value in after 
years. The main thing is to get the best 
trees true to name, and such trees the 
planter should be willing to pay for ac¬ 
cording to their value. f. a. gueiixsey. 
Schoharie. N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—That is the most sensible tree 
agent article we have had yet, and the 
name is signed to it. We have begged at 
least a dozen reliable nurserymen to come 
forward and show why our readers should 
patronize tree agents. Not one has re¬ 
sponded. Mr. Guernsey, like all the rest, 
admits that there are fake and fraud 
agents. Of course he knows that this trick 
of buying up cull trees and selling them 
for high-class stock is not confined to the 
catalogue men. Where one is sold in this 
way we believe five are sold by unscrupulous 
tree agents. And still we wish to be told 
why our readers should patronize the 
agents! 
Improving Grass Field. 
I have a 15-acre field which I seeded this 
year after oats, but as most people did. I 
failed miserably to get a stand. The field 
is beginning to get a little poor. Would it 
be advisable to sow either millet or Hun¬ 
garian. along with a fair amount of fertil¬ 
izer, and at the same time be reasonably 
sure of a grass stand? Which, in your 
opinion, is the better feed of the two. Hun¬ 
garian or millet, for dairy cows? J. p. 
Camp Chase, O. 
We prefer Japanese barnyard millet. It 
is a rank, quick grower and requires a rich 
soil or a good dressing of manure or fertil¬ 
izer. Why not sow oats and Canada peas 
as early as you can work the ground and 
seed grass at the same time? You will get 
an earlier and we think, a better crop of 
fodder or hay while the chances for a 
“catch” of grass will be as good if not bet¬ 
ter than with millet. 
“For the Land’s Sake, use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it.”— Adv. 
P OTATOES—Bliss, Carman,Cobbler,Giant, Hustler,Ohio, Queen, 
Longfellow, Rose,Wonder. 85 kinds. C.W. Ford, Fishers,N.Y. 
Anples and Peach Trees 
First class Apple and Peach trees. Apples 
from oneinch in diameter down. Buy your 
Apple and Peach trees at home. Hardy 
New England grown trees. Let us quote 
upon your list. Send for our prices and 
descriptive Catalogue. Address, 
The Stephen Hoyt’s Sons, Co., New Canaan, Conn 
fSave Money 
on Feed 
Grind the corn and cob and your stock 
will surely produce more meat and milk. 
Nutrition alone is not enough—you must 
feed bulk also. Put your grain through a 
Jleiv o/foUand 
Feed Mill 
and your stock will obtain 25$ extra feed value— 
thus fattens hogs and steers quickly and ensures 
more milk in the pail. New Holland Feed Mill 
.. , . can be adjusted to 
Write for wood sow grind coarse or fine, 
catalog and prices. ,VT It is easy to operate 
—prices are extra 
low this year to in¬ 
duce big sales. “The 
Eight Way to Feed 
Grain” is a booklet 
every farmer needs—it’s 
free. These are the best 
and lowest priced feed 
mills on the market; so 
write today. 
NEW HOLLAND MACHINE CO., 
BOX 41, NEW HOLLAND, PA. 
Quality in 
Fertilizers 
It pays to buy quality in your fertilizer, as it 
does to buy good seed, a sound horse, or a well made 
tool. Price is not the only thing - to consider, nor is 
analysis always a true guide. The kind of materials, 
the kind of factory the kind of men who run that 
factory tell the story. 
Our Buffalo factory covers fifteen acres, with 
eleven acres under roof. It includes every facility 
known to the business—sufficient storage for all stocks 
to thoroughly cure, the latest machinery, both steam 
and electric power, the latter from Niagara Falls. 
Half of the factory is filled with the best materials 
money can buy and the other half with the best 
manufactured fertilizers. Yet this is only one of our 
factories, each equipped with the best facilities, and 
each directed by the best men. 
Wherever you live, we can reach you with the right 
fertilizer, the right service, and the right price. 
Write today for copy of “Plant Food”, a practical 
hand book ©n fertility. No advertising in it; sent 
without cost. 
Agents wanted in unoccupied territory. Liberal' 
terms and goods that sell. It pays to sell our fertiliz¬ 
ers as well as use them. Ask for agency proposition. 
The American Agricultural Chemical Co., 
Makers of brands with fifty years 
of quality and results behind them. 
‘129 Lewis Street, Buffalo, New York. 
When you buy 
you know just how many 
will grOW. Only one Seedsman in this country 
tests all seeds sold and marks the results o£ the tests 
be label—that’s Harris. 
e raise the seeds, on our own farm and selldirect 
to gardeners and farmers at 
much lower prices than city 
seedsmen. We have some very 
fine improved varieties of 
Potatoes, Corn and Oats 
as well as high grade vegetable 
seeds for truck and private 
gardens. 
Ask for our catalog and also 
Market Gardeners wholesale 
pricelist, if you grow for market. 
Jos.Harris Co.,Box 52,Coldwater,N.Y > 
HUNDREDS OP CARLOADS OF 
Fruit and Ornamental Trees, 
Evergreens. Shrubs, Hardy 
Roses, etc. 1.200 acres. 
50 in Hardy Roses, none 
better grown. 47 green¬ 
houses o £ Palms, Ferns,Ficus. 
Everblooming Roses, Gera¬ 
niums. and other things too 
numerous to mention. Mail size 
postpaid, safe arrival and satisfaction guaran¬ 
teed. Immense stock of SUPERB CANNAS, 
the queen of bedding plants Acres of Paeonias 
and other Perennials. 50 choice collections 
cheap in Seeds, Plants, Roses, etc. For Fruit 
and Ornamental Trees ask for Catalog No. 1,112 
pages; for Seeds. Everblooming Roses, Cannas, 
Geraniums, Greenhouse and Bedding Plants in 
general. Catalog No. 2,168 pages. Both FREE. 
Direct deal will insure you the bestatleast 
cost. Try it. 58 years. (25) 
THE STORRS & HARRISON CO. 
BOX C80 . PAINKSV1LLE, O. 
FRUIT TREES 
AND PLANTS 
We grow more fruit trees and plants 
that are especially adapted to conditions 
requiring hardy, vigorous stock than any 
other concern. For over a quarter of a 
century, our stock has stood severe quality 
tests—the demand for it steadily increased. 
This is the strongest proof that our trees 
and plants are satisfactory and reliable. 
Send for our free Booklet, which boils 
down for your benefit our thirty years’ 
experience in fruit growing. 
BARNES BROS. 
Box 8. 
NURSERY CO. 
Yalegville, Conn. 
Peach and Apple Trees 
For fall or spring planting. Prices right; stock 
rigbt. MYEK & SON, Kridgeville, Delaware 
Fruit Trees $6.48 for 100 
We grow the trees we sell and guar¬ 
antee them true to name, fresh, 
dug. free from scale. If yon want 
the best trees at wholesale prices 
write for free illustrated catalog. 
Established 26 years. 250 acres. 
Capital $60,000. 
Maloney Bros. & Wells Co. 
Box 8, Dansville, N. V. | 
Fruit Trees 
Now is the time to make your selec¬ 
tion and order your Fruit Trees—while 
the Nurseries have a full stock to select 
from, and while you have time to attend 
to it. Call’s Nurseries, Perry, O., have 
a large stock of the best quality at reason¬ 
able prices. They deal direct with the 
farmers. Write them for Price Lfst. 
“How toGrowandMarketFruit” 
Tells the Whale Story in One Volume ; gives Lifetime Exper- 
ence of Practical Growers. 2,000 Acres in Nursery Stock. 
Large Stock of Peach and Apple Trees, 
Write for catalog and bow to get the baak free. 
HARRISON NURSERIES , Berlin, Md. 
SMALL FRUITS 
I grow Strawberry, Raspberry, Black¬ 
berry and other small Fruit Plants, 
Grape Vines, Shrubbery, Privet, etc. 
My FREE Catalogue tells the truth 
about them, and the prices quoted are 
fair for good stock, true to name. Write 
mo today. W . F. ALL.EN, 
72 Market Street, Salisbury, Md. 
COW PEA cccn Extra quality. Price* 
c/yy Re AN ^T.r.LI low, considering quality. 
MJI BfcAN ODLll/ Qur distributine houses 
save you freight. Our cow pea and soy beau 
booklet sent free on request. Write for it now. 
HICKORY SEED CO., 124 Trade St., Hickory, N. C. 
