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THE RURAL 1ST ROW -"VO W. K K R 
November 16, 
Hope Farm Notes 
Here is the plain record of a nursery- 
case. I give it here because, take the 
year through, probably more trouble of 
this sort comes to us than of any other 
one kind. The case has been settled, so 
no names can be given, but the facts 
are well worth studying. We will call 
the nurseryman A. and the buyer B. 
B. lives in a place where nearly all 
peaches are sold at retail—right to con¬ 
sumers. It is necessary in order to hold 
these customers to have a continuous 
supply from the earliest to frost. Among 
other varieties B. grows Reeves Favo¬ 
rite and Elberta. With him these lap 
over a little in season, but we all know 
how seasons vary, and there is some¬ 
times a break between them. After some 
study B. decided that Niagara would 
fit in between and fill any gap. About 
that time B. heard a lecture on the ex¬ 
tra value of stock budded from known 
bearing trees rather than from the nur¬ 
sery row. No use for us to discuss that 
here, but B. was impressed by the argu¬ 
ment, and wanted that kind. 
Then B. sent for A.’s catalogue and 
found this statement: “Ail of our stock 
is budded or grafted from bearing 
orchards of our own.” That seemed to 
be just what he wanted, and he sent 
for figures on a bill of trees. He stated 
his peculiar case, the particular need of 
Niagaras, and stated positively that he 
would accept no substitution. If A. 
could not furnish these particular trees 
he was to notify B. and not to ship 
them. B. says he never would have 
placed this order but for that catalogue 
statement and the fact that he so care¬ 
fully stated what he wanted. Pay par¬ 
ticular attention to that, for it is the 
keynote of the case. All A. did was to 
send a card saying the order would re¬ 
ceive “careful attention.” 
In due time the trees arrived with 
labels on as ordered. They were plant¬ 
ed in a favorable location, and pruned, 
sprayed and handled in an up-to-date 
manner—for B. knows how to take care 
of a tree, and these trees represented 
part of his business. Three years after 
planting the trees bloomed and set a 
good crop. Late Crawford is about the 
latest variety they can grow in that lati¬ 
tude. When the last Crawfords were 
picked these so-called “Niagaras” did 
not show the least sign of ripening, and 
were of course absolutely worthless. At 
the same time those “Niagaras” were 
ordered there was also bought a lot of 
Fitzgerald. With one exception these 
proved to be Elberta, but no complaint 
was made about this. A. said he was 
“sorry.” As an excuse he said they 
found on looking up their records that 
they ran a little short of Niagaras and 
bought some from another party. They 
did not know who these had been 
bought from—there was only a “sus¬ 
picion,” and they did not want to make 
trouble. So they offered as usual to re¬ 
place the stock—that is, send more 
young trees! 
Now let us stop and analyze this as 
far as it has gone. B. positively di¬ 
rected A. to return his money if he 
could not send those Niagaras “budded 
or grafted from bearing orchards of our 
own.” Instead of doing this A. admits 
that he bought trees in such a round¬ 
about way that he does not even know 
where they came from, and sent them 
to B. as his own stock! A. did not 
want to make trouble for the man who 
sold him this trash, but what about B.’s 
trouble? 
B. had been growing peaches 14 years 
and in that period the crop had failed 
only three times. Right in the field 
where these bogus “Niagaras” were 
planted three-year-old peach trees av¬ 
eraged two baskets per tree, four bas¬ 
kets at four years and five baskets at 
five years. Even admitting that Niagara 
is not naturally a heavy bearer, B. 
claimed that if A. had given the trees he 
described in his catalogue they would 
have yielded six baskets of peaches 
apiece before the “replaced” trees came 
in bearing. Peaches retail at B.’s door 
at $1.25 per basket. He offered to set¬ 
tle for $75—there were 50 of the trees. 
B. felt that $75 would a little more 
than pay for the expense of fertilizing 
and caring for the trees, including pull¬ 
ing them out. All A. would offer was 
$25. There was a long correspondence 
which included many bluffs and consid¬ 
erable “guff.” At last B. got weary of 
nothing doing and put the case in the 
hands of lawyers in a city some 300 
miles from his home. If any of you 
have ever been at law you will agree 
i with me that it is a rich man’s game 
when you must bring all your witnesses 
to a distant city and then have no jury, 
but go before a municipal court judge. 
B. could not afford the game, but he 
made up his mind he would show this 
case up in court at least and get it out 
of the post office. The lawyers did 
nothing and B. directed them to bring 
suit. The R. N.-Y. arranged to have a 
good reporter at the trial, and he would 
have given the exact testimony—names 
and all without fear or favor. When 
we notified the lawyers about this they 
seemed to wake up suddenly, and the 
case was adjourned. The next we heard 
A. had offered B. $100 to settle the case 
and B. decided to accept the offer. B. 
says he feels that the lawyers did not 
understand the real merits of his case, 
and, in fact, had not prepared any ade¬ 
quate case at all. He still thinks he 
should have had more, but we think he 
was wise in settling, as such things go 
in court it is very doubtful if he could 
have won as much as he now gets, and 
the trouble and expense would have 
been considerable. Had the case gone 
to court we should have given the whole 
thing to the public, names and all, for 
we must regard this as a most flagrant 
violation of an implied contract. It 
would, perhaps, have been different if 
B. had not so persistently explained his 
needs and his desires. There was abso¬ 
lutely no excuse for A. to buy a lot of 
unknown trash and send it to B. after 
stating what he did in his catalogue. 
After the record of these trees it seems 
much like an insult to offer to “replace” 
them with more trees, which may prove 
just as bogus! I want you to under¬ 
stand the element which gave strength 
to B.’s case. He was clearly on record 
in black and white in demanding just 
such trees as A. described in his cata¬ 
logue, and no other—under any circum¬ 
stances. For if A.’s statement that “all 
our stock is budded and grafted from 
bearing orchards of our own,” means 
anything these bogus “Niagaras” were 
clearly and palpably fraudulent. Thus 
by insisting upon the kind of a tree A. 
advertised in his catalogue B. had A. 
tied to a post, and A. was very wise 
to get out of the limelight. In some of 
the tree troubles which come to us the 
buyer has a very poor case, because he 
did not order as B. did, and cannot 
always swear or prove that the trees in 
dispute are the identical ones which 
came from the nursery. It is the best 
way to keep copies of all correspondence 
and be sure of your trees. There is no 
country in the world which owes more 
to a system of square dealing and uni¬ 
form packing than Denmark. In order 
for the little kingdom to become one of 
the most prosperous countries in the 
world it was necessary for the govern¬ 
ment and the people to make hard war¬ 
fare against fakes and bluffers. Den¬ 
mark has just made a very strict law 
regarding advertisements, and here¬ 
after anyone putting out advertising 
which can be proved false or misleading 
will be heavily fined or imprisoned. 
Trespass in New Jersey. —Several 
people want to know if it is true that 
a Jersey farmer can actually prevent his 
neighbors and the public generally from 
coming on his farm. In the 1912 game 
laws I find this: 
That if any person or persons shall un¬ 
lawfully enter upon any lands not his own, 
after having been forbidden to do so by 
the owner or legal possessor of such lands, 
he shall forfeit and pay for each offense to 
the owner of said lands, or his or her 
tenant in possession, the sum of three dol¬ 
lars, to be sued for and recovered, with 
costs, in an action of debt, before any 
justice of the peace in the State. 
This is an old law approved Feb¬ 
ruary 17, 1857, and is certainly vener- 
erable enough, but I have no wish to 
enforce it against my neighbors, and 
the “sports” do not give me a chance. 
Winter Coming. — I hope you have 
never lived in a house which while you 
loved it must be given up. You cannot 
pay the rent or for some other reason 
it is to pass on to another tenant. You 
hope for a few more happy days at 
least, but one day a hard-faced stranger 
knocks at the door. It is the new ten¬ 
ant or owner come to look over his 
property. He looks about silently and 
goes to wait his time, but the remain¬ 
ing days will be clouded. That was 
much the way it seemed to me when on 
November 3 real Winter came suddenly 
upon us. The Fall thus far has been 
ideal except for a few wet days, but 
this stinging cold wind was like the new 
tenant who is to drive Fall weather 
out and take her place. The redheads 
came close to my fire, and the gray 
heads were not anxious to go far away. 
The wind was high on the hills, but I 
took my long walk through the woods. 
We are about ready for Winter. Let it 
come—yet still he seems to crowd out 
some good friends. h. w. c. 
The biggest value of all! 
1913 MITCHELL 
$1500 
$1850 
$2500 
T HERE IT IS! There is the 
whole thing about this wonderful new 
Mitchell car—the value. There’ is nothing 
equal to it, nothing like it has ever been 
produced, to give the buyer so much for 
his money. 
What does he get? First of all—best of all—the 
real, long-stroke, T-head motor—the motor that is 
goingto revolutionize motor building. The Mitchell 
motors have a 6 and 7 inch stroke; the stroke that 
gives tremendous power—nothing can match it. 
The T-head Motor 
We know that this improvement—the T-head motor with 6 
and 7 inch stroke, and properly balanced bore—is the right idea 
at last, and the most valuable improvement that has ever been 
developed in automobile mechanics. Think of an engine like this 
in a moderate price car. Do more than think about. Ask people 
who know, and see the car yourself. It is a revelation. 
Other Mitchell Features 
There are some more things that make the big value in the 1913 
Mitchell: The extra long wheel base; the new, French Belaise 
springs ; the^ complete electric lighting system ; electric starter— 
independent of each other, and both operating from driver’s seat. 
We want to emphasize the fact that this big value of the Mitchell 
1913 cars has been obtained without any sacrifice of the high stand¬ 
ard of material and workmanship always maintained in our plant. 
All Mitchell 1913 cars have left drive and center control; Bosch ignition ; 
Firestone demountable rims; rain-vision wind-shield; Jones speedometer ; 
silk mohair top and covers; Turkish upholstered cushions; Timken front axle 
bearings; gauges on the dash to show air pressure and oil pressure; gauge 
in the gasoline tank which shows the amount of gasoline it contains; and a 
portable “trouble-finding” electric lamp which can be conveniently attached. 
PRICES 
All with T-head motor, electric self-starter, electric 
lighting system, and 36-inch wheels 
Prices 
Wheel Base 
Stroke 
F. O. B. Racine 
7-passenger Six 
60 H. P., 
144-in. 
4%x7 in. 
5-passenger Six 
50 H. P., 
132-in. 
3^x6 in. 
1850 
2-passenger Six 
50 H. P., 
132-in. 
3Xx6 in. 
. 1850 
5-passenger Four 
40 H. P., 
120-in. 
4X*7 in. 
. 1500 
2-passenger Four 
40 H. P., 
120-in. 
4)^x7 in. 
We’ve been making vehicles for 78 years and are the 
largest actual producers of six-cylinder cars in the world 
DEALERS EVERYWHERE 
Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company 
Racine, Wisconsin 
Mitchell Motor Co., 61st St. and Broadway, New York City 
