The National Nursery; 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK 
Copyright, 1893, by The National Nurseryman Publishing Co. 
VOL. I. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y., JUNE, 1893. 
NO. 5. 
REFORMATION OF THE TREE PEDDLER. 
The relation between principal and agent—The nurse¬ 
ryman RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY PRESENT CONDITIONS— 
Revise catalogues to match plantings—Substitute 
FEWER SORTS—“NURSERY SALESMEN ” INSTEAD OF “TREE 
PEDDLER Trees can be sold without prevarication 
—Practical suggestions. 
S. M. Emery’s paper on “The Reformation of the 
Tree Peddler, ” before the American Association of 
Nurserymen at the Chicago meeting is as follows : 
The field is a broad one, operations may be insti¬ 
tuted from either side or exposure, the whole ground 
may not be covered, and the most noxious errors eradi¬ 
cated, but unintermittent effort in this line will result 
in the improvement and future development of the 
peripatetic peddler, the man who has heretofore in¬ 
jected much ginger into the nurseryman’s life. The tree 
peddler is like unto a two-edged blade cutting equally 
each way, and the attempts of the nurseryman to keep 
financially even with him has, to say the least, pre¬ 
vented both parties from lapsing into a state of “in¬ 
nocuous dissuetude.” 
How may we best reform him ? 
Sheridan’s plan for making “ good Indians ” might 
be followed, but this has objections, legal and otherwise, 
and were we to transform him to that state where 
“ carking care no longer frets,” the immediate result 
might be a necessity to provide adjoining ceme¬ 
tery privileges for those who, dependent on him for the 
conversion of their ware into the quid pro quo," the 
filthy lucre, that procures for them the means for the 
sustenance of life, would be lost in the shuffle. We 
can’t kill him, gratifying as it might be to his custom¬ 
ers to thus give them the pleasure of escorting the dear 
remains to their last resting place. We must love him, 
nurture him, labor with him, in and out of season, in 
short, reform him. 
As a starter, why not begin at home 1 Principle 
No. I can thus be enunciated : The nurseryman 
created and must be responsible for the actions of his 
agent As well might the right arm be severed from 
the body, without resultant pain or deformity as to 
sever the intimate relations of principal and agent—nur¬ 
seryman and peddler. Errors creep into all systems ; 
ours is no exception. 
The first statement made to a customer by an agent, 
be he a wholesaler, a salaried salesman, or the com¬ 
missioned peddler, is “I’m selling trees.” This state¬ 
ment is followed up by the announcement of the firm 
he represents, the place of their location, that they 
were established “ B. C. ” or about that time, that they 
are the only genuine blown-in-the-bottle, dyed-in-the- 
wool nursery firm, the only concern that produces all 
the stock they sell ; their trees do not winter-kill, sum¬ 
mer-blight, nor spring-scald ; all stock warranted for 
two life-times, etc., etc., ad nauseam. F'ailing in any of 
these statements, the customer pins him down to a rev¬ 
elation of his pedigree, and while the formal printed 
order may not bear the name of the eminently respect¬ 
able and ancient firm from whom the goods are sup¬ 
posed to come, the customer has it firmly impressed 
upon his mind that he is a customer of the firm and not 
of the agent selling him. And do not deceive yourself; 
if there is the least thread of business relation between 
you and the salesman upon which he can predicate a 
positive agency, he will surely use it, and bind you to 
the policy he uses to secure sales, no matter whether 
that policy be upright and legitimate or otherwise. If 
the order is obtained by misrepresentation, the stock 
mismanaged in transit, and the customer suffer disap¬ 
pointment, rest assured that you will be held tesponsi- 
ble for each and every bill of particulars. If he de¬ 
mand restitution of money, or the adjustment of the 
order to the representations made him by the agent, 
how little it meets the ease for the firm to refer him to 
the salesman for satisfaction ; or if, taking advantage 
of the legal technicality that he may not be a simon 
pure agent, in every sense of the word, and the point is 
made to the customer “that you employ no agents,” 
it still avails nothing to bridge the chasm between you 
and your customer. 
Candidly, is it not out of character to attempt shelter 
behind the slender outlines of a poor devil of an agent ? 
A practical, sensible mother always had at her tongue’s 
end the answer to the ever-ready excuse of the child, 
for neglect or carelessness, “I didn’t go to do it,” the 
counter statement, “You didn’t go not to do it.” 
And so with the nurseryman. Burdened and perplexed 
with the cares of propagation, and the ten thousand 
things that arise to make of the business “a demnition 
grind,” he is too prone to leave the salesman to his own 
resources, and to be thankful for orders gained by any 
hook or crook. When a plethoric order book full of 
good fat orders is received, to obtain which lies enough 
have been told to sink a ship, and in moments of con¬ 
fidential vain-glory he advises you of his methods, do 
