Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1871-10-17
Planting Fruit Trees-Trees of Home
Growth Preferred.


text for few remarks on the above
head. The Herald has again and
again urged it's readers to beware of
patronizing every stranger and sharp
er that might drive through Grant
County, taking orders for trees that
be never had seen and perhaps never
would. Many Of these foreign agents
belong TO no particular nursery,
though they always claim to do so.
They trade wherever they can make
the most money, buying their trees
at the lowest wholesale rates, regard
less of distance or quality, and sells
ing wherever they find credulous
farmers who prefer being bitten by
them instead of supporting perma-
nent and reliable nursery close at
hand. AS case in point, q keen
spccultator in trees detailed to the
writer the plan of his winter cam
paign, thus; he, Mr.. John Smith,
though not owning nursery or
tree in the country, yet had enga-
! ged thirteen tirst-rate tree agents to
canvass Western Iowa and sell for
him by the month. Each of these
thirteen professional fruitcliars, (if we
may so designate them, and hum
dreds Of gulled farmers will sanction
the term,) armed with his book of
colored pictures and lot of circu.
lars Of Mr.. John Smiths Great Nur-
sery at Rochester, scours the coun-
try, running down all trees but those
from the east. Or perhaps, as has
! been done in Marion and Boscobel,
he will claim TO be an agent of Lam
caster Nursery, and agree with GUS
toners in running down imported
trees.
BY all manner Of misrepresenta-
tions, these agents fill their order
books, and return them to their en-
ployor, who by this time has decid-
ed whether to buy his wholesale
stocks at the East or West. and has
found his cheapest place TO purchase
The victims seldom find out the tricks
of the trade, but generally wonder
why 50 large percentage fails the
first year. This we will explain.
All large nurserymen dig their trees
| by thousands in November, and
cram them into dry cellars for the
next five months. Here they are
piled, sorted boxed and prepared
for an untimeIy death on our dry
prairies in June But the home nur-
series practice no such plan. Their
trees arc seldom out Of the ground a
week. In the region south of Lam
caster, we were told lately, an
agent once sold trees which aston
ished all buyers by their excellence.
They were a selected lot from the
East. This was a mere bait, and in
the Fall he canvassed heavily, prom
ising to every man just the same
quality Of goods. Having made
large sales, be supplied them with
cheap and ordinary trash This was
another trick of the trade.
Still another is that Of warrant
ing" apple.trees. A few weeks ago,
we heard man who was buying
trees from Mr.. b, ask him to war
rant them. A listener who, though
stranger to both, was thorough
fruit man, interposed, saying, "whcn
ever an agent comes to sell you trees
Offering to lgarrant them, you can
set him down for q swindler. "How
do You make that out?" said the
buyer. "Thcy do warrant, and
make up losses" Il have seen them
do the same thing said the stranger,
land it is only bait, tell you, to
! secure a great trade next year
They will come around in the fall
carefully replacing every dead tree
and blowing loudly about their hon
orable method of trade. Then you
farmers will buy more than ever, de-
3 pending on seeing them around next
year to make good all losses. This
time they send you lot of cheap
wholesale scrubs, dry, cellar-season,
cd or frozen, and look out for some
a new region in which to operate"
buying imported stock at large pric-
es, leads to many hearty laugh at
their expense, pays the tree-bum-
mers heavy profit, and keeps the
: homo nurseries unpatronzed.-
where ignorance is bliss. tits use
less to urge people to ascertain home
prices For example, after the firm
Of this town bad for two years been
selling Early Richmond cherry trees
at fifty cents, one of their neighbors
was called on by u tree-agent, who
, was anxious to supply him the same
article, at - cents. On being told
that it was q new and valuable thing,
, not to be had in these parts except
from him, our friend concluded to
try few. Ho afterwards found out
the current price of better trees than
he received, and bitterly denounced
tree-agents. These adventures usu-
ally charge double the real prices.
for fancy articles, and it will be
for the interest of buyers to learn
how cheap they can get the best
of crab and cherry trees, small fruits
and ornamentals at some permanent
place before they submit to extor-
lion. 1t is well known that every
agent who buys and sells as above
described, insists on 100 per cent
profit, out Of this paying all expen-
SEES That is, whatever they buy is
sold at just twice its wholesale cost.
The agents now canvassing for the
Lancaster Nursery, on the other
hand, are employed at a moderate
commission, and sell at the same
prices as are charged in the nursery
Among them we may name, /. a..
Wood, Castle :ock, L. S Morse, Lit.
tie Grant and d, ana A d. Pratt Of
: PlatteviIle.
eeA- Everywhere aud among all
4 classes ha all ohsnrbine, toni, of dis