The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1872-12-19
For the Valley virginian.
TREE PEDDLERS.

Every Spring and Autumna young man
passes through the country and stops at
every door enquiring for the ssproprietor.'
He has mahogany box and an eilcoth
satchel. He is suggestive of Tightening
rods and hand sewing machines, but he i'm
mediately disclaims any connection with
them, and slides at once into the good gra-
ces of the ssproprietor" by condoling with
him over the "poor crops" Now poor
crops is mans main@defense against the
insurance and Tightening rod man But
this man with the mahogany box joyfully
accepts the poor crops. Their he talks
pious and says mans moral condition is
that of fruit raiser, like our first pa
rent. And he hints about Gains slipping
up on the grain crop. He introduces him.
self as an agent of Pearstock and Crabap-
pie Nurserymen, of Pennsylvania and New
York. They have the largest stock in the
country and their trees are the only ones
good for anything All Virginia nurseries
are one-horse humbugs. Then he takes a
book from his waterproof bag and shows
some splendid colored plates of all sorts Of
fruits. They make ones mouth WATER
Then he opens his mahogany box, and
shows you the lovliest apples you ever laid
your. eyes on. Real apples, not wax
Then you believe him. You can't help it.
There are the apples, and you can't get
around them He shows you the North
ern Spy, the Golden Pippen, the King of
Tolnpkins county and the Esapus Spitzen-
burg. You grow ashamed of your Milan
and Winesap. You don't dare mention
them. You don't dare ask if his apples
will keep. They are there before you; can
such loyliness decay! He asks you ifsuch
apples are not worth five dollars per bar
rel, and if tree that will bear five barrels
every year is not worth paltry 40 or 30
cents. You cannot withstand such argu-
ment, you forget your poor crops entirely
and order hundred trees. Now for the
result. The farmer may get the trees Of
the kind he ordered, and he may not At
all events he could have got them at home
for half the money The kinds he selected
are probably unsuitable to this latitude.
Even the trees themselves, if the kinds are
fit, are rendered entirely worthless by the
change of soil. The apples, if they ap-
pear at all, refuse to keep till mid-winter,
and among them all there are no such
specimens like those in the mahogany box,
to gladden. the heart Of the farmer. He is
perhaps disguised with fruit raising, shile
his wiser neighbor who got his trees of an
old nursery in his own State is continually
sending fruit to market and living on the
profit thereof The difference lies in this,
that to begin with, the very est of North
ern fruit trees are unsuitable here. Their
Summer apples rot, and their Winter az
Piles are Fall apples. More than this their
best stock does not come here. The COM
mon practice is for the Agent to buy a lot
Of trees, and sell them at his own price.
And he naturally buys the cheapest. 'sGood
large Trees" large enough for kindlins
wood and good for nothing else, and worth
less varieties with good names tied on to
them. Even when bought direct from the
Nursery he generally gets poor lot show
ed off on him. He finds too late that mon
ely, time and labor all are lost. His orch
ard is failure. The moral is, order your
trees of reliable Virginia Nursery. one
of good standing and respectability, have
him send you list Of the trees he sends,
and if they do not turn out true TO name
you can insist on his sending another lot.
HoLLYwooD.