Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-11-20
SOME MORE HuMBUGs.

we take The following from the Novem
Der number of tho american AgyiculturiSt.
That paper, which makes the exposure Of
humbugs special feature, begins with
Tree Peddlcrs or Nursery Agents.
The outfit required by one of these
"agents," is principally an unbounded supply
of brass, u glib tongue, an impossibility to
understand what the word "non means, and
power Of holding on until the customer is
thoroughly tired out, and orders something
TO get rid of the chap. In addition to these
personal qualifications, he needs book of
colored plates, in which fruits are caricatur-
cd as to size and color, and perhaps some
bottles containing large currants and other
fruits in spirits This agent goes around in
summer for orders to he delivered in fall,
and in winter for those to be delivered
in spring. When It is near time to deliver
his goods, he goes to the large nursery CEN
tiers, and buys up the refuse stock, such rs
no respectable establishment would send to
Its regular customers; all the poorly grown,
badly shaped, and hospital stock" is bought
up, and either labeled and assorted there,
or sent in lump to some point central to
his customers, there to be used in filling his
orders. OF course, the labels on the trees
will aglec with the names on the order, but
that they shall have any references TO the
kind of tree, is of little consequence. The
fraud can not be found out for several years,
and the dealer will then be far enough
away. All this Is bad enough, but these
swindlers offer, with vivid descriptions,
ttNro wi nta
represent old and worthless varieties rs
something rarc. OF late we have heard
much of the selling of tho Bush Alpine
Strawberry, n now kind, in which the straw
berries grow on bushes, and the plants have
no runners. Tho Bush Alpines are among
the oldest of Strawberries, and there is no
bush about them, but their lowcr-stalks
stand erect, while the fruit is to most per-
sons Indifferent. This plant, over two
centuries in cultivation, has been sold all
over the country the past season as II novel
ty. and ut high prices. One chap has been
in Missouri, and other Western States, TAX
ing orders for "self-pruningn grape vines;
another has gooseberries that are "never
| sourh-and ornamental peaches Tin clus-
ters,n giving the purchaser 10 think it is the
fruit that is in clusters, and not informing
him that, if an ornamental peach tree should
produce fruit at all, il would be worthless.
If people would take the trouble to inform
themselves about such matters, they could
not be imposed upon. 1t is beyond our COM
prehension that any man can be found 20
believe IN such absurdities rs "self-pruning"
! grape vines-why not self-planting, rs we'll?
Our advice is, rs it always has been, not to
buy OF agents Mt ALL Send TO some respecta-
bile nursery (see our advertising columns)
for catalogue, select mainly such fruits AS
you know, or can learn, to have succeeded
in your locality, add such kinds rs you
would like to try, and send the order direct
to the nursery. The freight on n single lot
will be u little moro in proportion than on
the agents larger lot, but the certainty of
having the kinds that were ordered moro
| than offsets this. But if one from circum-
stances must buy from agents, have nothing
to do with any one who cannot show re-
cent certificate from well-known nursery
1t is dodge that agents guarantee to deliver
| trees from such or such nursery-but that
Is no certificate. II any agent or tree-peddlcr
offers any unusual novelty--some thing out
of the ordinary way that no one else has, or
that has only just been introduced-have
nothing to do with him. Such things DO not
get into the hands of peddlcrs. Every novelty
in fruits and flowers worth having gets
talked of and described in the papers long
before 1t becomes common enough to be
sold by these fellows.
Nice Little Dodge for Getting Names.
Many good people who receive circulars
of quack medicines and other things, Won
der how the senders could have obtained
their names. We have in former numbers
explained some of the means rcsorted to,
and stated that lists of addresses were
bought and sold like other merchandise. A
circular is being forwarded to the officers of
various temperance lodges and other associ-
ations it is printed on tho back of two spec
linen pages of II temperance almanac, which
the the signers say they they ARE getting up ;
it asks for statistics about the lodge, its olli-
GERS, ETC., etc, and then adds "also please
send us the names and address of all the
members Of your lodge, if you have them in
print, and If not in print, please give us the
names of one or more officers or members,
who would arrange with us to get them up
and send them to u.s. Now this may all be
legitimate, and there may be temperance
almanac OH foot, but the funny thing about
it is, that one of the specimen pages is the
exact reproduction OF page in u bitters
mans pamphlet, and the circular is signed
with name and number IN New York, whio
while the btters thing is signed with an
other name but at the same number. 1t all
looks very much like dodge to get names
for tho bitters establishment.
And N Ow It Is Topeka, Kansas,
that has a lottery. She does not go for a IL
brary like Kentucky. nor yet for school
house, like Nebraska, but for what we al
ways have with us-the poor. 1t is II grand
scheme, $4,000 of tickets arc to DO sold,
200 of "giits" are TO be distributed, and
II all goes lovely, the poor OF Topeka will
get $4,000, and the disinterestcd Mr.. Hay
wood, who goes through all the trouble, gets
nOthng-stop though, $40, 900 Of the prizes
are in furniture, and it looks very much as
if here was dodge for closing out slow
stock Of bedsteads, rocking chairs. wash
stands, and the like. Here is AN out and
out lottery sanctioned by the mayor all for
the chance of getting at the most $4,000 for