The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-01-14
Making Selections From Samples.

IN purchasing dry goods and other
manufactured articles it may answer
| well enough Tor the purchaser to make
his selections from samples, but with re-
! Spect to agricultural and horticultural
| products man may he very easily led
| aStray For instance, a man attending
an exhibition of fruits may examine the
various kinds and decide from appear
| anceS 1--WE have seen many do sol, and
| thereby be very much deceived in the
! quality. But suppose he has also an op-
! portunity OF testing quality: he has then
only gained knowledge of the fruit
ltsell, while its adaptation to soil and
locality, which are usually matters of the
greatest Importance, must still he de
teTmnned. Fruits exhibited in Virginia
may have been produced in Central New
York, and be of no more value for
culture in the former State than an
orange or fig
This making selections from samples
exhibited at fairs has led thousands
astray, simply for the want of a proper
consideration of the circumstances under
which the fruits were produced. We
nave known enthusiasts in horticulture
Who would visit exhibitions of fruits
from various States, and with notebook
To another, taking down the name of
every handsome variety, and thus make
out their orders for plants without once
considering the question of adaptation.
Many persons have pursued a similar
course by making selections from the
plates in agents picturc-books, " gotten
up tor the purpose of showing their
customers what beautiful things in the
way 0. fruits and flowers they had for
sale. With such shortsightedness on the
part OF purchasers it is no wonder that
SO many make failures where success
would have crowned their efforts if
proper selections had been made. The
fairs, as well as the Colured plates of
fruits and plants, are usually of a char
actor from which beneficial results
might come, but the knowledge intended
to be conveyed is frequently misapplied.
1t Is this want OF proper discrimination
ana consideration of the value of an arti
Gle offered for sale by samples which
gives the dishonest dealer an opportunity
ot SWlndllng his customers Thousands
of rooted cuttings of the old charter oak
grape have been sold at prices ranging
from one 10 three dollars each simply
because 1t Is of large size, and the seller
exhibited samples of the fruit preserved
dltfACIlNe
appearance, were otherwise worthless.
The best varieties, either in appearance
or flavor, may be valuable in one local
lty and worthless in another: hence the
necessity of knowing something beyond
the fruit itself
The same rules hold good in the selec-
ton of farm animals. The latest or fast
est may not he the best under all circum.
stances. The merlno may be the most
profitable breed of sheep for one locality
aud the SouthdOwns for another. In
some Instances the market for the fleece
would be the principal thing To be consid
cred, while in other localities this might
be otless importance than the value of the
carcass in the butchers stall Then again
certain breeds thrive much better in
particular region of country than anoth-
er, and this point requires close and care
ful investigation, in order to insure the
best results. We may admire the appear
ance OF breed of cattle as exhibited at a
fair, but admiration must notbe carried
so far as TO make us overlook adaptation
10 actual wants or circumstances The
light, nimble-footed breeds of cattle are
better suited to rocky. billy country
than those of an opposite type. These
breeds which are most profitable for the
dairy are the least So for beef, and this
principle must be considered in all the
various branches of agriculture.
We have frequently seen it stated that
a cert Il number of pounds of corn fed
TO hog would give certain-amount OF |
pork, which may be true with one breed |
Of hogs and not with another The pro |
ductlon of fat or flesh in animals Is not |
carried on with such a strict mechanical |
uniformity as to allow of no difference in |