Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-01-28
Making Selections From Samnles


In purchasing dry goods and otbo.
manufactured articles it NAV ans
well enough for the purchaser to msta
ms selections from samples, but with re.
spect to agricultural and horticultursl
products man may be very easily led
astray. FOR instance, man ATTENDING
an exhibition of fruits may examina ~
various kinds and decide from an,,aa VIC
ances 1--WE have seen many do sol aas
thereby be very much deceived T. t .hu
quality. But suppose he has also AN a,'
poTtunity of testing quality; be has tbdpn
only gained knowledge of the frn;.
itself, while its adaptation to soil and
locality, which are usually matters of tho
greatest importance, must still ha AZ
termined. Fruits exhibited in Virp;n;a
may have been produced in Central Nau
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 proner
consideration of the circumstances undor
which the fruits were produced. We
have known enthusiasts in horticulture
who would visit exhibitions of fruits
from various States, and with note hook
and pencil in hand pass from one table
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 similar
course by making selections from the
plates in agents "picture-books, gotten
up for the purpose of showing their
customers what beautiful things in the
way of 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 colored plates of
fruits and plants, are usually of a char
acter from which beneficial results
might come, but the knowledge intended
to be conveyed is frequently msapplied.
1t is this want OF proper discrimination
and consideration of the value of an arti-
Gle offered for sale by samples which
gives the dishonest dealer al opportunity
of swindllng his customers. Thousands
of rooted cuttings of the old charter oak
grape have been sold at prices ranging
from one to three dollars each, simply
because it is of large size, and the seller
exhibited samples of the fruit preserved
in alcohol, which, although attractive in
appearance, were otherwise worthless.
The best varieties, either in appearance
or flavor, may be valuable in one local
ity 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 be the best under all circum-
stances. The merlno may be the most
profitable breed of sheep for one locality
and 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 ofless importance than the value of the
carcass in the butchers stall. Then again
certain breeds thrive much better in a
particular region of country than anoth-
er, and this point requires close and care
full investigation, in order to insure the
best results. We may admire the appear
ance of a breed ofcattle as exhibited at q
fair, but admiration must notbe carried
SO far as to make us overlook adaptation
to actual wants or circumstances. The
light, nimble-footed breeds of cattle are
better suited to rocky. hilly country
thdh bhooo VI dn oppo5lbo typc. IuoSo
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
certain number of pounds of corn fed
to hog would give aCertain amount of
pork, which may be true with one breed
of hogs and not with another. The pro-
duction of fat or flesh in animals is not
carried on with such strict mechanical
uniformity as to allow of no difference in
the processes of growth or laying on of
flesh beyond that of quantity or quality
of food given. 1t may do very well for
the raisers of fancy breeds Of chickens to
say that a certain amount of food can be
turned into so many dozen of eggs and
so much meat; but the rules given do
not always work well in practice The
exhibition of samples is certainly the
first step toward obtaining specific infor
nation in regard to the article, but it
should always be considered only that
and nothing more.-Neao York Sun