The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-06-21
The Russian Apple Fraud.

The Russian Apple Fraud.
EDIToRs NEWS Win you do
your subscribers and the public the
kindness TO give the enclosed ex-
tracts frsm the Kansas Farmer 9
place in your paper, SO that the pso-
pie of Lyon county may be on their
guard for this fraud.
In no branch of trade is there
greater opportunity for deceit and
humbug than in the tree trade, as
so much depends upon the honesty
of the agent, and any misrepresen-
tstions he may make are seldom
discovered until he has delivered
his trees and departed for new
fields and new victims. Yet I
think, as friend Cone says, farmers
deserve to be humbugged if they
allow themselves to be taken in by
the ridiculous, and often outlandish
and unreasonable representation
of the vendors of these novelties,
almost invariably strangers, who
are never heard of after the stock
is delivered and the money collect
ed, when little inquiry of the fruit
growers of their vicinity would
save them the loss and modification
when they discover how they have
been swiudled.
Respectfully, RoBT. MILLIKEN,
Pres. Lyon County Hor. Society.
| intend to visit and write up
other prominent orchards and nur-
series in the county within the next
ten days, but feel it my duty to
expose at the present time, a fraud
now being peFpetrsted upon the
people of this vicinity.
The men who represent that they
are agents for Jones g Palmer, of
Rochester, N. Y, are selling, at an
enormous price, ($1 per tree) the
hybrid Russian apple treesI Some
times l am led to think that farmers
ought to be humbugged, for they
are so easily gulled by smooth
tongued, slippery tree peddlers.
Having been tree peddler for sew
en- or eight years of my life, I know
how it is myself.
These men are selling these n.y.
brid Russian apple trees in large
quantities here. Now what are
Russian apples? The red Astra-
chan, an apple that was introduced
into every State in the Union over
twenty years ago, and is now raised
and for sale in niuety-nine nurseries
IF auoru hnn6ro6 70
apple. So is the Duchess of Olden
burg, and the Tulpehocken, and at
least a dozen other varieties that
can be bought at any of our Kansas
nurseries. These are the kinds sold
by these frauds at ten times their
common price.
Now what is a hybrid? A by
brid apple is made by taking the
blossom of one variety when in full
bloom, and carefully shaking it over
blossom of another kind at the
proper time. thus impregnating the
pollen of one with the stamen Of the
other. The latter blossom has then
got to be carefully covered with q
cloth sack SO that the wind will not
disturb it.
In the course of time this flower
may perfect a fruit Git is not by any
means certain, for tour-4fths OF
these experiments fail.) If so, the
seeds of that apple if planted will
Cf they should happen to terminate,
and not one in i've ever does) pro.
duce hybrid tree.
Now this is the general outline OF
the plan, but the details to be fol-
lowed are so elaborate and so exact,
and are always attended with so
many difficulties and discourage
ments, that the cost, if counted,
would be more than the cost OF
raising one thousand trees in the
ordinary way. Now then, is this
apple tree anything more than a
Seeding? No. Do you prefer
seedlings to grated fruit?
Let nurseryman talk to these
frauds, and show them the folly OF
buying seedlings, and they will say,
"We make our hybrids by grating
in the root" Now let all our cattle
men, short-hern breeders, and stock
men generally find some other way,
but this is the proper way for max
ing hybrids.
This is fraud of the worst kind.
Let the readers of this be on their
guard for these men.
W. W. CONE.
Olathe, johnson Co., Kansas,
May 18th, 1878.