Weekly Phoenix herald., 1883-12-13
SELECTING AND PLANTING
 FRUIT TREES.

From the San Bernardino Tnde1 we clip the following interesting and instructive article on fruit trees which is especially valuable to .his community at the present time when the first furore of tree planting is upon us and when many errors are liable to be committed. We recog- nlze the name attached as that of d San Bernardino gentleman who IS in the tree business:
 Editor Under :-
 With your permission I shall write a few thoughts on CD The methods of tree sellers, whether i.Inerant or otherwise; @ Novelties; (3) How to select trees, plants. etc. And in do- ing so I shall avoid all personalities.
 The methods of tree sellers are various. It is well known fact that so many men of disrepul able character have been engaged in the business of selling trees, all over the United States and Canada, that tree pedGler's occupation amongst us is just about as honorable as that of a feeder of swine was amongst the Jews Now there must be some reason for this state of affairs There is nothing in the nature of things that max es it a necessity. The fault for it is not all to be laid nf agent. The nurseryman is to blame when he propagates trees in large quantities without knowing whether they are of desirable varieties or not. The agent is 10 blame if he sells any kind of tree under any kind of a label at any sort of a price. The planter is to blame if he expects to get good results from negligent management, even If his trees were the best in the world.
 When the nurseryman finds that he has an overstock of trees it won't pay to keep them, and he is glad to sell them to a dealer at reduced rates, especially if they are not good kinds. The dealear, of course, wants to get cheap stock. And if he is not scrupulous, buys it and puts good labels on it. But, unfor- tunately, the labels don't have the same effect on stork as budding and grating. Aud sometimes the poor pioneer finds, afI CT years of toll, that he has been bilked.
 NogeltieS.-I can write with some feeling on this topic, as 1 have lost some time and money on thIs score. Eurekal I've found 1t Every one Of them has a bonanza in it. Some short royal road to riches. Plant | this wonderful tree of mine, and then you may recline at your ease while the signing breeZes and the summers sun natures for you an abundant harvest of rich and golden fruit. But the harvest passes and the summer ends, and you are not able to pay the interest on your mortgage, and the poetry of the si- tuaticn is no longer apparent But" you say, "are all nc vel.ies in fruit humbugs and and frauds2" o no; not more than ninety five hun> dredths of them are of that charac- ter. The others are ot some value. But the man who is planting trees for profit should not become md ex- perimenter by buyIng novelties. If he does he may possibly find hime self as unfortunate as the dog that has been selected by a physi ian to test the value of some new remedy
 But while making this criticism we would not undervalue the labors of those who have spent years ex- perimenting and investigating, and whose professional pride, not to speak of their honesty, would pre- vent them from placing anything or the market that was not meritorl- ous.
 AS an illustration of this subject let me cite the Waterloo peach which has been sold as novelty 1T this state during the past few years
 1t was declared to be earlier thar Amsden's Alexander or Briggs Early. One of my neignbors who had fruiting this season tells me that it is later and inferior to either O.
 them.
 In the ornamental line novelties are much less obj ctOnable, for hert the nove.ty of the plant is one of th, i elements which may give it value
 The value of all such plants ar,
 measured ny what may be cal led al ' esthetic standard. And the fioris
 who adds new tint to the coleus, O
 produces a larger and more perfec
 rose, is a benetactor, unless it i wrong to gratify those asthetic taste which we all have.
 , The same may be said, with per
 haps more force, of the gardene
 who produces a new and valuabl , variety of tomato or caul flower. write this to show that am not in sensible to the great value of neN l varieties of trees, plants and flower
 that are constantly being introduced But whilst admitting this, the fac still remains that enormous damag
 has been done by the premature pro ; pagatlon and sale of varieties tha . afterwards prove worthless, and hay