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Kalamazoo July 5 1830
My Dear Doctor
Your favor of the 29th ult was duly recd, your remark that our acquaintance is brief, true, but I[underlined] feel quite well acquainted with you from the fact of seeing your name in the "Prairie Farmer"" and "Horticulurist" besides I took some "me icated ice water" with you at Buffalo, when we were there
You ask me to aid you to procure the appointment as Commissioner of Agriculture which I will most cheerfully do,. I shall write to the only Whig we have in Congress from this state (Wm Sprague) he is from this place and one of my near neighbors liveing on the same street. I will also write to Senator Filch who I am well acquainted with.
It would afford me much pleasure to see you in that department, and should the West receive it I think you may be the man
One thing would strenghten your claim & add to your chances of success, with our Elder Sprague, that is to be a good Meth odest, to pray loud and long, at least all of his friends who have obtained Office in
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this State are of that class
I suppose Dr Lee of the Genessee[?] Farmer will be a candidate for the Office, if so he will have a strong recommendation from that section of country
You say you are unacquainted with the people of this State, I should be glad to meet you at our State Fair at Ann Arbor next Fall where you would see much of us, and if you will make me a visit I will show you one of the most beautiful[underlined] towns in the West.
My nursery is now doing well, altho the early part of the season was uncommonly dry
I too have had a hard time to begin with owing to my inexperiance in the buisness and the extortion of Ellwanger & Barry of Rochester together with buying unhealthy trees of all who I have dealth with except Chas Downing of Newburgh, him I esteem as an honest[underlined] nurseryman, which is more than I can say of any other one who I have traded with. the fact is we of the West cannot afford to buy to sell again, but we can beat them all out in growing trees
The prospect was more better for fruit than at this time cherries in abundance, in fact all the Varieties of fruit do well this season
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I send you my catalouge Have you an extra copy of the proceedings of the fruit growers Convention at Syracuse last fall if so I would be pleased to have you send it to me as I have not received or seen it yet
Do you go to Cincinati to attend the Fruit Congress?
Write me again
Respectfully Yours A. T. Prouty
