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St Paul Minnesota Dec 18 1860
John A Kennicott [indentation] Dear Sir enclosed please find [not legiable] & I wish you to send me a Catalogue for spring of 1861 if now ready I am in 8th year in Gardening or small fruit raising or both our homes and have about 10 acres of land almost adjoining the city limits and only about 1 mile from the [not legible] on the river My land is new or [underlined] virgin Soil on a high [underlined] bluff near the river and below the city & first quailty of soil I was
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by judgements & littigation & it leaves me Destitute for ready means to embark in anything & the thought occured to me that perhaps you & I could make an arrangement that would be Beneficial to Both by my Selling for you & in your name on comission as we have but one nursery here & that the whole community I might Say have become Disgusted with & there is a great demand or will be in Spring for Such Stock & I am growing as fast as I can but it takes time & capital to get a Stock & it is for this reason[?] that I have been thus particular to Burden you with my history & to state thus plainly that legally I could not be called good or Responsible or that money could not be collected from me by law but not withstanding that I think you will find that I have in all matters acted Horonable & Still intend to I can refer you to Hiram Jefferson Eqr of Maine Cook Co Ill of Dr A. D. Merritt of Woodstock Ill both of whom are well acquainted with me & have been for a number of years Mr. Jefferson was here this fall & knows how I Stand in this community & if you think Such an arrangement could be made I would like for you to see[illegible] & write me what you think & your terms I want the Catalogue at any rate as I Shall want to purchase some for myself either of you or some order in Spring yours truly [illegible] Truman M Smith [written up left margin:] PS in [illegible] for myself which would not be Larger[?] say from $ 25 to $ 100, what time could you give me if any from the time of sending the articles in the Spring yours TMS