In Story v. Christin (1939) 14 Cal.2d 592, the plaintiff in Story defaulted on a lease agreement and, following dispossession, initiated a conversion action against the lessor for recovery of orange and walnut trees grown as nursery stock on the leased land. The trees were planted closely together in rows, were usually purchased through contracts for future delivery, and were sold for the purpose of planting in orchards. ( Id., at pp. 593-594.) Plaintiff claimed that the trees were personal property and stock in trade for sale to the public in his nursery business; defendant lessor suggested that the trees were a growing crop properly regarded as realty. The superior court dismissed the conversion action for failure to state a claim, and the appellate court reversed. In overturning the lower court, Story held that nursery trees more closely resembled stock in trade than a crop which requires annual sowing and harvesting. The court noted: "There is no annual sowing and reaping, the purpose of planting being that they may later be transplanted. Such trees are attached to the soil by roots because only in this manner may they be kept ready for sale." ( Id., at p. 595.) Instead, it was found that the fruit and nut trees were personalty because of commercial realities -- they were grown for resale to the public and severed in accordance with buyers' needs. Attachment to the land was considered inconsequential by the court, which observed that: "Nursery trees are attached to the land by their roots because, under the law of agriculture they must get their nourishment from the land. The ground is the only feasible storage place for this salable product and soil serves the dual purpose of maturing and preserving until a buyer is found for them." ( Id., at p. 596.) Based on these considerations, the Supreme Court established that nursery stock for sale was not equivalent to a growing crop.