SECRETARY'S REPORT. 73 



The importance of giving more attention to the cultivation of 

 the apple, may be shown by the extent to which it enters into our 

 daily food in the shape of sauces, pies, tarts, &c., scarcely a meal 

 being eaten without it in some one of those forms ; but it may be 

 still more forcibly impressed by showing how handsomely it fills 

 the pocket of the producer. The County of Franklin in the year 

 1859, with a population of 2(^000, exported $92,000 worth of 

 apples, showing in some measure what may be done in favorable 

 situations. In deciding to what extent we should enter into the 

 cultivation of the apple, we should' consider our proximity to mar- 

 ket, and the adaptation of our soil to that purpose. In the selec- 

 tion of varieties, those living near large markets may cultivate 

 with profit the summer and fall varieties, while those at a greater 

 distance from market will find it more for their interest to cultivate 

 the winter and spring varieties. We have thus hastily glanced at 

 the subject of fruit culture in Maine, and if any of the ideas here 

 advanced shall be of any practical use to the cultivators of fruit, 

 the object for which this report has been written will have been 

 accomplished. 



