STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 121 



good preserving pears. He had also several varieties of plum 

 trees, supplying fine large ones for the table and smaller kinds 

 for preserves. For many years he raised strawberries in large 

 quantities ; also currants, of which his favorites were Fay's 

 Prolific and the White Grape. Gooseberries, too, claimed his 

 attention, and in recent years he cultivated successfully several 

 new large varieties, — the Columbus, Triumph, etc. Grapevines, 

 blackberries, red, yellow, and black raspberries, and many other 

 fruits, were also to be found in his garden. 



Each individual tree and bush received his careful attention, 

 and he was never happier than when working among them. As 

 his health failed, his interest in fruits seemed to increase. He 

 was as eager to see and learn about a new variety as an astron- 

 omer to see a new star. 



Flowers, both wild and cultivated, were his friends, and a 

 small knot of them usually adorned his coat through the summer. 

 Frequently when coming in from the field he would bring to the 

 house some especially handsome specimen of clover or goldenrod, 

 or the first wild rosebud of the season. 



In i860, Dr. Robinson married Miss Adriana M. Stacy of 

 Foxcroft, who, with a son and a daughter, survives him. 



For several years he suffered from a severe stomach trouble, 

 which gradually reduced his strength, resulting in his death on 

 January 24, 1902. 



Dr. THOMAS HENRY HOSKINS. 



Dr. Thomas Henry Hoskins was born in Gardiner, Me., May 

 14, 1828, and died in Newport, Vt., June 26, 1902, being a little 

 more than seventy-four years old. He leaves a widow and one 

 daughter, the wife of Rev. J. B. Spiers of Conticook, N. H. 



Dr. Hoskins was widely known as a horticulturist and his 

 writings were widely disseminated through such mediums as the 

 Vermont Watchman, of which he was the agricultural editor for 

 many years ; the Rural New Yorker, the Maine Farmer, the New 

 England Homestead, the New England Farmer, the Garden and 

 Forest and others, he being one of the few in his day, who 

 were paid for contributions of that nature. His father, Henry 

 Box Hoskins, a paper manufacturer, was one of Gardiner's most 



