278 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



December Meeting. 



The officers of the preceding year were re-elected. 



After listening to a report of the state society meeting at Ann Arbor, by 

 Mr. LaFleur, it was proposed that leading growers present should tell of the 

 prices obtained for peaches this season. 



Mr. Buck said he had " a very good thing," selling few peaches for less than 

 $1 per bushel — got $1.40 for some — retailing them in town. He sent three 

 lots to Chicago. For the first he received nothing over costs; for the second, 

 80 cents per bushel; for the third, 12.10 per bushel, making the whole average 

 over $1. The latter were Late Crawfords. 



Mr. Sutherland shipped from South Haven. He got very good prices — 45 

 cents per peck basket — for Early Crawfords. His Old Mixons brought 50 to 

 60 cents per basket. The Late Crawfords brought 75 cents, and Smocks, sent 

 by others, sold even better. He believed good cling-stone varieties were profit- 

 able; had with some trouble secured trees of the Lemon and Orange Clings. 

 He had an Old Mixon tree which looked worthless from age, but a year ago it 

 bore 15 baskets of fruit which sold for 50 cents each. He shipped 21 baskets 

 of frost peaches (seedlings), and got 50 cents per basket for them. A great 

 obstacle to success at Douglas was the irregularity of the boats. He knew of 

 a man who received but §40 from a shipment of 1,050 baskets, because of the 

 boat's delay in getting to Chicago. At South Haven no such difficulty existed. 

 Some Late Crawfords sent from South Haven netted $1.25 per basket. He 

 had six old trees with yellows, last year, but no young ones were so affected. 

 Mr. Dnmont received good prices for his Amsdens, which he began to ship 

 about the middle of July. During the glut in the market he made shipments 

 of Early Crawfords, Barnards, and Fosters, sending three large lots. The 

 first brought 80 cents, the second 60 cents, and the third 28 cents per bushel. 

 All others brought fair rates, and the average returns from the 600 bushels 

 shipped was $1 per bushel — net, except cost of picking and packing. These 

 were mostly from 200 five-year-old trees — a few from three-year-olds. 



At the next meeting, a premium is offered for the best exhibit of five varie- 

 ties of market winter apples, and discussion will be upon merits of the several 

 sorts. 



A committee of three was appointed upon nomenclature, in order to secure 

 names for several valuable seedlings known in this vicinity. 



Owing to the press of the season's work, the prevailing political excitement, 

 and other causes, no meetings were held in the months of September, October, 

 and November. 



The exhibits of fruit by the society, or members in its name, were two — one 

 by Messrs. G. H. LaFleur and J. B. Dumout at a society fair in St. Louis, 

 Mo., and one by Lyman Lilly and Karl Jewett at the State fair. The former 

 received a first premium of $50 upon a collection of peaches in solution (early 

 varieties preserved in boracic acid), and a collection of apples contributed in 

 part by them, received a second sweepstakes prize of $150, the Grand Kiver 

 Society and Mr. Bid well of Plymouth, Mich., being the other contributors; 

 but so far the concern has failed to pay the money awarded. 



At the State fair our exhibitors received the second premium on collection 

 of fruit, second on collection of apples, second on collection of peaches, first 

 and third on single variety of peach for market, first on single variety of 

 apple for market, second and third on six varieties of market apples, first on 

 Northern Spy, third on Baldwin, first on Westfield Seek-no-further, second on 

 Bailey Sweet, and third on Golden Russet. 



