182 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Had we not better accept the Bible Htatement8 than to believe that 

 such men as Van Mons, who spent his life in originating? desirable va- 

 rieties of fruit, especially pears; Barry, Downing and Worden, the 

 President and members of this Society, are evolved from and must 

 trace their genealogy to a monkey ? 



God made man upright, intelligent and responsible, but "he ha» 

 sought out many inventions " 



" God planted a garden and made grow therein every tree that is 

 good for food," and among them the apple-tree. * 



It seems to me that no man, after careful examination, can believe 

 himself evolved from a molecule through the monkey (and so can I),. 

 and probably he was. But sensible people, believing in an intelligent 

 supreme power, prefer to believe they are descended from Adam — " a 

 man made in God's own image ;" and that God made the apple, perfect^ 

 beautiful, glorious and excellent, when He "created all things and pro- 

 nounced them very good." 



While its propagation has doubtless been largely from seed, th& 

 art of grafting was well understood more than 2000 years ago. 



Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, tells us that the Jews being^ 

 broken off because , of unbelief, the Gentiles (the wild olive) "were 

 grafted" on the same stock by belief, and would produce the desired 

 fruit. 



ITS RELATION TO OTHER FRUITS. 



As the sun is the center around which all the planets revolve, and 

 from 'it receive their light, heat and life-sustaining power, so stands 

 the apple as king of fruits, the most useful and valuable, with more 

 life and health-sustaining properties than all others — "a thing of beauty 

 and a joy forever." 



ITS USES. 



It was principally used for making cider until the middle of the 

 present century, and for distilling into ardent spirits ( the curse of the 

 world and prime cause of 80 per cent of all human misery and crime) 

 until drying, making apple-butter and barreling for export became ob- 

 jects of commercial activity. 



The many uses to which it may be put makes it the most valuable 

 and desirable of all fruits. Esteemed by all classes, produced at prices 

 in reach of all conditions, and steadily growing into ftivor, its import- 

 ance in commerce is regularly increasing — the demand is in excess of 

 supply, limited only by the ability of the masses to satisfy their de- 

 sires. Entering into so many savory dishes — prepared in so many- 

 ways — it has become a necessity in every family. 



