STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 131 



Mr. Schuyler gave also the results of two other manufactories, one 

 at Benton Harbor, Mich., running two evaporators, and one in Palmyra, 

 Mich., with four evaporators, which gave results about the same as those 

 above given. 



DISCUSSION UPON UTILIZING FRUITS. 



The Secretary. — This subject of utilizing our fruits is one of great 

 importance to us, perhaps the most important one next to that of circum- 

 venting our insect enemies, that can come before us. We remember 

 how it was two years ago ; the fruit crop was abundant — so abundant that 

 much went to waste, rotting upon the ground, because the owners knew 

 no way to make money out of it except making cider, which many would 

 not do. The rush into the market of fruit, in one form, caused a glut, 

 and it did not pay to ship green fruits. We are compelled to look up 

 other ways of utilizing the fruit crops. Now, the paper just read tells us 

 some ways in which we may utilize our fruits, and I think the advice 

 about assorting it and shipping only good fruit, honestly packed, is sound. 

 It is evident that all the poor fruit should be kept at home, since it costs 

 as much to ship poor fruit as good fruit, and we know that if mixed the 

 price is sadly depreciated, so that often no profit is realized. The ques- 

 tion is, how to utilize the second and third qualities of fruit to profit. 

 The practice of drying fruit by artificial heat is coming more into use, 

 and we get no better product from any process than by that known as the 

 Alden process. There may be other methods less expensive, but we must 

 adopt some method. 



Dr. Long described a home-made device for drying fruit, that he 

 thought might work well, and was not expensive. It consisted in a fur- 

 nace, over which was a large inverted iron kettle set in an arch : above 

 the kettle was a large tin cylinder, eight feet high, set perpendicular, in 

 which the fruit was arranged on proper shelves. He thought the Alden 

 process was too expensive ; the Hawley process did not seem to answer 

 the purpose; and that we must look for something less expensive. 



Mr. Grover (of Warsaw) — I wish it understood that I am a modest 

 man, but I note this fact: We are in the habit of overstating facts, and 

 our teachings so far are unreliable. 



One man says prune thoroughly ; another says never put a knife in 

 the tree. These opinions are extremes. One man says seedling peach 

 trees are good for nothing — cast them out ; others would' plant them. I 

 know seedling peach trees that bear fine fruit. I think we should avoid 

 these extremes and try to be more observing, and we would come nearer 

 the truth in our statements. 



