TRANSACTIONS OF ALTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 297 



Have a succession of fruits, beginning with the earliest possible and 

 ending with the latest, and you may be sure of a living. I think there 

 is a growing disposition among our fruit growers to engage in the forcing 

 of early vegetables. I believe that it will result in failure to bring fair 

 profit, unless among the Germans where they have large families of boys 

 and girls, whose labor they can utilize at such work. I do not think 

 that hired help can be used to profit in that way, to any considerable 

 extent, except it may be in forcing asparagus or. strawberries. Cer- 

 tainly I can do better with fruits than forcing vegetables. 



I look upon it as an important point to be located in or near town, 

 where plenty of cheap help can be procured; especially if you grow 

 berries, it should be so that you can get any amount of it you may 

 require at short notice. I remember a few years ago Mr. David Brown 

 had a fine crop of strawberries, and lost many of them from inability to 

 procure the necessary help to gather the crop. The advantage of being 

 near the depot and the home market is also very great, for another reason, 

 as you are often one day ahead in your knowledge of the market over 

 those living far away. 



A close, personal supervision of every detail, from the first planting to 

 the marketing of the fruit, is absolutely necessary to any man who would 

 succeed at it, as much so as business of the merchant, or contractor. 

 How often we see men fail who think they can be successful fruit growers 

 and attend to some other business at the same time. They are willing 

 to make money by growing fruit, but not willing to have it known as 

 their business. I remember being at the depot one evening with fruit, 

 when a team drove up beside me to unload. Two gentlemen stood near. 

 One said to the other, " Is this your fruit ? it is your team." "Oh, no," 

 he answered, " it is not mine; my man raises a little." I happened to 

 know better. Such men mostly do and ought to fail to make it pay. 



Much more might be said, many more faults found to correct in my 

 own and others' practice, but I have touched some of the principal ones, 

 and the others must go until another time. 



REPORT ON FRUITS. 



The Committee on Small Fruits find on the table one box of Chas. 

 Downing strawberries, from F. Hayden, fine in size, and number one in 

 quality. 



One t)OX of same variety, from Piasa Heights, Capt. E. Hollister, 

 from fall-set plants. Fruit good quality, and size almost up to one-year- 

 old plants. 



Specimens of Rawles' Janet, from Aug. Starr, in good preservation. 



Conover's Colossal asparagus, from Captain E. Hollister, very supe- 

 rior bunches, all green, of extra large growth. 



May Duke cherry, quite early, from grounds of H. G. McPike. 



D. STEWART. 



