si All: AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 205 



What is needed is passenger time trains of ten cars each, and fruit cars to do the busi- 

 ness with instead of common box freight or cattle ears, winch is what the bulk of the fruit 

 lias been shipped in since Large shipments have been made. 



I had hoped to show the results of fruit shipments more fully, but have 

 failed to obtain reports. Enough, however, has been given in the course 

 of my remarks to convince any one that we are entering upon the brightest 

 period of our history. 



OVE R-PRODUCTION. 



In urging fruit and vine growing I am constantly asked to show why 

 we will not soon find ourselves with glutted markets and low prices as we 

 are with wheat. 



It is not easy to meet these doubts in a moment, and dogmatic assertion 

 will not be received. There are a few salient facts which satisfy my mind 

 on this point. 



First, as to wines : The great wine country of France makes 800,000,000 

 gallons and yet imports more than she exports. Our product has never 

 exceeded 15,000,000 gallons, I believe. The American people have not yet 

 become a wine-drinking people, but good, cheap wines can be made here at 

 a profit; our export trade may be large, and will be when our wines prove 

 the merit they possess; we shall have in the future, foreign countries as 

 well as our own for a market. Nowhere else in the United States can the 

 true wine grape be grown except here; a comparison of areas adapted to 

 the foreign varieties of table grapes and the raisin grapes and the import 

 and export trade and consumption bring similar results; unlike wheat, the 

 wine area is not enlarging. I submit for consideration a concise statement 

 by Mr. Wetmore, Chief Viticultural Officer, of the wants of the wine in- 

 dustry. 



Second, as to fruits : We grow many varieties of desirable fruits not 

 elsewhere produced ; of all varieties we produce them more surely and of 

 better quality, and greater quantity to the acre; the market for green fruits 

 in the United States is immense and constantly increasing and the region 

 for growing is limited; experience has shown profit in the business; only 

 small portions of the East have yet tasted our fruit; the completion of the 

 railroad to Oregon opens a new and vast area north and east, on the frozen 

 and non-fruit producing parallels; the transportation companies are gradu- 

 ally meeting the demands of this business; canning and exporting pro- 

 cesses absorb the surplus, and when properly done are profitable to the 

 canner. The reasons could be greatly augmented. Our best informed 

 fruit and wine growers all concur in the opinion, that our whole area of 

 fruit lands under cultivation would not bring us to over-production. If 

 they thought otherwise, self-interest would lead them to call a halt. I am, 

 therefore, forced to conclude that we have no fear in this direction. 



STOCK INTERESTS. 



There are many other topics bearing upon our resources which I would 

 like to dwell upon, among which — an important one — is the stock-growing 

 interest, especially in its relation to small farming. We have an erroneous 

 notion that a farmer cannot raise stock unless he has large ranges and 

 large farms. The State of Ohio raises less wool but gets more money for 

 it than we do. She does it in small flocks and on small farms. We are 

 making a proud record with our high-bred horses. Without doubt our 

 climate, soil, and feed will produce the highest types of all classes, but we 



