STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 323 



decided, ^vhen about to embark in any business, and sbould be carefully 

 considered and wisely decided. In its solution, we should bear in mind 

 that this pursuit is governed by the same laws that prevail in other call- 

 ings. In all the departments of business into which men enter as a 

 means of livelihood, some succeed and others make lamentable failures. 

 In fruit-growing, the man who is patient, persevering, industrious, and 

 shrewd, will make it pay. All others will fail disastrously. 



The products of Horticulture, being generally considered articles of 

 luxury, arc subject to more violent fluctuations than those of prime neces- 

 sity. There are certain great staples — such as wheat, corn, and beef — 

 that arc always in demand; and if the market is tcinporarily depressed, 

 they can be held without loss until it revives. But our strawberries, 

 peaches, and grapes must be sent to market when they are ripe ; and if 

 it is overstocked, we must sell for what we can get. It is, however, a 

 well-understood fact, that articles of luxury often come into general use, 

 and thus, after a time, become articles of necessity. So it will be with 

 all our finer fruits, as the supply becomes more reliable and prices better 

 regulated. It maybe safely laid down, as a general rule, that the demand 

 for any product increases with the supply. 



The grape crop of the present season illustrates this principle. The 

 supply has exceeded that ev'er grown before fully one hundred per cent., 

 yet the amount sold in our great markets has fully kept pace with the 

 increased supply. We may, therefore, reasonably conclude, that the 

 supply of really good fruit will not soon be greater than the demand; 

 but inferior fruit is always a drug in the market. The past fall, poor to 

 fair A^jplcs have been selling in the St. Louis and Chicago markets at 

 from one to two dollars per barrel, while really choice fruit, in good 

 order, has brought from three to four dollars much more readily. From 

 these facts we should learn valuable lessons, and make it a point to grow 

 nothing but the choicest, though the quantity may not be so large. To 

 bring about this result, we must plant only the best varieties, cultivate 

 well, prune judiciously, and fight persistently the insects and diseases 

 that annoy us. 



Speaking of insects and diseases reminds me of the suggestion of a 

 friend, that they may not be enemies, but blessings in disguise. That if 

 we were free from them, the over-production would be as great as in 

 California, where the finest fruit — such as pears and peaches — is consumed 

 by the hogs, or permitted to rot on the ground. There no special skill 

 or industry is required, and the fruit grower can make nothing. Here 

 he must be persevering, skillful, and industrious, and his reward is sure. 



While this subject is before us, let us stop to enquire if there is any 

 practicable way of arresting the ravages of our most destructive insect, 

 the Codling Moth. Unless some parasite attacks them, or we can devise 

 some method of trapping them, the time will very soon come when we 

 shall be exempt from the great drawback of the California horticulturist. 

 The past season this insect has utterly ruined the fruit in many orcharils 

 in this county, and unless a united and persistent effort is made to destroy 

 thtyn, we may expect them to be more numerous the next year; for we 



