STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 225 



horticultural societies, to raise by subscription a sum sufficient to prosecute transpor- 

 tation companies (brail damages they do to fruit. Employ inspectors in Chicago for 

 this purpose, to examine all fruits where damage is claimed, or the commission merchant 

 to whom it is sent may answer this purpose ; and a lawyer to prosecute the cases. Have 

 witnesses unknown to the express carriers, go to the cars, and see the handling and 

 hanlfrng of the fruit to its delivery, and the evidence is complete. 



Then, and not till then, t lie express companies will issue orders to their employes to 

 handle careful. We sec very few looking-glasses and costly pictures and furniture 

 smashed up by the carriers. And can they not handle fruit as careful? It will take a 

 little more time to handle carefully, and cost more. Their prices are generally sufficient 

 for careful handling, and where they are not, we must pay them sufficient, or keep our 

 fruit at home. If any rascally fruit raiser or dealer should pack rotten or damaged fruit, 

 and claim damage, such should be prosecuted for fraud ; for above all things we should 

 keep our own hands clean. I am confident the good which can be accomplished by suit- 

 able effort, and not very extensive or expensive, but positive and well advised, will 

 amply pay the producers, the carriers, the trade, and especially the consumer. And if 

 we will move in the matter, we 6hall have the good will of all. 



This subject elicited considerable discussion and caused many 

 hard remarks being made about the express companies, regarding 

 their carelessness in handling fruit. 



ERRORS IN HORTICULTURE. 

 By Suel Foster. 



Improvement of Varieties by Cultivation. — We often put too much dependance in this. 

 We cannot change a Yellow Bellftower from its original character, growth of tree, and 

 appearance of fruit. But the tree by high cultivation may be made to grow more 

 thrifty, and the fruit larger and fairer, and different climates and soils, and grafting 

 upon different roots and stocks, it will ditfer somewhat. But when scions have been 

 taken and grafted fifty times from dilferent growths, it is all of one and the same tree 

 and generation, and when taken back and grafted upon the original seedling tree, it is 

 the same as it originally was, with possibly some slight variations, such as severing 

 and grafting and not forming a perfect reunion may cause, or it may incur disease and 

 bring back to the parent tree. We lay it down as a general rule, that we cannot 

 change a variety. Therefore when it is said that seedlings or wild fruit will improve 

 by grafting, or by cultivation, it can only be relied on to a slight degree by high 

 cultivation. 



Improvement may be made by new generations, which always originate in the seed. — While 

 so much has been accomplished by new seedlings from the Grape, Strawberry, Rasp- 

 berry, Blackberry, Cherry and Pear, our apples — the best fruit of them all — have been 

 left to shirk for themselves. It is true, we can count good varieties by the thousand, 

 why need we trouble ourselves with more? It would he very desirable to have an 

 apple as good as the Jonathan, that would keep with the Willow Twig, and the tree 



1G 



