370 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



bilities will become attractive, and our homes will be supplied with 

 pure and living streams of intelligence and comfort, tranquility 

 and perpetuity. 



Shall we fail to comprehend the situation, content to be simply 

 hewers of wood and drawers of water, producing' only the raw 

 material for othei's to fabricate? Can we afford to disregard our 

 natural resources, valuable only as they are made available ? 



If we would see immigration pour in upon us, our unoccupied 

 lands become the homes of the industrious, manufactures estab- 

 lished in every part of this inviting field, the harvests of the farm- 

 ers increased far beyond our present conception of what is possible, 

 let us see to it that no longer the waters of our rivers run on in 

 crystal purity to the ocean without adding to our wealth and pros- 

 perity. 



Col. SwETX delivered the following lecture on 



Fruit Culture. 



In all the departments of cultivation, there is none more useful 

 and pleasing than the cultivation of fruit, and our advantages for 

 tbeir production in this State are varied and great. Good fruit is 

 one of the luxuries in which all may indulge with advantage. 

 Fruits form a wholesome article of food, and tend to diminish the 

 excessive use of many articles of diet, the too free use of which 

 produces dyspepsia, fevers, jaundice, and many other ills ; they 

 have a cooling and gentle laxative effect, correcting bilious affec- 

 tions, and pui'ifying the blood, which is the life of the whole sys- 

 tem ; they add a charm to social life, affording a delightful treat 

 to friends, and a constant, harmless feast for all. 



We have many excellent fruits, among which the apple is the 

 most important; and every attentive and reflecting observer among 

 our population, interested in the progress of fruit growing, has 

 doubtless arrived at the conclusion, that if the natural resources of 

 the State are ever developed the apple must become a great staple 

 crop. The large demand for apples during the past few years, and 

 the high price for choice fruit, have led many farmers to give more 

 attention to the cultivation of fruit, and to the improvement of old 

 orchards. The apple ti"ee is as well adapted to the soil and cli- 

 mate of many parts of the State as any tree whatever. This is 

 shown by the fact that in the older settled parts of the State apple 

 seeds, by whatever means scattered, by the road-side, in pastures 



