458 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE, 



OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCES AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 



What attracted my attention most was what was not there. I ex- 

 pected to find hundreds of varieties of apples. I was aware of the large 

 number catalogued. I expected to find these, and many more on exhibi- 

 tion. As 1 went from State to State it was Ben Davis, Rome Beauty, 

 Wiuesap, Grimes, Jonathan, Baldwin, Northern Spy, Arliansas Black, 

 Mammoth Black Twig, Wealthy, Genet, and in a few States Northwestern 

 Greening and Albemarle. Outside of these, all might have ueen hauled 

 on a market wagon. It is not hard to know what are the business apples 

 of the world. 



It was .July 1 when I went to the Fair. Ot course the apples on 

 exhibition had been kept in cold storage. Their behavior there and when 

 put on display was an item of great interest. It was quite observable 

 that apples picked and stored before fully ripe did not behave well. A 

 barrel of Genets from the north part of the State picked quite green, were 

 still green and without flavor. None had rotted, but when placed on 

 exhibition all had scalded, or rotted inside one week. Genets from my 

 own orchard, fully matured when picked, had been on the plates one 

 month when I took charge and were still sound when I left, three weeks 

 later. Grimes from my own orchard, picked a little green and sent im- 

 mediately to cold storage, never colored up nor developed flavor. Many 

 were scalded when opened and all gave down in less than a week. 

 Grimes from the north part of the State that had evidently colored up 

 before packing were in fine condition, both as to color and flavor and 

 stood up on the table for over two weeks. How do I know they were 

 colored up before packed? I know it from their associates in the box. 

 It is probable that Jonathan is the best of the good flavored apples for 

 cold storage. I did not see one that was scalded, nor tastf c^^f" tlmt liad 

 lost flavor. 



The State displays were not all equally meritorious, i noi>e Indiana's 

 poorest display was while I was there. To say that I felt humiliated is 

 putting it very mildly. Several of the packages I opened would not have 

 graded No. 2 when packed. These had to be opened before a gazing pub- 

 lic, and I could not do as our Iowa neighbors did when they opened an 

 undesirable package, wheel it away to the dump. They had plenty, we 

 few to draw from. We had to fill our tables with such as we liad. Other 

 States had put competent men into the field to hunt up and store good 

 apples. They got them. We depended on the voluntary contributions of 

 oiu- citizens. We didn't get them. 



One day when I was probably worried I observed that I imagined that 

 I felt like there was a little possibility, though of course improbable, that 

 there was a little danger that all horticulturists were not angels, .lust 

 then my wife wanted me to go with hpr to see the Igorrotes. and I went. 



