280 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTUEE. 



tliey were arranged for the final review ; and, as if there were 

 " luck in odd numbers," they summed up exactly five hundred 

 and one ! But this would be but a partial testimony indeed, 

 whether to the bounty of Heaven or the generosity of the con- 

 tributors, did we not go further, and say that the fruits and 

 products of every variety were present in such abundance, as to 

 make it manifest that those who had presented them had found 

 not so much difficulty in selecting out of their luxuriant stores 

 specimens which were worthy to appear in public and compete 

 for rewards, as to find specimens insignificant enough to stay at 

 home, content to blush unseen, and to ripen in retirement. 



Mr. W. A. Arnold exhibited fifty varieties, including what he 

 calls " seedlings ; " Mrs. S. B. Woodward, twenty varieties ; 

 and Mr. William Clark, sixteen varieties. Some of your com- 

 mittee were a little in doubt, from what thev knew of Mr. Ar- 

 nold's trees, whether the " seedlings," so called, were in strict- 

 ness entitled to be treated as any thing more tlian any mere 

 unimproved native fruit. We should have been glad to learn 

 from Mr. Arnold whether his " seedlings " were taken from old 

 trees, bearing merely supposed native fruit, of unknown antece- 

 dents, or whether from trees raised by him from the seed ; and 

 if the latter, then learn to what generation from the seeds first 

 planted the specimens on exhibition belonged. Data of this 

 sort would enable us to appreciate more satisfactorily a theory 

 sometimes propounded, that the fruit in the fourth generation 

 from the primary seed attains to its perfect development, and is 

 then entitled to take rank as a " seedling" variety. But it will 

 be seen from our award that queries of -this sort have, in the 

 result, detracted nothing from the otherwise ample merits of 

 Mr. Arnold's strictly standard varieties. 



While inspecting the department of apples we were surprised ■ 

 to find only two plates of an old and favorite variety, sometimes 

 called the Matthews' Stripe, and sometimes the " Ly scorn " 

 apple. These came from trees of William Clark and Robert 

 Carter, of Northampton. A fruit of such excellent qualities 

 should not be crowded out of public favor by second-rate nov- 

 elties. 



In the department of pears, the committee recognized as the 

 best collection, the sixteen varieties exhibited by John W. Wil- 

 son, the secretary of the society ; and they accordingly award 



