GENERAL HISTORY. 49 



me, had occupied one whole acre with nursery fruit trees, and he had the 

 boldness and enterprise to add two acres more. Ilis neighbors held up their 

 hands in astonishment, exclaiming, 'Where will you find market for all these 

 trees?' He did, however, find a market for them, and some nurserymen 

 besides have done the same ; for in less than twenty years from this date, 

 Ellwauger & Barry, of Rochester, had increased their nursery of six acres, in 

 1839, to more than four hundred acres, in 1858 ; and other nurseries in the 

 eastern, middle and western States had become extended to hundreds of 

 acres each," adding: ''There are now (1874), in the United States, more 

 than ten thousand acres actually under compact nursery growth, of 

 which Rochester and Geneva occupy more than one-half, perhaps more than 

 two-thirds." ^±t 



In 1841, at the New York State fair, held at Syracuse, the man who took 

 the first prize carried his entire collection from the cars to the exhibition in 

 a willow basket; while at the last (1873) exhibition of the Americal Pomo- 

 logical Society at Boston, two vast halls were crowded with specimens, and 

 seven barrels of specimens, from a western State, in which the first fruit had 

 not yet been planted sixteen years before, were unable to find space. 



After treating various other branches of the subject the address concluded 

 by congratulating Michigan as the possessor of the finest horticultural field 

 in the entire Union; and also in possessing an agricultural college that has 

 long stood in the front rank of similar institutions. 



Professor Cook followed with a lecture on insects injurious to house plants 

 and shrubbery, in which was included the best known remedies for their 

 destruction. 



Following the above. Professor W. J. Beal gave some notes on the structure 

 and growth of the flowers and fruit of the apple ; the distinctive features of 

 flowers and seeds ; the use which can be made of them in describing apples. 



The lecture developed many hitherto little known facts respecting the dis- 

 tinguishing peculiarities of both flowers and fruits, which are well worth the 

 attentive study of pomological students. 



A paper on grape culture was also contributed by A. Sigler, of Adrian, 

 drawn, no doubt, largely from his personal experience with both foreign and 

 native varieties. 



This was followed by J. W. Helme, president of the Adrian Horticultural 

 Society, with a paper on the honey locust (Gleditschia triacanthus), as a 

 hedge plant, which he preferred on account of its hardiness, it being indig- 

 enous in Michigan ; and also on account of its thorny character. 



In September, 14th to 19th, 1874, the State Pomological Society held its 

 annual exhibit of fruits, flowers and plants jointly with the fair of the State 

 Agricultural Society, at East Saginaw. 



The flower and plant exhibits came largely from the Saginaw valley, al- 

 though some premiums went to Kent and Ottawa. To James Vick, from 

 whom a part of the exhibit came, was awarded a life membership. An ex- 

 hibit from John Ford was the only contribution from Detroit. 



Monroe has excellent railroad connection with Saginaw and proved to be 

 the banner county so far as fruit exhibits are concerned, although Oceana 

 bore the palm for plums. The largest amount of money awards for fruit 

 went to John Gilbert, of Ovid, Clinton county. 



Taken as a whole, the horticultural exhibit was excellent. The vegetable 

 exhibit was unusually so, and being almost wholly the product of Saginaw 

 valley was one of which the region has reason to be proud. 



7 



