76 GENERAL HISTORY. 



era," in Trhich he expresses the euspiciou that this parasite may prove to be 

 the cause of the bhick-rot of the fruit. 



The orcliard committee submitted tlieir report. Tiie awards will be 

 found in the histories of the counties in which they occur, 



''The Xutritive Value of Fruit as compared with other Foods" was the 

 subject of a paper by R. F. Kedzie. After an analytical consideration of the 

 constituents of fruit and of tlie substances required to maintain and build 

 the human body, he adds : "According to one of the best Euglish authorities, 

 an egg, weighing seven hundred and ninety-four grains, and containing 

 seventy-seven grains of albuminous matter, is equivalent in nutritive power 

 to seventeen ounces of cherries, twenty-two ounces of grapes, tliirty ounces 

 of strawberries, forty ounces of apples and four pounds of red pears." 



" They are chiefly of value for the soothing influence of the pectin and 

 gum they contain, for the presence of free acids and alkaline salts, their 

 aroma (to which much of their refreshing quality is due), and the varying 

 amount of soluble matter present. Those fruits that seem to melt in the 

 mouth con'ain a large amount of soluble matter." " While fruits are not in 

 themselves very nutritious, they assist greatly in the digestion of other foods, 

 and are second in importance only to more nutritious foods. They are the 

 'open sesame ' to good health, without which life is not worth the living." 



The report of the secretary for 1877 was then read in which, beside his 

 work proper, some account was given of his operations prior to the com- 

 mencement of his term of oflice, and which became necessary in consequence 

 of the illness of his predecessor, Mr. Thompson. It also contained a state- 

 ment of the efforts made to secure the us3 of suitable rooms in the new 

 capitol. 



The reports of the general superintendent at the State Fair, together with 

 those of the division superintendents, were next read. 



The following persons were then elected oflicers of the society for the 

 ensuing year : — 



President — T. T. Lyon, South Haven. 



Secretary — Charles W. Garfield, Grand Rapids. 



Treasurer — Samuel L. Fuller, Grand Rapids. 



Members of Executive Board — W. K. Gibson, Jackson ; E. F. Guild, East 

 Saginaw. 



Also a Vice-President for each fruit county. 



Mr. Fuller declined the office of treasurer, whereupon the society elected 

 S. M. Pearsall, of Grand Rapids, to that position. 



^'- The afternoon exercises were closed with a paper by T. T. Lyon on " Home 

 Orchards versus Market Orchards," in which the tendency of planters to 

 put mere market qualities before all others in selections for the family was 

 combatted. Modification of premiums lists and the need of a State cata- 

 logue were suggested as means of obviating such tendency. 



Mrs. M. P. A. Crozier opened the Wednesday evening session with a paper 

 on "Farm Adornment," which pretty fully covered the ground of tree,'plant 

 and flower culture about the farm and residence. 



This was followed by a jiaper on " The Work of the Farm." 



Byron Markham followed with an essay on " Markets." 



Judge Ramsdell, of Traverse City, then addressed the audience on "The 

 Grand Traverse Region as a Fruit Country." He defined this region as 

 "bounded on the north and west by Lake Michigan, on the east by the merid- 



