224 GENERAL HISTORY. 



and to determine the proper name of an apple locally known in parts of Len- 

 awee county and also in Fulton county, Ohio, as Steele's Red. At the meet- 

 ing of the society held at Battle Creek, June 16th, 1880, B. W. Steere report- 

 ed on behalf of the committee, recommending that Morris' Red be the recog- 

 nized name of this apple and giving its history as follows: The original tree 

 grew and may still be growing in Connecticut. Two sprouts, dug from its 

 roots, were brought by a Mr. Childs to Madison county, N. Y., fifty or sixty 

 years ago, and planted near Mr. Morris' former home. From these trees Mr. 

 Morris brought cions to Fulton county, Ohio, and from there to this county. 

 A few years since the ''sprouts " planted in Madison county were yet vigor- 

 ous and productive. In quality the fruit will rank as "very good." 



The following citizens of this county contributed specimens to the exhibit of 

 Michigan fruits at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia: The Farmers' 

 Fruit Preserving Company of Palmyra, S. B. Mann, secretary, samples of 

 dried Belmont apples, cherries, currants, raspberries, Trophy tomatoes, Stow- 

 ell's evergreen corn, cabbage and string beans. The Lenawee Farmers' 

 Club sent a large collection of a))ples, embracing 107 varieties carefully 

 packed, the names of the growers and the number contributed by each being 

 as follows: From Adrian — B. W. Steere, 60; John Hunt, 3; Fred Meddick, 

 12; Charles Bradish, 6 ; H. N. Knowls, 1 ; Ira Ladd, 12. From Dover — Smith 

 Thompson, 2; Daniel Holdridge, 2 ; James Therber, 1. From Macon — Israel 

 Pennington, 28 ; Joseph Pennington, 5. From Blissfield — W. Grandy, 13 ; 

 Dr. R. B.C. Newcomb, 20; M. H. Cogswell, 3 ; Luther Smith, 1; George 

 Sisson, 3; R. B. French, 3; H. B. Clark, 3; L. E. Goodrich, 15. From 

 Raisin — E. B. Hibbard, l-t ; Horace Hoxie, 14: Loyal Lovejoy, 10 From 

 Palmyra — Peter Coller, 6; Henry Furbeck, 6; S. B. Mann, 8. From Rome — 

 Samuel Reed, 1. From Canandaigua — J. Lee, 5. From Ogden — W. H. 

 Cheeney, 9. From Madison — T. J. Gibbs, 8. From Ridgeway — John Brit- 

 ton, 21. From Tecumseh — J. Kennedy, 18. The pears were also excellent, 

 and were contributed by J. G. Clenathan, Henry Furbeck, N. J. Strong and 

 F. Lewis. A. Sigler contributed a very good display of foreign grapes. 



In 1851 the farm committee of the State Agricultural Society submit the 

 following statement of Samuel Rappleye, respecting the fruit department of 

 his farm in Adrian: " I have three hundred and fifty apple trees set on my 

 farm. All except a few are grafted with the choicest kinds of fruit. I have 

 a choice collection of peaches, pears and cherries. My management of young 

 trees is to cultivate the ground with a hoed crop, either corn or potatoes ; 

 manure with barnyard manure and ashes." 



In 1809 E. P. Powidl, of Adrian, entered a pear orchard, in competition 

 for a premium oifered by the State Agricultural Society. The orchard con- 

 sisted of seventy-nine standard trees, and was highly commended by the 

 proper committee, but the award was withheld, from lack of an adequate 

 statement of the system of management. 



At the annual county fair of 1853 D. K. Underwood, cliairman of the 

 committee on fruits, in his report, remarks: "Your committee would say 

 that, in their opinion, there is, from year to year, an increased interest in 

 our community on the subject of fruit culture. The display of fruit, at this 

 annual fair, occurring so late in the season (October otli and 6th) and in a 

 year in which our apple crop is so much below the average, affords ample 

 evidence of this. We rejoice in this increased production and consumiition 

 of good fruit, as they indicate an increase of refinement and comfort among 

 our people." 



