^8 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



of persons known to bo worthy of confidence. Few persons are able to recog- 

 nize varieties from the peculiarities of the wood growth ; hence the buyer must 

 trust mainly to the honesty and carefulness of the nurseryman — a necessity 

 that can iiardly be said to exist, in so broad and important a sense, in any other 

 olass of business transactions. To this we may be allowed to add the further 

 remark, that varieties differ greatly in vigor, and also in ease and certainty of 

 propagation ; hence to require the propagator to supply a class of fruits — as the 

 apple — in all its varieties, at the same price, is but offering a })rcmium for dis- 

 honesty, by tempting him to the incorrect naming of varieties; as it is beyond 

 question true that certain varieties can be produced at half the cost of others of 

 similar size. We will not, however, profess to entertain any very confident 

 hopes of the effectiveness of these suggestions, with the very common circum- 

 stance in mind, that it is by no means unusual for otherwise intelligent and 

 clear-headed people to yield to the seduction of artful self -constituted and often 

 •entirely unknown peddlers of novelties, armed with wonderful pictures, taken, 

 of course, from nature ; or with specimen fruits as fair and magnificent as those 

 fabled to have grown in the garden of the llesperides ; but of whose connex- 

 tion "with the plants alleged to have produced them, they can only know from 

 the ^'ipse dixit" of the unknown vendor; engaging to pay extravagant prices 

 for such plants, instead of applying to dealers of acknowledged reputation and 

 known integrity for varieties of established character, at established prices. 



Beyond the purpose to provide lists of fruits as guides to the filling up of 

 l^lantations, the society may be supposed to have been actuated by the wish to 

 indicate, in a manner calculated to command confidence abroad, the measure 

 ■of success of tlie sorts recommended, as com})ared with tlieir standing else- 

 where, as an indication of the general adaptation of our State to pursuits of 

 this character. 



If we shall be at the trouble to institute an examination into the actual con- 

 •stitution of tiie orchards of our State, considered at large, we can hardly fail 

 to be impressed with the fact that in despite of the large amount of valuable 

 knowledge disseminated on this subject during the past half century, a very 

 Large proportion of the whole is comparatively valueless, on account of the 

 unwise selection of varieties for the purposes intended, or of ignorance (or 

 something worse), m the management ; and it certainly may add mucii to our 

 .surprise at this circumstance to discover that even those orchards ostensibly 

 planted for commercial purposes, and which, hence, should have commanded 

 •especial care and wisdom in the selection of the varieties, otfer, as a whole, 

 little exception to this rule. 



Soon after the ors^anization of the societv, it framed a list of twelve varieties 

 of apples, which it commended to tiie planters of the State as worthy of culti- 

 vation. The society does not seem to have considered this as a satisfactory or 

 final expression of its views, as we may infer from the circumstance tliat only 

 a year or two later a committee was raised, charged with the duty of preparing 

 a more full and complete list or set of lists, embracing recommendations in 

 all the classes of fruits usually grown in our State. Tliis committee developed 

 very marked differences of opinion among its members; and, after giving sev- 

 eral months to the consideration of the matter, fmuUy cut the gordian knot by 

 reporting in favor of three distinct lists, adapted to the varied wants likely to 

 occur among planters, Miiether planting for commercial, family or amateur 

 purposes. These lists, after running the gauntlet of criticism in committee, 

 and of discussion by the society as a whole, were finally placed, where they 



