4 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the growing of vegetables, etc., for the market — and we may also very 

 properly include the house or family garden; and arboriculture, or that 

 which pertains to to the care of the forest, and the cultivation of forest 

 and ornamental trees and shrubs. 



The division of which I shall treat in the main will be confined to pom- 

 ology, or the art of growing and marketing fruit, and the territory shall be 

 confined to our own county of Gratiot, portions of which, though situated 

 within the bounds of the lowlands of the valley of the Saginaw and Maple 

 Rivers, giving a very imperfect system of atmospheric drainage, has, by 

 actual test, proven itself admirably adapted to the growing: of small fruits 

 of nearly every description; also an abundant supply of garden vegetables, 

 etc., for the market, at highly remunerative prices. 



Lying, as it does, between the 43d and 44th parallels of latitude, and to 

 such a distance in the interior of the state as to be beyond the range of 

 the influence of that great climatic equalizer, lake Michigan, we must not 

 for a moment foster the idea of entering into successful competition with 

 the great "fruit belt," in the cultivation of that best of all semi-tropical 

 fruits, the peach. However, what our county lacks in climatic influences 

 is fully overbalanced in the fertility of the soil. Our soil is mostly of a 

 clay loam, and heavy clay subsoil retains the properties of fertilization to 

 a great extent. Thus, we see, the expense of keeping our soil in proper 

 condition conducive to the development of plant life, would be reduced to 

 a minimum, on account of its nearness to its virgin state. Virgin soils 

 generally contain sufficient quantities of all the elements of plant life to 

 supply an abundance of food, but if they are continuously cropped, and 

 none of the elements replaced, the time will come when one or more of the 

 elements will become reduced or exhausted, and the plants will no longer 

 be able to bring their fruit to a perfect state of development. 



While the proportions in which the elements occur in plants may vary 

 within certain limits, yet no plant can grow unless it has provided for it, 

 always in soluble form, eleven elements, viz.: Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, 

 carbon, potash, phosphoric acid, lime, magnesia, iron, sulphur, and soda, 

 while chlorine and silica are generally present. The elements most 

 likely to fail are potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen. Here in our 

 county, we have, or can obtain, that safe and reliable but too much neg- 

 lected fertilizer, unleached wood ashes. They contain all the mineral 

 elements inherent in the trees from which they came, and therefore they 

 will furnish to other trees and plants, in an easy and soluble form, approx- 

 imately, the elements which they require. Potash applied to plants 

 greatly increases the amount of sugar which their fruits contain, and in 

 other ways improves the quality, also making strong, vigorous plants which 

 are much less subject to disease, and if attacked are less injured than weak 

 ones, potash being of itself a fungicide. 



What are the essential elements of success in a fruitgrower and market- 

 gardener? He must be an enthusiast and love the occupation of his 

 choice. He must be a careful and persistent observer of the different 

 stages, conditions, and habits of plant growth, and note the relative cir- 

 cumstances under which his productions are brought to the highest degree 

 of perfection, being always on the alert to discover means for improvement 

 in pruning, care, and cultivation; and last, but by no means least, he must 

 be truthful, upright, fair, and honest and tasty in the packing, preparation, 

 and sale of his products. 



What shall we produce? In the line of j fruits we will begin with the 



