PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 5 



strawberry, as that is the first fruit of the season, and therefore should 

 receive first attention. The strawberry {Fragarim) is indigenously at 

 home in Gratiot county, as practical experience has most admirably proven. 

 Therefore the production of this favorite fruit is no skeptical experiment, 

 but an established success. Varieties under consideration have been very 

 limited. The once " grand old standby," but now somewhat obsolete, the 

 Wilson, has stood the test of many years, and this variety, it may almost 

 be said, has been the fundamental means of developing the now extensive 

 industry of commercial strawberry culture. More recently, it is very com- 

 monly attacked by that troublesome enemy of the strawberry plant, the 

 fungus (Sphaerella Fragarice), for which reason, together with the rivalry 

 of more modern varieties, it is to some extent falling into disuse. Gratiot 

 county growers are greatly behind the times; and as those kinds which suc- 

 ceed in one locality do not always succeed in another, actual test is neces- 

 sary to a choice. 



Next comes the raspberry, and in this, especially the blackcap, we 

 believe, lies the superstructure of successful commercial small-fruit growing. 

 It is with the blackcap that we may assert our great natural temperament of 

 independence, for, in case of a glutted local market or great 

 distance from the large city market, we may resort to the 

 evaporator with an assurance of certain success and a greater profit than 

 that of any other known evaporated product. The red varieties must 

 depend wholly upon local demands. In our county neither of these are 

 receiving the attention they justly merit, although both are adapted to 

 our soil. These, in company with the currant and gooseberry, should 

 receive greater attention. 



Immediately following we have the blueberry, or huckleberry familiarly 

 «alled, which has received no particular attention in a cultivated way, 

 though in other localities it has been brought to a superior state of per- 

 fection. Of this we have, during the past season, placed a few plants on 

 our experimental grounds and will watch development with interest. 



In the larger fruits we have the cherry, the plum, the grape, the pear, 

 and the quince, all of which may be grown with a quite certain degree of 

 success and profit. 



Lastly upon the list we place the " king of fruits," the apple. This fruit 

 is unmistakably the leading commercial commodity in the fruit line, of 

 our own county if not the state. The western and southern portions of 

 our county are most admirably adapted to this already gigantic but grow- 

 ing industry, and we would most heartily endorse a movement to encourage 

 an increase in the production of this staple fruit. 



We are often met, however, by the assertion that if the fruit industry 

 advances, an over-production and glutted market, causing a disastrous 

 failure, would be the result. True, the marketing of fruit is fully as 

 important as fruitgrowing, therefore we consider it necessary to dwell at 

 some length upon this important question. In this direction we heartily 

 endorse the views of T. T. Lyon of the Stdle Horticultural society, who 

 says: 



To meet this competition we must make our own fruit fit to eat, and that is more 

 than can[ be said of the stuff now grown and called best market varieties * * " 

 There are plenty of men ready to pay any price for the best fruits if they can only be 

 secure in their supply. This is the only way we can make head against the increasing 

 consumption of southern fruits. We can send good apples south and sell them for more 

 than the price oranges sell for there.' 



