TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. 37 



summer, or the severe, deep freezing of winter, than those of a lighter 

 mold. Other equally as good reasons might be stated in substantiation 

 for the faith that is within us, of what I have said in our praise as an 

 interior fruit county. 



In a year when our orchards have only produced one third of an average 

 yield of fruit, it would appear like an inappropriate time to ask the 

 question, What is the condition of horticulture in this county? One year 

 and two years ago, the apple crop was simply immense — especially two 

 years ago beyond all precedent. In answer, then, we should have pointed 

 you to the farmers' teams that rilled our streets, from early morn till late 

 at night, with loads of apples in barrels, for export, wagon-box loads for 

 packing and for the two large evaporators here; and for cider and vinegar, 

 carloard after carload was shipped away. In the year 1889, the First 

 National bank of Eaton Rapids paid over its counters, for the apple 

 buyers of this city, the large sum of $125,000 for apples and help to care 

 for them. Last year, 1890, the crop of apples was not up in quantity with 

 the year before, but the price was better, and this same bank paid checks 

 of our fruit-buyers here to an amount of over $95,000. Other portions 

 of our county have had large yields and returns from their apple orchards 

 but this " Island City " has been the largest and best market of any point 

 within the county, and has drawn hither the fruit of many growers from 

 very near other markets. 



Now, when I come to the present year, 1891, and tell you our buyers 

 gave us but little more than one half the former price, and the crop was 

 but one third in yield, you will realize the diffidence I feel in stating the 

 amount disbursed at this point to be, in round numbers, $28,000 for the 

 fruit, the packages, and labor of putting up and handling. Our farmers 

 have been, perhaps, derelict in the years past in the care of their orchards. 

 Help has been scarce and dear; the farmers' sons are leaving the farm; 

 they feel that other classes of people are doing better financially; that 

 even legislation is so shaped that they can not stay on the farm and so well 

 secure the comforts and luxuries for themselves and a family as to live 

 where they set the price for both sides of a trade. And so, with a 

 scarcity of interested help, and more work than the farmer can do properly, 

 it is our belief that on very many of our heretofore first-class fruit farms, 

 they are letting their orchards go without proper pruning, mulching, and 

 cultivation. Still, there are considerable quantities of all kinds of fruit 

 trees set in our county every year. Especially are small fruits set for city 

 consumers. A few individuals, near the cities and villages in the county, 

 are making it a special branch of business to raise strawberries, raspber- 

 ries, cherries, plums, pears, and grapes to an extent almost if not quite to 

 supply the local demands within the county. Near Charlotte, one man, 

 L. R. Freeman, has twenty-two acres largely set to small fruits within the 

 past three years. Another, Mr. Shaw, has five acres set to small fruits, 

 pears, and plums. Others are doing something in a small way about there. 



In this vicinity there have been planted within the past two seasons, 

 120 acres of raspberries, the Ohio variety, under contract with J. C. 

 Selby, it being his intention to dry the product in his evaporator here. 

 The past year he expended about $1,000 in setting out, culture, rental, 

 and picking fruit, etc., and received some $450 for the fruit product. F. 

 H. Paeker has seven acres of market raspberries, and in addition a regular 

 fruit garden of choice varieties of grapes, pears, peaches, plums, straw- 

 berries, and an apple orchard of which 500 trees are the Ben Davis, lately 



